Belchertown

Throughout its 3rd annual Sugarfest Saturday, March 15, 2025, the Shattuck Sugarhouse's evaporator continued to boil hundreds of gallons of sap and churn out syrup. Nate Shattuck tells WAMC on Sugarfest day, the whole compound is "the sweetest place in town."

News

At Shattuck’s Sugarhouse in Belchertown, syrup has been flowing for 50 years

For weeks, industrial boilers and evaporators have been pumping full steam ahead as maple syrup season in western Massachusetts continues. It's a sweet enterprise that one family in Belchertown has been at for 50 years now.

UMass Amherst Extension Fruit Team Leader Jon Clements, explaining the history of the EverCrisp apple variety, seen growing at the UMass Cold Spring Orchard. It's a product, in-part, of the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA) - one of several varieties tested at Cold Spring and available for Massachusetts orchards to grow.

News

For UMass researcher, fall apple season is about more than picking

James Paleologopoulos

As apple picking season continues across the Northeast, one researcher is looking for more than a crisp taste. WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief James Paleologopoulos reports the red, green and gold fruits of labor tend to thrive in the Bay State.

Nearly 100 people came out to the Quabbin Reservoir on Sunday, May 26, for the bridge dedication honoring U.S. Army Specialist Kenneth Iwasinski, a Belchertown native who was killed in action while serving in Iraq in 2007.

News

Bridge connecting Belchertown and Ware named for Kenneth Iwasinski, killed in Iraq in 2007

James Paleologopoulos

A bridge spanning the Swift River in western Massachusetts now bears the name of a local man who was killed while serving in Iraq.