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Norcross restoration is complete

By Sarah M. Corigliano

Assistant Managing Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW Ask anyone in town about the recently- opened Norcross Center and one woman's name comes to mind: Merle Safford.

Working through a fractured hip, planning around financial obstacles and always available to explain the project or seek out new donors, the 86-year-old former caterer, real estate developer, wife, mother and grandmother and history aficionado has worked tirelessely for almost three years to make the Norcross Center dream a reality.

But if you ask her about it, she'll remind you that she was only one of many individuals and businesses who were an intergral part of the project.

"It's been a galloping two years," she said, reflecting on the process of acquiring the property on Maple Street and getting it back to its original beauty. "And it's really been a cooperative effort. From the acquisition to the pledges for a five year mortgage ... I never dreamed we would have a finished house [in this amount of time]."

Among the many individuals she named as having been instrumental in the entire process were Ernie Gralia III, Tom Connor of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department Alcohol Rehabilitation Unit and all the workers there, Judy Wiezbicki, Jim Davis, Rick Bellico of Woronoco Savings Bank (now Berkshire Bank), Selectman Gary Delisle, Donna Nardi, Mary Swords, Jim McKnight, Christopher Carr and so many others, including generous donors.

She also said some of the former residents of the property made sure that this project would be a success by making financial gifts.

For example, the late Diana Feffer, a former resident, left in trust to the Norcross Center money to restore the carriage house on the property. Her funds will be put to use developing the Diana and Leon Feffer Art Center.

After going through an exhaustive list of names and contributions, Safford moved on, from reflecting to projecting. With so much planned for the property, it seems like she has little time to look back.

She talked about all the plans for the house becoming a research center as well as a part of the community.

"We want to develop a learning center in the house the four rooms upstairs will be used for historical and geneaological research," she explained. There will also be space to preserve items pertinent to the house's history and also the quarrying history of the town.

Downstairs, she said, the house will be used as an exhibition gallery and will also be available for events and meetings.

Safford said the teaching center on the second floor should be in full operation by September of this year, featuring coordination with the East Longmeadow School Department. During the summer a history education committee has been working on this project.

"In the meantime, we're moving furniture into the house," Safford continued.

A call for furniture donations a number of months ago resulted in a big response and, even as Safford talked with this reporter in June, the phone was ringing with more offers.

"I asked, and I got," she said. "It's been that sort of response."



***

The Norcross Center is situated on two acres of land at 89 Maple St. and also now houses the East Longmeadow Historical Society headquarters.

The Norcross house was built in 1879/1880 and was the home of James Franklin Norcross and his wife Sarah Etta Robinson. He was the son of James A. and Orlando Norcross, who were the owners of the Norcross Quarries in East Longmeadow at that time.

The house stayed in the Norcross family until 1949, when it was purchased by Elizabeth Baldwin, who operated the Busy Bee Nursery School there.

During her ownership, the carriage house was rented to George Harrington and used as an art studio and gallery.

In 1961 Dr. Leon Feffer and his wife, Diana, purchased the Norcross house and it was used as their residence and podiatry office until until Dr. Feffer's death.

Diana Feffer was noted as very active in the East Longmeadow community and her work included helping to establish the East Longmeadow Scholarship Foundation, now known as the East Longmeadow Education Endowment.

She leased the doctor's space to Dr. Karen Marsian and remained the owner until her death in 1999. In 1999, according to information provided by The Directors of the Norcross Center, Springfield Day Nursery purchased the property with the intent to build a nursery school there.

That project did not happen and the house faced demolition. The Friends of the Norcross Center purchased the property and work began on restoring it to its original beauty.

Safford reflected on why she had so much hope for the restoration.

"When I saw [the Norcross House] and saw how sturdy it was ... Everything was cosmetic," she said. "At that point [I knew we had to save it]."

In fact, she said most of the work done on the house, aside from taking down the sun room addition that had been put on, all the work on the house was purely topical.

The Directors of the Friends of the Norcross Center, Inc. are Sandra Burns, James Davis, Ernest Gralia III, James McKnight, Donna Diamond Nardi, Merle Safford, Mary Swords and Judie Wiezbicki.

For more information, go to www.norcrosscenter.org. For other local feature stories, visit www.reminderpublications.com.