Looking at the past helps chart a plan for the region’s future

Date: 2/15/2019

GREATER SPRINGFIELD – Wise people often say that to understand where we are and where we are going, one should realize where one has been.

For the Pioneer Valley, much has been written about the strength of our industrial past.

Our historical advantage was the Connecticut River, which provided a means of north/south transportation, as well as an important natural resource.

Some people may not know, for instance, how in the 19th century loggers brought their cut timber to the market by the river, floating thousands of pieces of wood from the forests of Vermont to Holyoke.

The drop in the Connecticut River, just like the falls on the Chicopee River at Chicopee Falls, provided energy that helped create the factory centers of both Holyoke and Chicopee. Those sources of power are now more important in the 21st Century as a component in the clean creation of electricity.

The impact of past events and innovations shaped the area in which we now live.

What would have happened if the bluff overlooking Springfield wasn’t seen as an area easy to defend and hadn’t been selected as the location for a federal arsenal and later armory?

Without the Armory, would other manufacturers have flocked to the city thanks to an increasingly skilled workforce?

Simple geography literally changed the course of progress in this region: the bluff in Springfield and the drop in the Connecticut River in Holyoke. The exploitation of these natural resources brought people and jobs to the region.

How many of these seminal can you name? In Chicopee there was Spalding, Fisk Tire – later Uniroyal – and Stevens-Duryea. Holyoke was the paper capitol of the world with companies such as Parson’s Paper, as well as the location for Skinner Silk, the largest silk textile company in the country.

In Springfield, Rolls Royce came here to assemble their cars because of the skilled help. Milton Bradley developed his games here. Smith & Wesson and Indian Motocycle were companies that were known for innovations.

Some people might want to believe the best days for the region are in the past. Personally I don’t think so. This area continues to attract people and companies because of several key factors.

We are close to both New York City and Boston, without having the cost of those metro centers.

We have a collection of colleges that brings thousands of young people into the area. The goal has been to retain as many as possible.

Thanks to organizations such as Tech Spring and Valley Ventures Mentors, we have a thriving climate of entrepreneurship.

Due to our strength in precision manufacturing we have an increasingly skilled workforce.

Our tourism industry is on the rise with the addition of The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum and MGM Springfield.

We now have a better transportation infrastructure with busses and an increased number of trains going north and south.

Is there more to do? Of course, there is. It’s clear though from these stories we’ve presented that people are rising to the challenges of the 21st Century and seeking solutions to grow the region.

The photos above will supply a small look at our past.