Page 46 - BusinessWest Macrh 6, 2023

HOLYOKE HISTORY TIMELINE >> Pride
>>
his time, energy, and talent to countless nonprofits, while getting his company involved with them as well.
“When I look at Holyoke today, I see a lot of hope, a lot of passion,” he said. “And I see a strong initiative to let peo- ple know about all the good things that are happening in the city, and you can see that first-hand with our mayor and our economic-development team.”
Sullivan, who has been involved with the Boys & Girls Club for more than a decade now, said O’Connell sup- ports a number of organizations and initiatives, from Girls Inc., which found a new home in the O’Connell Compa- nies’ former headquarters on Hampden Street, to Providence Ministries for the Needy.
PeoplesBank, meanwhile, has always been heavily involved in the community — supporting its nonprof- its, being the main sponsor to the city’s famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and backing the many efforts at EforAll, the chamber, and other agencies to pro- mote entrepreneurship and help others launch their own ventures, a key to the city’s continued progress.
“There’s an awful lot bubbling up,” Bannister said. “You have to wait and see which ones take root and which ones don’t, but we work with the Holy- oke EforAll group to drive entrepre- neurship because that’s how the next generation of businesses will come up; it won’t be a giant company that you lure here with tax incentives — it will
“The real push from the business community is
to make the city more attractive to potential new businesses by streamlining the permitting process, addressing crime, and much more.”
the 150th-anniversary celebrations to the parade committee.
“Holyoke is an amazing city with so much potential, and bringing aware- ness to downtown and making sure everyone knows about all the cool things that are happening is very important,” she said. “Downtowns don’t turn around overnight, but it’s helpful
if a community gets behind it — we see things turn around faster when every- one gets behind those efforts.”
Grande agreed, noting that he’s see- ing progress in the community and is getting involved himself, with every- thing from workforce-development issues in manufacturing (he’s involved at Dean Tech and, specifically, an ongo- ing project to market its manufacturing programs) to his work as vice president of the Holyoke Taxpayers Assoc.
“I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and let other people do the heavy lift- ing,” he said. “We see improvements and excitement; this administration is bringing city officials together, and the real push from the business community is to make the city more attractive to potential new businesses by streamlin- ing the permitting process, address-
ing crime, and much more. There’s an upward trajectory, but Holyoke has not been an easy sell.”
Passion Play
Flashing back more than a half-cen- tury to his youth, Sullivan said he and his friends thought Holyoke was “the center of the universe.”
It was only when they got older that their perspective changed — but only somewhat.
For many, it’s still the center of their lives, if not the universe, and the home of their businesses. It’s a unique and special place where the past, even the events of 150 years ago, are never far away and the future seems increasingly bright. BW
Continued from page 44
Did you know?
1930: On April 29, the 104th Regiment of the Massachusetts National Guard
is called in to manage traffic and crowds during a massive fire at the Caspar Ranger Lumber Yard, which ignites several other buildings across the downtown. High winds carry embers to the Farr Alpaca and William Skinner Silk mills, as well as a number of blocks on High Street. City Hall’s roof catches fire during a session of the Board of Aldermen and is extinguished by hand, as the amount of water in
use to extinguish other fires creates inadequate water pressure for hoses. Only five individuals are seriously hurt despite mass evacuations and a crowd of 40,000 residents assembling in the city’s streets. The fire, estimated to have caused between $750,000 and $1 million in damages, is the largest in the city’s history.
Meg Sanders says a burgeoning arts scene — and an emerging cannabis sector — are making Holyoke into a true destination.
Staff Photo
“Holyoke is an amazing city with so much potential, and bringing awareness to downtown and making sure everyone knows about all the cool things that are happening is very important.”
46 MARCH 6, 2023
<< HOLYOKE’S 150TH >>
BusinessWest
be a whole lot of small businesses that will take off. It’s entrepreneurs at the street level that will drive growth.”
Even some of the relative newcom- ers to the scene in Holyoke said they realized early on the importance of get- ting involved, collaborating with others to generate more positive energy in the city, or just choosing the city as a land- ing spot.
Indeed, Sanders said there were many reasons why Canna Provisions put down roots in Holyoke, literally.
Business-friendly bylaws and attractive space were among them, but there was also a desire to positively impact a city that was negatively impacted by the war against drugs and has, as she put it, “such good bones.”
“For us, Holyoke was a perfect can- vas to do good,” she explained, adding that, in addition to bringing jobs and a new storefront to the city, the venture is also sparking other new business. Meanwhile, Sanders herself is getting involved with several initiatives, from