History held in common

Sometimes it's good to dig into the roots of how we got to where we are. It is a compelling factor that will bring Elizabeth "Mumbet" Freeman's story to life at Historic Deerfield on Juneteenth. Tammy Denease of Hidden Women stage company presents her one woman show on Freeman's life. But it's just one of the many lives she portrays, so we speak about using theater as a tool to educate about history. It's where we are too. As Wisteriahurst Museum prepares to throw its Juneteenth celebrations on the holiday itself, we're joined by Erika Slocumb, a historian at the museum. In addition to organizing their Juneteenth event, she's been working on a project that looks to highlight and preserve the oral history of the black community in Holyoke, but has found that the reaches of community stretch much farther than she'd originally imagined. And it's in physical roots, including some of the ones we eat. We sat down with Phil Korman from CISA, Nate Shattuck of Shattuck's Sugarhouse and Devon Lane Farm, and Katie Bobbin, the new manager of the Belchertown Farmers & Artisans Market to check in on how their opening weekend went considering that they are one of the few Sunday markets in the area, and to take a look at how this particular market has evolved over the past 30 years or so.