It’s more than just legacy that we discover by looking at the past.

Sometimes, we see a way forwards. What started as an orchard in 188, evolved into a retail market in 1962, and has continued to expand into what we now know as Atkins Farms Country Market. Although the original orchard is no longer attached to the retail store, the location is still dedicated to providing local produce and prepared foods to meet the needs of the community. We chat with the Jen Adams, Andy Ladas, and Kelly Lannon about building a healthy work community, the importance of connecting with local farms, and the power of cider donuts.

Occasionally, it reveals things we missed. Local historian and archivist for Springfield Museums Cliff McCarthy drop by the studios to tell us of more Black figures from Western Massachusetts history including Aaron Nazro and the League of Gileadites, and give some insight how you too could become part of the process to make these hidden figures in time more visible to more folx.

If we’re lucky, those looks through time take us much further than we would have believed. Such is the case at Downtown Sounds in Northampton, where a chance appraisal of an old Martin Guitar lead Aaron Borucki through more channels in American luthier history than he could have imagined. We talk with him about the cascade of discoveries he encountered surrounding the 1868 instrument, and what impact learning about the guitar has on his outlook as well as the store’s.