Titans Times Two

Stan Ziomek "Mr. Baseball"

One ran the Amherst DPW for 40 years, where he worked with less than pleasant materials daily, where multi-million dollar projects going right could be offset by a nickel-and-dime pothole repair going wrong;  while the other ran Amherst Town Meeting for 19 years, where bread-and-butter local issues can take a back seat to national and international affairs.

And everyone wants to have their say, about everything.

 

Amherst went all out in town center for Stan Ziomek Day

Saturday was "Stan Ziomek Day" here in Amherst, and the gorgeous spring day culminated in a gala reception in his honor at the glamorous Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Hadley.  The hall was packed with town and UMass officials, sports enthusiasts and just plain salt of the earth folks.  

Harrison Gregg, keeping control

My tenure in Town Meeting spanned about three quarters of Harrison Gregg's time as moderator.  And while I never saw him as "the enemy" the competitor in me viewed him as an obstacle to overcome.  So we kind of went at it like Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee.  I of course was the confederate.

But I never thought he was willfully unfair or capable of anything underhanded.  His love for the institution of Town Meeting could match General Grant or President Lincoln's love for the Union.

And THAT, I always find worthy of salute.