Avery Maltz shares some fun facts about the Holyoke Community College greenhouse and what they enjoy the most about being its caretaker with Zydalis Bauer.  Watch our full interview with Avery Maltz.This interview was originally part of our January 20, 2022 show.Read the full transcription:Avery Maltz, Point Foundation Wells Fargo Scholarship Recipient: We have about anywhere from two hundred and fifty to three hundred plants. It can vary, you kn

Avery Maltz shares some fun facts about the Holyoke Community College greenhouse and what they enjoy the most about being its caretaker with Zydalis Bauer.  

Watch our full interview with Avery Maltz.

This interview was originally part of our January 20, 2022 show.

Read the full transcription:

Avery Maltz, Point Foundation Wells Fargo Scholarship Recipient: We have about anywhere from two hundred and fifty to three hundred plants. It can vary, you know, depending on depending on the season. And within that, about one hundred and thirty species.

It's a very diverse little place. It's small, but we pack a lot in there. I've kind of divided things into different regions, little mini ecosystems. So they're kind of all clumped with their friends, and it's just a beautiful place.

You walk in and you just, like, immediately smell the fresh air. And yeah, it's really nice.

Zydalis Bauer: And you even have had some fruits come from these plants, correct?

Avery Maltz, Point Foundation Wells Fargo Scholarship Recipient: Yeah, we've had limes. We have a banana tree. It still hasn't flowered.

The most exciting fruits, I think, have been...the monstera produced a fruit, which I had never seen before. So I got to take that.

Zydalis Bauer: Yeah, to be honest, I didn't even know monstera produced a fruit, so that's pretty cool.

Avery Maltz, Point Foundation Wells Fargo Scholarship Recipient: They do. It has to be really mature to produce a fruit, and most of the ones that people have in their homes, like they just don't have the resources in a house to actually be able to to produce a fruit like that.

Zydalis Bauer: So as I mentioned us being home with the pandemic, can you talk to me about some of the therapeutic value that being inside the greenhouse offered you, especially during the times that we're going through?

Avery Maltz, Point Foundation Wells Fargo Scholarship Recipient: It was really, really nice to be able to go in and take care of the plants during that time. And it was very eerie because the whole school was empty and all the posters were still up from like the week before everything went remote. And, you know, I would just go in and and take care of the plants, and it felt like a really powerful way to stay connected.

During that time, I started an Instagram account for the greenhouse so that I could share with the campus community the different things that were happening in the greenhouse, things that were flowering, or little updates on the plants. And it was just a really nice way to kind of bring people in to that experience.

Zydalis Bauer: And now that we are deep in the winter months, it's cold, it's dreary outside.

Do you have any tips for us about houseplants and what should we be looking out for? What are the what are the perfect plants to have during this time of year?

Avery Maltz, Point Foundation Wells Fargo Scholarship Recipient: The perfect plants to have it depends on your house and your situation, but a few winter tips: please move your plants away from the heaters. Oftentimes, you'll have like a baseboard heater or something like right below a window, but you really want to make sure your plants are not right next to that heater because it's going to dry out the plant.

And also, I don't fertilize in the winter, even if it still looks good and feels like it's growing -- like the plants behind me look good, right? But most plants are a little bit dormant in the winter months because they're not getting that same amount of, like, light and warmth that they would need. So yeah, they don't need fertilizer in the winter.

Zydalis Bauer: Where did your passion come for caring for plants? How did you even end up in the role as caretaker of the HCC greenhouse?

Avery Maltz, Point Foundation Wells Fargo Scholarship Recipient: Honestly, I don't know where it comes from! I just love plants. But my first semester, I -- I would walk past the greenhouse on my way to class and I would look in the window and I just I just felt like I wanted to be in there, you know?

And so I reached out to one of the biology professors and I asked her if there were any opportunities to get involved. And yeah, the rest is history.

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Last year, the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center kicked off their Fall season with a variety of performances and programming including the reopening of the University’s art galleries after being closed due to the pandemic.  Zydalis Bauer speaks with Jamilla Deria, Director of the Fine Arts Center, to learn how the local arts scene is prevailing during the pandemic as well as to hear about the rest of the season’s upcoming events at the FAC. Explore

Last year, the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center kicked off their Fall season with a variety of performances and programming including the reopening of the University’s art galleries after being closed due to the pandemic.  

Zydalis Bauer speaks with Jamilla Deria, Director of the Fine Arts Center, to learn how the local arts scene is prevailing during the pandemic as well as to hear about the rest of the season’s upcoming events at the FAC. 

Explore some of the show coming to the FAC this spring in a digital exclusive clip.

This interview originally aired on January 20, 2022.

Read the full transcription:

Tony Dunne, Connecting Point: Last year, the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center kicked off their fall season with a variety of performances and programing, including the reopening of the university's art galleries after being closed due to COVID-19.

Zydalis Bauer spoke with Jamilla Deria, Director of the Fine Arts Center, to find out how the local art scene is prevailing during the pandemic and learn about the rest of the season.

Jamilla Deria, UMass Fine Arts Center: We're so happy to be able to let everyone know that we're open, that we are welcoming audiences back.

And you know, the campus, as well as the Fine Arts Center, has safety at the top of our agenda and we are making -- we've just completed some extensive planning to ensure that everyone can come to our campus, be safe and enjoy events.

Zydalis Bauer, Connecting Point: So, Jamilla, you started at the UMass Fine Arts Center in 2019 and just one year after you began boom, the pandemic hits.

So how were you able to navigate that and what have been some of the challenges that have come with that?

Jamilla Deria: It was certainly a baptism by fire! I don't think anyone saw it coming, and certainly no one was really prepared for a global pandemic. Certainly, not in my very first year here at the Fine Arts Center.

But I will say that I was so fortunate -- and I am still so fortunate -- to have an amazing team who is resilient, resourceful, and just can pivot on a dime. We got the official notice that our buildings were closed on March 16th of 2020, and by April 4th, we were back up and operating virtually.

From April 4th, 2020, up through this -- this academic year, we've put on seventy five virtual shows.

So obviously, you know, it was a lot of figuring out as we were going, but I think that this team has become so adept at not only in-person presentations, which we all love to do, which is why we got into this business, but now we are wonderful producers of virtual programs, and now we're also going outdoor and having more outdoor events and public art events, and you're going to see that in our in the warmer months of the semester and next.

Zydalis Bauer: Speaking of the 75 virtual events that you all put on, like many of us, this was a new avenue for you to explore during the pandemic.

What were some of the successes that came out of those virtual events? And do you think it's something that will continue on beyond the pandemic?

Jamilla Deria: Well, I think that the great thing about virtual events is that they're actually a bit more affordable, which means that we have more money to invest in the artists and the development of new work. So for the first time in a very long time, we were able to really partner with artists and present a number of world premieres.

We also expanded how we present arts education programs. So for example, we partnered with the Jazz at Lincoln Center and Wynton Marsalis. The weeks leading up to the election, we invited them to teach a six part course on jazz as a tool of liberation, because there's something really kind of fantastic -- whether you're a jazz lover or not, there's something really fantastic about how jazz is created in real time.

I mean, a lot of jazz is improvization and it's improvization at a masterful level. So, you know, the players are not only so in-tune with the -- their own instrument and the sound that they're developing, but they're also in real time listening and co-creating with their ensemble mates.

And so the democratization of jazz and in that anyone can kind of have a moment to have their voice articulated, I think that that theme was something that we wanted to explore through this course, and as well as jazz has been activism music since its very beginning. And so it's not only speaking voice to the people, but it also -- in it's form, you know, expressing how democracy works.

And I think that that was an exciting new model for us, in terms of not only presenting exciting works, but really bringing you into these -- these masters workshops to really kind of hear their perspectives, hear their voices, look at how they approach the development of new work.

I was also excited about the Fine Arts Center was a part of a team of presenters across the nation to present and premiere a new opera by a composer named Daniel Bernard Roumain. It was to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre.

And we were able to really give voice and space to this -- this wonderful composer to get his work out there. And we had a national conversation about sort of the state of race relations in America, and what we what we hope for and what we want to see in the years ahead.

Zydalis Bauer: Your emphasis has been re-engaging the live audience, getting people comfortable to be back in person.

What has the response been so far from the audience, as well as the local art scene?

Jamilla Deria: Everyone is, you know, really excited to gather again. Obviously, the Omicron and its emergence really slowed some momentum.

But before our holiday break, we saw -- we sold about 700 tickets to a wonderful family performance, and it was the energy in the room can't be replaced on the screen. And while I definitely love our virtual offerings, I think it gives you access and brings people from all over the world together and really special ways....you know, that collective "ahh," that collective breath that we take as as an artist reaches the pinnacle of their performance, that you know, you can't --you can't replace that.

And so for those who've come back -- and we've had quite a few come back -- I think they're just so thrilled to be together again.

Zydalis Bauer: Now, the saying is always "the show must go on." We hear that all the time.

Why is that exceptionally important during these challenging times that we're going through?

Jamilla Deria: You know what? Art not only helps us learn better, but it also helps us live better. I mean, we are -- we are meant to be together experiencing, you know, the highest expression of human creativity, ingenuity, wonder.

And I think that...I think that there's -- I think now more than ever, as we as a society kind of socially isolate, as we deal with such serious issues as a global pandemic, the reckoning of sort of race relations in the country, growing economic inequality, more than ever do we need to come together through the arts to help really create bridges -- because we've lost a lot of bridges in the last few years as we've polarized.

And I don't think of any better form than sort of a rich art experience to remind people that we are not, you know, digital enemies. We are neighbors. We are, we are community, we are friends, and -- and the arts are here for all of us.

Zydalis Bauer: Jamilla, as you know, artists, performers, and even venues like the UMass Fine Arts Center have all had to be creative and rethink how artistry is presented.

What are some of the prevailing trends that you are witnessing in response to local and national ordinances and put in place during the pandemic?

Jamilla Deria: Thank you for that question.

You know, I touched on the need for all arts organizations to become more versatile -- to not only be in-person presenters, but virtual presenters, and then also outdoor presenters. I think another sort of challenge that I think COVID really brought to the fore for all of us -- and we've been talking about this for decades now -- but I think Covid really brought us to sort of a reckoning point, is that we need to open our doors to more audiences.

We we certainly love the audiences that come now, those who have been with us from the very beginning. We're forty six-years-old as an organization. Some -- some of our -- some of the folks who came to our very first performance in October of 1975 are still around today, and they come back and we love them.

But, we also know that there are groups of people that we don't yet serve. And I think that for the future of the arts, not only in terms of the Fine Arts Center, but nationally, we need to be able to not only reflect a full range of cultures and communities on our stages, but we have to turn the camera and look at the audience to see if we are reflecting that in the house. And if we're not, then there's so much work that needs to be done, because our communities are here.

This is a very diverse area. But then if you go into some of our theaters, you don't -- it doesn't reflect that diversity. And we understand that our great lesson coming out of COVID is that that is no longer an issue that can be sidelined, that it needs to be our central work, that the Fine Arts Center and our building has been renamed after our very first African-American chancellor, Dr. Bromery, so the Bromery Center for the Arts.

We're here not only to present diverse arts, but for diverse audiences.

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In the town of Dalton, the building known as The Stationery Factory has a history that dates back to a time when industrial factories ruled the day and could be found up and down the Housatonic River.  With those days of industry now a thing of the past, the building currently houses over 20 individual businesses, including one that could be looked at as something of a modern-day assembly line.  Connecting Point's Brian Sullivan paid a visit to t

In the town of Dalton, the building known as The Stationery Factory has a history that dates back to a time when industrial factories ruled the day and could be found up and down the Housatonic River.  

With those days of industry now a thing of the past, the building currently houses over 20 individual businesses, including one that could be looked at as something of a modern-day assembly line.  

Connecting Point's Brian Sullivan paid a visit to the Shire Breu-Hous – a craft brewery, restaurant, and taproom located in the building – and brings us the story. 

Watch a feature on the workers of the Shire Breu-Hous.

This story originally aired on January 20, 2022.

Read the full transcript:

Tony Dunne, Connecting Point: In the Berkshire county town of Dalton, the building, known as the Stationery Factory, has a history that dates back to a time when industrial mills could be found up and down the Housatonic River and ruled the day.

Like so many other mill buildings, it's been repurposed now and houses over 20 individual businesses, including a craft brewery and restaurant that could be looked at as a modern day assembly line of a different kind.

Connecting Point's Brian Sullivan paid a visit to the Shire Breu-Hous and brings us the story.

Brian Sullivan, Connecting Point: The central Berkshires town of Dalton, Massachusetts, is a place that roughly 6,500 people call home. It's where one kid grew up to win a World Series, make the All-Stars for his hometown Boston Red Sox, and have a sports complex named after him.

Like many towns out this way, the Housatonic River lives here, too, carving through the landscape past old mill buildings like this one. It's also where the United States gets its currency paper from. And not too long ago, Crane and Co. had a stationery division here at 63 Flansburg Ave.

It may not be the paper factory it once was, but the building now houses over 20 businesses, some of them miniature factories in their own right. Here at the Shire Breu-Hous, there's a brew underway before the sun has made its first appearance of the day, and that's par for the course in the life of a beer maker.

Nick Whalen, Shire Breu-Hous: A typical brew day is eight to ten hours, all told, from start to finish. So, depending on how much cellar work we do afterwards, typically we'll mash in early in the morning around 6, 6:30.

And then we'll typically finish around one o'clock in the afternoon. And then we then we cleaned the brewhouse after that. And then there's other things that we might be doing during the day.

Brian Sullivan: Shire Breu-Hous is the brainchild of co-owners Nick Whalen and childhood friend Andrew Crane, who opened the doors to this 8,000-square-foot basement brewery restaurant in the summer of 2017.

The place certainly looks to be in tip top condition now. That's thanks in no small part to brew team member Mark Geibel, who was tasked with the carpentry work to make it look this way, before it became the brewhouse and before he was one of the brewers.

Mark Geibel, Shire Breu-Hous: The first time I saw this space, it was full of heavy equipment, industrial machinery, forklifts, old pumps, and it was basically a general storage area. So, my first tasks down here were to clean up the space to maybe attract a tenant such as ourselves now.

Brian Sullivan: The team here may be small, but it's a solid, hardworking unit and they seem to really enjoy what they do.

Mark Geibel: It's fun. We like to come to come to work. We know we have each other's backs and...it's fun to learn every day as well. We take taking everything we get from each other and other brewers.

And you know, it's it's a culinary and science experiment on a daily basis, and we have fun with it.

Brian Sullivan: It even looks like a giant science experiment. And they use language to describe what they're doing that's not often heard in the outside world. But the one part that an outsider like me can understand is, when they get rid of these spent grains.

This happens when most of the sugars, proteins and nutrients have been extracted from the malt during the mash. And the circle of life continues as the spent grains are then placed in these barrels and left upstairs for the local farmers to pick up and reuse.

Now, these guys might be done with this portion of the brewing process, but today is really considered day zero. Next up is the fermentation process, and that will probably take about two weeks before they can start putting it into barrels and cans. Luckily, they've got plenty of those barrels in stock, so they can have 12 on tap here at the bar.

But those taps wouldn't start pouring until at least 4:30 in the afternoon when the restaurant opens. Prior to Covid, the brew crew also ran the restaurant end of things. The closures of 2020 gave them some time to rethink how to operate both ends of the business.

Enter Berkshire Culinary Group and chef Matt Motter with a solution.

Matt Motter, Berkshire Culinary Group: Restaurants and breweries are both twenty four hour jobs. You can't really do both. It's just -- there's just not enough hours in a day, not enough personnel to be focused on one thing or the other.

The Shire Brue-Hous seemed like a good opportunity to come in and say, "Guys, let me be your chef so that you can concentrate on making amazing beer, and I'm going to use that beer to compliment the food and cook with it."

Brian Sullivan: Unlike other reclamation projects like this one, this operation isn't being run by some out-of-state absentee landlord investor. Everyone involved is from within a three town radius. Chef Motter's parents used to work in this building in the 1980s and 90s. Coming from Pittsfield, Nick Whalen is the proverbial local-boy-makes-good.

But to speak with him, it's almost as if he hasn't taken the time to realize what he's accomplished so far.

Nick Whalen: It's been go, go, go for five -- four or five years now, and then, you know, it's you don't really have a lot of time to reflect on it. We worked really hard to get to this point where we're still in business and making better beer than we've ever made.

So, I really just want people to have a nice beer and some nice food with a good company. And that's really it. It's very simple: good food, good drink, and good friends.

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This next story starts with a question…If I asked you what James Naismith, a fast-food restaurant and a local college all have in common, would you know the answer? Here’s a clue, they all have something to do with a sport that was invented 130 years ago…  If you guessed basketball, you are correct. Producer Dave Fraser heads to Springfield College and hits the school archives to uncover more about James Naismith’s invention of the game. Meet the

This next story starts with a question…If I asked you what James Naismith, a fast-food restaurant and a local college all have in common, would you know the answer? Here’s a clue, they all have something to do with a sport that was invented 130 years ago…  

If you guessed basketball, you are correct. 

Producer Dave Fraser heads to Springfield College and hits the school archives to uncover more about James Naismith’s invention of the game. Meet the first “team” to ever play hoops, explore the original rule book, and hear both the men's and women's Springfield College basketball coaches talk about the legacy of the sport. 

𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 & 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.

This segment originally aired on January 20, 2022.

Read the full transcription:

Tony Dunne, Connecting Point: If I asked you what James Naismith, a fast food restaurant, and a local college all have in common, would you know the answer?

Here's a clue. They all have something to do with a sport that was invented a hundred and thirty years ago.

Well, if you guessed basketball, you're correct. And producer Dave Fraser shares the story of how it all started right here in Springfield.

Dave Fraser: On the campus of Springfield College, the legacy of Dr. James Naismith is well represented, and rightfully so. The game he invented happened just a short distance down the road in the city's Mason Square neighborhood, inside this building, which has now been replaced by a fast food restaurant.

Across the street, a monument with plexiglass panels helped tell the story of how this 30-year-old physical education instructor created an athletic distraction that became a worldwide phenomenon.

Marty Dobrow, Springfield College: From the very humble origins of this game, it has grown into a worldwide phenomenon with immense popularity. One of the most popular sports in the world.

Dave Fraser: Judd Gymnasium is the oldest building on campus, and it houses the school's history museum that includes many artifacts and memorabilia related to Naismith and the early development of the game.

Marty Dobrow: As the legend has it, you know, put up these peach baskets that didn't have an opening underneath them. After each time that a basket was scored, they would go back and have a jump ball.

The ball would obviously be stuck in the peach basket. It took a while until someone had the brilliant idea "Let's, you know, let's cut the bottom of this."

Dave Fraser: Since that initial introduction in December of 1891, the game quickly spread throughout New England and around the world, impacting the lives of hundreds of millions across all ages. Basketball is now played around the globe by both men and women.

Naomi Graves is the head coach for the Springfield women's basketball team. She fell in love with the sport at an early age.

Naomi Graves, Springfield College Women’s Basketball: Well, I think it was the backyard fun that you played with both men and women, girls and boys, you know, in the backyard. Everybody had a basketball. I grew up where basketball was really important, up in western Massachusetts.

And then in my high school, it was -- it was --I was tall and I liked the game. So, Coach identified me as a player and taught me the game. And then before you knew it, I fell in love with it.

Dave Fraser: The game played today is probably not what Naismith envisioned when he first introduced it. His initial 13 rules included no dribbling, dunking, or three pointers. There was no shot clock, but goaltending was legal.

Naismith himself recalled that first game in a 1939 radio interview that aired on WOR AM in New York City.

James Naismith (Archived Audio Recording): The boys began tackling, kicking, and punching in the clinches. Before I could pull them apart, one boy was knocked out, several of them with black eyes and one had a dislocated shoulder.

Something had to be done.

Dave Fraser: The rules would be modified to include dribbling and fouls, and other changes would evolve throughout the years.

In 1892, less than a year after Naismith created the sport, Smith College Gymnastics instructor Senda Berenson introduced the game to women's athletics and by 1905, basketball was officially recognized as a permanent winter sport.

Charlie Brock is in his 24th season as the coach of the men's basketball team at Springfield College.

Charlie Brock, Springfield College Men’s Basketball: You know, the game has changed so much in the 40 plus years, forty- five years I've been involved in it. And part of that's rule changes and part of that's the way the game is played and the athleticism and the skill set of the players, certainly today.

It isn't something we talk about daily, but the kids know and feel the impact of the fact that they're playing at the birthplace of basketball, and it's got a somewhat of a mystique to it.

Marty Dobrow: The reach of the game is very, very wide. I know over the years when I've spoken with basketball players here -- I'm in my twenty third year of teaching -- and I've gotten to know a number of the players. And uniformly, they feel a, you know, a great sense of joy and pride of playing the game at the place where it started.

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