The South Longyard Plant  A federal Prohibition agent and two Massachusetts State Police officers descended on Luther Hosmer's farmhouse in the desolate part of the South Longyard section of Southwick at about 10:00 p.m. on April 27, 1928.  There, authorities smashed their way in and found a large-scale liquor operation, but not a soul around.  The manufacturing setup was so extensive that they dubbed it "The South Longyard Plant."  F. B. Arnold & Sons Tobacco Luther Hosmer had rented the property to others, perhaps tricked into thinking they would operate the farm. Instead, the so-called renters installed equipment, creating a plant capable of producing large amounts of alcohol, presumably for wholesale.  The plant was so complete that it took workers until late the next day to dismantle the equipment, which included: a 1000-gallon still, two 300-gallon and six 1200-gallon galvanized iron tanks, seventy-five tanks filled with the finished product, a large b...

Calvin Fuller and Edward Cooley arrived at Jesse Hall Jr.'s house in Tolland, Massachusetts, around 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 2, 1837.  Jesse was sitting inside his house reading from a bible; a bottle of rum sat on the table next to him. He invited his visitors to partake in the drink. Drinking alcohol was frowned upon in certain circles, especially on the Lord's Day. About an hour of drinking had passed, and not wanting to be known for keeping an ill house, Jesse would later claim that he asked both men to leave, which Edward did. Before Calvin could go, the pair, at least according to Jesse, started conversing about Jesse's second wife, Lucy, whose whereabouts were unknown.  The topic of Lucy appeared to have started (again, according to Jesse) after Calvin mentioned that he was heading to Granville in the morning. Jesse requested that Calvin stop at Noah Cooley's store to inform the clerk that Lucy had deserted him and that he would not be paying any debts she may t...

Tobacco growers in Southwick, Massachusetts, and Simsbury, Connecticut, filed suits against Kutinsky, Adler & Co. of New York and Luther M. Case of Winstead, Connecticut, with Constable George B. Woodruff of Suffield, Connecticut, serving the defendants papers on August 11, 1906. Constable Woodruff also placed attachments on the tobacco, about $10,000 worth, that Kutinsky, Adler & Co. had stored in Suffield. (Serving Case was a formality as a court-approved petition forced him into bankruptcy in June.) Below is a list of the Southwick tobacco growers and the amount of each suit against Case and Kutinsky, Adler & Co. (Some growers also sued Starr Bros., who Case did business with or for.) Fred Arnold $6,000 ($5,500 tobacco, $500 damages) Adrian Coe $2,500 L. A. Fowler $2,500 Llewyn Wetherbee $1,800 Cooley Griffin $1,600 Fred Warner $1,200 Clement Robinson $1,200 Charles Noble $500 Walter S. Steer $400 Robert Nicholson $300 Fred Miller $300 Firms Boyle & Avery $1,500 Boyl...

On August 23, 1929, seven Massachusetts State Police officers went to Southwick, Massachusetts. At 5:45 p.m., they smashed their way into a popular resort on North Pond at Congamond Lake.  When the raiding party arrived at the Point Grove Inn, they found the doors locked. Busting in, they surprised the proprietress and her son, who had sat down for supper.  The long-planned raid on the inn (and two adjacent cottages) netted eight gallons of assorted liquors (mostly moonshine whisky), 2,000 bottles of beer, and two arrests: Margaret (Shea) LeFeave, charged with keeping and exposing liquor for sale, and her son Walter, illegal selling and manufacturing. The pair were taken to Westfield and later released on bail. (Walter: $500, Margaret $200).  In court, the judge fined Walter $100 for illegal liquor manufacturing and $50 for selling liquor; Margaret was fined $100 for keeping and exposing liquor for sale.  About one week later, just after 3:00 p.m. on August 30, 1929,...

The Rum Train Massachusetts State Police at the Agawam Barracks received word that a Packard Twin Six was leading a couple of Hudsons and a Chrysler toward Southwick (from Connecticut) on March 28, 1926. Connecticut State Police were already pursuing the train of vehicles, the second one carrying illegal spirits. Still, they could not stop them before they crossed the state line into Massachusetts at Southwick. Massachusetts State Police joined the chase, taking the lead, Connecticut following. But their machines were no match against the mighty powerful Packard.   One of the Hudsons (the one loaded with 150 gallons of illegal, high-grade, high-priced wholesale liquor) broke down. With the police hot on their trail, there was no time to unload the goods, so the Chrysler towed it.  Meanwhile, Massachusetts State Police officers were waiting in front of infamous Southwick physician Dr. Harry Carr's house on College Highway, ready to pounce on the bootleggers.  Catching...

It had all the markings of a stereotypical Hollywood gangster-themed motion picture. But instead of featuring a character based on Chicago's own Scarface, it involved Springfield's real-life Scarnicis, and it was no movie. This wild episode of hi-jacking and robbery with double-crossing, bootlegging, and gunplay unfolded in Feeding Hills and Southwick on December 16-17, 1924.  Cast  Louis Scarnici Leonard Scarnici Pellegrino Bonavito Alfred E. Brown Joseph Dubian Francis Bills Daniel Coffey and starring  Timothy J. Malone as the Deputy Sheriff After making a deal for 35 gallons of alcohol, a group of men headed from Springfield via Feeding Hills and Southwick to Westfield in a three-automobile convoy.  The Scarnicis, a father and son team, drove a large Buick touring car containing the illegal spirits; Francis Bills of Southwick and Joseph Dubian of Westfield accompanied them. Following them was Daniel Coffey of Westfield, who drove his auto alone. Behind the wheel i...

Village Green Shopping Center Southwick Building Inspector Francis Ehrhardt issued a building permit to Clyde Jones and Robert Pollard in October 1965 to construct an $80,840 shopping center. They tapped the Medical Development and Construction Company of Westfield to head the project. (The general contracting company went bankrupt in 1973.) The Village Green Shopping Center held its grand opening on April 20, 1966, with Jones Market as its anchor. Other tenants included a barbershop relocated from the Southwick Shopping Center and the Venetian Bakery, a new business in town. A branch of the Third National Bank of Hampden County opened about a month later. The new center's parking lot capacity was 200 cars. (Jones Market, founded by Charles H. Jones, was initially located nearby on College Highway. Due to increased business, the new store afforded more square footage than the original.)  1968 - Tragedy Strikes John Graham, of Gargon Terrace, worked at Jones Market and was well...