U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal hailed the James House as a testament to Northampton Mayor Mary Clare Higgins' ability to understand the complicated issues of the day.
The James House.NORTHAMPTON – Prior to the ribbon-cutting for the James House Community Learning Center on Monday, Mayor Mary Clare Higgins told the crowd she wanted to put in a word of democracy.
“Democracy depends on a literate population,” she said. “It’s incumbent on us to educate people so they can make good choices.”
Higgins and the other collaborators on the $600,000 project are hoping the James House will be a major step in this direction. Conceived as Hampshire County’s adult education center, the 18th century building houses the Center for New Americans, the Literacy Project and programs by Greenfield and Holyoke community colleges.
Only three years ago, the James House featured holding cells in its basement, vestiges of the Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court, which occupied the building for several years before moving to Hadley in 2008. It had previously served as a bank and was briefly considered as the site for a new police facility. Northampton bought the James House in 1994 for $355,000.
Higgins began the push to convert it into an adult education center about the time the juvenile court moved out, building a team of collaborators and lobbying the state and federal government for funding. The lion’s share of the project, some $400,000, came from the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development. The Clean Energy Center contributed $149,000 for energy improvements, including a solar voltaic panel that provides most of the building’s electricity. Westover Job Corp and the New England Regional Council of Carpenters Local 108 donated labor.
With Higgins preparing to leave office in September to take over as head of Community Action of Greenfield, her fellow officials at the podium hailed the James House as part of her legacy.
“This is emblematic of her style, her work and her vision,” said State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst.
Noting that immigration has been a divisive issue both nationally and in the Massachusetts Senate, Rosenberg said the new learning center should be a source of pride to Hampshire County.
“They should be proud that they don’t join in the chorus of hate and disrespect for other people that are not Americans,” he said.
Calling the center a path to citizenship, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, hailed the James House as a testament to Higgins' ability to understand the complicated issues of the day.
Lena Stone, a native of Brazil, told the crowd she didn’t know a word of English when she arrived in Hampshire County several years ago. After five years at the Center for New Americans and The Literacy Project, however, Stone was able to earn her GED.
“I thought I’d never finish, but I finally did,” she said. “I want to tell you guys: Don’t give up.”