David speaks at dedication of Mary McColgan Apartments, named after former Ward 4 Councilor
May 15 ,2007
Home for disabled honors advocate: Big crowd
gathers for dedication of Mary McColgan
Apartments
by Dan Crowley, Daily Hampshire Gazette
by Dan Crowley, Daily Hampshire Gazette
NORTHAMPTON - When Michael McColgan told his boss
he needed time off to attend the dedication of an
apartment building for the mentally ill named after
his late mother, he was asked whether she had been
a high-powered politician or wealthy benefactor.
"I told him she was a leader and definitely generous, but I told him that the reason this building is being named after her is because she cared about others," McColgan, 39, of Florida, told a crowd of 150 people who gathered Monday outside the new Mary McColgan Apartments at 122 Grove St..
"My mother taught me to see the good in people and to help the less fortunate," he said.
Ten months after breaking ground, the Mary McColgan Apartments, a handsome six-unit apartment building built to serve clients of the state Department of Mental Health, is complete. The $1.1 million project was funded by a state Department of Housing and Community Development grant and built on land turned over to the Northampton Housing Authority after the former Northampton State Hospital closed. Once home to an abandoned house and garage, the apartment building will be leased and maintained by the housing authority.
Monday's ceremony paid tribute to the many people responsible for the development, from current and former state legislators to housing authority staff. But the focus was on the generosity and community spirit of the late Mary T. McColgan, a woman whose contributions symbolized all the project stands for, several speakers noted.
To be sure, the size of the crowd that arrived for the ceremony at the corner of Grove and Laurel streets speaks volumes of McColgan's legacy.
"I truly think one of my mother's best gifts was bringing people together," said Michael McColgan. "As I get older, I realize more and more the impact my mother had on others."
A former city councilor and advocate for the elderly, Mary T. McColgan died of cancer in 1995 at age 60. She was a nurse by profession and deeply involved in social services, volunteering for a number of agencies that helped others, particularly the elderly. She had worked part-time as director of congregate housing at two apartments for elderly people and served on the councils on aging in Northampton and Cummington.
Indeed, McColgan spent her entire life caring for others, including her family, the wider community, and the disadvantaged, speakers noted.
"Mary's true beauty revealed itself in doing for others," said James F. Cahillane, a lifelong friend of the McColgan family who delivered a heartfelt tribute from a podium set up outside the building.
State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, credited McColgan with helping "to create the community that is Northampton, what it is, and means, to be a resident of Northampton."
He praised the new apartment building because it shows there is a place in the community for everyone.
"This project really is quite remarkable in many, many ways," Rosenberg said. "For me, it's a real concrete symbol of unity."
In addition to serving as the City Council's Ward 4 representative from 1975-78, Mary McColgan worked as a nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. She later moved to Cumworth farm in Cummington with her husband, Edward McColgan, a former state representative from Leeds who also was on hand Monday. The couple raised seven children, all of whom attended the ceremony. Some traveled from as far as California, Florida and the Midwest.
Several local and state officials also addressed the crowd, including Ward 4 City Councilor David J. Narkewicz and Mayor Clare Higgins, who reiterated the city's commitment to serving the mentally ill.
Carole Collins, director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development's bureau of asset management, said Mary McColgan had a "quiet determination to help people who really needed help," and that the city should be proud of the special-needs housing.
"You've been a leader in building and preserving affordable housing," Collins said.
Shortly before the ceremony ended, McColgan's many grandchildren gathered in the driveway of the apartment building and pulled away a tarp unveiling the soft blue sign on the front lawn that reads "Mary McColgan Apartments."
The audience was invited to tour the six one-bedroom energy-efficient apartments, two of which are barrier-free. The housing was built by Garland Construction Corp., of Chicopee, and designed by Juster Pope Frazier, of Shelburne Falls, which incorporated architectural elements of McColgan's former home at 218 South St. nearby.
Jon Hite, executive director of the Northampton Housing Authority, said tenants, some of whom may be clients of the Northampton-based ServiceNet Inc., will be moving into the apartments by July 1.
As for the ceremony, he said he couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.
"It was a beautiful ceremony to a beautiful woman," Hite said.
"I told him she was a leader and definitely generous, but I told him that the reason this building is being named after her is because she cared about others," McColgan, 39, of Florida, told a crowd of 150 people who gathered Monday outside the new Mary McColgan Apartments at 122 Grove St..
"My mother taught me to see the good in people and to help the less fortunate," he said.
Ten months after breaking ground, the Mary McColgan Apartments, a handsome six-unit apartment building built to serve clients of the state Department of Mental Health, is complete. The $1.1 million project was funded by a state Department of Housing and Community Development grant and built on land turned over to the Northampton Housing Authority after the former Northampton State Hospital closed. Once home to an abandoned house and garage, the apartment building will be leased and maintained by the housing authority.
Monday's ceremony paid tribute to the many people responsible for the development, from current and former state legislators to housing authority staff. But the focus was on the generosity and community spirit of the late Mary T. McColgan, a woman whose contributions symbolized all the project stands for, several speakers noted.
To be sure, the size of the crowd that arrived for the ceremony at the corner of Grove and Laurel streets speaks volumes of McColgan's legacy.
"I truly think one of my mother's best gifts was bringing people together," said Michael McColgan. "As I get older, I realize more and more the impact my mother had on others."
A former city councilor and advocate for the elderly, Mary T. McColgan died of cancer in 1995 at age 60. She was a nurse by profession and deeply involved in social services, volunteering for a number of agencies that helped others, particularly the elderly. She had worked part-time as director of congregate housing at two apartments for elderly people and served on the councils on aging in Northampton and Cummington.
Indeed, McColgan spent her entire life caring for others, including her family, the wider community, and the disadvantaged, speakers noted.
"Mary's true beauty revealed itself in doing for others," said James F. Cahillane, a lifelong friend of the McColgan family who delivered a heartfelt tribute from a podium set up outside the building.
State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, credited McColgan with helping "to create the community that is Northampton, what it is, and means, to be a resident of Northampton."
He praised the new apartment building because it shows there is a place in the community for everyone.
"This project really is quite remarkable in many, many ways," Rosenberg said. "For me, it's a real concrete symbol of unity."
In addition to serving as the City Council's Ward 4 representative from 1975-78, Mary McColgan worked as a nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital. She later moved to Cumworth farm in Cummington with her husband, Edward McColgan, a former state representative from Leeds who also was on hand Monday. The couple raised seven children, all of whom attended the ceremony. Some traveled from as far as California, Florida and the Midwest.
Several local and state officials also addressed the crowd, including Ward 4 City Councilor David J. Narkewicz and Mayor Clare Higgins, who reiterated the city's commitment to serving the mentally ill.
Carole Collins, director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development's bureau of asset management, said Mary McColgan had a "quiet determination to help people who really needed help," and that the city should be proud of the special-needs housing.
"You've been a leader in building and preserving affordable housing," Collins said.
Shortly before the ceremony ended, McColgan's many grandchildren gathered in the driveway of the apartment building and pulled away a tarp unveiling the soft blue sign on the front lawn that reads "Mary McColgan Apartments."
The audience was invited to tour the six one-bedroom energy-efficient apartments, two of which are barrier-free. The housing was built by Garland Construction Corp., of Chicopee, and designed by Juster Pope Frazier, of Shelburne Falls, which incorporated architectural elements of McColgan's former home at 218 South St. nearby.
Jon Hite, executive director of the Northampton Housing Authority, said tenants, some of whom may be clients of the Northampton-based ServiceNet Inc., will be moving into the apartments by July 1.
As for the ceremony, he said he couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.
"It was a beautiful ceremony to a beautiful woman," Hite said.