Veterinarian Michael Descant and his wife, Melissa Descant, a veterinary technician, were tired of seeing the injured wild animals they'd treated die on the hour-long trip to a licensed wildlife rehabber. The couple decided to remedy the situation by opening their own nonprofit facility in Alburtis, Cricket Wildlife Center.
On a muggy afternoon just before Memorial Day, 100 people gathered in the woods at the Warner Pine Grove Cemetery of the former Belchertown State School. A bell was rung. The names of those who had passed since the last time we gathered were read.