Holyoke Soldiers’ Home resident says COVID vaccine saved his life
Updated Feb 28, 2021;
Posted Feb 28, 2021
Joe Langland Jr. was one of the last residents to return to the Soldiers Home in Holyoke after a COVID-19 outbreak there last spring infected about 75% of residents, killing 76. (Submitted photo)
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HOLYOKE After seeing dozens of friends die of COVID-19 at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Joe Langland Jr. thought he was in the clear until he got the bad news on his 74th birthday.
Langland is a longtime Amherst resident, retired postal worker and Vietnam veteran. He was one of about 35 Soldiers’ Home residents moved to Holyoke Medical Center last spring to keep them safe after the deadly coronavirus spread through the Soldiers’ Home.
To the right ear, the names of the bars that lined the streets of Yountville half a century ago might sound like a chorus of old friends: Claudiaâs. Mexicali Rose. Yountville Saloon. The Whistle Stop. The Two Spot.
At the time, Yountville was mostly dive bars. During the seventies and eighties, the list of town bars stretched at least a dozen long, with the residents of the nearby Veterans Home a vital clientele. Today the list is just a single name: Panchaâs.
It was 1982 when Bobby Solis opened Panchaâs doors. The bar scene just seemed the way to go to Solis, a life-long Yountville resident who had been working as a general contractor.
Wicked Local
The Dennis-Yarmouth Woman s Club has supported the community for 25 years. Members of the club recently donated $1,700 to the Veterans Home in Dennis. In addition, club members donated $450 of kitchen utensils and supplies for their use.
As a member of the General Federation of Women s Clubs of Massachusetts, the club is dedicated to community improvement through volunteer service and, with your help, plans to continue its support to Cape Cod and Islands Veterans Outreach.
The club has not met for a year yet still provides opportunities for members to support the community during the pandemic. For membership information, please email dywc95@gmail.com.
Feb. 22, 1867: The East Tennessee Union Flag reported, “We are informed that on the evening of the 20th instant, the down Express Passenger train ran off the East Tennessee
SCR2 honoring William E. Christoffersen was quickly approved unanimously at the Capitol in Salt Lake City as family looked on. Christoffersen served in World War II and was a lifelong leader and member of the American Legion.