Co-owners are former area educators with a deep passion for community

NORTHAMPTON—Two former area educators turned entrepreneurs will bring a new version of GoBerry back to downtown Northampton in April.

Co-owners SiriNam Khalsa and Aaron Buford will open a GoBerry ’n Cream shop at 207 Main St., a second location for Khalsa, who has owned a GoBerry ’n Cream in Amherst since 2022. 

Khalsa, of Leverett, and Buford, of Amherst, have a shared passion for engaging young people as well as a commitment to community. 

With a mission to provide locally grown and produced food whenever possible, GoBerry will offer fresh frozen yogurt made with skim milk and organic non-fat yogurt from local farms. Like the Amherst location, the shop will also offer several flavors of the locally produced Bart’s ice cream as well as moo-free frozen Banana Nice Cream and sorbet.  

“We love the new, cozy location on the sunny side of Main Street,” Khalsa said. “We are looking forward to serving the smiling faces of local customers who have missed the distinct flavor of GoBerry.”

Alex and Molly Feinstein were the founders of GoBerry, with shops in Northampton, at 80 Main St., and in Amherst at 28 Amity St. In May 2022, Khalsa purchased the Amherst location, and the Feinsteins later closed the Northampton shop. 

Khalsa and Buford met when they were both educators in the Springfield Public School system and have been colleagues and friends for 15 years; Buford and his children are frequent visitors to the Amherst GoBerry ’n Cream shop. 

When Khalsa’s daughter, Ananda Khalsa, a jeweler in downtown Northampton, encouraged her father to reopen GoBerry in Northampton, Khalsa was intrigued and invited Buford to partner with him. 

“Northampton is going to have two business owners who are very empathetic and have a desire to improve the community and reach out to people,” Khalsa said. “What’s always needed in our society are connection and communication. I think I’m good at that, and I think Aaron is excellent at it.”

Buford said, “I am attentive and committed, and I’m excited to bring my motivation and passion into building a business that is successful and has value in the community. Being a relatively young person of color, I am also excited to model entrepreneurship for youth.”

Khalsa was a teacher and instructional coach in Springfield and is a past owner of Amherst Eco Laundry. He is also a part-time instructional coach at Four Rivers Public Charter School in Greenfield, and he performs with the local jazz band, Masala Jazz. He has three grown children.

Buford was a teacher in Springfield and worked for three years at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School as the restorative justice coordinator. GoBerry will be his main occupation, but he will continue to offer educational consulting. Buford has three school-aged children, and he mentors two young men through A Better Chance.

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One of my favorite aspects of writing for the Springfield Republican’s annual Outlook section is having the chance to meet and interview a wide range of business owners. I am always listening to see what I might learn from them and enjoy the chance to expand my own network of business leaders.

In addition to Lili Dwight, this year I also wrote about Julie Tuman and her business in Eastworks, Crooked Stick Pops. The day I interviewed Julie, I also bought three pops, which I have since devoured. I had chai, key lime, and orange creamsicle.

I recommend you check her out this spring and summer. She also visits area fairs and events. Be on the lookout for a woman on a cart that looks like a giant tricycle. That will be Julie!

Also, here’s a fun story that didn’t fit in the Outlook piece:

Julie named her business Crooked Stick Pops because, in the beginning, she had a great deal of difficulty getting the pop sticks to freeze in a straight position; she figured the name would make it seem intentional. She later purchased a machine that ensures straight positioning, but the name was already set in stone, so, she adjusted her machine. The sticks are indeed crooked!

Julie Tuman

Julie Tuman’s inspiration for her Crooked Stick Pops comes in part from her experience with mixing interesting cocktails as a pastime. Her sense of smell plays a big role as well. In the summer, she’s apt to be found walking around a farmer’s market, holding local peaches in her hand while sniffing other vendors’ wares for the right companion flavor. This is how Tuman landed on her peach and goat cheese pop last summer.

“I get bored easily. I can’t just do strawberry-lemonade,” Tuman said, noting that she uses her entire range of spices in her frozen treats, often incorporating clove, ginger and star anise, as well as herbs. Because she is creative—and her pairings work—Tuman said her customers have learned to trust her sensibilities.

Tuman’s three-year-old venture is mainly mobile spring through fall; she takes a cart to festivals, fairs and farmer’s markets. Ten months of the year, a shop in the Eastworks building of Easthampton—where Tuman also lives with her husband, William—supplements sales of pop, which contain ingredients from local farms. Flavors include Maple Pear, Blueberry Lavender, Strawberry Sriracha and Bourbon Caramel Peach.

At 41, Tuman finds herself in an entrepreneurial role that couldn’t be further from her academic studies or the first several decades of her career. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Asian history from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, and a master’s degree in Chinese from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Tuman previously worked for nonprofits that ensured compliance at overseas organizations. She was charged with ensuring these businesses were not violating human rights or labor laws. “The stakes were high,” she said. “If you made a mistake, a child could end up working in a fireworks factory.”

She later marketed organizations that provide international education and study-abroad opportunities for college students. She traveled a great deal and was experiencing burn-out after several organizations she worked for went through mergers and buy-outs.

In the fall of 2015, Tuman decided to launch her own business. Inspired by her love of cocktails, and a pop shop in St. Augustine, Florida, she landed on her idea to make frozen treats. She employs eight people as seasonal, part-time workers and runs her shop March through December. “I need January and February to recuperate,” she said. 

Tuman said what sets her wares apart is that they are fruit-based; she flash-freezes local produce in a commercial kitchen she operates in the nearby Keystone building and will not supplement with fruit from outside the region if she runs short. “Even pops in December are made from strawberries from Sunderland,” she said.

Selling at $3.50 each, 3 for $10, or 10 for $30, Tuman’s pops cost more than those one would buy in the grocery store. Hers, though, are low in sugar and do not contain water and artificial flavors. In addition to bad weather that keeps thirsty buyers away, helping customers understand the cost is one of the challenges she’s faced. Tuman said, “Great fruit makes great pops. Mediocre fruit makes mediocre pops, so I only get fruit when it’s in season and at its best.”

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Each year, I have the privilege of interviewing local businessmen and women for the Springfield Republican’s Outlook section—an impressive, comprehensive, annual look at entrepreneurs and industry in Western Massachusetts.

My colleague Cynthia Simison, the managing editor and assistant to the publisher for print at the Republican, works tirelessly from October to February each year to get the section out. There are dozens of stories to read and edit and many pages to oversee in design and production. Cynthia is passionate about this region, and she’s meticulous in her effort to present a broad-scope look at the health of the region’s economic engine.

This year, Cynthia assigned me three stories, one on a person I had already met and interviewed for a client. Here is my story on Lili Dwight. I will share the others with you over time.

Lili Dwight

Lili has a background in IT, but she knows a lot about fire. She’s developing an app that allows people with intellectual disabilities and young children to run through frequent fire drills in their own homes, so they are ready in an emergency. She’s had to learn how to educate people on why they need her product. “You have two minutes to get out in a fire,” said Dwight. “The app trains the part of your brain that responds without thinking. For people with a cognitive impairment, it’s even more important.”

Dwight’s business is Galactic Smarties; it’s based in Deerfield, where she lives. The product she has been working on since fall 2016 is called FireGuide. It prompts young children and people with disabilities to conduct fire drills in their homes and also time each escape, track their progress over time and record feedback their parents can use to refine future drills.

Parents can schedule fire drills for the users and record a message that directs them, such as, “It’s time to do a fire drill. Press the orange hand if you need more time.” Users can ask for a five-minute delay or tell the app to postpone entirely. After a drill is completed, the user records a message for the parent, telling them what did or did not go well during the drill; parents use that feedback to further customize their pre-recorded instructions. 

Originally, Dwight intended to develop a product that would alert one to a fire and tell the user where it is and the best route to safety. After she took part in the Valley Venture Mentors accelerator program in 2017, she learned that her target audience would be better served by software that teaches children and people with disabilities how to escape. Her mentors led her through the process of gathering feedback from customers through interviews. “I also learned how to tell the story of the value of what I am doing,” Dwight added.

Dwight is now finalizing her product. At 62, she is living on her retirement savings as she works to raise money to market FireGuide. In the past year, she auditioned for television shows such as Shark Tank and HUBWeek with no success. Thanks to two friends, she has raised $100,000 against future equity in the product.

Fundraising has been the biggest challenge for Dwight. She said that’s because her product is designed for social impact. “Most venture capitalists want a 100 percent return,” she said. 

A subscription to use FireGuide will cost about $8 per month. For more information visit http://galacticsmarties.com/. To sign up to test an early release of the app, go to http://www.fireguide.us.

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Husband-and-wife team to open “#LOCAL by Cider House” in former Nash Gallery on Cottage Street

EASTHAMPTON—Lennie and Elizabeth Appelquist, the owners of Cider House Media and active members of the Easthampton arts community, recently announced they will open a second location in the former Nash Gallery on Cottage Street.

Elizabeth Appelquist said the new space will be “an art gallery with a twist” as the 1,200-square-foot space at 40 Cottage St. will also house a photo and video studio. The name of their new venture is #LOCAL by Cider House.

The Appelquists have the intention that #LOCAL by Cider House will support Cottage Street, local businesses, local artists, artisans, and craftsmen and women. Their goal is to enrich the Cultural Arts District and to help draw people from surrounding towns to Cottage Street as a destination.

Lennie Appelquist said, “Since the opening of Cider House, we have wanted a studio space to enhance the services provided by Cider House Media. We have also wanted a gallery space on Cottage Street so that we could be part of the artist community that we’ve been supporting ever since we moved into the offices at 28 Northampton St. #LOCAL by Cider house will give us the opportunity to do both.

“We hope to be a place for people to go after lunch or dinner at any of Cottage Street’s great restaurants,” he added. “We want people to come for food, enjoy ice cream at Mount Tom’s, see beautiful art and buy a book all in one day.”

Previously, the Nash Gallery was a Cottage Street fixture for 23 years. Marlies Stoddard took the business over from her mother, Mai, in 2009 and closed the gallery in February.

“We are so very honored to be following in the footsteps of Mai and Marlies Stoddard. They made Nash Gallery into one of the cornerstones of Cottage Street,” Elizabeth Appelquist said. “We hope to carry on their legacy and bring magic to the street just as they did.”

Cider House Media is a 15-person website design company that operates out of a 3,000-square-foot space at 28 Northampton St. That space has been a gallery stop on Art Walk Easthampton since the business opened in September 2015.

As members of the Cottage Street Cultural District Committee, both Appelquists are big advocates for the local art community. One of their missions with their new venture is to benefit local artists and the surrounding businesses on Cottage Street.

The grand opening for #LOCAL by Cider House is set for May 12, the night of the May Art Walk in Easthampton. Art Walks, organized by Easthampton City Arts, are held the second Saturday of every month, except January.

The Appelquists intend for #LOCAL to serve in part as a spot for podcasts, client video space, product shots, and studio rental. It will also provide an event space in which they’ll present musical performances, lectures, art classes and business-related workshops.

“When people walk in, we want them to be transported into a different space,” Elizabeth said. “Whether we do that through music or visually, it will be stimulating. Most of all, it’s to highlight local; we’re all about local. We want to bring our Art Walk experience to Cottage Street, while also bringing a functioning, high-end gallery space with evening and weekend hours.”

Cider House Media has its roots in Topanga, California, where it was originally founded by Lennie Appelquist as FreeMarket Media Group in 2003. When the two met in 2008, Elizabeth jumped right in to grow the company. For family reasons, in 2013, they moved the business to Easthampton, Elizabeth’s hometown.

The company offers a variety of web-related services, including website, logo and graphic design, and support with social media, search engine optimization, website maintenance and email marketing.

Lennie Appelquist serves as company president and creative director. A self-taught designer and web developer, he has 25 years’ experience working with some of the biggest brands in the world. He’s a member of the Director’s Guild of America, and he’s served as assistant director on many popular movie, music video and commercial sets.

As vice president and chief operating officer, Elizabeth Appelquist oversees client and financial management, along with the daily operations of Cider House Media. After attending Colby College in Maine, she later tried her hand at modeling in Boston. She went on to sell real estate in Maine, and then worked as an actress in theater productions, commercials and television shows in Florida. 

In addition to the Appelquists, Cider House Media has 15 employees, with nine telecommuting. On-site staff include Meghan Hoagland, social media manager and photographer; Richard Weis, production manager; Kira Wojtech, account executive; and Julia Rowinski, copywriter and photographer.

The Appelquists began to show local art at their firm at 28 Northampton St. in 2015.

“We first did it as a way to give people a place to get together while sharing beautiful art,” Lennie Appelquist said. “For us, it was a way to be part of the community and meet people. The talent of the local artists has always amazed us, and now we want to do even more.”

For more information about Cider House Media, visit https://ciderhouse.media/.

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NeJame and Kling, also husband and wife, of Florence, were recognized for the legal work they donated to the resource center to help it obtain tax-exempt status with the IRS, allowing any contributions to the center to be classed as charitable contributions.  Kling, who specializes in work with nonprofits, secured the organization’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and advised on board matters. NeJame reviewed and offered counsel on the center’s lease for its Northampton office.

The Lyme Disease Resource Center incorporated in October 2013. It serves those with tick-borne illness and their care partners, connecting clients and the community to resources, free activities, support groups, complementary therapies and workshops on the issues surrounding tick-borne illness.

Kling believes strongly that attorneys should contribute to the community and that is why, when a friend told her about the Lyme Disease Resource Center, she was happy to donate her time.  Both NeJame and Kling continue to advise the center on a pro bono basis.

“It’s an area of medicine where there is a rising consciousness,” Kling said. “People are realizing Lyme disease can be a debilitating disease that negatively affects many people’s lives. The Lyme Disease Resource Center is helping make people aware that the danger is out there, and it provides resources for people who misunderstand as well as misdiagnose the disease.”

NeJame & Kling Law offices are located at 90 Conz St. in Northampton.

For more information, contact Kling at 413-584-2675 or julieklinglaw@gmail.com.

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Terra Missildine is offering the event because she has a mission to protect the earth as well as an agenda to support parents and children. Missildine owns Beloved Earth, a green cleaning company based in Northampton, and she recently created Cultivate Community to assist what she calls parentpreneurs—or parents who are also entrepreneurs.

Participants in the clean-up event will meet at picnic site number one, between the parking lot and the new playground in the park. The walk will begin at 9:30 a.m., but people are welcome to join in at any point throughout the event.

Coffee, water, and juice boxes will be available, and gloves and hand sanitizer will be provided. Parents and children are encouraged to stroll through the park as they clean up their local community. There will be time for networking, and a raffle will be held after the clean-up walk.

To register for this event, contact Missildine at 413-949-3509 or cultivateandnest@gmail.com.

For more information, visit the Cultivate Community website at http://www.cultivateandnest.com/

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EAST LONGMEADOW – Glenmeadow Retirement will offer a presentation on how to begin a personal genealogy research project on Tuesday, June 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Bay Path University’s Philip Ryan Health Science Center.

Kathy Grady, program coordinator for the Longmeadow Adult Center who has provided classes at the center on genealogy and assisted many with their family searches, will present “ Genealogy 101: Finding Your Family.” Grady will delve into how to start a search into the past and what resources are readily available.

The free event will be held at Bay Path University’s Philip Ryan Health Science Center in room 223 located at 1 Denslow Road. Seating is limited, and registration is required; call (413) 567-7800 or emaillearning@glenmeadow.org. Visit glenmeadow.org/learning for more information.

Grady has been working on her own family tree on and off since 1977. With degrees in history and social psychology, her interest lies not just in who her ancestors were but in what their lives were like.

Established in 1884, Glenmeadow is a nonprofit, accredited continuing care retirement community; it provides independent and assisted living at its campus at 24 Tabor Crossing in Longmeadow and expanded Glenmeadow at Home services throughout greater Springfield.

“As a nonprofit, our mission is to serve seniors and their families. One of the ways we do that is by providing free educational offerings in convenient locations throughout the area,” said Tim Cotz, president and CEO.

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Laprade jokingly notes he loves all sports, and this passion has led others to call him an “indiscriminate sports idiot.” He keeps records of each and every sporting event he attends.

Laprade’s sports enthusiasm led him to become a tour guide for Sports Travel and Tours of Hatfield 20 years ago. This June, he will lead a Sports Travel and Tours baseball trip through America’s Heartland.

Called the Major/Minor: Heartland trip, the adventure will begin June 8 and end on June 14. It features seven major and minor league baseball games at seven different ballparks throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan. In addition, participants get to participate in a little something extra outside of the baseball theme; they’ll have the chance to tour three historical museums, including the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and the Phoenix Bat Company, in Columbus, Ohio.

Jay Smith, president of Sports Travel and Tours, said trip participants range in age from 8 to 80 years old, and a traditional welcome reception on the first day allows them all to socialize and connect through their shared interests.

“Everybody has one common bond, and it’s called a love of baseball,” Smith said. “That opening reception for all our trips is key. It gives people an opportunity to gather and meet one another.”

Smith came up with the idea to organize trips that combine major and minor league baseball games as an off-shoot of his firm’s Stadium Hall of Fame program, through which tour goers can earn induction into the S.T.A.T. Hall of Fame after visiting 30 stadiums with Sports Travel and Tours.

Smith found that once the Hall of Famers completed their tours visits of 30 parks, they wanted more; the major-minor trips fill the bill, he said.

“They live all over the place and still traditionally like to continue to travel with one another,” Smith said. “There’s a fraternity, a group of people who enjoy one another’s company and want to continue to travel.”

The first major/minor trip kicked off about five years ago, and the concept took right off. Smith said there are roughly 160 minor league teams across the country, and he generally sticks with AAA games for his trips as the AAA players are the best in the minor leagues.

Smith also said the minor league games are fun for participants because the atmosphere is less intense than that at major league games, not to mention less expensive.

Laprade is an official S.T.A.T. Stadium Hall of Famer, and he said if he weren’t leading the Heartland trip, he would be traveling as a participant.

“All the people who are Stadium Hall of Famers decided they wanted to see more stadiums,” Laprade said. “We’ve all become friends, and we’ve known each other for years and years, so we try to take these trips together so we can enjoy baseball together.”

Laprade said he enjoys getting to see a different group of people that he might not see anywhere else. He mentions that on a previous trip, he met a gentleman from England who he’ll be reunited with on the Heartland trip.

“For the most part, people really just bond on these trips,” Laprade said. “We’re all bonded together by baseball, even though we each have our own favorite teams. I’ve noticed over the years that everybody keeps an eye out for each other. We’ve become friends, and we even do things outside of Sports Travel and Tours trips.”

Laprade is also hopeful to see new faces on the trip.

A second major/minor trip will also be offered by Sports Travel and Tours this spring. Called Major/Minor T.O.C. it will take place from May 28 to June 4 and will feature six games at six different ballparks across Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

To learn more about the trips, call (800) 662-4424 or visit SportsTravelandTours.com

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SOUTH HADLEY – Consultant Trevor Smith will hold an informative, interactive program about the effects of laughter on well-being on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the South Hadley Public Library.

Smith, the owner of Blue Sky Consulting and former owner of Laugh For No Reason, said laughter is proven to be a healing factor in happiness and good health. His workshop, “Laugh For Your Health,” will help participants understand the role of laughter in improving their lives.

Among other benefits, Smith said laughter can reduce stress and negative thoughts, provide a cardiovascular workout, increase energy, improve relationships and increase productivity.

“This is humor that’s less obvious than a joke,” said Smith of his program. “We use improvisation and theater techniques that make people physically move and engage with one another and laugh with one another.”

Smith follows a structured, classroom-style format that teaches the audience about why laughter can keep you healthy and then engages them in exercises of different kinds of laughter and sounds.

“It’s half educational, half interactive,” said Smith. “And the fake, forced laughter quickly turns into real laughter.”

The event is open to all ages. “Laughter can help anyone—families, older adults, young adults,” Smith said. “There isn’t one population that this event is specifically for because anyone and everyone can benefit from being healthier.”

Blue Sky Consulting is a training and development company dedicated to enhancing employee engagement, morale and productivity through creative means. Smith uses laughter and improvisational techniques in working with employee groups to develop morale and collaboration.

His offerings include staff trainings, company retreats and workshops on professional development and stress reduction.

The South Hadley Public Library is located at 2 Canal St.

For more information on Smith and his program, visit www.blueskyconsulting.us or call 413-204-8308.

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Wysocki uses green products and specializes in power washing vinyl siding but also can clean aluminum siding, stucco and brick exteriors and can work to eliminate black molds, mildew, algae and heavy dirt.

Wysocki previously served as the principal of Dances With Dogs in Northampton, a day care for canines, before its closing in May 2012.

She has also worked at a plastics company in Turners Falls as an office manager, purchaser and as director of IT.

For more information on Deerfield Home Services, visit www.deerfieldhomeservices.com or find it on Facebook at Deerfield Home Services, LLC. To contact Wysocki, call 413-219-0451 or email deb@deerfieldhomeservices.com.

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