On a casual drive through Orange, one could easily dismiss it as yet another broke down Massachusetts factory town. But that, as I've discovered, would be selling this proud place and its 7,500 residents short.

Bordered by Warwick on the northwest, Royalston on the northeast, Athol on the east, New Salem on the south, and Wendell and Erving on the west, Orange lies 19 miles from Greenfield and 46 miles from Springfield. Made up from a tract of land called Ervinshire (which encompassed parts of Athol, Warwick and Royalston), the town was named for William, Prince of Orange.

Incorporated first as a district but established as a town in 1810, settlers had been using the water power of the Millers River since it was dammed in 1790. In the early days before incorporation, the area's broad-backed swells of upland separated by meadows made it a perfect location for farming. The river damming allowed sawmills, fulling mills, tanneries, blacksmith shops, gristmills, a brickyard, and pottery and wagon shops to flourish, but these were mainly small businesses that catered to the needs of the farmers. As late as 1840, factory mechanics would leave their shops in July and return to the fields to hay.

Like many towns situated by a powerful river, Orange hit its stride in the industrial revolution.

It was the site of the first automobile factory in the United States (the Historical Society maintains a 1904 Grout auto as an example of the types of cars built in Orange). Through the hard work of early entrepreneurs, Orange established itself as a mecca for heavy machinery, precision tools, plastics and wood products. In its heyday, it was home to dozens of manufacturing businesses, including the Rodney Hunt Company. Founded in 1840 (and named after the founder), the company's earliest products were plows, simple wooden machines, and the wooden water wheels and gates used in New England’s textile mills. From the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries, the company expanded its product line to include textile manufacturing machinery, pumps, governors, and hydraulic and mechanical equipment that helped sustain the textile industry. Today, the company produces valves, gates, and actuator systems and provides comprehensive solutions for the control of water and wastewater in municipal, hydropower, and industrial environments.

Though some of Orange's manufacturing enterprises are long gone (like the Minute Tapioca plant, which closed in 1967), many like Rodney Hunt and the Leavitt Machine Company, manufacturer of the famous Dexter brand-name line of globe and gate valve repair equipment, remain in operation to this day. In fact, Rodney Hunt is still one of the largest employers in Franklin County.

Orange is also widely recognized as the birthplace of skydiving in the United States. It is home to Jumptown, base of operations of the Massachusetts Sport Parachute Club (MSPC). Started in 1959 as an offshoot of the University of Massachusetts Skydiving Club, it was originally located in Turners Falls, but moved to larger facilities at the Orange Airport in 1995. A great place for both experienced and novice skydivers, Jumptown operates two Cessna 182s and a Twin Otter. Their services include coaching and organized loads, and their facilities include both camping and showers (www.jumptown.com).

Today's Orange is praised for the character, intelligence and thrift of its citizens and for its lack of "rowdyism." It has all the elements that make a small town livable, including good schools, churches (10 of them), library, fire department, water supply, fraternal organizations, and banking facilities. It also has a Wal-Mart, which provides cheap goods at the expense of a thriving downtown.

But what the town lacks in good, locally-owned shops, it makes up for with a growing community spirit.

Orange has its own FM radio station, WJDF 97.3 FM, home of the "The Best Music of the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and the new Millennium!" Started by brothers Jay, Donn and Fred Deane in 1995, the station is a proud supporter of the region's organizations, businesses, local sports and community events, including the yearly River Rat Race (which starts in Athol but ends in Orange).

The Orange Community Band (which traces its roots to 1850 and was called the Minute Tapioca Band until 1976) performs a series of six summer concerts on the bandstand in Orange’s Butterfield Park and gives an indoor pops concert each spring. A delegation from the Orange Community Band also performs in the River Rat Parade in April and the October Harvest Festival Parade, as well as for the arrival of Santa Claus in Orange the Friday after Thanksgiving. Band members are a group of talented musicians of all ages who share a love of music and the desire to perform together to create music for the community.

Celebrating its five anniversary is the Young Entrepreneurs Society (YES), founded in 1998 as a project of the Orange Revitalization Partnership by Tim Cohen-Mitchell, Jerry Whaland and Dan Richards. A nonprofit organization, its mission is to help at-risk young people develop academic competencies, life skills, supportive relationships with peers and adults, and economic self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship education and business development. In its relatively short lifespan, YES has accomplished a great deal, including a thriving Odd Jobbers job bank, which connects young people willing to work around the house and yard with folks who needs those services, and the BizVenture! and GirlVenture! Programs. Using award-winning programming developed by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), and Franklin-Hampshire Career Center, BizVenture! helps young people learn how to start and operate their own business, develop job skills, and create a plan to reach their financial goals. No prior business or work experience is required.

Recently, YES started Friendly Town Films, which shows movies at the Ruth B. Smith Auditorium (corner of Prospect and North Main Streets) on the first weekend of every month. This month's schedule (May 7, 8, 9, 2004) includes Ghostbusters, ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: A New Hope, and Rebel Without a Cause.

Though always headquartered in Orange, YES has been located at 24, 26, 28 South Main Street in Orange since January 2003. You can find out more about the organization from its website – www.yes-inc.org.

Orange is also home to the North Quabbin Woods project of the New England Forestry Foundation, which educates landowners about sustainable forest management, markets locally made wood products, trains forest guides and raises community awareness of about the economic, social, and environmental roles that forests play in the North Quabbin region. Its director, Scott Maslansky, a trained forest guide and outdoor enthusiast, recently moved the base of operations to 1 East Main Street, a storefront in the center of town. The organization's website (www.northquabbinwoods.org) has loads of resource information on sustainable forestry, including "Ask a Forester," which allows visitors to the site to ask questions about forests and forestry and see reponses to questions from other landowners. There are also profiles of dozens of North Quabbin woodworkers, as well as information about recreation and a calendar of events.

Orange is a place of possibilities. Like many Massachusetts industrial towns, it was built on Yankee ingenuity. But it is the town's Yankee stubborness that will prevail and bring about a renaissance in the coming years. Though its downtown may look a little disheveled around the edges, Orange isn't on the way out, it's on the way up.

Note: A good resource for information and opinion on Orange is www.orangetowngreen.com, the community website operated by Roy Nilson.

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