Talk:Westfield, Massachusetts

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Edward B. Allyn

I'm Confused In the part about the food and drug act it talks about Edward B. Allyn getting murdered. HOwever it does not seem to do anything with anything around it. I tried googling him but I could not find out who he is. Perhaps someone who knows about the subject could clarify that paragraph. I might just be stupid though. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.30.221.28 (talk) 03:30, 9 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Great River Bridge project

I've added some text about this. What I may do is create a new article about the bridge, in which case much of this text will move to the new bridge article. Since there's already an article for a Great River Bridge, this new article will be called something slightly different. The link I created will work properly for the "slightly different" article name. Denimadept 16:33, 22 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Other than being a nasty bottleneck that should have been fixed decades ago, this isn't a noteworthy bridge. When you click onGreat River Bridge, you see the sort of project that truly merits an article. I think this should stay inside the Westfield article. LADave (talk) 05:33, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Westfield settled in 1660??

The text in the first paragraph in the article does not seem to support the 1660 settlement date which appears in the upper part of the right column. Where does the year 1660 come from? What event would determine when Westfield was actually settled? Nysus (talk) 02:52, 26 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Transportation section

The descriptions of routes 10/202 and 20 go into considerable detail about local street names, but don't really tell you that you would take Route 10, say to go to Northampton or south into Connecticut; 202 to Holyoke; or route 20 east to Springfield or west along the Westfield River and then the Berkshires. Also these were important regional and even national highways before the Interstates replaced them for distances beyond a few tens of miles. I'm tempted to do some editing here. Does anyone object? LADave (talk) 05:28, 14 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Richard Falley Jr

I have had the hardest time adding and keeping the name under the notable residents section. Apparently I am not following proper procedure when adding him. That doesn't take away the fact that he was a notable resident and I would argue one of the top 5 notable residents. Now I do not have the skill set to follow the proper procedure and I am looking for some help in doing so in hopes this American Hero is honored on this city's wikipedia page. I know he didn't live here for a few weeks and start a band or drive a car in an obscure non televised offspring of NASCAR nor was he a baseball player that happen to die in town. But he did fight for the freedom we all hold dear and deserves respect. At one point in time te residents of Westfield felt the need to honor him by naming a street after him and even a stone tablet on the corner of Holland Ave and Court St. Now he may be difficult to research if you just google him but the truth is the truth and he is te type of resident I regard as notable. Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by PaulB1979 (talk • contribs) 02:58, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

At present, there is no indication that Falley is notable. Yes, you've posted a number of claims related to his notability. However, "All material added to articles must be attributable to a source with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy". WP:V

You seem to feel that Falley is more "notable" than many others on the list and that he "deserves respect" for fighting for "the freedom (you) hold dear". This is not about who you feel is notable, who deserves respect or the freedom you hold dear. This is about WP:NOTABILITY.

Wikipedia is the encyclopedia anyone can edit. This is a great and horrible thing. As anyone can edit it, lots of people who probably shouldn't do edit it. In lists of "notable" people, Wikipedia frequently ends up with piles of names of people who are not, in any way, notable. We have a number of editors who periodically go through such lists and remove anyone whose notability is not clearly supported. While the text you have added with Falley's name seems to indicate he is notable, the complete lack of sources leaves this in the category of "names added that may be someone who wanted to see their name on Wikipedia, even if they need a fake description to get it there".

As a thought experiment, suppose the entry was for notable residents of New York City and read "Joe Plakowski (1740-1808) American Patriot who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He later built rifles for the Patriot Army in an armory at the foot of Mt Hope. He is the namesake of Plakoski Dr. and is buried in St Mary's Cemetery. He is also the great grandfather of President Grover Cleveland." In cleaning up this list, you would need to either remove the name (as unsourced) or search the web for reliable sources that verify the claimed notability and decide if he's notable or not. Two days later, another editor comes along to clean out the list again, with the same question. Rather than having to re-decide if Plakowski is notable every time, Wikipedia allows us to demand evidence to support the entry.

As I've explained before, the clearest way to support Falley's notability is to create an article for him, with citations supporting what you are saying about him. In addition to keeping his name on this list, this would allow us to link to his article from other places in Wikipedia. If your goal is to "honor" Falley, this is a good way to go. Clicking this link: Richard Falley Jr. will take you to a page allowing you to start the article. It doesn't have to be perfect, just sourced to reliable sources. Other editors (including me) will assist with cleaning it up.

Alternately, you might just include reliable sources in this article supporting what you are saying about him and demonstrating his notability. If you do this, I will likely then create an article for him any way.

Your third option is to continue to add unsourced information to the article. I'll remove it and warn you. After a few go 'rounds with that, you would be blocked for disruptive editing and it gets uglier from there. - SummerPhD (talk) 03:44, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=24077

http://www.footnote.com/page/83002151_richard_falley_jr/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~silversmiths/makers/silversmiths/15997.htm

warn away —Preceding unsigned comment added by PaulB1979 (talk • contribs) 12:37, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Um, what are you expecting to be warned for? Adding the requested sources? - SummerPhD (talk) 15:31, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Not a whole lot to work with here. I'll take the hmdb info (really, the info from the marker). The second source, a genealogy site, is not reliable by itself. The sbook being copied there might be, but the site doesn't say what it is. My own search seems to indicate that the bit about Pres. Cleveland is simply wrong, referring to a more recent "Rev. Richard Falley Cleveland".[1]. I'm yanking the second source, trimming the text to reflect what the first source says (in a more neutral way. I'll see if I can find anything else... - SummerPhD (talk) 15:46, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

http://www.falley.org/documents/Richard-Falley_v1.pdf

more info on the family tree — Preceding unsigned comment added by PaulB1979 (talk • contribs) 16:02, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I found the book copyvioed on the genealogy site, "Historic towns of the Conn. River Valley". It also says Falley was Cleveland's grandfather. Problematically, it says he was Cleveland's "Maternal grandfather".[2] Cleveland's parents were Richard Falley Cleveland and Ann Neal Cleveland. So, Ann Neal's father was a "Richard Falley" and she married a "Richard Falley Cleveland"? - SummerPhD (talk) 16:06, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That is a bit confusing, I will look for more information but essentially he is the great grandfather from the father's side. --PaulB1979 (talk) 18:17, 9 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I've removed Falley again as not notable. If we find additional reliable sources, it's easy enough to create an article for him and return him to the list. - SummerPhD (talk) 16:41, 16 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I feel "additional reliable sources" are not needed. Thanks. PaulB1979 (talk) 11:44, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Restoring the entry after you were "look(ing) for more information" without additional information (in fact, with fewer sources than you previously gave) is not a good idea. At present, there is no indication Falley passes WP:LISTPEOPLE or WP:N. I have removed him and warned the editor with {{uw-badlistentry}}. You must either explain how you feel he meets our guidelines or give a compelling reason for ignoring the rules. The major exceptions to the notability requirement outlined at WP:LISTPEOPLE are for people known for a single event (for instance, the perpetrator or victim in a notable crime) or for complete lists (for instance, a list of "Mayors of Smalltown" should include all of them, whether or not each individual one is notable). These exceptions clearly do not apply. Please do not return him to the list without addressing the concerns. Thanks. - SummerPhD (talk) 12:07, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I have explained already and I will continue to add him to the list. PaulB1979 (talk) 12:12, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As previously explained, the applicable guideline here is WP:LISTPEOPLE. For inclusion, Falley must meet three criteria. The first of those is: "The person meets the Wikipedia notability requirement." To pass this requirement, Falley must be "the subject of multiple published[3] secondary sources which are reliable, intellectually independent of each other,[4] and independent of the subject.[5]" Previously, you provided one paragraph in one source. Please explain how you feel Falley passes this requirement or give a compelling reason why we should ignore this rule. Failing this, I will remove him again in a few days. If you restore him after that without addressing these concerns, you will receive a few more warnings before being blocked from editing Wikipedia. In the end, either the concerns will be address and Falley will be added to the list or Falley will not remain on the list. - SummerPhD (talk) 13:54, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No thanks. I don't feel a reason to have to prove anything more to you. I don't edit nor have any plans to continue editing anything on wikipedia. I saw that this man was not on the notable residents list and added it. I am assuming you don't live in Westfield nor have ever visited or else you would be able to get out from behind your computer and see that he is notable. But if I am blocked I am blocked but until then I will continue to add this man to the notable residents list whenever I see it is removed. PaulB1979 (talk) 14:41, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

As you wish. - SummerPhD (talk) 14:52, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

BTW NY Times article on Richard Falley PaulB1979 (talk) 15:27, 31 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for starting the article. - SummerPhD (talk) 00:27, 1 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Snake Pond

Referring to the picture of "Snake Pond." Snake pond is not Westfield. The picture is entirely in Holyoke, MA. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.119.240.211 (talk) 14:14, 15 September 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Education section edit...

I updated the list of schools and their links. I was hesitant to take anything out, but I think maybe the obsolete schools (under preschool and elementary headings) should have been removed completely. ChinaChuck (talk) 16:12, 14 October 2015 (UTC)ChinaChuck[reply]

External links modified

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Snake Pond

Snake Pond is entirely in Holyoke, MA.

https://westfieldma.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=80699edcf56a4893ba68b59126aa99bb

I like the picture and the fact the North-East side is represented; but, the picture and its background are not in Westfield. — Preceding unsigned comment added by JCKIV (talk • contribs) 15:09, 25 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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ethnic makeup

Westfield is not unlike the towns that surround it in its significant Slavic influence. In the past, this has been Polish and Slovakian. However, there is a newer influx of Russian and Ukrainian people. The Poles are particularly outstanding, with food stores, ethnic clubs, churches, and the predominance of Polish names. Not to be neglected is the Slovakian social club on Silver street.

There is also an increase in the number of Hispanic people. Presumably, this is migration from the long-established nearby Puerto Rican community in Springfield.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bobkeyes (talk • contribs) 23:46, April 22, 2018 (UTC)

Without discussion of this in independent reliable sources, there is nothing to include here. - SummerPhD^v2.0 12:54, 23 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

wildlife

In 2018, there have been numerous sightings of such animals as foxes, wild turkeys, possums, in addition to the more normal racoons and skunks in areas close to downtown Westfield. Witthe the slow decay of industrialization comes a rebirth of indigenous fauna, it would seem.

It would be great if someone could find an independent source in order for this to make the grade as part of the regular article. Bobkeyes (talk) 03:44, 23 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Without discussion of this in independent reliable sources, there is nothing to include here. - SummerPhD^v2.0 12:55, 23 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]