As I wave goodbye to the Pelham Memorial High School class of 2025, the trees in full bloom and warm sunlight shining upon our town, I begin to appreciate the close knit community that many of us reading this article call home. For me, it’s hard to grasp the idea that I will be entering senior year soon. Pelham is the place where I have grown up, made mistakes and grown from them. In Pelham, I have made countless friendships and memories. I think it is hard to realize how impactful our community is until a friend or someone who might not be familiar with the town comes and visits. They often say “wow this is such a great place to live.”

I am reminded of this every time I walk through town and see so many familiar faces. There are lots of new parents just starting to raise their families as well as so many small businesses working hard to support our community. It’s these small businesses, many of them family owned and run that make Pelham original and unique. Just look at all of our pizza places —  Villaggio, Four Corners, Pelham Pizza, Pizza Fenice and Strictly Pizza. These establishments make getting a simple slice of pizza an enjoyable and easy experience. Many other businesses such as Thrive Barre & Fitness, Tig & Me, Cantina Lobos, Shea Station, Flour Power and DeCiccos & Sons, help improve our downtown and provide many local teenagers with jobs allowing them to form relationships and gain valuable work experience. All of these businesses also provide the community with a place to be social and come together.

The Pelham Market, which is held every Sunday, is one of my favorite events where you can see the community really come together. The Pelham Market was founded in the summer of 2020 by Amy Cole, Jane Sweeney and Clayton Bushong, as a place to provide local businesses and shoppers a safe outdoor gathering place. However, since then it has flourished into a highly popular weekly event bringing people from both in and out of Pelham together. I will say it is a delight to eat the blueberry muffins from Wave Hill Bread and drink the fresh pressed juices from Freshly Made Markets. In addition to the excellent vendors, every week there is a table for a local Pelham non-profit organizations to promote their missions and programs such as the Pelham Girl Scouts, Pelham Preservation Society, the Pelham Public Library or Pelham Together. There’s also a local musician performing each week such as the famous high school jazz band, The Mellow Fellows. The market is a place where members of the community of all ages come together.

When I sat down to write this article I have to admit it took me a minute to come up with ideas as to what I appreciate in Pelham. This is probably because I am so used to living here that sometimes I just go through the motions of the day and dream of starting a new path for myself after high school. However, I have come to realize that it is because of our supportive and safe community that I have the confidence and room to dream of new opportunities. There are so many passionate and warm hearted people in this town who have created businesses or dedicated their time to non-profit organizations to help better the community. All you have to do is put on a pair of sneakers and take a simple walk through the place I call home, Pelham.