Photo by Stan Freeman/The Republican

Here in my hometown of Westfield, MA we have a large population of squirrels, and many of them are black.

When people come to visit they are often amazed by these rare little rodents and inquire about their origins.  There are many stories, but the truth of the matter seems to start with our lovely gem of a park, Stanley Park on Western Avenue.

This excerpt from Stanley Park’s website explains how these cute little critters landed in Westfield, MA:

“A Westfield phenomenon since the late 1940’s, the black squirrels now populate most areas of the city and have moved into surrounding communities. Because they are not indigenous to Western Massachusetts, the presence of the squirrels has led to a rather large collection of stories and tall tales as to how they got here, when, and perhaps most important, why? They were a gift to Frank Stanley Beveridge, the founder of The Stanley Park of Westfield, Inc. and Stanhome Inc., from former Stanhome Inc., sales manager’s, Hubert L. Worell and Alvah (Al) Elzerman. In 1948, Worell and Elserman brought the squirrels from Michigan to Westfield, Massachusetts when they were to attend a conference here at Stanhome Inc., or known at that time as Stanley Home Products. The first arrivals were kept in cages and did not adapt well to their new environment; they failed to reproduce and eventually died. Undaunted, Worell and Elserman tried again, this time bringing six squirrels, allowing them to roam free in the confines of the park. The squirrels found their new surroundings and their freedom to their liking, and were soon an established tenant of Westfield. Now black squirrels are to be found all over the Pioneer Valley and are numerous especially in the park.”

It always amazes me how every region has something special that we treat as common and forget is unique. Westfield is blessed by having a wonderful park like Stanley Park. When I am not busy helping people with buying or selling a home, it is a favorite destination with my daughters.

The wikipedia definition of the black squirrels tells about the various locations that they are known to thrive and also mentions our beautiful Stanley Park, Westfield, MA. The population of the black squirrels extends into about 60 communities in Western Massachusetts at this point.

These unique animals have spurred a retail business spoofing on the Black Dog items from Martha’s Vineyard. You can buy any number of products sporting the Black Squirrel at  this site.  Additionally, a good friend of mine has written a book “The Black Squirrel Ball” which has just been published.

While searching google for more information for this blog, I discovered that there is another Stanley Park in Vancouver with black squirrels….what an odd coincidence!

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