Rusted is a documentary about what happened to Holyoke — and the people who lived and worked there — when the mills and factories shut down. You can still see the scars left behind in the abandoned Mills and empty lots. However, that’s not the whole story.

What really happened during those years? How did people cope? What was life like for workers and their families? What changed in our neighborhoods — and why did it all happen in the first place?

Rusted is looking to answer those questions through your stories and your memories, because you lived through it.

Abandoned buildings can tell a story, but it’s the voices of the people who å in those mills that tell the real story of what happened. By gathering these voices, the film aims to open a window into the past, allowing future generations to understand what happened and recognize the struggle and strength of a city that was left behind.

We’re looking to connect with individuals who lived and worked in the mills and factories here in Holyoke. Many seniors today are part of the generation that lived through the significant changes of the 1970s and 1980s, when many factories closed and working life began to shift. You are part of the story — part of the immigrant communities that helped build Holyoke’s working class. Your experiences and memories are deeply valuable to this project.

We hope to connect with some of you to hear your stories and possibly include them in the film. We'll be using Oral History techniques—meaning the interviews will be recorded thoughtfully and respectfully. These conversations will help us better understand two critical aspects of Holyoke's history: what it was like to be part of the working class during the decline of local industry and how immigration shaped labor and life in the city, as well as its connection to labor.