Berkshire County — Spring 2023 was a season of openings: LaundryLand, The Attic, and the Dream Away Lounge all opened in April.
Spring was also the season of annual town meetings and elections all across Berkshire County, all of which took place in May.
The controversies continued for the long-troubled Housatonic Water Works company, while a long-running controversy ended when the Great Barrington Selectboard approved a special permit for the Walter J. Koladza airport.
Here is what happened during the spring of 2023 as reported by The Berkshire Edge.
April
On April 1, The Berkshire Edge covered the opening of LaundryLand at 11 School Street in Great Barrington, the former location of Individual Laundry. The laundromat was the first for the town since Clean All Over in the Big Y shopping plaza closed its doors back in February 2022.
Also on April 1, SoCo Creamery held its first-ever ice cream-eating contest. Many entrants, both young and old, from all around the Berkshires took part in the contest, with proceeds from the contest going to Monument Mountain classes of 2023 and 2025.
During the first week of April, the town of Lee filed a lawsuit against Monsanto over the company’s manufacturing of PCBs and pollution of the Housatonic River and the surrounding area with toxic PCB-laced oil. From 1932 until 1977, GE operated a Pittsfield transformer manufacturing complex, and the company allowed millions of pounds of PCB-laced oil to seep into the Housatonic River, while Monsanto manufactured PCBs for decades.
On April 7, The Berkshire Edge covered the opening of The Berkshire Food Co-op’s new retail store, The Attic. The store is located upstairs from the Co-op, selling kitchen and home goods as well as a variety of handmade goods, bags, and wearables, with a focus on providing a “platform and voice to local artists and artisans.”
On April 10, after several public hearings, the Great Barrington Selectboard approved the special permit application submitted by Berkshire Aviation Enterprises, the company that owns the Walter J. Koladza Airport. The airport was built in 1931, right before the town adopted a zoning code, on a former potato field that is located in a residential zone. Because it was built before the town’s zoning codes were adopted, it made the airport a pre-existing nonconforming use under the town’s zoning bylaws. With the approval of the special permit, the town allowed the company to operate the airport, located at 70 Egremont Plain Road, under sections 3.1.4.E, 7.2, and 10.4 of the town’s zoning bylaws. Section 3.1.4.E covers permitted uses in town including “Utilities, communication, and transportation.” Section 7.2 covers aviation fields, while Section 10.4 covers special permits.
It was announced during the last week of April that Great Barrington’s Walgreens, located at 197 Main Street, would be closing in early May. The location is now slated to become a Dollar General store.
To coincide with this year’s National Volunteer Week, the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires and Berkshire United Way co-organized their annual Volunteer Fair, which was held on April 21 at Crissey Farm. Over 30 nonprofit organizations took part in the event, which was held to promote volunteerism and to connect potential volunteers to local organizations.
On April 22, after three years of being closed, hundreds of people attended the reopening of the Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Customers eager to come back to the legendary lodge lined up outside the building for quite some time before it reopened.
May
On May 1, Great Barrington held its annual town meeting at Monument Mountain Regional High School. The meeting, which lasted over five hours, included 42 articles on its warrant. Approximately 249 residents attended the meeting, along with “guests” and residents from other towns. Over four hours into the town meeting, residents approved an amendment to the town’s Short-Term Rental Bylaw by a close vote of 78 to 76.
Town elections were held on May 8 in West Stockbridge, Sheffield, Lenox, and Monterey. A tie was declared in the West Stockbridge Select Board race.
In the Great Barrington town election on May 9, Benjamin Elliott won a seat on the town’s Selectboard. Elliott beat Sharon Gregory for the seat by a total of 578 to 364. Elliott, who has been elected to a three-year term, took the place of Ed Abrahams, who decided not to run again. The full election results for Great Barrington are available here.
On May 13, Great Barrington’s Farmers’ Market opened up for its new season. This year’s market had 29 vendors, including farmers and artisans.
On May 13 and May 14, Community Access to the Arts (CATA) held a celebration of creativity with its annual performance “Finding New Rhythms.” The performance was held at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse.
Lee held its annual town election on May 15. Sandisfield also held its annual town election on the same day.
On May 17, The Berkshire Edge reported on Housatonic Water Works’ annual report for 2022. The report revealed that, while both company President and Clerk Frederick Mercer and Treasurer James Mercer received a raise in their salaries, the company made very little investment in its infrastructure.
Also on May 17, Great Barrington Library Director Samara Klein announced that she would be resigning. Klein resigned after working for nine months on the job. By the end of the year, the town’s Library Board of Trustees, who subsequently cut off virtual access to its meetings in July after several trustees criticized media coverage, did not find a permanent replacement for Klein. However, the trustees eventually named Donna Brown as the interim director for the town’s library system.
On May 20, Bard College at Simon’s Rock held its 54th commencement ceremony. The school graduated 115 students, including 53 who earned bachelor’s degrees, and 62 who earned associate’s degrees.
Also on May 20, the Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP) held its annual dinner at Memorial Field in Great Barrington. The spotlight for the dinner was on RSYP’s Culinary Arts Apprenticeship Program, which was launched in 2006 for teenagers interested in the culinary field.
On May 25, Alan Chartock announced that he was retiring as CEO and president of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Chartock started with WAMC in 1981.
On May 29, both Sandisfield and Stockbridge held their Memorial Day ceremonies.
June
On June 3, hundreds of people attended the annual Berkshire Pride Festival at the Common Park in Pittsfield. The event was organized by Berkshire Pride, a 501(c)(3) organization that lists its mission as “provid[ing] safe spaces and events where LGBTQIA+ community members can live and thrive as their authentic selves, not only during Pride Month but also throughout the year.”
On June 4, Monument Mountain Regional High School held its 56th commencement at Tanglewood. The school graduated 113 students in the ceremony, which was held outdoors at Tanglewood’s Serge Koussevitzky Music Shed during an unseasonably cold spring day.
Also on June 4, the Berkshire Immigrant Center held its fourth annual One World Celebration at Shakespeare & Company. The event was a celebration of the nonprofit organization’s achievements.
On June 5, the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire announced its acquisition of the Sumner Block, a historic mixed-use property located at 306-310 Main Street in Great Barrington. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with a mission to provide affordable housing and economic development opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents.
In early June, after serving seven years as assistant principal at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School, it was announced that Miles Wheat would take over as the school’s new principal.
On June 9, the fourth annual Sheffield Pride event was held at the Sheffield Park Pavillion. The event included vendors, representatives from local organizations, musical performances, a drag storytime sponsored by the Bushnell-Sage Library featuring Bella Santarella, and a community dinner sponsored by Christ Trinity Church.
On June 10, the first-ever Housatonic Party in the Park was held at the Village Common. The event consisted of family activities including live music, community activities, booths from various organizations, and food from several local vendors.
On June 14, arts organizations in Berkshire and Columbia counties presented their report on pay equity for employees at arts organizations at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center.
Also on June 14, the Great Barrington’s Rotary Club named former Selectboard member Ed Abrahams as the organization’s Citizen of the Year.
On June 17, the town of Lee was officially designated as an Appalachian Trail Community. The designation by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy denotes that its residents and businesses can support thru-hikers with needed services and local hospitality. The trail is an approximately 2,190-mile footpath extending from Georgia to Maine.
On June 19, NAACP Berkshires held its second annual Juneteenth event at Durant Park.
On June 24, the annual Relay for Life of Berkshire County was held at the parking lot of the Guardian Life Insurance Company. Participants and teams took part in going around in laps in the parking lot, despite the day’s rainy and stormy weather, all raising funds for the American Cancer Society.
Come back here tomorrow for part three of our “2023 Year in Review.” Click here to read part one.
