Perspective

A Man Dreams of a Merry-Go-Round

By Jim Shulman

I had a great childhood. I grew up in Pittsfield post WW II when our parents didn’t have much money. A friend once said we were all poor but never knew it as our parents had post war optimism, jobs, opportunities, young families, knew their neighbors, never locked their doors, and wanted to give us what they never had. The community was thriving. I loved growing up in “the best of places at the best of times.”

I always wanted to give back for such a great place to have as a hometown.

Rationale for a gift

In 1999 I attended my nephew’s graduation at Williams College. The commencement address was delivered by wheelchair-bound Christopher Reeve. From this amazing guy I heard I was supposed to remember my roots which to me was my hometown. As a new retiree, I realized if I was going to do something meaningful in the community, I had to 1.) bring people together and 2.) initiate an art project.

Driving between New Haven and Pittsfield, we ended up in Bristol CT at a carousel museum. Touring the museum, we were overwhelmed with the history and incredible art of carousels and learned that out of 3,000 of them carved and created between 1880 and 1930 (the Golden Age of Carousels) only 170 of these classics operate today.

The Dream

In 2005 I met with a total of 65 individuals in Pittsfield including the Mayor, Councilors, bankers, business people, Downtown, Inc, and got a lot of support for the project. We also visited the three carousel makers in Ohio, saw a dozen carousels (including one that was an inspiration for us 11 hours away in Northbay Ontario), ead scores of publications/books and then spending five months three days a weak, an hour away at a carousel workshop where I carved a carousel horse (I never carved anything more than a bar of soap as a kid)……. we embarked on building the carousel with the hope of exhibit space for the collections. We bought the only vacant property in the art district which was available after the city failed to get support for a ballpark there. We hired a Maria who between 2007 and 2016 recruited several hundred volunteers whom we trained and they worked together. They completed the only carousel in the world to have the three different carousel styles and 33 figures (plus 7 spares) modeled after the works of the 18 major carousel builders and carvers in the Golden Age of Carousels. Jackie and I financed the building. Two thirds of our dream was met in 2016. 1). We brought people together to do a community project and 2.) we made the largest permanent work of art in New England ever created by volunteers. For the third goal if providing a family recreational activity we needed the community to embrace the carousel and see that it operates ongoing.. This has been the biggest challenge. We continue to work to see the Berkshire Carousel to be the source of great memories for generations to come and keep recruiting local people take on the role of sustainability.

Editor’s note: Jim shared that he was always a collector and…interested in displaying collections. “This was my original dream that was why I was so struck by your efforts to fix up the Allen House…I could fill it with things.” He was referring to my efforts in Pittsfield. Jim, you are so kind. Thank you, Carole

Jim added, “There was not enough funding to add the exhibit hall, but I have begun the process of donating collections and the museum and historical society are now interested.

SU would like to dedicate space to dreamers. Folks like Matt and Jim who had a dream and saw it through. Send us yours and we will share ours in the next issue.

by Jim Shulman

Editorial

Editorial: Notes from the July 10, 2025 Select Board Meeting

The meeting:

The Select Board meeting lasted just under 30 minutes. The only speaker was Michael Canales. He reported on “project updates” — projects he oversees including Tuckerman Bridge and the Children’s Chime Tower.

It appeared the Chair asked a question, but it was inaudible. Patrick White made a comment about carpenter ants in the Chime Tower. Jorja Marsden asked a question about the historic Tuckerman Bridge.

The approved process:

Unless it is on the agenda, no discussion is entertained. Public comment is the designation for an agenda underpinning the right of the people to introduce any topic, idea, complaint, comment, or compliment to the SB even if it is not on the agenda.

The Chair, the Town Administrator, or the two in concert, draw up the agenda. So, if the Chair and Town Administrator create the agenda, and public comment is not on the agenda, then neither the Chair nor the Town Administrator wants public comment.

Now that’s odd because other boards and committees in our Town open the agenda to public comment. Boards, committees, and commissions in other Towns all have public comment.

The reaction:

As one gentleman was walking out, he said, “Well, that was anticlimactic.”

There were 28 people present on Zoom, and 21 present in the room. Forty-nine attendees is impressive when we consider that the usual attendance at an SB meeting is often limited to those who have business with the SB perhaps as few as three people.

The anticlimax was that a large number of folks came to speak and then…nothing. Okay so it is clear those in control did not want to hear from us. What if we want to be heard?

At a previous meeting, Chuck Cardillo told an attendee to hush because “this is a Select Board decision.” What if we think the SB should take our comments into account when deciding?

Was it a waste of time for forty nine people to attend? Nope. They sat as witnesses to a decision of our representatives. They sat as a reminder that the SB is meant to represent them.

The Law

The Massachusetts Declaration of Rights grants the people of the Commonwealth the right to redress grievances. It codifies the people’s inherent right to hold their elected officials accountable.

What’s next?

Those who wish to have public comment on the SB agenda can simply request that the Chair place it on the agenda. It is also true that both a former Select Board member, and an aspiring Select Board member reported that they asked for items to be placed on the agenda and were ignored.

If a request does not work, those who want to speak to their representatives during an SB meeting can start a petition that proposes public comment be a mandatory part of SB meetings.

If that is unsuccessful, then the people could holding a meeting specifically for public comments. What’s on your mind? The citizens can provide a date, a time, a place, and space –citizens can provide the ideas, thoughts, comments, compliments, and concerns — the citizens can invite the representatives.

We do have the right — sometimes we just have to fight for the right — just a little or a lot.

In closing

I was told that I would be next to be under attack. I hope that is not true both for me and for the Town I love.

I do worry that there is a pattern of character assassination in our country against anyone who even appears to criticize and I hope that no one in our Town adopts it as a tactic. It is part of the new politics and not the best part. In fact, it is the part that is hurting all of us everywhere in this great country. I ask, please refrain.

by Carole Owens, Executive Editor

News

Events

1. Norman Rockwell Museum – Every Saturday This Summer 11 am — 3pm Join us for fun and interactive drop-in programs inspired by the art of Norman Rockwell and Walter Wick, creator of the I SPY! books for children. Try your hand at making art inspired by these beloved illustrators. It’s the perfect way to spend some quality time together on your Saturdays this summer! Free with admission; drop-in, no reservations required.

2. Ventfort Hall Gilded Age Mansion & Museum, presents “The History and Building of the Berkshire Carousel” Tea & Talk, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, 4:00pm, Admission: $45, members receive a discount code for $5 off, $22 for students 22 and under

3. Berkshire Botanical Garden — July events:

18, 25: Family Fridays — Terry a la Berry

19: Fete des Fleurs

21: Music Mondays — Jessie and the Hoosie Hawks

21: BBG Weekly Farmers Market

23: Sakonnet and Issima Bus Tour

25: Family Fridays — The Hissing Booth

26: ‘DayDream’ Curator and Artist Talk

28: Music Mondays — Soren Smedvig Quartet

28: BBG Weekly Farmers Market

4. The Stockbridge Bowl Association (SBA) Annual Meeting will be on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at The Stables at The Mount. 10:30am Registration and Light Refreshments

11:00am Annual Meeting The Seedy Side of Lakes: What’s Growing Beneath

Everyone is welcome.

News

Notes from the Statehouse

By Christine Rasmussen

Notes from two of three Seasonal Communities Advisory Council meetings:

Stockbridge is one of eight communities in Berkshire County that qualifies as a Seasonal Community. A vote will be taken at a Town Meeting to determine if Stockbridge accepts the designation.

The Seasonal Communities Advisory Council met on May 16, 2025, in Provincetown. Council members have been meeting in three working >groups to guide the forthcoming regulations. These working groups met three times before the May Advisory Council meeting, where >the groups reported their recommendations (Presentation: Seasonal Communities Advisory Council Meeting (May 16, 2025). EOHLC intends to prepare and publish draft regulations in late July / early August. The next Advisory Council meeting is tentatively scheduled for September. Material on Seasonal Communities can be found at: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/seasonal-communities.

Tom Matuszko, Executive Director, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) reported that there were recommendations from various working groups focusing on helping to shape the regulations that will be released.

One suggestion: A Regional Housing Trust

The two main requirements in the law are approving undersized lots and allowing tiny homes by right. Matuszko questioned how to get other communities designated by thinking about the criteria that could be adopted to allow communities like Great Barrington or Lenox to be designated. Both towns have the infrastructure to create affordable housing. He stated that the housing crisis for workers on the Cape and the Islands is severe, and he would like to be proactive so that Berkshire County does not reach the same level of crisis.

The regulations are expected to be released by late summer and will require review to understand the designation requirements and the process once a town accepts the designation. Additionally, a town can lose its benefits if it fails to meet the requirements.

Opportunity for Comment:

You’re invited to join the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) for three virtual listening sessions to share your hopes for the Seasonal Communities Designation. In each session, EOHLC will provide a brief overview of the designation and the work we are doing alongside the Seasonal Communities Advisory Council to develop regulations that structure the tools it makes available to communities before opening them for public feedback. Regulations are still in development, and as a result, these sessions will not provide definitive answers on questions about final regulations, but rather, will give residents the chance to shape how regulations answer these questions:

The last of three “listening sessions” is July 17 @ 11am — register here: eohlcseasonalcommunities@mass.gov

State-owned land may become housing

“From Pittsfield to Plymouth, we’re unlocking public land to build a more affordable, inclusive Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “By unlocking public land, we’re turning surplus lots into living communities — because everyone deserves a key to their own future.” So she said that land from Pittsfield to the Cape is being reviewed under an Executive Order directing the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (EOANF), and the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) to develop the inventory of state owned land which will be used to support the administration’s multi-pronged efforts to increase housing production and lower costs across the state. While the lands in Berkshire County that will be turned into housing have not been identified, we do know that Governor Healey has a team that pledged to use every tool to lower costs across the state. She views the first 450 acres in the Boston area as being “turned into thousands of new homes that families, seniors, and workers can actually afford. We are already getting shovels in the ground for thousands of these units…”

Federal Land

At the federal level, Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, said late Saturday that he had dropped his contentious plan to sell millions of acres of public lands from the sweeping domestic policy package that the Senate is debating. Mr. Lee made the nighttime announcement on social media after it became clear that the plan faced insurmountable opposition from within his own party. At least four Republican senators from Western states had announced their intention to vote for an amendment to remove the proposal from the bill. The plan had also triggered intense pushback from conservative hunters and outdoorsmen across the American West, who had warned that it threatened the lands where they hunted and fished.

by Christine Rasmussen

News

Our Special Election for Select Board August 26, 2025

Attention Stockbridge Voters! From Ramelle Pulitzer, President, League of Women Voters (LWV)

The League of Women Voters of Central Berkshire County will hold a candidate forum for the open seat on the Stockbridge Select Board.

Please join us on Wednesday August 6. Doors open at 5:30pm, Program at 5:45pm at the Town Offices, 50 Main Street in the Select Board Meeting Room.

You will hear from the two candidates for the seat: Jorja Marsden and Sally Underwood-Miller. The forum will be moderated by a seasoned League member from outside of Stockbridge.

The special town election will take place August 26, 2025. Absentee ballots may be requested from the Town Clerk. In person voting will be held only on the day of the election.

Please note Sally and Jorja are running to complete Patrick White’s term. If the winner wants to continue on the SB, she will run again in May 2026.

From The Desk…

Pine Street Tennis and Basketball Courts

From the Desk of Michael Canales, Town Administrator

Hi Carole, I was wondering if you could post this in the next Stockbridge Updates or send out an email to your readers, thank you in advance:

Stockbridge Seeks Community Input on Future of Pine Street Courts

At a recent Select Board meeting, members discussed the future of the Pine Street tennis and basketball courts—and now the Town is asking residents to help decide what comes next.

A representative from the Austen Riggs Center reminded the Board that the land housing the courts is not Town-owned. Instead, it is leased to the Town under a 99-year agreement, of which 55 years have already elapsed. The lease requires the Town to maintain the courts, a responsibility that has not been fulfilled. While Austen Riggs could reclaim the land due to noncompliance, they expressed a willingness to work cooperatively with the Town to find a solution.

Town Administrator Michael Canales noted that a simple resurfacing would not be sufficient. Due to structural issues with the base layers, full reconstruction is necessary. A recent estimate to rebuild the tennis courts came in at $215,000, and restoring both courts could total as much as $500,000.

Please note that similar public facilities—basketball and tennis courts—exist just one block away at the Town Offices, which offer additional amenities such as parking and restrooms. Furthermore, Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, approximately 2.5 miles away, provides seven outdoor tennis courts, adding to the available recreational infrastructure in the area.

Given this context, the Select Board is considering the following options:

• Restore the tennis and basketball courts and continue the lease.
• Demolish the courts and return the land to Austen Riggs.
• Repurpose the space into a passive park (e.g., with concrete chess or checker tables), pending approval from Austen Riggs.
• Explore other creative alternatives for the site.

The Select Board invites residents to share their priorities for the site. Should the Town reinvest in the Pine Street courts? Your feedback is critical. Please email SelectBoard@stockbridge-ma.gov and consider attending the public meeting on July 24, 2025, at 6:30 PM. Let us know your thoughts in advance—your voice will help shape the future of this neighborhood resource.

The Last Word

Reader to Reader

Good morning… Stockbridge Updates,

The attached is a typical public notice posting for an Executive Session meeting in the Town of Lee. It meets all legal requirements without prejudice impacting anyone involved.

“The Members will convene in EXECUTIVE SESSION at 4:00pm in their office on the second floor for the purpose of discussing litigation strategy and strategy for negotiation for non-union personnel because an open meeting discussion would have a detrimental effect. The Members are not expected to reconvene in open session.”

Bob Jones

Dear Carole,

Reign – what a ruler does over a country

Rein – what a rider does to control a horse

Everybody just LOVES a smart ass.

Marian Adler

Marian,

Thanks for the clever catch. You are very smart and I love you

Carole

To the Editor:

Great newsletter.

Pete J. Most

Hello, Carole, and thanks for your reporting. I won’t be able to attend the SB meeting on the 10th,

but am not a happy camper re: recent Selectboard actions. Please keep us posted on what happens at the meeting and as things go forward.

Laura Flint

Carole

I congratulate you on a spot-on wonderfully written “update”.

Count on seeing me at the select board meeting Thursday.

Karen Levy-Lutner

Carole,

Thank you for a cogent, even inspired, letter. “We” are the people.

Larry Ackermen

To the Editor:

That’s a great SU you just sent. Thank you. I’ll be emailing my list tomorrow. The agenda for Thursday doesn’t include public comment or a statement about Hugh. I’m concerned.

Anita Schwerner

To: Updates Stockbridge

Great newsletter

Isn’t this the second Highway Superintendent in a row to leave under odd circumstances? Superintendent Tisdale also left suddenly in a way that puzzled some of us.

Eric Plaken

To Stockbridge Updates:

What about Pickleball courts at the Pine St location?

It’s extremely popular and requires a smaller surface than tennis (20 x 44 FY rather than 60 x 120). The courts next to town hall are often being used for pickleball.

Alex Margolies

Events

Stockbridge Farmers Market

News

SU FYI

1. Mowing the Verge

Hugh Page did it until some opposed it. I remember Mary Flynn opposed mowing the verge — a swathe along the roadway. Mary saw the verge as home to the wildflowers she loved. Definitely a sin to mow.

Anyone still opposed to mowing the verge, think again. We live in different times. High grass is home to ticks. “Both the number and the potential danger of ticks is increasing in the United States. The growing tick population is generally booming, particularly in the Northeast. Several reasons contribute to this increase including Global warming.” So let’s keep mowing the verge beside roadways so walkers can step off the pavement in safety.

2. Emergency Management Planning

Taking the lead at a recent Select Board meeting, Lee Selectman Bob Jones questioned Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) about countywide emergency management planning. There seems not to be one. Apparently, municipalities should work on them individually.

However, the trucks on their way to the PCB Dump in Lee will all go through Stockbridge. Do we have an emergency management plan?” In addition, Stockbridge has Tanglewood, Naumkeag, Berkshire Botanical Garden, and Norman Rockwell Museum — these are all mass-gathering locations. Generally large venues have emergency management plans, do we? For further information, read The Berkshire Edge, July 3, 2025: “Sounding the Alarm: Lack of Regional Planning.”

Protecting its citizens and public safety are the two most important jobs of government.

3. Jim Scalise, on behalf of Echo Valley LLC, has submitted a request to subdivide the 35-acre parcel on Interlaken Cross Road with no approval required.

His Form A “Application for endorsement of plan believed to not require approval” divides the property into two lots — 3 acres and 32 acres. A typical subdivision is by righ, however is subject to approvals for the road, the position and the length of the road, required frontage, number of lots allowed, setbacks from property lines and wetlands, and replacement of trees cut down. For a subdivision of ten or more lots, an impact statement is also required. We should watch the progression. For example, will Scalise return with a request for a re-subdivision of the remaining 32 acres? Once? More than once? Is there something that could be called serial subdivision? Or is this one and done?

4. Just a reminder:

Repairs to our Civil War monument and the Cat and Dog Fountain cost over $300,000. It was recommended that we do not plant close to these monuments. Plantings require watering, and water, near the monument bases, causes deterioration. The Civil War monument is faced in sandstone making it even more vulnerable. Please consider removing the plantings and relocating them to an area farther from the monument. An historical note: originally there was an unplanted area close to the monument, enclosed by a handsome wrought iron fence. There were no plantings inside the fenced area.

It also cost the Town an additional $800,000 to repair the Children’s Chime Tower; a total of over $1.1 million for our beloved monuments. Let’s protect our investment whether it is from flowers or carpenter ants.

Perspective

The Dreamers

I Have a Dream for Our Community

By Dr. Matt Mandel, Co-Founder, Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires

I have a dream. That no one in the Berkshires—regardless of where they come from, what language they speak, or how much money they earn—will be left behind when it comes to health care.

When we founded Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires over twenty years ago, it wasn’t because we had a grand institution in mind. It was because we believed in something simple, powerful, and urgent: that health care is a human right. That a just and compassionate community does not look away when our neighbors are in pain. That if we come together—doctors, volunteers, donors, staff, and patients—we can build something extraordinary.

We began in a borrowed space with a handful of clinicians and a small circle of volunteers. Today, ViM is a thriving nonprofit medical center in Great Barrington and Pittsfield, providing free, high-quality care to thousands of our neighbors—many of them immigrants, uninsured workers, and essential members of our community.

But more than a clinic, ViM is a promise. A promise that dignity and compassion are not luxuries but foundations. That being poor or undocumented should not mean being unseen. That healing doesn’t happen in isolation, but through trust, listening, and the belief that every life is worthy of care.

Every week, I see this promise fulfilled: a diabetic patient learns to manage her blood sugar; a man receives life-saving surgery because ViM made the connection; a frightened mother walks through our doors and is met with warmth and welcome. Every story reminds me that our dream was never a fantasy—it was a calling.

supporter who believes access to care strengthens the fabric of our whole community. In every patient who walks in afraid—and leaves feeling seen.

ViM began with the radical idea that we belong to each other. That idea still guides us. And in these times—when fear and division threaten the most vulnerable among us—we hold fast to the dream. A dream of health. Of justice. Of care without conditions.

If you believe in this dream, support it. Call us if you would like to visit our healthcare centers.

Editor’s note: At a time when access to healthcare remains out of reach for too many, Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM) is answering the call. In the past year alone, the free clinic has recorded a staggering 39% increase in patient visits since fiscal year 2023—and an 18% increase over just the past twelve months, with nearly 11,000 visits logged this year. These numbers tell a powerful story about a community in need—and a healthcare model that is working.

by Dr. Matt Mandel, Co-Founder, Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires

News

TOWN OF STOCKBRIDGE

Notice of Meeting of the FIre Station Planning Committee

Date of Meeting: July 9, 2025

Time of Meeting: 6:00 P.M.

Central Fire Station, 1 East Street

Note this is an in-person meeting only

AGENDA: 1. Call the Meeting to Order 2. Introductions 3. Organization of the Committee 4. Discussion of Feasibility Study and Potential Locations to be Considered 5. Next Steps 6. Set next Meeting Date. Tour of Central Station 8. Adjournment

Editor’s note: With the exception of the proposed new school, this is the largest budget increase proposed for the coming year. Why is this meeting not on Zoom?