Editorial

Are you okay?

A 76-year-old Minneapolis woman stood in the cold for hours guarding her neighbors. Yup, armed with a whistle, she was guarding her neighborhood. Without flinching, she stood against armed federal agents. I am proud of my hometown and I share their values.

Another Minneapolitan said, “ICE made the classic mistake of attacking a winter people in the winter.” True. Thirty degrees below zero and still fifty thousand people got out their winter gear – three hats, two pairs of gloves (one thin the other thick), thermal socks in heavy boots and down jackets — and peacefully marched in the streets. 30 below is serious cold and exercising their First Amendment rights was serious business.

America watched the huge deployment and cruel crackdown of federal law enforcement. We watched people kidnapped, injured or killed. Ill-at-ease, we wondered: when are they coming here?

Here’s the thing: it is the first and foremost job of one who wants absolute control over all the levers of government to employ “shock and awe” to generate fear and make us believe their control is inevitable and our resistance is futile. It’s not.

Sure, watching man’s inhumanity to man is scary so are masks and guns. But listen, what is happening now is less scary than what will happen later if we don’t resist. Know this: all autocrats are brought down eventually. In a longer or shorter time, change is inevitable. Resist.

No matter the cold, the fear, the force and arms of the ICE agents, Minneapolitans visited every classroom in every school and told folks what they could do to be safer. They set up neighborhood watches to warn if ICE was seen taking folks away. They recorded wrongdoing. They spread these words: protect each other. They congregated and protested with a single message: “Ice Out.” It culminated with “Blackout Day” – no shopping, no school, no work — everybody into the streets. How did that end? Did the day devolve into violence or a discouraged withdrawal? Nope, as evening closed in, it became a party fueled by exhilaration because resistance works.

So, join the party. Ask: does Stockbridge have an ICE policy? What is it? Were the people’s wishes considered? Decide: are our leaders bosses or representatives of our values? Protest: it may be harder in some places. According to Pew Research Center, Utah has the highest level of social trust in this country. Minnesota is second. That is what makes it easier to resist – to stand in the cold, even at 76, and guard neighbors – in Minneapolis, we like and trust each other.

In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Following passage of the civil rights legislation, King foresaw, not one, but two possible futures. A fractured society that slides into chaos, or a society that becomes a “beloved community” built on justice and economic security. We know what happened. Now we fix it or suffer what will inevitably come next.

Next, they will seek to confuse – soften the language but not their actions. Know, without confusion, that shooting a fellow American in our streets is wrong; that blaming the victim to protect the wrongdoer is evil. Lay down confusion, pick up hope. According to some news sources, Alex Pretti’s last words were, “Are you okay?” His last thought was for another. No matter whom we voted for, now we know, so join hands. No matter whom we called names or stopped talking to, now we need each other, come together. Are you okay? If not, reach out, we’re here.

News

SU FYI

1. In Memoriam: Joanna Humphries
   
   Look at the picture of Jo in the attached obituary and you will see what her friends saw and what we all miss — her grace, her kindness, and her simple beauty. Click Here to see Joanna Humphries Obituary
   
2. The Journalism Corner: The History of the Obit
   
   Since newspapers first appeared, space was always an issue. Readers look for hints in the wording to discover bias. Actually, what the newspaper includes and what it leaves out is the best indicator of bias.
   
   In labor or the cost of paper, space was always expensive, so, editors tried diligently to select the most important items. Obituaries were a challenge. They were limited to space available. An old friend of mine started as the obit writer for a city newspaper. He said he learned everything he needed to know about news writing by fitting a whole life. manner of death, and those left behind into the space available.
   
   If you were famous, your obit was considered news and was printed free. If the manner of death was news – such as those who died on the battlefield in, say, the Civil War or century later at Ground Zero – the names were printed as news. If you were not, then there was a charge.
   
   If you were that frequently referenced “common man” or woman there was a fee for posting your obit. When local newspaper emerged (see editorial) and today in Stockbridge Updates there is no fee. To us, we know you all, you are our family, our neighbors, our friends. So, so you are all famous to us.

News

Special Events Celebrating Our 250th Anniversary 

Dear Carole – here is Chesterwood’s exhibition announcement for the 2026 season. Could you kindly include it in your next newsletter in the “Special Events Celebrating Our 250th Anniversary” section? Dana Pilson, Curatorial Researcher and Collections

At Chesterwood: The Minute Man — Examining Patriotism, Victory, and Lost, May 15 – October 31, 2026

As part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration, Chesterwood will present “The Minute Man: Examining Patriotism, Victory, and Loss” during the 2026 season. The exhibition will be centered on Daniel Chester French’s iconic statue of the Minute Man, which has come to symbolize American patriotism. The exhibition will explore themes of liberty, victory, fighting (and dying) for one’s country as depicted in portraits, monuments, and memorials by Daniel Chester French and his colleagues. The exhibition will also include works by contemporary artists who are addressing some of these same topics today.

News

News from the Statehouse

By Christine Rasmussen

Every January, at the State House, the review and debate begin of the annual state budget. Just as in Stockbridge, see Notes from the Select Board below, Governor Healey transmits her draft budget for the next fiscal year to the House and Senate to debate and thereby create their own budget. It is then forwarded to the Governor to further negotiate. These negotiating sessions are very long, sometimes going into the wee hours of the morning as the budget season draws to a close.

Because the fiscal year begins on July 1, the fiscal’27 budget is being considered. There is a statutory deadline of July 1 for passage; however, you may recall that the deadline is often missed.

This year, the budget is more challenging than most years because federal funds from the Trump administration to Massachusetts are projected to drop from $16.1 billion in FY 26 to approximately $15.8 billion in FY 27. Based on data released by the Massachusetts Healey-Driscoll administration on federal funding cuts in 2027, it is projected that the federal reductions will have the heaviest impact on health and human services. It is projected that the cuts will impact one in three Massachusetts residents. Key programs that may be at risk include:

• MassHealth and Health Connector: Up to 300,000 residents are at risk of losing health care coverage. 
• SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program): Over 100,000 residents are expected to lose food assistance benefits. 
• Community Health Centers: Reduced funding threatens local, accessible healthcare. 
• Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Critical addiction recovery programs are at risk. 
• School Mental Health Services & Tutoring: Funding for student support services is reduced. 
• Homeland Security & Disaster Prevention Aid: Critical infrastructure and emergency preparedness funding. 
• School Security and Building Upgrades: Safety improvements. 
• Healthy Food for Babies and Students: Nutritional assistance programs. 
• Public Health Workers: Staffing and resources. 
• Increased Broadband Access: Infrastructure expansion.

Facing these cuts, the Fair Share (millionaire’s tax) funding will provide critical financial support for essential services. For instance, the Governor has proposed to spend $1 billion from this tax for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for the public transit system serving the metro Boston area; $300 million would go to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation with another $245 million to Massachusetts’ Regional Transit.

It is important to note that all of this is the beginning of the budget process, with numerous twists and turns on the road ahead before final budget passage.

If you have questions about a specific budget issue, Governor Maura Healey has created a form for you to correspond with her office on budget details https://www.mass.gov/forms/massachusetts-federal-funding-issue-reporting-form.

SEASONAL COMMUNITY REGULATION FINALIZED
 

In February 2026, Massachusetts “Seasonal Communities” final regulations, authorized in the Affordable Homes Act, allowed designated, high-seasonal-usage towns, including Stockbridge, to implement the program. At Town Meeting, the designated towns can accept or reject this program.

The goal of the program is to reduce housing costs by removing many barriers, expediting the permitting process, and releasing surplus state land for housing. Converting underutilized commercial spaces into residential spaces, legalizing accessory dwelling units statewide, and providing financing tools to help homeowners build them, and other benefits that will be explored at meetings before a vote takes place.

Those who oppose the plan think too much autonomy is taken from municipalities and granted to the state.

One example is the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). ADUs were subject to local bylaws. In one year since Governor Maura Healey’s Affordable Homes Act allowed ADUs to be built By Right, across Massachusetts, 1,224 ADUs have been built in in 217 communities — an early snapshot of progress as communities implement the new statewide standard and homeowners begin moving projects forward. Governor Healey recently announced several new initiatives to build on this progress and accelerate the production of ADUs to help lower costs statewide.

by Christine Rasmussen

News

Notes from the Select Board, February 5, 2026, Hybrid meeting

The budgeting process began with a presentation of two drafts to the Select Board (SB) and will culminate with a vote at Town Meeting. To follow the entire review and finalization process, watch for nance Committee and Select Board meetings which can be attended in person or via Zoom

Town Administrator Michael Canales presented the draft of the two fiscal 2027 budgets an operating and a capital budget. The draft increases the budget by approximately 2.6%.
It does not include the cost of building the proposed firehouse and does not include Stockbridge’s financial obligation to Berkshire Hills Regional School District’s (BHRSD’s) budget.
Canales identified it as a continuation budget not an expansion budget which simply means this draft typically reflects the previous year’s budget with minor adjustments for inflation or fixed costs and does not contemplate that new initiatives are planned.

The draft of the operating budget anticipates an approximate increase to $13, 425,000 over last year $12,312,000.The specifics of the increase are for: hiring six new employees in the Fire/EMS Department in order to bring it to recommended service levels by 2028, and adding two other positions: Town Accountant and a full-time, combined Senior Center, and Recreation Director with benefits. Benefits for employee health and dental insurance, an increase of $241,000. Finally, Canales mentioned that there may be rate increases for sewer and water. The Approximately $4million collected will be almost equal to the expenses, and Canales said, fees collected should be at least 20% over expenses. He added the rate increase is “in the neighborhood of $30.”

Canales described all of these costs as necessary and “outside of the town’s control.” 

Capital Balance
The Capital balance comes, from the Stabilization fund, Free Cash, and reserves in various accounts including The Cemetery Fund, the Affordable Housing Trust, Overlay, Water Surplus, Sewer Surplus and more. It totals approximately $11,000,000. The draft of Capital Budget expenditures will be presented at the February 12, 2026, SB meeting. 
Editors Note: The February 12th, 2026 SB meeting was called to order and the Public Hearing immediately continued until March 12th, 2026.

News

Notes from the Planning Board (PB), February 3, 2026, Hybrid meeting

Referencing the 30+ acres on Interlaken Crossroad that came on the market last year, PB Chair Kate Fletcher opened a discussion on Chapter 61 land in Stockbridge.

Fletcher suggested hiring David Cameron, a former employee of the Department of Environmental Protection and current environmental consultant at Fleetwood Environmental Solutions LLC. Cameron would put together a one-page report on each of the Chapter 61 properties stating the positive and negative attributes. He named a few examples. There are 107 parcels in Chapter 61 in Stockbridge. Cameron will select one and submit a sample report.

A motion was made to design an assessment process for Chapter 61 lands. It passed unanimously

Editor’s note: 1. Chapter 61 land is conserved in one of three categories: as forest, agricultural, or recreational land. Owners conserve the land by choice and in exchange are granted a property tax exemption. Unlike a conventional Conservation Restriction (CR) which is permanent, Chapter 61 lands can be removed from conservancy.

The Interlaken Crossroads land was removed from Chapter 61 in order to sell it. If the landowner removes it, the back taxes must be paid, and the Town must be granted a Right of First Refusal. The Town and the owner know from the time it is placed in Chapter 61 that there is such a right. Stockbridge has never exercised that right, and they did not exercise it last year. The property was sold to a private person. The nature of the complaints and “push back” last year was unrelated to any of the criteria discussed by Cameron. It was related to fears of large-scale development which in turn would change the character of the neighborhood. At Town Meeting, Fletcher, either in the role of Board member of the Laurel Hill Association or in her role as Chair of PB spoke very persuasively against exercising the Right of First Refusal. Alarmed, abutters and other residents raised $80,000 to give to the Town for the purchase if the Town would exercise its Right of First Refusal. The group also secured a nod from the Community Preservation Fund of $100,000 dependent upon the Town exercising its right with to purchase the land. The group fought and won a fight to convince the SB, who wished to relinquish the right before Town Meeting, to bring it to Town Meeting and let the people decide but the article was defeated at Town Meeting by a wide margin. 2. Would it make sense to consider the legal risk to the Town if it formally evaluates private property especially if it is done when the Town holds the mandatory right of first refusal?

News

Notes from the Stockbridge Cultural Council: SCC announces 2026 Awards.

Anne Ferril, Council Co-Chair, and Chris Ferrero, Publicity Chair announce 27 local and regional awards totaling $15,433.

The awards were selected from 42 applications representing projects in all areas of the visual and performing arts, sciences and humanities.

The Council for this grant cycle was comprised of seven Stockbridge residents who surveyed the community for areas of interest, worked with the town to expand on the funding provided by the state, and collaborated on selection of awardees. Those members were co-chairs Anne Ferril and Audrey Shachnow, Jennie Bernard, Chris Ferrero, Ingrid Raab, Naomi Spatz and Wendy Strothman.

“Arts and culture are central to what makes our community unique,” said Anne Ferril, chair of the Stockbridge Cultural Council. “This is an opportunity to support the work of creative people and organizations who offer innovative programs, and even without a huge budget, we feel we make a difference in projects that benefit our residents.”

The Stockbridge Cultural Council is part of a network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The LCC Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, sciences and humanities every year. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community.

The new grant cycle will begin in September, when the Massachusetts Cultural Council opens applications for 2027 grants. Information and forms are available online at www.massculturalcouncil.org.

Click here to see the 27 awards

Watch Now!

Stockbridge Updates Video Guest: Paul Froncek Architect

Events

Events

Berkshire Theatre Group: Auditions: BTG seeks young actors to audition for its upcoming non-Equity musical production of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach JR. Roles are open to young actors of all ethnicities and genders currently in grades 3–9. The production will be directed and choreographed by Kathy Jo Grover, with musical direction by Erin White. Auditions will be held on Monday, February 23 from 6–9pm and callbacks are scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2026 (6pm–9pm). All auditions will take place at: The Colonial Theatre 111 South Street, Pittsfield. 

Berkshire Natural Resource Council: 10×10 Family Snowshoe Hike, Arrowhead, Pittsfield, Sunday, February 22, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm. Bring the whole family for this 1-mile guided tour. It combines a scavenger hunt with an introduction to the historic site by the Berkshire County Historical Society. Come into the museum shop afterward to warm up with free hot chocolate! Click here for more information

Joint Hike with OLLI, Olivia’s Overlook, Lenox Wednesday, February 25, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm. Jin Olli at BCC for this winter loop hike at Olivia’s Overlook in Lenox. This outing is rated moderate and will take about two hours. Click here for more information

Trail Talk: An Ask-Us-Anything Webinar, Zoom, Thursday, February 26, 5:30 pm – 6:45 pm, Join BNRC’s Assistant Director of Stewardship, Tyler Fogg, for a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into BNRC’s trail projects. 

The Berkshire Botanical Garden presents the Bulb Show, from Feb. 20 – March 20, 2026, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Step inside the Fitzpatrick Conservatory, and you’ll find a bright, fragrant retreat from winter’s chill. Hundreds of bulbs fill the space, from beloved tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths to more unusual varieties that surprise and delight. The Bulb Show is a tribute to beauty, renewal and the quiet rhythm of the seasons. It is free and open to everyone. Eric Ruquist, BBG’s director of horticulture, calls the Bulb Show the Garden’s annual “gift to the community,” a blend of artistry and horticultural craft.

“Thank you for this gift in the dead of winter,” wrote one visitor, Barbara McMahon of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., in the Bulb Show guest book last year.
Creating this burst of color begins quietly in late summer, when our horticulture staff selects and orders the season’s bulbs. Planting begins in the fall in the Lexan Greenhouse — tulips first, then daffodils and finally the smaller bulbs that round out the collection.

From there, the bulbs spend weeks in cool rooms beneath the Center House, where temperatures remain close to 42°F to simulate winter. Tulips need about 15 weeks of chilling, daffodils 12, and grape hyacinths 10. Staggered planting ensures a steady succession of blooms throughout the month-long show.
As their chilling period ends, the bulbs move back to the Lexan Greenhouse to “wake up.” Over several weeks, they send up shoots, leaf out and eventually burst into color. Before they’re displayed in the Fitzpatrick Conservatory, each pot is topped with moss, pine needles or nut shells, and the display team adds finishing touches, including succulents, branches, even small stumps, to create depth and contrast.

When the show opens, the conservatory becomes a bright, fragrant haven. Its intimate scale invites visitors to lean in close for a fully immersive, “face-in-flowers” moment.
The 2026 Bulb Show is sponsored by Webster Landscape. 

Norman Rockwell Museum presents Love is in the Air 💘
This Saturday, celebrate Valentine’s Day with a full day of art, music, and family fun. Second Saturdays at NRM invites kids and families to create Valentine-inspired artwork using collage materials, while the Sounds of Swing bring the galleries to life with a live musical performance from 1–3 pm. It’s also the final weeks to experience Norman Rockwell: Home for the Holidays, a heartwarming exhibition closing on February 22. 

SAVE THE DATE! Celebrate 50 years of Elizabeth Freeman Center at a Gala on May 14, 2026. Today the need is greater than ever – be part of the solution.

Reader to Reader

Reader to Reader

Hi, Carole. This is a letter to the editor, if you like. Your recent history of Gen. John Burgoyne stops short of providing proof of his travels through South Berkshire. Yes, there was a traveled roadway from Ice Glen Road over the mountain and linking with Beartown Mountain Road in Monterey. It was passable 250 years ago and much of it can be followed today — exceptions being where heavy logging disrupted the earthen evidence.

But Burgoyne never came through Stockbridge. Friederike Charlotte Louise von Massow, Freifrau Riedesel (1746-1808), who was accompanying her husband, Brunswicker Gen. Friedrich Adolf Friedesel (1738-1800) during the Bennington and Saratoga campaign, came through riding in a carriage with her attendants and a number of the Convention Army, meeting up with her husband in Monterey, likely at Chadwick’s Tavern on the edge of Beartown State Forest. Von Riedesel himself came with other soldiers through Great Barrington, where his sharp uniform and manner led those who saw him to think he was Burgoye.

Henry White, editor of the Berkshire Gleaner and an inveterate explorer of roads old and new, sought to find the origin of the Burgoyne legend. (10 August, 27 November and 4 December 1910 issues). Dr. Orville W. Lane of Great Barrington delved into contemporary accounts including William L. Stone’s Letters of Brunswick and Hessian Officers During the American Revolution (1891). The issue was raised in Stockbridge magazine, 1 April 1914. Ed Knurow dug into the legend; his notebooks are at the Berkshire Athenaeum. Lots have chased the story.

Burgoyne, later historians have claimed, came through Kinderhook and Great Barrington, Tyringham (Monterey) and Sandisfield.

Lion Miles of Stockbridge did extensive research, looking at Burgoyne documents and reports by several who traveled with him. He concluded Burgoyne traveled with his own entourage, not with Convention Army regulars, to Stephentown through Lanesboro and Pittsfield then east through Dalton (where the legend of buried Hessian gold on Day mountain persists) and Hinsdale to Northampton.

I devote a lengthy chapter to this story in Henry Knox and the Revolutionary War Trail in Western Massachusetts (McFarland, 2012).

I’ve visited the plaque in the company of Rick Wilcox, with the permission of the property owner. The plaque was put up in this out-of-the-way but nominally precise spot by Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939.

Bernard A. Drew
Great Barrington

Hi Bernie,

Thanks for this. Of course, the proof relied upon by the property owner was the DAR plaque. I am so glad the DAR got it in the “nominally precise spot.” Thanks for filling in so many details.

Carole