Category: Featured slider

On February 22nd, at 11 am the topic will be sweet.  Maple syrup was first collected and used by the indigenous peoples of North America. The practice was adopted by European settlers, who gradually refined production methods. Technological improvements in the 1970s further refined syrup processing.

For Andy Bernardy, it’s a seasonal ritual, a traditional agricultural task, and a family affair. Bernardy learned the sugaring ropes as a youngster from his grandfather, Ralph Churchill, first at a great uncle’s farm in Charlemont, then on Oblong Road, where the young Bernardy grew up. Bernardy, who furthered his study of sugaring from his own father, the late Andy Bernardy, is now passing it along to his own eager youngsters, Elizabeth, 15, and Kate, 12.

Please note:  In case of a snowstorm this lecture may be cancelled, as Andy’s other job is running a snowplow.

Here’s a sneak peak:

http://vimeo.com/86658958

How nice it would be to take a trolley for 5¢ each way from Williamstown to North Adams and back.  Did you know that there used to be such a trolley line running between these two northern Berkshire towns?  On January 25th at 11 am in the Milne Public Library John Hyde will be giving an illustrated talk beginning with an overview of trolley cars as a means of public transportation in the United States.  Particular emphasis will be given to the emergence, dominance, and ultimate disappearance of trolleys from Williamstown and Berkshire County.

 Bio:

Professor Emeritus John M. Hyde has been a member of the faculty and administration of Williams College for the past fifty years.  He is also a member of the fifth generation of a family which has lived in Berkshire County for more than 200 years.  An ardent “rider of trains,” he is too young to have “taken the trolley” but has turned his attention to another vehicle that traveled on rails in this lecture.