Berkshire Penny Saver by Hersam Acorn

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Berkshire

Penny Saver www.berkshirepennysaver.com

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May 9, 2012

IN THIS ISSUE: Auto ....................................... 14 Business Directory .................. 6 Classiﬁeds ................................ 6 Sudoku Puzzle ....................... 14 Help Wanted .......................... 15 Real Estate ............................. 12

editorial email berkshire@hersamacornma.com advertising email art@hersamacornma.com Editorial Deadline: 20th at noon the month before publication. Classiﬁed Deadline: May 25, 2012 Display Deadline: May 25, 2012

Manager’s Memo

Berkshire

Penny Saver 800.234.1432 Classiﬁeds 800.234.1432 editorial email berkshire@hersamacornma.com advertising email art@hersamacornma.com

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Renee Tassone, General Manager Linda Devlin, Circulation Manager Carrie Devlin, Advertising Sales Jessica Floyd, Advertising Sales Kitty Lewis, Advertising Sales Sarah Masiero, Advertising Sales Mark Payton, Web Sales Jen Hathaway, Production Director Chris Sobolowski, Art Director Barbra Retzlaff, Graphic Artist ■

Deadline*: 20th of Prior Month *Deadlines will change due to Holidays. See special deadline notices published before major holidays.

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Submission Guidelines: Those wishing to submit event listings or editorial content may email berkshire@hersamacornma.com. ■

Notice: The Berkshire Penny Saver will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which is fraudulent or misleading in nature. The publisher reserves the sole right to edit, revise, or reject any and all advertising, with or without cause being assigned, which in the publisher’s judgement is contrary to the interests of this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. ©2008, Hersam Acorn Newspapers. All contents of the Berkshire Penny Saver News are copyrighted, and any reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Martin Hersam, Chief Operating Ofﬁcer Thomas B. Nash, Publisher

I know I have written about my pets in the past but here is a story for you that you have not heard from me. We have always had German Renee Tassone, Shepherds, General Manager three in the last 25 years. Sadly, none of them are alive today. We currently have two cats. One we adopted about two years ago, who we call Sam. He showed up at a co-workers house and wouldn’t leave, so I took him home. He is an outdoor cat and really only comes around when he is hungry. Our other cat is Casper, who is an indoor kitty we chose from a litter in Bennington. Just before Easter, Sam came home one morning limping, his front right paw was swollen and he couldn’t put it down. We waited a few days to see if his paw improved but it actually got worse. Easter night we got home and Sam was acting all crazy: eyes bugging out of his head and he was going after my husband; very strange activity from him. I decided to make an appointment at the vet. It is very difficult to make an appointment when you never know when he is going to show up at home but it worked out that he came home just before the scheduled appointment. It was even more difficult getting him to go in the pet carrier. I gave up trying since I was afraid of being late (story of my life) so I threw Sam in the back seat of my car. It was definitely an interesting ride for both of us thank goodness I was not going far. When we arrived at the vet I ran in to get a leash and slipped it over Sam’s head. On the way inside he started to freak, jumping out of my arms and in the process scratched me a few times on the hands and wrists. Once inside they hurried us into one of the exam rooms because they could see the difficulty I was having. The vet entered the room, immediately saw the blood oozing from my wrists and instantly started to panic about the possibility of the cat having AIDS, leukemia or rabies. Since we never really Berkshire Penny Saver

considered Sam to be our cat, we never vaccinated him. I was about to learn a very important lesson. Not knowing what animal had bitten Sam’s paw we had to explore all of the possibilities, and none of them were very appealing to me. We decided first we would test for AIDS and leukemia. The chance was great that he would have at least one and the test would only take about ten minutes. Luckily for both of us, both tests were negative. Now all we had to worry about was rabies. After reviewing all of our options we decided that the cat could go back home since we did not have any kids living at home, but we would have to quarantine him for 6 months. Have you ever tried to quarantine a cat that has been outdoors his whole life? I thought for sure the vet was overreacting about this whole thing. I simply went to get an antibiotic for his paw, I did not expect to be choosing between euthanizing or quarantining him for six months. Now I had to worry about the possibility of me having rabies, so my first step was researching rabies in humans on the Internet, which was a bad idea.

Everything I read said that rabies is 100% fatal if shots are not administered BEFORE symptoms begin. It seemed like as I was reading I instantly got a sore throat which, you guessed it, is typically the first rabies symptom a human gets. I’d had enough reading about rabies. I figured I better call my doctor. I made an appointment for the following day. When my doctor saw me he told me that he could not do anything for me and I better go straight to the emergency room. I went to the ER and they started me on the round of rabies vaccinations. All continued on page 3 May 9, 2012

Manager’s Memo

continued from page 2 the while, I was secretly hoping that it wasn’t too late and my sore throat was a coincidence. You receive a total of four rounds of vaccines on separate days; they started me with five shots for the first round. I had to get four of them in my butt and one in the arm. They told me I was lucky because they used to have to give the four shots in the abdomen, now it is the butt. I didn’t feel very lucky, that’s for sure. Not only are the shots painful, but expensive as well - a total of $7,000 for the four rounds of shots. Thank goodness for insurance. I am not sure what I dislike more - keeping my crazy outdoor cat indoors or getting shots every couple of days. Sam is driving everyone nuts including our other kitty who was used to having the run of the house and all of the attention. Now they fight constantly so most of the time we have to lock Sam in a bedroom to keep them apart. Sam is already on edge because he does not enjoy being locked inside any more than we are enjoying keeping him locked inside. The other day my husband was home for lunch and decided to lock Casper in the bedroom and let Sam have the run of the house. We got home about 5 hours later to find that Casper had broken through the screen window and jumped out of a two story window. This is the cat that is only a few months old and has never been outdoors. At this rate it seemed we were going to go from having two cats to none in a very short amount of time. One dying from rabies and the other one lost forever. My husband grabbed a flashlight and went out searching the area. Luckily, after about 30 minutes he found Casper looking very afraid under our front porch. Good thing because I don’t think that cat has any instinct for being outdoors. As of now my shots have been completed and the cat and I are still alive. Now we wait. Keep a close eye on him, looking for any strange behavior or sudden death and keep hoping that I did not wait too long to start the shots. The sore throat lasted two weeks, longer than any other sore throat I have ever had, but I just keep telling myself it is coincidence. If I start to howl at the moon then I will start to get nervous! But I do believe everything happens for a reason and I think this happened to me so that it would remind me to slow down and smell the roses. I think of my mother who was told she had 6 – 12 months to live. I am not sure what went on in her head after being diagnosed, but I have had some weird thoughts in my head since all this has happened. Slow down, enjoy each day because it could all change in an instant. Amazing how a simple cat scratch can change the way you look at things. Our next Celiac support group will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 17 at North Adams Regional Hospital in North Adams. If you have questions or would like more information please call me anytime 413329-4710. Hope to see you there! Remember, please tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Yankee Shopper and Berkshire Pennysaver. Please also check out the list of gift certificates we offer for sale at a 20% discount. You can purchase them online at www.gooddealsne.com. We have sold over 500 gift certificates - people love buying them at such a great discount! As always we encourage your feedback. Feel free to send us your press releases to yankee@hersamacornma.com or berkshire@hersamacornma.com. Check us out online at www.ishopberkshires.com. -Renee Tassone, General Manager May 9, 2012

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Berkshire Penny Saver

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Free Mother’s Day Admission for Moms at Old Sturbridge Village (STURBRIDGE, MA) - April 23, 2012: Moms get free admission on Mother’s Day May 13 at Old Sturbridge Village, and family-friendly activities are planned throughout the day. The first 200 mothers to arrive will receive a free gift – either a heart-shaped cookie cutter handmade in the Village Tin Shop, or a small historical redware flower pot made by the museum’s potters (with fluted edges handmade by visiting children). Mother’s Day highlights will include a special “Moms vs. Kids” tug of war contest on the Village Common, a scavenger hunt centered on 1830s child care, and a variety of “make and take” crafts for children. Modern moms can learn about early parenting and childbirth practices from interpreters portraying 19th-century domestic advice author Lydia Maria Child and 1830s midwife Lucy Tucker. Members of the “Maternal Association” will discuss the joys and challenges of raising children early New England, and OSV historians will demonstrate sewing and knitting for the family. A special Mother’s Day Brunch will be served at the museum’s Oliver Wight Tavern (reservations required). For all times and details: 800-SEE-1830; www.osv.org.

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According to Old Sturbridge Village historians, mothers in the 19th century were household managers, and children were an important part of the workforce. “Children were assigned chores, and were expected to contribute to the household,” notes Deb Friedman, vice president of public program at the Village. Tasks typically handled by children in early New England included gathering eggs and firewood, hauling water, weeding the garden, gathering berries, picking apples, mucking out stalls, and emptying chamber pots. Girls and boys were taught to sew and knit, which was a good way for children to develop their fine motor skills. In the kitchen, children would help out by churning butter, pounding sugar, sifting flour, and stoning raisins (removing the seeds). Boys as young as 9 or 10 were taught to “drive” a team of oxen, directing them to pull, haul, and plow on the farm by using a series of hand signals and voice commands. Children would also pluck chickens, and feed the pigs and other farm animals. One of the most important chores for children in the larger families of the 19th century was watching their younger siblings. Many mothers had their children over a 20-year span, so there was often an infant at home when the family’s oldest child was entering adulthood. Old Sturbridge Village, one of the country’s oldest and largest living history museums, celebrates New England life in the 1830s and is open from 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. seven days a week. Admission: adults $24; seniors $22; children 3-17, $8; children 2 and under, free. All programs are subject to change. Each admission includes free parking and a free second-day visit within 10 days. Woo Card subscribers get $5 off adult daytime admission; college Woo cardholders receive $12 off adult daytime admission. For times and details of all OSV activities visit: www. osv.org or call 1-800-SEE-1830.

Nineteenth-Century Child Rearing Tips

One of the most famous authorities on managing households and raising children was Lydia Maria Child, of Medford, Massachusetts, author of The American Frugal Housewife, published in 1832. (She is better known today for penning the poem Over the River and Through the Woods.) Here are some of Mrs. Child’s parenting tips, which still resonate today: · “In this country, we are apt to let children romp away their existence, till they get to be thirteen or fourteen. This is not well. It is not well for the purses and patience of parents; and it has a still worse effect on the morals and habits of the children.” · “A child of six years old can be made useful; and should be taught to consider every day lost in which some little thing has not been done to assist others.” · “Children can very early be taught to take all the care of their own clothes. They can knit garters, suspenders, and stockings; they can make patchwork and braid straw; they can make mats for the table, and mats for the floor; they can weed the garden, and pick cranberries from the meadow to be carried to market. “ · “It is a great deal better for the boys and girls on a farm to be picking blackberries at six cents a quart, than to be wearing out their clothes in useless play. They enjoy themselves just as well; and they are earning something to buy clothes.”

Berkshire Penny Saver

May 9, 2012

The Mount Announces 2012 Season: Edith Wharton: 21st Century Muse (Lenox, MA) Prepare for a very special year! This past January, Edith Wharton turned 150 and The Mount has been celebrating this important milestone all year long. That is why we are excited to announce our 2012 season, Edith Wharton: 21st Century Muse. We hope you will join us as we pay tribute to The Mount’s remarkable creator with programming highlighting Wharton’s life, work, and achievements. The Mount’s opening day is May 5th. “We are very excited about this coming season. We have made a conscientious effort to showcase Wharton’s personal story,” said The Mount’s Executive Director Susan Wissler. “The Mount is the home she built for herself and it’s where she really came into her own. This season is about celebrating Whartonher life, her accomplishments, and her continued relevance. Wharton is enjoying a strong resurgence, because her story and her achievements still resonate today.” Highlights of the 2012 season include: * The opening of the new exhibition A Beautiful Construction: Edith Wharton at The Mount * The ongoing reconstruction of Wharton’s bedroom suite * Readings, talks and lectures, including: Nini Gilder’s “Who Was Teddy Wharton? A Biographer’s Journey”; a day of practical gardening tips with expert gardeners Naomi Brooks, Karen Bussolini, Heather Poire, and Kerry Ann Mendez; and novelist Jennie Fields reading from her upcoming book, The Age of Desire * The 20th season of our Monday Lecture Series which will include: Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch; Gioia Diliberto, author of Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway’s First Wife; and Irene Goldman-Price, editorofMy Dear Governess The Letters of Edith Wharton to Anna Bahlmann, a 40-year collection of letters from Wharton to her closest confident * Family theater on The Mount’s outdoor theater with a production of Pinocchio presented in partnership with Berkshire Theatre Group * The Inner House, a production by The Wharton Salon adapted from Wharton’s own memoir, A Backward Glance * Our second Berkshire WordFest celebrating words, ideas, authors, and readers September 14-16, 2012 In addition, The Mount will continue to offer its mainstay of programming including the popular Wharton on Wednesdays; Music After Hours on the terrace; and weekly ghost tours. About The Mount: The Mount is both a historic site and a cultural destination inspired by the passions and achievements of Edith Wharton. Designed and built by Edith Wharton in 1902, the house embodies the principles May 9, 2012

outlined in her influential book, The Decoration of Houses (1897). The property includes three acres of formal gardens designed by Wharton, who was also an authority on European landscape design, surrounded by extensive woodlands. The 10 years Wharton called The Mount her home changed her forever; both as an artist and as a person. For Wharton, it was a period of self-discovery, growth, creativity, and validation, as well as agitation, in the most intimate areas of her life. While at The Mount, Wharton wrote both Ethan Frome and The House of Mirth. Programming at The Mount reflects Wharton’s core interests in the literary arts, interior design and decoration, garden and landscape design, and the art of living. Annual exhibits explore themes from Wharton’s life and work. The Mount will honor Wharton’s contributions and achievements by launching our 2012 season, Edith Wharton, 21st Century Muse, and will host performances, special events, readings, and lectures that highlight Wharton’s longevity and continued relevancy. For additional information about both Edith Wharton and the Mount please visit EdithWharton.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS Serving Berkshire County Since 1945 Homeowners / Business • New Contractors Market Auto • Boats • Flood Life • Long-Term Care Fax: 413-243-4622 71 Main Street, Lee

413-243-0105 413-243-0109 Frank A. Consolati Jeff J. Consolati

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JOB CONNECTION

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