Yankee Shopper by Hersam Acorn

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Shopper

March 14, 2012

IN THIS ISSUE: Crossword........................... Page 6 Business & Services ........... Page 5 Classiﬁeds ........................... Page 5 Real Estate ........................ Page 12 Auto ................................... Page 14 Help Wanted..................... Page 12

editorial email yankee@hersamacornma.com

advertising email art@hersamacornma.com

Editorial Deadline: 20th at noon the month before publication.

Classiﬁed Deadline: April 2, 2012 Display Deadline: April 2, 2012

Manager’s Memo

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800.234.1432 Fax 802.447.3270 Classiﬁed 800.234.1432 editorial email yankee@hersamacornma.com advertising email art@hersamacornma.com ■

Renee Tassone, General Manager Linda Devlin, Circulation Manager Carrie Devlin, 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 ■

Editorial Deadline*: 20th of month prior Classiﬁed Deadline*: 20th of month prior Display Deadline*: 20th of month prior *Deadlines will change due to Holidays. See special deadline notices published before major holidays. ■

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

Notice: The Yankee Shopper 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. ©2010, Hersam Acorn Newspapers. All contents of the Yankee Shopper are copyrighted, and any reproduction without permission is prohibited.

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

My husband and I acquired a son in law. Our youngest daughter got married on Valentine’s Day, which also happens to be the anniversary of her and her now husband’s first date. I told them they should write Renee Tassone, General Manager a book on how to plan a wedding. Essentially, there was no planning - they didn’t even care if there was a cake. All they cared about was being together and making it official so they could begin their journey together as husband and wife. No flowers, no wedding party, no stress. Just 24 of their closest family and friends were there to share this special time with them. A Justice of the Peace married them upstairs at the Freight Yard Pub in North Adams. Freight Yard was perfect, they had the lights dim, tablecloths with lit candles, great food and even had a fire in the fireplace. I loved that there was no stress in preparing for this special day and it was intimate, beautiful and marvelous. Many couples often argue over the arrangements for their wedding day because of the pressure of having everything perfect and planning out so many details. Now, all of the money we were going to spend on her wedding can go to them. Which makes us very happy. I think weddings, proms, and teen birthday parties have all gotten out of hand. I know people that have spent over $40,000 on a wedding, re-financed their homes and taken withdrawals from their 401K, all to be used for one day. We spent $2,000 and the day was just as special. Nobody arrives to the prom or teen birthday party in anything but a stretch limo anymore and they spend hundreds on a gown. I am guilty of it too - we went overboard with both of our girls on these occasions. Every parent wants the best for their kids and for them to enjoy their special moments, but I think too much money is being spent on these occasions. Yankee Shopper

My daughter and son-in-law are going on a cruise in April. They could not get time away from work until then. They both work at Big Y in North Adams. My daughter has worked there for 6 years and is in the deli department and my son-in-law Eric has worked there for 23 years as a grocery manager.

The first three years my daughter worked there she would come home from work every day and tell me how she was so in love with a grocery manager named Eric. I would say to her, he has a good, stable job, his own place, no kids, hasn’t been married; I don’t understand what you see in him. I would tease her like that because as a teenager her choice of boyfriends was not the best. She was always drawn to the people that needed help. She wanted to be the one to help them, which is great but doesn’t mean you have to be in a relationship to help them. I still think she should work in a field where she is helping people. She is a very caring person and people feel very comfortable around her. Whatever she ends up doing for a career I know she will be successful and I know that she and Eric have one of the most beautiful relationships I have ever witnessed. It is nice to see two young people so committed to each other. Our next Celiac support group will be held on Thursday, March 15, 6:30 p.m. at the North Adams Public Library. 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. 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 March 14, 2012

Maple Days at Old Sturbridge Village Celebrate New England Spring Sweetness During March Weekends A look at one of the earliest American rural traditions Costumed historians will demonstrate tapping trees and “sugaring off” Native American maple sugaring tales highlight ﬁrst two weekends

(STURBRIDGE, MA) - Buckets on maple trees are the quintessential signposts of a New England spring, and Old Sturbridge Village highlights the history and practice of this regional tradition during its annual Maple Days, being held Saturdays and Sundays throughout March. Village costumed historians will offer a comprehensive look at

maple sugaring and its place in early American life, from stories about the Native American origins of maple sugaring to demonstrations of maple sap processing and foods cooked with the resulting maple sugar. Details: 800-SEE-1830, www.osv.org. The weekends kick off on Saturday, March 3 and run through the last Sunday of the month on March 25. Each weekend, interpreters in the Village’s working sugar camp will show off maple sugaring as it was done in in early 19thcentury rural New England. They’ll demonstrate the entire sugar-making process, from tapping the trees to “sugaring off,” and explain why maple sugar was instead of used than maple syrup in early New England. Costumed historians will also prepare 19th-century recipes made with maple products by the hearth at the Village’s Freeman Farm.

Old Sturbridge Village Discovery Camper Patrick McCaffrey (center) of West Brookfield, Massachusetts taps a maple tree using an auger.

Maple sugaring was a rich and essential part of American life in the 18th and 19th centuries and is part of the seasonal rhythm of early New England life portrayed at Old Sturbridge Village. It wasn’t until the continued on page 4

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Maple Days

Lighthouse Painting Exhibit

continued from page 3 mid-1800s that deforestation of farmland throughout New England reduced large-scale sugaring operations. Old Sturbridge Village celebrates New England life in the 1830s and is open year-round. Winter hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wed.–Sun., and all Mon. holidays. Admission: adults $24; seniors $22; children 317, $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.

Did You Know?

Facts About Maple Sugaring: • Silver maple, box elder and birch trees also can be tapped for sweet sap, but sugar maples prevailed because they give the best yields. • New England abolitionists were proponents of maple sugar use because it was an alternative to cane sugar that was harvested and produced by slave labor. • Maples are usually tapped beginning between 30 and 40 years of age, and tapping takes place during periods when daytime temperatures are above freezing but night temperatures drop back below freezing. • Maples can continue to be tapped for sap until they are more than 100 years old. • An average maple tree yields 10-15 gallons of sap in a year. • Forty gallons of maple sap makes one gallon of maple syrup. • Early New England farm families often tapped more than 100 trees for a yield of 400 pounds of sugar each season. • Maple sugar and bear’s grease were common Native American seasonings for roasted venison, game, or fish.

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(Pittsfield) – A solo show of watercolors by Pittsfield artist Marguerite Bride entitled “Let There Be Lighthouses” will be on exhibit the entire month of April at the Marketplace Café, 55 North Street, Pittsfield. Bride’s fascination with lighthouses goes back quite some time, even before she began painting. Brought up on the water and around boats she was exposed to lighthouses for much of her life. Even now, whenever traveling to a new location, she tries to find new ones to visit. Besides learning the history and some amazing stories about each lighthouse, she now captures these cherished structures in watercolor. This exhibit is a tribute to these respected and cherished buildings – some still operational, others are treasured relics of days gone by. Many are off the coast of New England, Cape Cod and the Islands, others Long Island Sound, the Hudson River and even Lake Gitchi Gumi. Her goal is to paint at least one light house from each state. An artist reception will be held on Saturday, April 14 from 5-7 p.m. Bride has a studio on North Street where she paints, meets with clients and gives private watercolor lessons. See a preview of the paintings on exhibit on her website, www.margebride.com. She can be reached via email (margebride@aol.com) or by phone 413-842-1659.

Saugerties Lighthouse, Marguerite Bride

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CLASSIFIEDS

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Where’s the Snow?

By Susan Armstrong

Last weekend my husband and neighbor played golf at Mount Anthony Country Club. It was January 6, 2012. This is simply unheard of in Vermont. I can’t remember a winter that was so devoid of snow. Native Benningtonians like recall the years when the snow began to fall in October and remnants of the white stuff would still be around in May. In those days it wasn’t measured in inches, but rather by the foot. Last year at this time I was snowshoeing in the National Forest and cross country skiing at Prospect Mountain. I miss being out in the winter. There’s nothing better than working out in the elements and then coming in to sit by the fire and drink a piping hot cup of cocoa. It keeps us from wallowing in the winter blues – eating too much and watching too much TV. This week the temperature will remain in the 40s and then drops down

to 25 degrees over the weekend, but no snow is in the forecast. All across the northeast the story is the same. It was a brown Christmas and all the businesses that depend on snow are suffering. According to the National Weather Service, last week only 19 percent of the country was covered in snow, which is less than half of the average coverage over the past five years. The VAST snowmobile trails in Woodford remain silent and the snow guns at Mount Snow are running around the clock. The man-made snow is fine for the condo owners and renters because they have invested in the winter fun. It’s not so good for the hundreds of skiers who wait for great conditions before they show up. The resorts will be hurt by the lack of weekend warriors. Even the golfers need snow in the winter to water the golf courses, so that they’re green and healthy for the next season. Does anybody know a snow dance?

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REAL ESTATE

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