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BERKLANDS.COM
VOL. 1, ISSUE 4 WINTER 2022
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B er kshire Landscapes Magazine is a publication of New England Newspapers Inc.
We were in the middle of a cooking class with Farah Momen, owner of Bondhu, when I realized how relaxed I was, just soaking in this experience. It was a moment of pure joy — o ne I experienced ag ain when dining on the bounty of food we had just made.
In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we so often forget to take time for ourselves, for self-care. And then, with the arrival of the new year, we find ourselves seeking out ways to relax, reset and rejuvenate.
This mantra of sorts — relax, reset, rejuvenate — is central to our winter issue. In this issue, we get to know Momen, Bondhu and her plans for the rejuvenation of a much beloved culinary space. We also spend time with David Mixer, a county native, who after a successful career away has returned and invested in his beloved Berkshires. We also spent 24 hours at Miraval Berkshires, getting to know this revived space and taking a moment to relax and reset while there.
You’ll also find a story of how actors Jayne Atkinson and Michael Gill were set to sell their Great Barrington home but decided not to list it after a few details were reset during a staging of the house. And there’s a story about a Stockbridge bookbinder who, in a second career following retirement, resets old books.
Winter is the darkest time of year but it’s a great time to reset, relax and rejuvenate!
Jennifer Huberdeau, editor jhuberdeau@berkshireeagle.comNot long ago, I found myself in the kitchen of what was once Mill on the Floss, in New Ashford, chopping vegetables and herbs, while my husband was tending to a pan of meatballs on the stove.Farah Momen recently opened the culinary community space, Bondhu, in New Ashford. PHOTO BY BEN GARVER
Three historic Berkshire venues are offering light shows through the end of December. Experience the gardens of Naumkeag with WinterLights; bask in sounds and lights of NightWood at The Mount and enjoy the spirited light projections of Hancock Holiday Nights at Hancock Shaker Village.
Tickets to ride Brava!, EJ Hill’s 260-foot-long pale pink roller coaster at Mass MoCA, are limited in number, but if you can get one it’s worth the hassle. If you can’t, you can still experience the roller coaster as part of the audience. “EJ Hill: Brake Run Helix” is on view through January 2024.
View Frederic Church’s iceberg sketches from his 1859 Artic voyage to “Iceberg Alley” in conversation with the work of four contemporary artists in the Sharp Family Gallery at the Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, N.Y. On view through March 26.
Join the Berkshire Bach Society at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Dec. 31 for “Bach at New Year’s,” a celebration of baroque music that’s been a holiday tradition since 1993. Performances include works by Bach, Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi.
Husband and wife duo Jaime Lozano and Florencia Cuenca create Mexican musical magic with “Broadway en Spanglish,” delivering fresh interpretations of Broadway hits with new arrangements. They perform at Mass MoCA’s Club B-10 on Feb. 4 with live accompaniment by Mariachi Real De Mexico de Ramon Ponce. ■
What do we know about Samuel Adams?
Popular culture would have us believe he was a successful brewer. History books tell us he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a founder of the Sons of Liberty, a hot head, a cousin of the second president and a governor of Massachusetts.
Some historical records would place him at the scene of the Boston Tea Party; other accounts would have him participating in the action. Other historians left him out of their accounts altogether.
Why did Thomas Jefferson describe Samuel Adams as “truly the man of the Revolution”?
What do you really know about Samuel Adams?
Very little? You’re not alone.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff, a native of Adams and author of the newly released “The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams,” once found herself in the same situation.
“Honestly, there was just a great deal of embarrassment, on my part, that I had grown up in Adams [which is named after Samuel] and really not known anything about [Samuel] Adams,” Schiff said during a recent interview over Zoom. “He makes a cameo in my Ben Franklin book, but even there I had never really looked into much of his background. So those things, you know, began to sort of simmer. The
more I looked into it, the more I just became completely obsessed.”
However, “The Revolutionary,” which debuted at No. 8 on the New York Times’ hard-cover nonfiction list, was not the biography Schiff set out to write in 2016.
At the time, Schiff had just come off a promotional tour for “The Witches: Salem, 1692,” a non-fiction account of the Salem Witch Trials based on firsthand accounts and source material.
“After Salem, I really was, I think, deliberately looking for someone admirable, someone who had taken a very courageous moral stand, someone who has sort of spoken truth to power, and someone who could be said to have rerouted history,” she said.
The more she read, the more Samuel Adams checked off all of those boxes for Schiff.
“I thought I was writing about someone else,” she said. “The person I was researching, their books were to the right, and Samuel Adams’ [books] were to the left, and I kept kind of walking onto the floor of the library and going left.
“Three hours later, I would be sitting on the floor, reading the papers of Samuel Adams. At a certain point, my agent finally said, ‘Obviously, you want to write a book about Adams.’”
In writing his biography, Schiff tells the story of a Samuel Adams we are not familiar with. Historians have either forgot-
“The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams” by Stacy Schiff. Published by Little, Brown & Co.
ten about him or reduced him to a caricature, a firebrand of sorts. Instead, Schiff delivers a Samuel Adams (never Sam) as his colleagues, friends, enemies and rivals saw him — as one of the most influential men working behind the scenes of the American Revolution.
Schiff describes Adams as a man who lived “what may count as the most remarkable second act in American life” and as being “a perfect failure until middle age.” A graduate of Boston Latin, he attended Harvard at the age of 14. He earned a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s. He studied theology and law, but pursued neither. He failed at almost every job he took before the age of 41, including as a brewer — one of several occupations held by his father.
PROVIDED BY ELENA SEIBERT Stacy Schiffnever stopped to think where he actually going.
The idea that [Samuel] Adams and [John] Hancock were at the end, were actually his destination, kind of threw me back. I thought, you know, this so much explains so many parts of those years and so many hidden recesses of those years.
I mean, just the question of, ‘How does the resistance movement take off as fast as it does after the Boston Port Act?’ [is answered when you add him into the equation]. The answer is the Committees of Correspondence and Samuel Adams. So, it was piecing those questions together and realizing how little I knew.
erroneous. But it gives you a sense of what a thorn he is in the British side and how effective he is …
There’s so much personal stuff we don’t have. We don’t have some of his letters to his wife. We have very little correspondence with his children. I should say, there is mention in his great-grandson’s book about him, of this memoir that was left by Samuel Adams’ daughter about her father. I think it’s like a 50-page document. I just assumed it would turn up in the archive and it never did.
When British rule bankrupted his family (his father invested in a land bank to help out fellow Bostonians when money was scarce), Adams found his footing, founded a newspaper and began writing editorials and articles — under the guise of pseudonyms — critical of the crown officers, of new tariffs and taxes burdensome to the colonists.
Adams would recruit John Hancock and his cousin, John Adams, to the cause that became a revolution, ending with a declaration of independence and a newborn country. He would be the voice that connected the common man with the political elite. And, eventually, he would fall out of the picture.
The following excerpt, from a conversation with Schiff about “The Revolutionary,” is edited for clarity and length.
When it comes to the Revolutionary War, why do we know more about John Adams than Samuel Adams?
STACY SCHIFF: I think one of the many reasons why Samuel Adams falls off the radar is that John occupies so much of center stage … When I was looking at the accounts of Paul Revere’s ride and thinking it’s crazy that we all know Paul Revere gets on his horse on April 18, 1775, but we
You write at one point that Samuel Adams burns his letters; at another point, he took scissors to them, and, unlike his contemporaries, he does not write a memoir. How hard was it to research someone who didn’t want to be in front of the curtain?
STACY SCHIFF: I think the problem is you end up with a lot of questions that are unanswered. I have so many questions. For starters, how much does he mastermind the Boston Tea Party? When does resistance begin to mutate into independence? You know, just the questions that we can’t answer.
The biggest cache of his remaining papers is in New York at the New York Public Library, as are the papers of the Boston Committee of Correspondence. So those were really, really rich resources. Although they, of course, don’t answer some of those central questions. But because you have the other side of his correspondence there, which had not been published, you can begin to really flesh out the man because the published letters are just as letters, not what he’s responding to.
And then there’s just a great wealth of material in the British archives because you can read what the crown officers are writing about him. Obviously, it’s very damning material, as it’s often very colorful material and sometimes it’s also
So that was one of those things where you count on something, thinking ‘that will give me the personal dimension of the man’ and no one can find it. There are heartbreaks like that. But I felt as always as if that was the Holy Grail because when I had that, I would be able to get a more rounded sense of his personal life or his emotional life, and that never turned up.
It seems like so much about him was lost. Was it done purposefully?
STACY SCHIFF: That ritual destruction of the letters, of which John Adams writes, I suspect that happened at many addresses, that many people were destroying documents. I’m sure that Dr. [Joseph] Warren [who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill] had a great cache of documents that went missing. A lot of this was meant to be ‘no fingerprints’ and came down to us without fingerprints.
Most people don’t realize what a big role Samuel Adams played in the founding of the country. Why do you think that is?
STACY SCHIFF: I think the whole binding the Colonies together, he’s the person who really is most eager to unite everybody and he is trying to do something from a really early date. I think that gets lost because it’s just there’s no event attached to it, but it is a thing that explains, as I say, how the Boston Port Act misfires as loudly as it does because he’s knit everybody together at that point. It’s hard when someone’s behind the scenes to know what to attribute to him. But that one we know, when people say Samuel Adams’ Committees of Correspondence, we know that one is his creation. ■
Mission, in Pittsfield, was bought by Mill Town in 2021.
Mission, the Pittsfield tapas bar that regularly brought live music to its North Street venue, closed its doors on Oct. 31.
“Though our chapter together may be closing, the memories and experiences we’ve shared are timeless,” stated a social media post that announced the closure on Mission’s Facebook page.
The restaurant has been owned by Mill Town since 2021, but was in operation since the early 2000s.
Terry Bishop has expanded his Lanesborough restaurant with a second location located in the Clock Tower Business Center in Pittsfield. Biggins Diggins, a breakfast and lunch spot known for its homemade soups and barbecue offerings, has been in business for four years. “Everything will be ‘satellited’ in from Lanesborough,” Bishop said. “The brisket, the pulled pork, the smoked chicken, the smoked sugar for the smoked coffee that we serve.”
Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Ryan Salame has added to his restaurant empire with a new food truck, The Lunch Pail.
The menu includes smash burgers, a grilled chicken sandwich, BLTs, hot dogs, a Caprese salad and sides such as fries and onion rings.
The food truck is part of Lenox Eats, Salame’s expanding culinary collective downtown, which includes Firefly GastroPub, the Olde Heritage Tavern, Sweet Dreams, Lenox Catering Co. and the former Cafe Lucia.
Raissa and Mathieu Doumbia, a married couple originally from the West African nation of Ivory Coast, opened House of Seasoning Grill at 117 Seymour St., the site of the former Friends Grille in Pittsfield.
The eatery features African American food, with dishes that lean more toward African than traditional African-American cuisine. Entrees include familiar American staples like steak, chicken, pork and fish, but seasoned with African ingredients.
“When you try it, there’s going to be something new,” said Mathieu Doumbia. ■
In 1994, Laura Hooks started her career by participating in an engineering leadership program at the General Dynamics Mission Systems plant in Pittsfield. Twenty-six years later, she returns to assume the position of vice president and general manager of maritime and strategic services at the same company she started out.
General Dynamics Mission Systems develops and produces technology for the U.S. Department of Defense, most often working with the U.S. Navy.
Hooks, who holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has worked for General Dynamics plants in Taunton and in Groton, Conn.
Prior to returning to Pittsfield, she was the vice president and general manager of ground systems.
Hooks said she’s excited to return to Pittsfield and take up this important leadership role.
“I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to be back and running the business that I grew up in.”
The Dream Away Lodge, the historic Becket restaurant known for its rock and roll history, live music and great food was sold by longtime owner Daniel Osman to The Dreamaway Lodge Restaurant LLC, an ownership group consisting of Scott Levy, Sheryl Victor Levy, Daniel Giddings and April Wilson, at the end of September. Osman, who owned the Dream Away for 26 years, had put the property on the market in March 2021.
The new owners are committed to keeping the restaurant’s atmosphere and plan to resume operating it with a similar menu, new chef and a lineup of musicians. Osman and Amy Loveless, former chef at Dream Away, will be involved in the reopening, according to Scott Levy. The new owners hope to open in spring 2023.
“We’re not trying to reinvent it,” said Giddings. “More like revive it.”
For one day this fall, the Olde Heritage Tavern in Lenox underwent a romantic — albeit temporary — rebranding.
The restaurant changed its name to “Blumberg’s” and decorated its windows with pictures of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and his new wife, Dana Blumberg — a wedding gift on behalf of Kraft’s friend Michael Rubin.
“Even though Dana Blumberg is now Dana Kraft, Robert will forever be a Blumberg in my eyes!! This is the bar they had their first date, so I had it renamed ‘BLUMBERG’S,’” Rubin tweeted.
The couple were married on Oct. 14 at a star-studded wedding in New York City.
In 2017, Kraft was traveling through the area and went looking for a place to watch the Patriots game. He stopped by Olde Heritage, where he not only found football, but he found Blumberg as well.
Cole Ungar and William Giolli, of Skytop Properties, recently purchased 12 multi-family residences in downtown Pittsfield for $5.2 million. These buildings, most of which are small apartment complexes, were previously owned by Bellco Realty Inc. run by Richard Stanley of South Egremont.
Skytop has also led the buying, renovation and sale of the Greystone Building, the Lloyd Building and the former Wendell Hotel in Pittsfield. Ungar says they are committed to making necessary renovations to the newly acquired properties while ensuring that in doing so they do not take away affordable housing from Pittsfield residents. Ungar, who is originally from the Berkshires, said, “They’re occupied, existing buildings with people living in them. We have no plans to replace anybody.” ■
BrianP.Astorino
MichaelA.Fazio
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By Heather Campbell
The world revolves around you, little one. Do you know that? You walk into Fuel’s coffee shop with your pink high-top shoes that are the size of a teacup, holding your beloved stuffy, your hair bopping around in pigtails, and your smile lights up the room. You look around wondering, what joy is going to envelope you? Who is going to make you smile? Will it be a yummy scone or muffin that awaits you at the counter?
Your Dad thinks you have gotten sooooo big. But really, you’ve only just begun to grow and are still pretty small. And yet, at only the size you are, the world revolves around you. That’s your gravitational pull.
Your big eyes look up at every person with hope and wonder about what happiness might come from your interaction. You pretend to drink from your plastic sippy cup like all of the adults around you who are worshiping their coffees. Wouldn’t hot chocolate be better?
You are judging everything you see — that’s okay. Judging can be a good thing. That’s how you’ll make decisions on your own when it’s time for your Dad to let you. You look at the long, green, pretty sweater the woman has taken off and draped over her chair. You’re thinking, smart lady. She’s found a way to bring her comfy blanket with her and of course, cozy is best. You know that. Why do we forget it?
Your checks bellow out as you chomp down on the croissant Dad is ripping up and feeding you like a little bird as he waits for his coffee. He’s a good dad. He loves you. You know it in your bones, even if those bones are still small.
Your head pivots this way and that way as you look around at all that is happening. Every person steals a glance at you and if they are lucky enough to catch your eye and earn your attention, their day is made brighter.
The world revolves around you, little one.
As it should.
Heather Campbell is a Berkshires resident and local artist. She shares both her observational writings and functional pottery, currently on display at Depart Wine in Great Barrington, in the hopes they bring people joy.
This down-home Berkshires native, following a successful career, is rolling up his sleeves and investing in the future
BY CLARENCE FANTOThese days, a growing number of Berkshire locals know of him as the fellow who founded Mill Town.
If the name Mill Town doesn’t ring a bell, its results will. The dramatic renovation of Bousquet Mountain Ski Area in Pittsfield? The Gateways Inn in Lenox? The new, market-rate apartments along Tyler Street in Pittsfield?
That’s Mill Town.
And Mill Town is David Mixer’s community investment company, the one he created in 2016 to revitalize aspects of the city of Pittsfield and beyond in the Berkshires.
Mixer calls the Berkshires “a beautiful place to live,” one that offers “year-round recreation” and “great cultural assets” within two and a half hours from Boston and New York City.
“So we keep our focus on making it a better place to live,” Mixer said. “Ideally, we’d like to have enough money to do strategic projects down the road — something bigger that could have a transformational impact on the area.”
David Mixer, founder of Mill Town, at 70 is a self-described “proud townie” from Dalton and now a Pittsfield resident. PHOTO BY BEN GARVER
In Bousquet’s ski lodge, David Mixer sat down with Berkshire Landscapes magazine and emphasized that “the underlying point in everything we’re doing is sustainability — doing things well with a business mentality — and that means it has to make money.”
This Wahconah Regional High School graduate — Class of 1970 — went on to attend Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. While an undergraduate, he studied abroad in Spain and Colombia. He spent a summer at the University of California, Berkeley, “when it was still kind of cool,” he said.
The young man tried several majors — going from mechanical engineering to mathematics to psychology — until he landed on economics.
His economics thesis? The Peace Corps.
After Union College, Mixer pursued his business education. Though he wasn’t the traditional Harvard guy — “I was kind of a hippie, a Peace Corps-oriented guy from Dalton, Massachusetts, whose parents didn’t go to college” — he graduated from Harvard Business School in 1977.
And off he went: During his three-decade career as an international entrepreneur and venture-capital investor specializing in media and internet technology, he co-founded Columbia Capital in Washington, D.C., with Mark Warner, who went on to become a senator from Virginia. The pair ultimately raised more than $3 billion through six funds supporting 170 companies.
Mixer also co-founded Point Judith Capital, a New England venture capital firm with Gina Raimondo, former governor of Rhode Island and current U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
And he co-founded Middleland Capital, focusing on agricultural technology investments. Mixer also started several private equity and venture capital firms overseas.
Over the years, Mixer and his family primarily resided in Florida and Rhode Island.
Now, with Mill Town’s portfolio closing in on $100 million and a growing staff of more than 200, Mixer — who at 70 is a self-described “proud townie” from Dalton and now a Pittsfield resident — is not resting on his laurels. (In fact, Mixer’s flannel shirt projects that authenticity: Yes, he’s the guy-next-door, down-home Berkshires native who, after a successful career, is rolling up his sleeves here.)
Mill Town’s mission is wide-ranging — community partner, business investor, real estate developer and operator of major local assets. Working on neighborhoods will continue as a top priority, he emphasized.
“We’re only in the top of the second inning,” Mixer said.
Citing Mill Town CEO and Managing Director Tim Burke, Mixer pointed out that “we have a good team of people, and we’re trying to create an entity that can live without me.”
Mixer continued, “We have to build an organization and imbue a culture so people understand how this should operate. We’re early in the game, still figuring this out. We’re guessing that something unpredictable will pop up and we want to be ready.”
At 1Berkshire, the county’s economic development agency, President and CEO Jonathan Butler told us that “Mill Town has been a welcome addition to the economic development landscape of Pittsfield and the larger Berkshires.”
Mill Town has made “a massive investment in our region … with an eye toward prioritizing strategic impact,” Butler said.
Butler cited Mill Town’s investments in housing infrastructure that “speaks directly to addressing the current crisis around housing in the Berkshires, while their investments in outdoor recreation show their commitment to both expanding our economy while also enhancing signature properties (Bousquet) for the benefit of future generations.”
Mixer acknowledged that “it’s taken us a while to gain trust from the community.”
“People would ask, ‘What’s the angle? What’s the deal?’” Mixer said. “Over time, as our actions met our words, I think we’ve gained trust and people are getting it. But we have a long way to go. The goal is to get everything sustainable, getting it to last.”
Mill Town’s commitment to Pittsfield has not gone unnoticed at City Hall.
“Our city is a thriving community because of the many doers like Dave Mixer who see a need and step right in,” Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer said.
Bousquet Mountain is a perfect example of Mill Town’s “tremendous impact,” she said.
For 90 years, Tyer said, Bousquet “entertained generations of families in Pittsfield, throughout the Berkshires and beyond. However, there came a point when the future was unclear for this local treasure.”
And when Mill Town bought the mountain and introduced its redevelopment plan, the city of Pittsfield “eagerly joined the effort and invested $1.5 million in water and sewer infrastructure to support the future of Bousquet Mountain and Bousquet Sport, which sits across the street,” Tyer said.
“Now, we can expect Bousquet to remain a staple of enjoyment in our city for many years to come,” she said.
On his other high-profile venture in Pittsfield, Mixer acknowledges that the Tyler Street residential redevelopment project is a work in progress, but is headed in the right direction.
So far, the commitment to rejuvenating and creating additional housing in Pittsfield includes:
• “Parkview” at 771 Tyler St, 16 units of market-rate housing;
• “Woodlawn Park” at 748 Tyler St., 20 units, also market-rate housing;
• “Morningstar,” a redevelopment at the former St. Mary the Morningstar Church on Tyler Street between Parker and Plunkett streets, 29 units, in partnership with CT Management Group.
Along with other properties, Mill Town has 198 units of residential rental housing in the city.
“Tyler Street’s revitalization is in full swing, and we know that central to this work includes the availability of market-rate housing,” Mayor Tyer said. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to know that Mill Town’s substantial investment of market-rate residential units provides much-needed high-quality housing for our community members who reside in the Morningside neighborhood.”
Here are some key questions we put to Mixer:
QWh at brought you back to Pittsfield 50 years after leaving and what were the goals you had in mind?
DAVE MIXER: When I grew up, it was probably one of the best times in the history of this area. Everything was booming, it was a great place to live.
I had a very busy business life but a couple of things happened in my life. So six years ago, I decided I was going to do something for the Berkshires.
After a lot of thinking and talking with people, I decided to focus on Pittsfield. It needed a lot of help — it still does — and it was complicated, a challenge I was used to. We’re just scratching the surface.
I was very comfortable investing in companies but realized it was not going to make a significant change. So I started focusing on housing and neighborhoods. Companies like General Dynamics were having trouble recruiting and retaining younger people: In Pittsfield, there are not many neighborhoods for young professionals. That’s when we started focusing on the Tyler Street area because you can make a walkable neighborhood and all the GE land around there hopefully will someday get improved. I’m pretty optimistic something new can be created there. You need to have a desirable place to live if you’re going to get companies to locate here.
QHow has your vision evolved, based on six years of ex perience here and the unexpected im -
pact of COVID?
MIXER: We’re getting back to a more normalized world, so we’re pushing ahead and trying to make everything work; all these businesses are tough. A major renovation is going to start at Bousquet Sport.
Ideally, at the end of the day, all of this is philanthropic in some way. … The higher-level thinking is that if you can create an entity that has enough money coming in from investments, you can help cover the cost of other things that aren’t going to make enough — somewhat of an endowment idea, but to have assets focused in Berkshire County instead of stocks and bonds. If everything works out perfectly, you have enough money to do pure philanthropic giving.
There are endless needs here. Look at all the nonprofits; they all need money.
QWh at’s your take on the Tyler Street redevelopment project? And which investments may have fallen short of your expectations?
MIXER: I think it’s going OK. The new buildings are fully occupied, so that’s good, and there’s a demand for a lot more.
But it’s just a slow process. All the GE land, that’s the dominant landscape. And if you do something with that, you’ll redefine the whole area.
We’ve been working on it in discussions, pushing and nudging for years, and I think something will happen, but there are a lot of moving parts and politics.
I’m disappointed but not surprised [about the closing of The Lantern Bar and Grill and Mission Restaurant, both of which were located on North Street in Pittsfield]. You can lose money only for so long; these are not entities that should need long-term subsidies. They’re little places, maybe workable with an owner-operator, but for us it was difficult. We’ve learned a lot. We haven’t given up on food and beverage.
It’s very important to create things to do, places to go for younger people. We’re actively looking into how and where we can do concepts similar to Mission, somewhere. Gateways [in Lenox] has been a learning process for us. … All these businesses are tough, but everybody now feels optimistic.
QOf all your projects and investments, what are you most pleased with and proud of?
MIXER: I’m most pleased and proud of the organization we’ve built, the people of Mill Town. The group is pretty unique for this area — a very energetic, optimistic, hard-working group of young people. We’ve had three people acknowledged in 40 Under Forty [awarded by Berkshire
Community College].
It’s creating and building the engine, and Bousquet is the showpiece. For locals, it’s the most iconic thing in Berkshire County. They all went to Bousquet, or their parents went here or knew someone who worked here.
This is a culturally important place. Its location is a great advantage. It has the opportunity to be a very good venue, which is proving out already. Next year will be even more so; you can have weddings on the top: Ride up on the chairlift, have the ceremony on the top of the mountain, have the bride and groom come down on the chairlift, and then have the reception here. That would be pretty cool.
Operating businesses:
Bousquet Mountain Ski Area, Pittsfield
Bousquet Sport, Pittsfield Camp Arrow Wood, a coed sports camp, on Richmond Pond, Pittsfield.
The Gateways Inn, Lenox Berkshire Yankee Suites, Pittsfield
Green Apple Linen, a commercial linen service, Pittsfield.
Framework Coworking Mullen Self Storage & Archive, storage facilities Adams and Pittsfield, and three in nearby New York State.
Real estate operations: Blueprint Property Group: property management services
Real estate development: 41 Wendell Ave. in Pittsfield,
And I’m really proud of one of the first things I did, in Dalton [in developing Mill+Main at 444 Main St., which turned a large, private home into a public space, housing entities like the town’s Community Recreation Association].
One of the things of which I am really proud is the Stanley O’Brien Center for Collaboration and Engagement at Union College. I was a trustee of Union College and the lead funder for adding this center to adjoin the admissions building. Stanley is a friend, classmate and long-term trustee of Union. The center is the first building on campus named for a person of color. I wanted to make a simple statement, by not naming the building for
development of preschool for tenant Ready, Set, Learn 45 Walker St. in Lenox, development of new office headquarters for tenant Renaissance Investment Group
771 Tyler Street, market-rate housing development (16 units) “Parkview”
748 Tyler Street in Pittsfield, market-rate housing development (20 units) “Woodlawn Park”
St. Mary the Morningstar Church redevelopment in Pittsfield, market-rate housing development in partnership with CT Management group (29 units)
The Lantern restaurant, renovation and development in partnership with owner Bjorn Somlo (since closed)
Real Estate Holdings: 198 units of residential rental housing in Pittsfield
19 units of commercial rental space in Pittsfield
Bousquet
myself, but for another very deserving person. I hoped that others would think about the importance of relationships formed at college.
QFor pleasure and recreation here, what are your favorite pursuits?
MIXER: I’m pretty active physically, I was a Josh Billings Iron Man, pre-COVID. I play tennis; hike. I started learning skiing and snowboarding last winter. My simple goal this year is to get comfortably down from the summit of Bousquet on skis and a snowboard. I have people who have a vested interest in teaching me and not killing me! ■
Former Skyline Country Club (Lanesborough)
Former Pontoosuc Golf Club (Pittsfield)
Venture Capital: Whole Life Pet (Pittsfield) Sustaine (Williamstown) Marty’s Local (South Deerfield, formerly Richmond) Vidmob (Pittsfield engineering base)
Artistory (Great Barrington)
Lever (North Adams) –regional investment fund and accelerator in which Mill Town is an investor
Community Leadership and Partnerships:
Tanglewood in the City Bousquet Summer Concert Series
Roots Rising West Side Legends Berkshire United Way Barrington Stage Company The Mount
Jacob’s Pillow
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Shakespeare & Company. Hancock Shaker Village Berkshire Museum
Berkshire Theatre Group Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation EforAll
Berkshire Dream Center Berkshire Community College Mastheads
Berkshire Community Action Council
Downtown Pittsfield Cultural Association
Berkshire Natural Resources Council
Greenagers
Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
Berkshire Health Systems
South Congregational Church Food Pantry
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So, resorts have had to adapt and advance with upgrades to technology and infrastructure. Lifts, lights, and snowmaking have become the way of life, and in and around Berkshire County, we’ve been spoiled. Whether it’s some of the most environmentally friendly skiing on the planet or massive investments for the user experience, our mountains have done right by us and Mother Nature.
Here’s a dusting of what you can expect to see that’s new and exciting at Jiminy Peak, Bousquet, Berkshire East, Catamount and Ski Butternut this winter.
101 Dan Fox Drive, Pittsfield
If it’s been a minute since your last stroll through Dan Fox Drive, you might need to do a double-take when you catch a glimpse of Bousquet.
It’s been more than two years now since Mill Town purchased the historic ski spot in Pittsfield, and the transformation is pretty jaw-dropping.
From a completely new lodge and restaurant that debuted last season, to new equipment, lifts and an altered face of the summit, there’s been little downtime in getting Bousquet up to par with some of the top small resorts in the country.
If you missed Bousquet last year, you might not even recognize the spot when you pull into the parking lot. It certainly doesn’t look like one of the oldest ski resorts in the country anymore, but that charm is still there on the hill, and
From a completely new lodge and restaurant that debuted last season, to new equipment, lifts and an altered face of the summit, there’s been little downtime in getting Bousquet up to par with some of the top small resorts in the country.
PHOTO BY BEN GARVERIf you haven’t hit the Berkshire ski slopes in a while, you might be in for a big surprise
I’m more snowboarder than scientist, but .it’s pretty clear that our planet is changing
— and not in the way that is going to provide long and plentiful powder days in western New England.
the refacing of the summit last year was a brilliant move that made for a great panorama of the city.
Off the hill, Bousquet is packing fivestar amenities into a small-town package. LIFT Bistro Pub has been humming all summer and has a new executive chef, but hit the second-story bar up and lose yourself in the view of the hill through wall-to-wall glass windows.
Bousquet has been boasting a worldclass tuning machine in-house that can get you sharpened up to carve away.
Last season also debuted the new “Yellow Chair,” which gets its name from the storied double that lined the right perimeter of Bousquet. Now, it’s a highspeed triple with better placement right outside the lodge, and a more beginner-friendly exit. There’s still a single yellow chair pulling laps, though.
Advancements in the snowmaking technology and infrastructure at Bousquet have allowed a lot more of the hill’s advanced terrain to actually be open in-season. That added variety is a boon to a spot punching well above its weight class.
The folks at Ski Butternut have toed the line of new-age upgrades while maintaining that old-school, small-town mountain charm better than anyone. That’ll continue right into the 2022-23 season.
Butternut is the proud owner of 45 new snow guns, around 6,000 feet of new snowmaking pipe and a new Prinoth Bison X Groomer.
The upgrades in snowmaking tech should make for a longer, deeper and whiter winter in Great Barrington — as the website boasts: “In summary, more snow faster,” but the key here is the Bison X.
Per the Prinoth website, “While the BISON is an all-purpose vehicle, it is a true leader when it comes to parks. The incredible range of the blade and tiller, the custom-designed park blade with side cutters, and an inclinometer enable
precise and efficient preparation and maintenance of all park elements.”
Butternut has been on the leading edge of terrain parks in New England for years now, and the move to purchase this puppy only pushes them further toward dominating that area of winter sports.
On the face of it, Butternut has put some serious work into their infrastructure and layout as well, with a new walkway to the upper lodge with improved traction and drainage, and a boss new patio with stamped concrete and radiant heat.
Adam Tresselt is the new snowsports director and he’s got a hefty resume including cutting his teeth out at Copper Mountain in Colorado.
37 Corey Road, Hancock
The longest ski season in the Berkshires gets a bit better this year, especially for you p.m. powder hounds.
Jiminy Peak has added lights to four additional trails this offseason, bringing their lit total to 25 trails. Nighttime shredders can expect the trails Winding Brook, Riptide, Willie’s Gulch and Kimber’s Way to remain open even after the sun sets over the summit.
Three of those trails, Riptide, Willie’s Gulch and Kimber’s Way will provide an additional path down from the west side of the mountain. Riptide is the third of Jiminy’s four off-shoots before the main line of West Way becomes Grand Slam. It now joins the other three with illumination, and riders can carve down the solid blue trail and into the blue/green Willie’s Gulch before exiting on Lower Slingshot to the base. Kimber’s Way frequenters may know as the nifty and narrow little delta that hangs off the right tail of Grand Slam ahead of the terrain park. It’s a minor trail with major implications, especially for snowboarders who generally have to labor to get from the true end of Grand Slam up to the Berkshire Express chair.
Winding Brook is an addition to the
night owl season that everyone can get behind. Taking a left off the summit chair doesn’t offer as much terrain after dark, but now the long novice journey down Left Bank comes with some variety. Winding Brook is the parallel trail to the forearm of Left Bank that cuts back toward the lifts. The two trails are separated by a sparse tree run that remains closed at sunset, but now you’ve got the option of tacking on a perimeter bubble before rejoining to finish on Grouse Run to the base.
78 Catamount Road, Hillsdale N.Y.
If it’s been a couple of years since you checked in down on the New York-Massachusetts border, just make sure you prepare yourself. No mountain in New England has undergone quite as much change over the past four years as Catamount.
Since the Schaefer family, of Berkshire East, purchased the resort in 2018 it’s been non-stop upgrades and facelifts in Hillsdale — per the website, around $20 million worth. Much of that work was obscured by the pandemic, so 2022-23 is your perfect chance to enjoy the newlook spot.
Catamount has installed two new chairlifts and two additional magic carpets. There are also 100 new snow guns, additional lighting on Mountain View and Upper Promenade and a new courtyard that will connect the two base lodges. A lower mountain quad chair is replacing the Catamount Double, while a summit triple replaces the Glade Double. Both new lifts flank the main attraction Ridge Quad, and will motor more butts up the hill faster, while alleviating the stress and lines on Ridge. The new Catamount Quad services the race trail, while the Glad Triple drops you off atop Lynx and Upper Glade for some double-black diamond action.
There’s been a handful of new trails cut the past couple seasons, but the freshest newbie is mostly for the newbies. Homeward Bound is a green circle that will mostly serve those trying to move from the lower left side of the
mountain back to the main base.
The new lighting will also provide for a true top-to-bottom green course for night skiers. Upper Promenade and Mountain View are also primarily accessible from the top of the Meadows Triple chair.
Catamount also has a completely reconfigured learning area with those magic carpets and new and improved tubing, including lights for some night sledding.
Molly Goodrich is also the new director of snow sports. She’s been there since 2016 after stints at Butternut and Jiminy Peak and was previously the youth programs director.
The vibes out in Charlemont have stayed true to the mountain’s old-school roots, but once you leave your car in the lot off Thunder Mountain Road, you’re stepping into some serious high-tech and new-age stoke.
The most skiable terrain in the area gets a little deeper this season, with or without the help of Old Man Winter. Berkshire East added 50 new snow guns to the mountain while investing over $1 million into snowmaking upgrades that will now cover 100 percent of the trails. And that whole package comes with the comfort of knowing that while you’re skiing white, it’s all green. Per Berkshire East’s Nate Marr, the resort is the first in the world to produce 100 percent of its energy needs on-site.
With the great ability to pump out man-made snow comes the great responsibility of shaping it into some of the best corduroy you’ll find in the Northeast. Berkshire East added a pair of new groomers to the motor pool this offseason.
Some more nitty-gritty upgrades and updates include season-long rentals with new Rossignol equipment. The Ski School building is being renovated to include ticketing, but there are also new self-service kiosks available. The Crazy Horse Bar & Grill is adding some upstairs seating as well. ■
Since the Schaefer family, of Berkshire East, purchased Catamount Mountain Resort in 2018 it’s been non-stop upgrades and facelifts in Hillsdale, N.Y. — about $20 million has been invested.
PHOTO BY BEN GARVER
Bondhu, a new culinary community space,aims to nourish the entire body
BY JENNIFER HUBERDEAUFarah Momen is a storyteller, but not in the traditional sense.
She’s a writer who tells stories without words, an artist who doesn’t use paint. Food is the language in which she communicates. Her canvas? An empty plate.
Cooking and storytelling go hand-inhand for Momen who, with her husband Matthew Trisic, recently opened Bondhu, at 342 New Ashford Road (Route 7), formerly the Mill on the Floss restaurant.
“I really love to study food. That’s kind of a big part of what I do. My background is in geography and even my master’s was in international affairs,” Momen said. “So, I really like to learn about food through the lens of: What is the history of the food? Who likes to eat
GARVERit? Why are they eating it? Is it based on their environment? Is it their culture?
“When I approach food, it’s usually from that lens first and then I learn to cook it. Whereas, I think a lot of people from a culinary background learn to cook it and then maybe after explore some of that meaning. So for me, I just started in my journey in a different place and I think it all comes back to family for me”.
The daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants, Momen was born in upstate New York and grew up in Rockland County.
“Bangladeshis have such a rich tradition around food. If you meet a Bangladeshi, they love talking about food, cooking. It’s really a cornerstone of how we socialize,” she said. “My mom worked a full-time job but also cooked
an incredible homemade meal every day. Of course, I just took that for granted as a kid, but as I got older, I really started opening my eyes and just watched her, learned from her.”
Momen had her own cookbook by age 7, but opted to earn a degree in geography instead of pursuing the path that would have taken her to culinary school.
“It’s funny because any time I’ve had a juncture in life, it was always should I do this thing or should I go to culinary
school?” she said. “The financial crash was 2008, so when I went to college in 2010, it was always like I need to make sure I get a stable job, find some stability in whatever I choose to do.”
Ultimately, she decided not to go to culinary school, but the option was always on her mind.
“I was going down this one path, but then, in the back of my head, I was always kind of thinking should I do culinary? I ended up not going to culinary school, which I think is a great path for so many
people,” she said. “I think, for me, my love of cooking was such that I was able to self-teach, self-learn a lot of my cooking through just personal channels and through my personal, private time.”
She pursued her undergraduate degree in Montreal, where she met her husband and developed an even greater love for food and cooking.
“When I got to Montreal, which is such a foodie city, I just started to open my palette, to open my eyes and to play with flavors,” Momen said, remembering how
her cooking intensified, starting with intimate dinners for her and her husband and growing to dinners for 30 people.
“I just would, on my own, learn, try to push myself, try to push myself to see how many people I could serve,” she said.
But even then, she couldn’t be compelled to pursue her passion for all things culinary. Her academic journey would take the couple to Boston, where she earned her master’s and took a job in the tech sector, working as an advisor -to entrepreneurs. Then COVID hit.
“Like everyone else during COVID, I think I took a pause and asked what does it mean to work and what can work look like?” Momen said. “I really went back to the drawing board of where do I want to spend my energy?”
She began testing ideas and cooking more.
“And then I had the privilege of going on ‘Top Chef Amateur.’ It was just one of those bizarre circumstances,” she said. “I saw a casting call. I applied and then
before you know it I was on the show working with an absolute icon. I think that just gave me enough momentum and validation to just go ahead and pursue the vision that I’ve had for a while.
“Now I’m in New Ashford, with this beautiful historical place that I hope I can do proud and continue doing what I love and serve people.”
It was on the plane ride home from the show that she made the decision to pursue her lifelong passion. “I was like, ‘I loved this too much to not pursue it
in some way,’” she said.
She also knew she didn’t want to open a traditional restaurant, where the focus is on serving and replicating high-quality food in the same way day in and day out.
“It’s about that consistency. There’s such an art to that and that’s just not really my focus,” Momen said. “I loved the variety of cooking and I love how every person you put in the kitchen just has a totally different story. They have their own cultural background that they may or may not be tapped into; they
have their own preferences. They have the things that they are already comfortable doing in the kitchen and then things they’ve never done. And I love how different every human is in the kitchen.”
Instead, Bondhu, which means friend, is meant to be a culinary space, where Momen is hosting supper clubs, cooking classes, private parties and lessons and cooking competitions. In addition, she plans to rent the space to other entrepreneurs for pop-up restau -
rants and private events.
The supper clubs — multi-course, oneof-a-kind meals that tell a historic, cultural, personal or fictional story — are a communal experience, more “elevated dinner party” than a restaurant. The menu is limited and everyone is served the same items.
“The idea is, partially, that you have a great meal, but it’s also, partially, that you see how I’m telling a story through this food,” she said. “I think what I’m looking to tap into is every person’s
potential to really improve how they experience food.
“That’s something that I’m really focused on — the learning component and the experiential component of food. And that was why I ended up moving away from a restaurant. A restaurant, you go and you eat something delicious. It’s the chef’s art.
“For me, it’s more of a come in, play, think about the food, eat this food, cook this food and kind of approach it from all different dimensions. The cooking classes are meant for people to come in and get chopping and get in the mindset of serving. The supper club is where people can come in and eat but are asked to think about the food a little differently. I’m looking to push beyond the cooking or beyond the eating piece.” ■
What: Bondhu
Where: 342 New Ashford Road, New Ashford
More information: 413-200-8244, bondhubasha.com
What: Fixed price, multiple-course dinners that tell a story through food.
Price: $100 and up
When: 6 to 10 p.m., Friday, Jan. 6
What: Explore global culinary (and a few non-culinary) traditions that ring in the New Year!
When: Noon to 10 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14
What: Three rounds. Real judges. One winner. Do you have what it takes to be a Bondhu Champion? Find more information about joining the competition at bondhubasha.com. $5 entry at the door for non-participants.
When: 6 to 10 p.m., Friday, Feb. 3
What: It starts with love, it ends with murder. Intrigue, suspicion, and food that is deliciously on theme. Costumes are highly encouraged. Character descriptions, rules and suggestions for play will be sent ahead of time.
When: 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 14
What: A multi-course, romantic feast that tells the story of love.
Native American Culinary Landscape
When: 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday, March 4
What: Explore and recognize the contributions of Indigenous peoples on the American culinary landscape.
You are prompted to complete this sentence: I am …
All I could think was, well, I am … confused?
Like most Berkshire County residents, Miraval Berkshires is a place I drive by, a marker along Route 20. It’s the large Gilded Age cottage on the hill, built in 1894 by John W. Sloane. I point it out to visiting family members as an example of what we know as quintessential Berkshires.
The 380-acre property, formerly known as the Cranwell Spa and Golf Resort, underwent a $132 million transformation in 2020 to become part of the Hyatt’s all-inclusive Miraval property. (There is also a Miraval resort and spa in Tucson, Ariz., and in Austin, Texas.) All most locals know of the Miraval takeover is that it created quite a bit of
BY MIRAVAL BERKSHIRES BY LINDSEY HOLLENBAUGHroad work and construction.
So when I was invited to experience 24 hours of the Miraval journey, I happily agreed, imagining a luxurious day of lounging in a quiet hotel room, maybe a swim in an indoor pool and a hot buffet breakfast – all the things you’d get in an ordinary luxury hotel stay.
But Miraval is anything but ordinary, and it’s much more than a hotel.
How so? For starters, when you book your stay, you need to call to make a reservation. Once you book, you are then connected with an Experience Planner who helps you schedule your classes, or experiences, during your stay.
At Miraval, they ask you to focus on the experience, not the bill.
But seriously, I asked, how much is a night here?
“Pricing does vary on time of week
and time of year,” said Emily Castro, account director for Nike Communications, which was coordinating my stay on behalf of Miraval. “A typical onenight stay can range from $499 to $800plus, per person, per night. The cost of a one-week stay (seven nights) can range from $3,600-plus per person.”
While that can seem like a lot for a hotel room – and to be clear, for me, it is – I soon learned you’re getting much more than a bed to sleep in. The price includes your meals during your stay, resort credits to spend on your choice of spa services, activities or private sessions, and a handy Miraval bag and water bottle upon arrival.
When I checked in on a rainy Tuesday morning, I was greeted by a friendly valet parking attendant who requested I leave my luggage in the car; they would see it made it to my room. At check-in, I was given my itinerary with the schedule my Experience Planner and I had agreed on – something called “Yoga for Laughter and Letting Go” was first on my list – and a cellphone number to text if I wanted to change
Miraval Berkshires is more than a spa. It’s a whole well-being experience.
“Miraval offers over 75 activities weekly,” Castro told me. “The guests typically create an itinerary that blends activities with spa services and private sessions with Miraval specialists to create a well-rounded experience that is personal to each guest’s intention.”
I was given a tour of the building, which is really a series of wings connected by a long carpeted hallway so you never have to walk outside to get from your room to classes and food. Seating areas arranged around roaring fireplaces popped up along the hallway with signs designating they are “device-free zones.”
When I made it to my large room with two overly plush queen-sized beds, I thumbed through the booklet that outlined the “experiences menu,” broken down into groupings: well-being; culinary and nutrition; farm and garden;
outdoor adventure; yoga and fitness; and the extensive spa menu.
About half of the sessions are included in the base price, while others have an additional price. I chose a mix of free fitness and yoga classes with a $79 Cocktails with the Chef class that evening right before dinner. The following day, I had a 100-minute spa treatment scheduled.
For the first few hours, I wandered around the quiet halls trying to understand what this was all about. What would motivate one to come here, spend this money and do this experience? I saw groups of women walking together, a few expectant mothers enjoying a babymoon, and many people like me, alone. (I did see a few men, but primarily women on my visit.)
I stopped by the Harvest Moon Restaurant for lunch where I enjoyed a buffet
of vegan cauliflower macaroni and cheese, lemon chicken, and a sausage and kale soup. For breakfast and lunch, the restaurant offers a buffet and an a la carte menu. Dinner is just the menu options, all of which are included in the price of your stay. Alcoholic beverages can be purchased for an additional price.
During my tour, I was tipped off that a common complaint among guests is that the portion sizes are too small.
“So, don’t be afraid to order more than one dish, or get something from the buffet and order off the menu,” I was told by my guide at check-in.
While the servings were small, I found the food, especially those ordered off the a la carte menu, to be excellent.
A text message alerted me that my first class had been canceled. (I later learned that this is a downside to having
BY MIRAVAL BERKSHIRES
such specifically trained instructors – if someone calls out sick, there’s rarely someone who can easily fill in.) I consulted one of the many interactive menus on the walls of the hallway, found out what other classes were still open and booked a 25-minute fitness class on balance.
From there, I filled my time by walking the grounds – there is a heated out-
door and smaller indoor pool, as well as a lap pool – and touring the spa, which was my favorite place to relax when I wasn’t in a class or session.
You don’t have to have a treatment booked to use the spa area at Miraval. The women’s locker room was equipped with a hot tub, saunas and pretty much anything you’d need to stay there, even
You don’t have to have a treatment booked to use the spa area at Miraval.
PROVIDED BY MIRAVAL BERKSHIRESif you didn’t have a room: showers, lockers, robes, towels and any toiletries you may have forgotten. There was also a cozy relaxation room where I spent most of my downtime reading or just napping.
During the 4 p.m. Cocktails with the Chef class, while sipping the Planter’s Punch cocktail Chef Adrian Bennett showed us how to make, I met a group of women who met each other last year while staying at Miraval. They enjoyed their time and each other’s company so much, they decided to meet up again.
I bumped into them and a few other familiar faces as I went from class to class – another woman from Kansas City, Mo., shared with me her favorite classes – especially a floating meditation class where you hang from silk hammocks and are rocked gently. Another guest told me to try the petit filet mignon for dinner, a recommendation that proved delicious.
What I liked best about my overnight stay at Miraval were the surprises: On a whim and right before bedtime, I
took a 45-minute meditation class and found it so relaxing and helpful. Weeks later, I still use some of the breathing techniques I learned to help me fall asleep. I tried an aerial yoga class, doing backbends and downward-facing dogs while hanging from silks attached to the ceiling. It was way more accessible than I originally thought it would be and only slightly dizzying.
The biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed the alone time. I ate all my meals alone, and when surrounded by others doing the same thing it felt completely natural. For once, I could pick whatever I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it. I could see the appeal of doing something like this as a busy working mom. And I could see that to really get the most of the experience, you have to do at least two nights.
“We recommend our guests stay three to five nights to immerse in the full breadth of available experiences fully,” Castro said.
Miraval also offers day passes, which
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could be a good option for locals wanting to try it out.
The price (per person) for a day pass is $399 per day, Monday through Thursday; $449 per day Friday and Sunday; and $499 per day Saturday. This includes $210 in resort credits to spend on your choice of spa services, activities or private sessions, lunch at Harvest Moon Restaurant, plus complimentary smoothies and specialty coffee drinks.
When I drove away the next afternoon (my luggage already safely in my car after being retrieved by staff during checkout time from my room while I was busy in a session), I was already thinking about how or when I could get back for a day trip, or gift a stay to one of my aunts for her birthday.
Because while Miraval is just down the road from my house, it feels like a world away when you’re immersed in the experience, and for that, I’d say, it’s worth every penny. ■
• What to wear: Most guests wear layered fitness or yoga apparel that you are comfortable in and can easily move. There’s no need to feel like you must dress up, even for dinner Do wear sneakers when you check in so that you can get started with a class or session, even if your room isn’t ready. And don’t forget your bathing suit!
• Don’t worry about the tip: Miraval is a non-tipping resort property. They believe a “no tipping” policy is essential to a mindful guest experience. “Once guests arrive at Miraval, the team recommends a friendly ‘thank you’ or note on a guest comment card is the best tip you can give and the only one they allow,” according to Emily Castro, account director for Nike Communications.
• Stop by the spa: Even if you don’t have a spa treatment booked, take advantage of the relaxation room, hot tub and sauna. Use the lockers to store items in between classes so you don’t have to go back to your room every time, or if you’ve already checked out. (Guests can stay on property until 5 p.m. on the day of check out.)
BY AINA DE LAPPARENT ALVAREZ
Ken Gilbert found a second career in bookbinding after retiring from the corporate telecommunications industry.
PHOTO BY AINA DE LAPPARENT ALVAREZ
For most of us, repairing an old book means sticking down tape to keep the pages together.
That’s a horrifying sight to a professional bookbinder like Ken Gilbert, who came to his centuries-old craft after an earlier career. “It takes the material away with it. Tape should never be used on a book,” he said.
Bookbinding requires more sophisticated equipment than tape, though it need not be new. Gilbert, who lives near West Stockbridge during the summer, says his main tools are a board shear (a hand-operated big paper cutter) and a guillotine, a different type of paper cutter that can slice through a whole book. He also has a printer for the gold lettering on labels and different types of presses.
These methods have survived centuries. “We’re still using the tools that bookbinders used at the beginning of last century. They were made so well in the Victorian times,” said Gilbert.
Gilbert, 72, learned his craft later in life, after a career in corporate telecommunications when he was looking for a retirement occupation. At an old book auction, he spotted a mid-19th century copy of “Vanity Fair,” a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray. The book was in shambles, but he found a bookbinder who restored it.
“I just fell in love at that moment. I said ‘I have to learn how to do this,’” said Gilbert.
In 2008, he enrolled at Boston’s North Bennet Street School. The school, which also teaches jewelry making and carpentry, among other crafts, offers what’s believed to be the only full-time bookbinding program in North America.
Coming back to school at the age of 58 seemed daunting at first. “The oldest person in the class after me was 40. My teacher was younger than me. I had some small trepidation about it. But once I was in it and started working, it was two absolutely marvelous years. I made friends with classmates that I still have today,” he said.
Besides giving him a community, learning a new set of skills changed his relationship with work. “I look at life differently, because work is half of your waking life. If you’re looking at work as not being your life, but working so that you can live, then you’re wasting half of your life,” said Gilbert. “You have to make work an enjoyable part of your life.”
Gilbert says repairing old books connects him with the past. Many days, he crosses paths with history. Once, the Mayflower Society asked him to make a book box for a 400-year-old Bible.
“I am touched by old books. Knowing that there’s a tactile connection with people in the past,” said Gilbert.
In his second home near West Stockbridge, Gilbert looks with glee at a 1693 history book about the reign of King William. “It’s written in the style of the 16th century. And talking about their perspective on what happened from that day.”
But above all, Gilbert is captivated by how books used to be made. He explains that, until the late 19th century, most paper came from recycled materials. Because the emerging printing industry had trouble sourcing materials, rag pickers, usually poor people, would find or buy used fabrics and fibers from clothes and sell them to papermakers.
Gilbert is fascinated by books that carry the mundane past into the present. One time, a man gave him an old diary that he
had found while removing plaster from a house in Westborough.
The diary was kept by a woman named Nancy Avery White who lived in Westborough between 1783 and 1864.
“At the time there were objects that people felt should be left with a house rather than with other people,” Gilbert said.
“She’d write, ‘We picked apples today.’ And then maybe the next day ‘we made pies today’ or ‘slaughtered a pig today.’ You can kind of see the progression of
life, the way that it was lived at that time.” He donated the diary to the American Antiquarian Society.
Most of his commissions come from booksellers, like West Stockbridge’s Shaker Mill bookstore, to restore value to rare books for collectors.
But in part thanks to his affordable prices — from $50 to $350 depending on the nature of the repair — many individuals have approached him asking for help to recover books with sentimental value.
They often are a little skeptical.
“They ask ‘Can this be fixed?’ My answer is ‘I can fix any book!’ Because I can fix any book. But people don’t know that,” Gilbert said. “Many people who have never had a book fixed before, or never seen one that was fixed, don’t know that books can be repaired. They’ve just never thought about it in their life, if a book starts falling out, they throw it or give it away.”
His favorite commission was repairing a grandmother’s cookbook.
“She found another recipe here or there or she’d write it down, stick it in the pages of the book. Eventually, it caused the book to break,” said Gilbert. He repaired the spine and made a book box with a drawer for the hand-written recipes. “Now it’s all in one place, together. This guy actually shed a tear when I gave it to him. It’s quite amazing. It shows how much we interact with books in an intimate fashion.”
Working with books can have a far less glamorous side. One day, the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover recommended him for a book repair. They told him it was a job they wouldn’t usually take on. But a woman had called the center crying about how important it was for the books to be repaired for her boyfriend.
Gilbert was elated that the center had passed him work. “This is my big chance, getting this work from NDCC. This is fantastic! I’m getting into the fast lane now,” he said he remembers thinking.
After accepting, the woman called him, profusely apologizing for how unusual the request was. He reassured her and she finally explained that a cat had soiled the book.
“This is not a niche that I want, the pee and poop niche,” Gilbert said. Unfortunately, he had to deal with mice feces on another occasion.
Putting aside occasional unpleasant assignments, Gilbert finds comfort in putting his mark on objects that will outlive him. “Eventually they’ll last long enough that nobody will know who did that. But it will be something that somebody will enjoy having nonetheless. I think of all those things as going forward in time,” Gilbert said. ■
Jayne Atkison hired an interior designer to stage her Great Barrington home before she put it on the market. The results changed her mind.
BY MELISSA KAREN SANCESWhen Jayne Atkinson walks on stage or behind the camera, her character is going home. Every prop is purposeful, a visual detail
in an ongoing story. Her ideal set is slightly imperfect – reading glasses here, a coffee mug there – as though a life is on pause, waiting for her.
The seasoned actor is best known for her turn as Secretary of State on the groundbreaking series “House of Cards,” where she played opposite her husband Michel Gill’s President of the United States. But whether she was called to the Capitol Building or summoned to the Situation Room, her heart belonged to her real-life home in Great Barrington, where she and Gill had lived since 2007 with their teenage son Jeremy.
Cut to May 2022. Jeremy had graduated from college and found his own place in Brooklyn. Atkinson looked around her house one day and realized it had lost its luster. Those once-sparkling glass stars she’d hung over the fireplace? Duds. That orange-accented rug she’d bought for the bedroom? Burnt out.
“It gave a lot of love to us, and it needed a lot of love back,” says the actor, whose family had purchased the house from the Naults after they’d owned it for generations. An overhaul felt overwhelming, but selling required getting the house in order.
Enter Dawn Trachtenberg, owner of Staged Ryte in Ashley Falls, a village of Sheffield. “My Realtor said Dawn was magic,”
says Atkinson, “and I needed magic.”
Trachtenberg’s wizardry takes vision and compassion. “Often after meeting somebody you go home and think, ‘We just had a therapy session,’” she says with a laugh. Sellers have
to be ready to move on, and she could tell Atkinson was all-in. Because a lot of the furniture and décor was staying put, the designer wanted to capitalize on the actor’s whimsy while maximizing the house’s appeal. “In staging, the word ‘decluttering’ is used,” she says, “but I call it ‘editing.’”
Atkinson understood immediately: “It’s sort of like working with a living playwright.”
The stars had to go, but in their place bloomed a vibrant Tree of Life. In the bedroom, the rug the stager insisted on keeping sparked an infusion of orange against soft blues and grays.
On a Friday in July, Trachtenberg left her ladder behind and assumed she’d pick up work on Monday. Then Atkinson appeared and asked to take a peek. Trachtenberg led her toward the bedroom. The orange was unexpected but delightful. Then there was the den, where, over a quaint daybed, Trachtenberg had unknowingly hung her mother-in-law’s art.
Atkinson started to cry. “I just felt like I wanted to buy this house,” she explains.
“I thought, ‘Jayne is an actress. Jayne is acting,’” Trachtenberg recalls. “But when we turned the corner into the bedroom, I thought, ‘Okay, she’s sincerely loving every turn.’”
Later that night, Atkinson lay next to Gill wrestling with how and what to tell him. They had planned to be off on their next adventure by September. Suddenly, he said he was nervous about selling. “I feel the same way. Can I talk?” she asked, tearing up again. After his initial surprise, Gill was moved by how deeply she loved their home. That night, Atkinson texted Trachtenberg to tell her they were staying. It was a high compliment, a happy ending.
Except it wasn’t an end at all. Piece by piece, room by room, Trachtenberg had reset the stage. It was the actor’s cue to come home. ■
SITUATED BEAUTIFULLY againstthebackdrop ofTaconicMountainandoverlookingSchenob Brookbasin,thisfarmhousehasbeenintheBartholomew Familyforsevengenerations.Builtin1804,thistwoand ahalfstoryFederalstylehousewithanendchimney,was builtonlandwhichcamefromagrantinthe1700'sfrom theCrownofEngland.NotableareAmericanVictorian stylefeatures,includinginteriorarches,broaddouble doorsthatrollbackintothewalls,baywindowsandtwo porchesaddedlater,alldesignedtoemphasizetheinterior asacontinuousvolumeofspace.Thehouseisonits originalstonefoundation,haswideboardfloors,marble doorhandlesandmanyoriginalpiecesoffurniture.The upstairsbedroomsareahoneycombofconnectionsasa safeguardforescapingfires.Cornercupboardsserveas storage;someclosetshavebeenadded.Theballroomsize bathroomdoublesasasittingroomandplayareaforthe children.Thewingontheleftservesasalivingquarters forhiredmenwhoworkedthefarm.Historicalartifacts ofthe working farmhave beenintegrated into the decorationofseveralrooms.
The Pontoosuc Ski Club is reported to be the first ski club in the Berkshires. Formed in 1903, it was made up of a dozen men from the Pontoosuc Woolen Manufacturing Company experimenting with skis. Members included Harry Lesure, Frank Vosburg, Archie L. Boudreau, Edward Learned, Robert Gardner, Clifford Costine and Clifford Francis. The group made their own skis and soon struck out on ski trips, pushing across the snow-laden Pontoosuc Lake to Balance Rock, and taking annual treks up Mount Greylock. ■
