Berkshire Profile: Scott ParkBy Susan Bush
12:00AM / Sunday, March 05, 2006
 | | Scott Park of Williamstown |
Welcome to Berkshire Profile, an iberkshires weekly feature appearing on Sunday. Each week, iberkshires will highlight a Berkshires resident whose actions contribute to the Berkshires way of life.
Williamstown - Scott Park may be among the few men who are unafraid of committment; he and his wife Cathy have been married for 35 years and Park's employment at the town's Department of Public Works spans three-and-a-half decades as well.
Park was a Mount Greylock Regional High School student working at the Cozy Corner restaurant when he met Pownal, Vt. resident Cathy Messina.
Life and Love
The two met after a restaurant co-worker invited Park to her home to go swimming, and Messina was there as well.
"I met her and that was it, I was never with anyone else," said the 54-year-old Park. "We were so young and people said we'd never make it. 35 years later, here we are."
Cathy Park is employed at Hobson's Choice restaurant.
1971 was a big year for Scott Park; he graduated high school, married, and began working at the DPW. He began his career as a highway department laborer and transferred to the town's water department in 1986.
He was promoted while working at the water department and subsequently returned to the highway department to serve as department superintendent. Park has held the post since 2000, he said.
A Man of Many Interests
An avid outdoorsman who enjoys golfing, fishing and hunting, he has an attachment to television as well, he confessed.
"I watch the 'Weather Channel,'" he said. "My wife says 'if you want to find Scott, check in front of the television.' I monitor the weather for the job, and not just in the winter. The weather plays into the things we do all through the year."
The couple's adult children Angela and Jason have delivered grandchildren to the family fold, and Park said that he "loves being grandpa."
"My daughter and son-in-law went to Jamaica for a weekend and we got to have little Griffin with us," Park said. "It was so great, he had this thing where he'd say 'come get me, get me, Poppie.' I loved it, but he did wear me out."
Park was born in Bennington, Vt. and the family moved to Belden Street in Williamstown when Park was very young. Park moved to Pownal after his marriage and lived there for about six years before building a house next door to his parents.
Fondest Memories of the "Village Beautiful"
His memories of his youth are a virtual scrapbook of the town's not so distant past.
"I remember Bemis' Store on Spring Street, and I remember Salvatore's shoe store," he said. "I can remember when the Williams College skating rink didn't have a roof on it, and they didn't have a Zamboni. They used shovels and 55-gallon drums to put water down [on the rink surface]."
The skating rink permitted public Friday night skating, and Park was among those who enjoyed gliding across the cold, slick arena.
"One of my fondest memories is public skating on Friday nights," he said. "King's had a small restaurant on Spring Street and we'd all go there after skating and have hot chocolate, and burgers and fries. I'd walk home and be there by 11 o' clock, in time to watch the 'Friday Night Fights' on television with my dad. Boy, those are some memories."
Park said that he may retire from work in five years. He is considering several retirement options but stressed that he hasn't decided on any particular future life course.
"I do know that I don't see myself as being idle," he said.
"The Prettiest Part Of The State"
His life is far from "idle" at present; Park is a member of the Berkshire County Board of Highway Superintendents Board of Directors and was recently elected to a three-year term as a Massachusetts Highway Association Board of Directors member. He is a commissioner and past president of the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste District.
He is surrounded by an assortment of pets when at home; he and his wife care for five ducks, a guinea pig, a poodle, and a parrot.
The family does find time to vacation at a Vermont property at Lake Champlain, Park said.
Lakeside get-aways are nice for a change of pace but there's no place like home, Park said.
"When you travel for meetings and people ask where you are from, when you tell them they say 'I think that's the prettiest part of the state,'" Park said. "And it is. It's a good location because you are not far from the ocean and you can go to the city in a few hours. You've got it all, and it's a great place to raise kids."
Susan Bush may be reached via e-mail at suebush@iberkshires.com or at 802-823-9367. |
