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Bytes from the Bean by Joe Manning 2-01-0212:00AM / Tuesday, January 29, 2002
MOVING THE PIANO
“Too many people are ready to carry the stool when the piano needs to be moved.â€
-Anonymous
On January 21, I facilitated a discussion about civil rights at the Martin Luther King Day celebration, which took place at the First Baptist Church in North Adams. Among the five panelists was fifth-grader Lauren Marceau. During the discussion, I repeated the quote above about moving the piano. With insight not often attributed to pre-teens, she interjected, “That means that too many people try to take the easy way out.â€
The inspirational celebration honoring Dr. King was attended by over 100 North Berkshire citizens who care about moving pianos. Over the past five or so years that I have been visiting and writing about North Adams, I have noticed many piano movers. Below are a few examples, all of whom do business within a block of one another on Main Street.
In 1997, for my introduction to Steeples, I described the sad emptiness of Main Street that I observed when I first started visiting.
Often, on a Saturday night downtown, the only activity is a few persons waiting in line at the ATM, presumably getting cash to spend in another town. An errant traveler looking to get back on Route 2 may be tempted to shout, “Where is everybody?â€
And yet, nearly a year before I wrote that, a young social worker from Pittsfield had already made a risky investment on that same quiet Main Street by opening the Appalachian Bean Café. In November 1996, six months after opening the Bean, she told me:
“I thought this place was too big, but the more I kept looking at it, the more I liked it. I learned in my class that the corner is a better spot. I knew the brick wall was there, and I knew those windows were there, because you could see them from the outside. I found out that the wall had been closed up for almost a hundred years. I decided that I wanted that wall and I wanted that ceiling. It took me two months to renovate. The wall was charred because of the heat pipe, so I sandblasted it. I’ve done a lot of things I’ve never done before.
I want people to come here and enjoy themselves. I don’t want it to be a restaurant where you get ‘em in and get ‘em out. It’s big, so people can sit and don’t have to leave so other people can sit down. The nicest thing about working here is the people. I love to work the morning, because you have time to chat and laugh with the customers.â€
And here she is almost six years later, serving the community well by providing a friendly and democratic meeting place for the lunch crowd and the coffee-drinking old-timers who gather in the early hours. The Bean has been the result of long hours of hard work and the caring attitude of its owner. She is a piano mover. For her service to the community, Audrey Witter gets my “PIANO†award.
In the summer of 1997, Audrey introduced me to a North Adams native who had recently moved back from the Cape. She told me that she and a friend from Williamstown were planning to open a bookstore on Main Street in the fall. Two years after Papyri Books opened its doors, she told me in an interview:
“I wanted to make it work in North Adams. My friend was leaning toward doing it in Williamstown, where there was a lot more happening. In my heart, I wanted to do it here; so I kept looking at the numbers to find a way to make it work.
We opened on November 20, 1997. When we started having poetry readings, we bought cheese and crackers and bottles of wine, because we wanted people to have fun and feel welcome. That got expensive, so we called and asked some of the local restaurants if they would supply the food free as a promotion, and that’s worked great.
Our WordPlay series has been very successful, both in drawing people to the readings and bringing poetry to the city. Some of the people attending have told me that they didn’t like poetry until they came to one of our readings. One person started writing poetry after coming several times. There’s a great amount of talent in Berkshire County. We provide a space for them. We don’t charge for these events; we ask for donations. We have a nice warm space that’s fairly big, and it’s probably the only one like it in the area.
I like the small town life. Even when I was growing up here, there was never a sense that North Adams was a bustling community. There wasn’t a whole lot to do if you compare it to the big city, but there was a lot in terms of getting together with your family and friends. Those things don’t require a bustling city to happen; they require good people. This city is rich with that.â€
For making the extra effort to provide a beautiful store filled with interesting and unusual books (many by local writers), and for filling up the calendar with poetry readings, acoustic music, and many other activities that brighten Main Street, a PIANO is awarded to Eileen Gloster and her friend Karen Kane.
About a year ago, three area writers started a non-profit organization called Inkberry. Recognizing that there are many talented writers in the area who need a place to share their work, and learn in a supportive atmosphere, they obtained a grant and began scheduling readings and workshops. With their hard work and the sweat of many dedicated volunteers, they have recently moved into a lovely space at 59 Main Street, a few doors east of Papyri Books.
Emily Banner, Rachel Barenblat, and Sandy Ryan, our new kids on the block, deserve a PIANO for their efforts. Inkberry is worthy of your support. Be sure to drop by and say hello. They are open 1:00 to 5:00, Wednesday through Saturday. Check out their website at www.inkberry.org. On their site, they describe Inkberry as:
“…a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the literary arts in and around Berkshire County. Through workshops geared towards every level of writer, and a reading series that will both bring established writers into our community and promote local talent, we aim to strengthen connections between writing and life, and create a place where everyone can discover their voice.â€
Finally, here’s a message for those who are still grabbing for the stool instead of the piano. Don’t fret! Your contributions, however small, are just as important. After all, philosopher Edmund Burke said, “Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could only do a little.â€
Let us continue to do whatever we can to enrich our community. And remember the words of Martin Luther King:
"If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving."
Visit Joe's website at: www.sevensteeples.com.
Email Joe at: manningfamily@rcn.com. |
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