Sheffield Society to Host Berkshire Trivia Night
SHEFFIELD, Mass. — The Sheffield Historical Society will present "Berkshire County Trivia Night" on Friday, Sept. 10, with Phil Smith of Lee, the designer and publisher of "Love the Berkshires Quiz Game."Attendees will be given a list of questions from the game to answer, and a grand prize will be given to the person who has the highest score. Along the way, Smith will explain the correct answers, hopefully giving increased knowledge of Berkshire County, concentrating on South County and Sheffield in particular.
Smith, a frequent visitor and second-home owner who moved permanently to Lee in 2005, was executive director of the Lee Chamber of Commerce from 2006 to 2009. He spent a lot of time at the information booth answering questions, and was dumbfounded at the lack of knowledge of the area by natives, seasonal residents and visitors. So he collected facts and lore and thought others might find it fun and entertaining.
The holder of three college degrees and a 34-year history teacher, Smith turned his retirement hobby into a board game in the form of a Berkshire County map, which crams more than 5,000 facts into nearly 2,400 questions.
The board, a collaboration between Smith and Pittsfield graphic designer Tanya Bogaevskaya (a graphic designer at iBerkshires' big sister Raceway Media), was published by Lee's Appalachian Press, and went on sale in March. It is now for sale in about 27 locations around the county, including Tanglewood, Jacob's Pillow, The Mount, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Red Lion Gift Shop, and the Old Stone Store in Sheffield. The game has been pre-tested with five groups and knowledgeable people achieved 50 to 60 percent correct answers. Smith's wife does about 80 percent.
The Berkshire Trivia Night will be held at Dewey Hall on the town green beginning at 7:30 p.m. For further information, call 413-229-2694 or visit www.sheffieldhistory.org.
