Williamstown digest12:00AM / Thursday, December 09, 2004
Food collection
This holiday season Water Street Books will collect nonperishable food items to benefit the Williamstown Food Pantry.
According to Carol Demayo, manager of The Pantry, especially needed are soups, canned spaghetti sauce, pasta, peanut butter, jelly and paper supplies, as cold weather arrives. Bring donations to the bookstore, at 26 Water St., through Dec. 24 and receive 20 percent off purchases. Textbooks are not included. Questions: Carole, 458-8071.
Methodist dinner
On Saturday, Dec. 11, from 4 to 7 p.m., the Williamstown United Methodist Church will offer its annual chicken and biscuit event in conjunction with the Holiday Walk.
The meal will be served family style with peas, coleslaw, crusty bread, cranberry jelly and dessert of apple crisps á la mode. The cost will be $8 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under. Tickets may be obtained at the door. Diners will be treated to live seasonal music by members of the Matsui family.
From 3 p.m., seasonal craft items, cookbooks, and other gifts will be available for purchase. New this year will be imported items from developing countries, brought by the “A Greater Gift” organization. The items are made by community-based artisans and farmers in their attempt to become financially independent. There will also be a table of homemade baked items.
The church is accessible to the handicapped and has two wheelchairs on the premises.
School breakfast
The Williamstown Elementary sixth-grade students and parents have announced the seventh annual Pancake Breakfast, one of many fund-raising events planned to support the educational field trip in the spring to Cape Cod.
The breakfast with family and friends will be Sunday, Dec. 12, from 8 to noon at the school cafeteria.
The all-you-can-eat breakfast includes pancakes, sausage and fruit with fruit juice and hot beverages. Prices are $5 for adults, and $4 for seniors and children under 13.
The sixth graders will cook and serve breakfast, as well as set and clear tables, sell tickets and clean up. The class of 2005 consists of 65 students who will spend several days on the Cape with teachers and parent chaperones studying marine life and ocean habitat, as well as having fun and cementing relationships with their peers before they head off to the middle school.
Annual service
WILLIAMSTOWN — William College’s annual Service of Lessons and Carols will be held in the newly adorned Thompson Memorial Chapel on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 4 and 7:30 p.m.
The brass ensemble, handbell choir and Williams’ concert and chamber choirs, directed by Brad Wells, will greet churchgoers. The groups will perform an array of traditional arrangements as well as new settings by student composers. Organist Ed Lawrence will provide accompaniment.
Following the music, community members will read lessons from the Bible and college chaplain, the Rev. Rick Spalding, will offer a meditation.
A reception of offerings will follow the services. Visitors will be encouraged to bring a gift of money for the relief of those suffering as a result of the Iraq war and a donation of non-perishable food for local emergency pantries.
The holiday services began at the college in the mid-1960s, led by the Rev. John Eusden, chaplain and professor of religion, and Kenneth Roberts, professor of music.
The service is modeled on the traditional festival of nine lessons and carols, first held on Christmas Eve 1918 at King's College Chapel in Cambridge, England. It was founded when the college’s new dean decided that the Church of England needed a more imaginative and modern way of worship.
Library donations
The Milne Public Library seeks gifts to the children’s room for the holiday season — puzzles and toys for circulation would be appreciated.
Used items in extremely good condition will be accepted, or the librarians will order a new puzzle or manipulative in a family’s name. Some catalogs will be available at the library desk for families to look at to see what kinds of things are available for ordering.
Tennis tourney
The fourth annual Francis C. “Tank” Wilson open-platform tennis tournament will be played Sunday, Dec. 26, at the Williamstown court.
The entry fee is $10 per player. The deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 19. Players may enter by signing up at the court or calling 664-1053 or 664-9002.
Following the tournament there will be a 4 p.m. awards dinner at The Four Acres Restaurant. Past winners include: 2001, Jock Brooks and Stu Jones over Charles Nemser and John Krant; 2002, Curt Tong and Stu Jones over Chris Newbound and Fred Thompson; 2003, Charles Nemser and Jim Salvi over Mike Deep and Fred Thompson.
The tournament is held in honor of “Tank” Wilson, who lives in Williamstown. He graduated from Brown University, where he is a member of its Hall of Fame. Wilson played in the first ever NCAA basketball tournament, in which Brown lost to the eventual national champions. Wilson and the late Billy Hart were the number one ranked platform tennis team in New England for three consecutive years.
Holiday services
The Williamstown Methodists celebrated the first Sunday in Advent with the traditional “Hanging of the Greens.”
The fourth Sunday, Dec. 19, will find the sanctuary festively decorated with a large number of poinsettias in time for a Lessons and Carols service at 10 a.m. The nine Bible lessons will be interspersed with hymns and musical offerings by soloists and by the two choirs. Childcare for the very young will be provided.
On Dec. 24 at 7 p.m., a Christmas Candlelight service for the whole family will take place. On Sunday, Dec. 26, the all-music service at 10 a.m. will be built around Christmas hymns. Childcare for the very young will be provided.
A special Epiphany celebration with procession of the Magi and the giving of love gifts is planned for Jan. 9 at 10 a.m.
The church is accessible to the handicapped and has two wheelchairs available on the premises. The pastor, the Rev. Pat MacHugh, emphasizes that everyone is welcome.
Fitness Trail
The fitness trail at the elementary school has been completed and is open for use by community members after school and on weekends.
The trail, on the perimeter of school playing fields, is a pathway for running, walking and performing various fitness activities at specified fitness stations. The trail was funded with a grant from the Community Preservation Fund this summer. Funding was obtained through the efforts of school nurse Karen Tynan and elementary School Committee member Suzanne Dewey.
The trail aims to provide a safe and interesting environment for exercise.
Story Time
Story Time Adventure actors from Williams College will return to the Milne Public Library on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 11:30 a.m. with a performance of the children’s folk classic, The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Light refreshments will be served.
Public meetings
A schedule of public meetings in or about Williamstown, as provided by Town Clerk Mary C. Kennedy, 458-9341, from official postings. Meetings are held at the municipal building, 31 North St., unless otherwise indicated:
Monday, Dec. 13, Selectmen, with Finance Committee for budget review, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, Elementary School Committee, 7 p.m., school; Planning Board 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15, Elementary School Governance Council, 7 p.m., school.
Harper Center
Elder Services Nutrition Program serves hot meals. Call 458-8250 or 458-5156; 48-hour notice is appreciated. Voluntary donations for van transportation are 50 cents one-way from Williamstown and $1 one-way from North Adams. Service is available 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Thursday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m., van to Wal-Mart; 11:30 a.m., lunch; 1 p.m., crafts; 3:30 p.m., knitting group. Friday, Dec. 10, 10:30 a.m., exercise, 11:30 a.m., lunch. 1 p.m. bingo. Sunday, Dec. 12, 11:30 a.m., lunch. Monday, Dec. 13, 10:30 a.m., exercise; 11:30 a.m., lunch; 1 p.m., line dancing. Tuesday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m., oil painting; 9:45 and 10:45 a.m., van to Stop & Shop; 1 p.m., bingo; 1:15 p.m., Friendship Club. Wednesday, Dec. 15, 9 a.m., van to Price Chopper; 10:30 a.m., exercise; 11:30 a.m., lunch; 1 p.m., bridge.
Deaths
Gino M. Bona, 89, of 433 North Eagle St., North Adams, died Thursday, Dec. 2, at the Sweet Brook Health Care Centers in Williamstown, following a long illness.
He was born in Colrain on May 11, 1915, a son of Alexander Bona and Anna (Toniatti) Bona. He moved to Clarksburg as a child and was educated in the Clarksburg school system.
He worked as an inspector at the General Electric Co. in Pittsfield for 35 years, where he received several recognition awards for outstanding contributions to the continuing success and profitability of the company. He retired in 1978.
He was a devoted and loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather and loved spending time with his family.
He was a longtime communicant of St. Francis of Assisi Church, North Adams. He was a former member of the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department and was Clarksburg police chief for several years. He also was a Berkshire County deputy sheriff for many years. He was a member of the Clarksburg Senior Citizens Club and the Stamford, Vt., Senior Citizens Club.
He was an avid fisherman and hunter. He was a longtime musician, specializing in the mandolin, and played for many years for The Aladdins music group, which volunteered time at several nursing homes and other elder group activities in Berkshire County and Southern Vermont.
He married his wife, Helen Elizabeth (St. John) Bona, on March 29, 1937, in St. Francis of Assisi Church, North Adams. She died on Aug. 15, 1977.
He leaves a daughter, Donna J. Westcott of Williamstown; a son, James F. Bona of Stamford,Vt.; a sister, Doris Sartori of Clarksburg; a brother, John B. Bona of Clarksburg; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by a sister, Mary Gleba, who died on Feb. 27, 2004, and two brothers, Albert Bona who died on Aug. 13, 1997, and Alfred Bona, who died April 14, 1944, during World War II.
The funeral was Saturday from the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna funeral home, West Chapels, 521 West Main St. North Adams. A Liturgy of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi Church. Burial followed in Southview Cemetery, North Adams. Memorial Donations are suggested for the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department, through the funeral home. |
