Parade Kickoff the Place to Be

By Tammy DanielsPrint Story | Email Story
Drury band instruments await use.
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NORTH ADAMS - Hundreds of hours of fundraising, coordinating, scheduling and planning, and it all comes down to this: A parking lot. It's not just any parking lot. On the Sunday before Columbus Day each year, the Wal-Mart lot becomes ground zero for the Fall Foliage Parade. It was a place of controlled chaos hours before the 52nd annual parade began Sunday as bands, politicians, firefighters, veterans and Shriners arrived by the bus and carload. Some 140 units and banners were scheduled to march. Volunteers shooed units into line along both sides of Curran Highway and tried to explain as politely as possible to irritated Wal-Mart shoppers that once they went into the parking lot they weren't getting back out anytime soon. North Adams Teachers Association members were trying to decide how to attach their signs to an antique car they were using as part of the parade theme of "Transportation: Then and Now." (Teachers being a "vehicle to education and bright futures," according to one sign.) "We're ready. Thank goodness, it's not raining," said Jane Farnham, a teacher at Sullivan School, referring to last year's wet parade day. The car, which belongs to her stepfather, Richard Ramsdell, was going to be driven by her stepbrother, Kenneth. On the other side of the highway, Drury cheerleaders were practicing with pompoms as Glinda the Good Witch (also known as Sharon Foehl) arranged herself on the back seat of a convertible. The rest of the Drury Drama Team, dressed as their characters for the upcoming "Wizard of Oz" production, waited for the signal to start moving. Bands were warming up in the parking lot and Shriners were ducking into Wal-Mart and Dunkin' Donuts for a quick snack. Near the parking lot entrance, local politicos were lining up to buy hot dogs and soda under a tent. Rod Bunt of the Mayor's Office of Tourism was in charge of this year's event, which is produced by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. Radio in hand, Bunt checked in with high school band directors, drivers and police. "Looks like it's going to be a parade," he said, surveying the long line of floats and cars down the highway. "Somebody always comes up and says, 'What position am I in?' and we don't have them on the list," he said. "We find a place for them. It happens every year." Volunteers began arriving at around 9 a.m. as did the floats, including the massive Chamber of Commerce float created by Bruce Hayden. The Halloween-themed float had a giant witch riding a broom and a bat with a 22-foot wingspan. The highway had to be partially shut down as the float "moved at minus 5 mph," said Bunt. A slightly frazzled Kathy Keeser was trying to round up enough volunteers to carry all the sponsors' banners, finally resorting to having them carry two at a time. Herb and Betty Randall of Cheshire had prime seats - a retaining wall across the street from where the local legislators were gathering. The Randalls, who "will never see 80 again" according to Herb, had parked their car farther up the road and biked down to avoid traffic. They've coming every year and haven't missed a parade in at least 20 years, said Herb Randall. Dr. Richard Ziter, this year's grand marshal, was all smiles and eager to get on the road. "I've some of my Florida home's sunshine," he said as the sun cut through the light cloud cover. His friend Larry Vaber was going to drive Ziter's 12-year-old Jaguar convertible with the grand marshal's banner as Ziter walked alongside. "He was going to sell that car and I told him not to," said Vaber. "Now it's in the parade." Ernie Purpura said this was going to be his last parade. "I'm 98 you know. I might not be here next year." Purpura was sitting in his 1998 Corvette, Mayor John Barrett III's banners hanging on the doors. He's been driving the mayor's parade car for more than 20 years: "Ever since he's been mayor." Barrett, who's running unopposed for a 12th two-year term in November, said Purpura had called up and volunteered to drive two decades ago - and never stopped. It may (or may not) be Purpura's last parade but it was Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray's first. The former Worcester mayor arrived shortly before the parade began with his wife, Tammy, and daughters Helen, 2 1/2, and Katerine, 1 1/2. "Mayor Barrett has been telling me about this parade for as long as I've known him," said Murray. "I had to check it out so I came with my family." The Murrays had been at a Democratic breakfast in Hadley and, after the parade, were headed to the Big E in Springfield. The girls were going to visit the petting zoo and chick hatchery, said Murray, and would be in bed long before "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks took the Big E stage Sunday night. The lieutenant governor chatted with state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing and state Rep. Daniel E. Bosley before joining the mayor for the two-mile stroll to Main Street. U.S. Rep. John W. Olver grabbed a red, white and blue baseball cap from his car to cover his head from the now brightly shining sun. Then the police lights were on and the parade stepped off, taking nearly two hours to empty the parking lot and surrounding area as it headed down Curran Highway.
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North Adams Airport Commissioners Get Update on Hangar Project

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Airport Commission received an update on a new hangar construction project that is expected to go out to bid in March.
 
Peter Enzien of Stantec, the airport's engineer, reported Tuesday that preliminary work is progressing on the proposed six-unit hangar project. Enzien said survey work is complete, noting the site is a simple, flat plot of land.
 
"It is a big, wide-open, flat area, so it did not take them long," he said.
 
Enzien said he is waiting on the results of some soil borings, noting that a potentially high clay composition could cause some hiccups.
 
"The soil here is not good; there is a lot of clay here. We are hopeful we can do a conventional foundation system," he said. "It is a fairly light building. It is just a pre-engineered metal building."
 
Enzien said although the design process has begun, he will be able to change plans if the soil results come back unfavorably.
 
The proposed 147-foot hangar, which will be funded through state and federal funds, will run along the east side of the Shamrock Hangar from east to west. Enzien noted that although the plot looks flat, some grading will still have to take place.
 
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