Sign-up and post on Iberkshires today.It's Free!
Already a member? Log In
45°  H- 81%
The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information.           
Saturday November 21, 2009
 Make us your homepage!
 

What's Playing


The Drury Drama Team presents "Dracula" on Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 19-21.

If you don't know who these guys are, just stay home.


'Pirate Radio': Good Movie Ahoy, Mateys
Movie schedules and times

Bazaars

Nov. 21

St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.

Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.

First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.

Nov. 28

Becket Federated Church
, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.


Dec. 5

Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.


Dec. 12-13

North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.

Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.

Sales Fliers

 
 

Daily Digest

Hooray for Vermont's Sanders and his battle against credit card companies.
How Much is Heating Oil this Week?
It's breaking $2.50 but still cheaper than gas.
Clarksburg Crime Watch Signs



We're trying out blogs to offer shorter, easy-to-find news. Let us know what you think.
Send press releases and announcements to info@iberkshires.com. Need to contact someone at iBerkshires? Here's how.
Mammography Dispute
The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.

iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.

Obituaries

Paul Sandler, 64
Robert J. Heideman, 73
Carol V. Vallieres, 75
More obituaries

Sports

Williams College Men's Basketball Season Outlook
2009 MIAA Girls Soccer - State Division 2

Final: Wahconah vs Cardinal Spellman
Date / Time: 11/21/2009; 3:30pm
Location: Foley Stadium, Worcester
MCLA Picked Last in Men's Preseason Coaches Poll

Media Partners

Berkshire News Network (WNAW;WUPE)
WJJW Charlie in the Morning

Election


Trying to remember who won what and why? All the information is right here.

 

 Search: 
 for    
Enter a long URL
to make tiny:


Related Stories

 
Printer Friendly Version
   Recommend this story to a friend

Beverly Bridger, will give a visual presentation at Ventfort Hall

01:25PM / Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Margaret Emerson McKim Vanderbilt Baker Amory Emerson, one of the great social leaders of her time, was for several decades the devoted owner of the legendary Great Camp Sagamore in upstate New York. Beverly Bridger, Executive Director of Sagamore, will give a visual presentation at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum titled “Sagamore: Mrs. Vanderbilt’s Fabled Adirondack Retreat”. Bridger’s talk is slated for Saturday, April 18, at 4:00pm, followed by a meet-the-author Victorian Tea. She will also be available to sign copies of her book Mrs. Vanderbilt’s Sagamore.

Built in the late 1890s, Great Camp Sagamore was a 1,526-acre wooded estate that included 27 rustic buildings purchased by Margaret’s second husband, Alfred Gwynn Vanderbilt, Sr., considered the wealthiest young man in America at that time. He was to die heroically with the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. Margaret continued to maintain Sagamore, visiting it every year for the next 39 years with her children and grandchildren.

A native of Baltimore who married five times, Margaret was the daughter of Isaac Emerson, the inventor of Bromo-Seltzer. When Mrs. William Astor died, the society columnists elected Margaret her successor as the leader of New York society. Later she was to head the Red Cross in the Pacific during World War II.

Coincidently, there is a Lenox connection with Margaret. Soon after her husband’s death, she rented Ventfort Hall with her two small sons from the Morgan family for a few years. She added more bathrooms to the 35-room mansion, modernized the electricity and had repairs made to the greenhouses. She then bought Erskine Park, the Lenox estate of George Westinghouse, demolishing it for her own house Holmwood, now known as Foxhollow. It was at Holmwood that she summered with her new husband, Raymond T. Baker.

Regarding Sagamore, in 1954 Margaret gave the estate to Syracuse University, which during the next 20 years logged the land, sold the furnishings and sold all but 7.7 acres to the state as a forest preserve. What was left was a dilapidated white elephant in serious need of repair. Sagamore was saved at the 11th hour by the Preservation League of New York State. They in turn asked the State Department of Environmental Conservation to put the property up to bid to not-for-profit organizations.

Through this process the Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks was formed. In 1983, 10 acres were added to the 7.7 acres, reuniting all the original 27 buildings. It is now a National Historic Landmark and has received the Save America’s Treasures Award.

Ms. Bridger has been at Sagamore for 20 years, overseeing a major historic preservation project. Under her leadership, the activities program has grown to include grandparents’ and grandchildren’s camp weekends, numerous elderhostels, overnight accommodations and guided walking tours. Her lecture will be based on her book and will also include a showing of “It Was Like Brigadoon”, a DVD narrated by Alfred Gwynn Vanderbilt, Jr.

Admission to the lecture and the Victorian Tea is $15 for nonmembers and $12 for members. Reservations are advised by calling Ventfort Hall at 413-637-3206. The historic mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

An Official Project of Save America’s Treasures, Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum offers tours of the historic mansion, as well as lectures, concerts, teas, theater and other programs. This elegant Elizabethan-revival Berkshire “cottage,” listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is open to the public year-round and is available for private rental. Built in 1893 for George and Sarah Morgan (sister of the financier, J. P. Morgan), Ventfort Hall has undergone substantial restoration, which continues.
Your Comments
Post Comment
No Comments


Top Stories...
Beacon Cinema Opens in Pittsfield
PITTSFIELD - "It is the crown jewel of the revitalization of downtown." — Mayor James M. Ruberto
New Moon Mania Hits Berkshire Mall
LANESBOROUGH - "The first 'Twilight' movie did very well so we were expecting good crowds not only...
The Independent Investor: Mutual Fund Fees: Why Should...
NORTH ADAMS - From the institutional investor's point of view; when you buy in bulk, no matter what...
St. Stan's Vigilkeepers Keep Spirit of Parish Going
ADAMS - "We're here indefinitely." — Laurin Zepka
New Moon Rises for North Adams, Pittsfield Theaters
NORTH ADAMS - That's good news for people looking for the first-run blockbusters that fuel the holiday...


iBerkshires.com Text Ads
www.telefloraflorist.com
www.iberkshires.com
tasks.racewaymedia.com
iberkshires.com
Advertise on iBerkshires.com



Essentials
Berkshire Nightlife
Berkshire Photos
Berkshire Wallpaper
Class Reunion Page
Columnists
Dannyoart.com
Get Lunch Specials
Home & Garden
Movie Times
Obituaries
Randy Trabold
Weddings

Enter your email address below to receive our FREE iBerkshires.com Newsletter

| Home | A & E | Automotive | Business | Community News | Dining | Lodging & Travel |
| Real Estate | Schools | Sports & Outdoors | Berkshires Weather | Berkshires Map |
Advertise | Recommend This Page | Help
Contact Us | Privacy Policy| User Agreement
Execution Time: 572 ms