Purpura, Former Fall Foliage Parade Driver, Turning 100

07:40PM / Saturday, August 29, 2009Print Story | Email Story

iBerkshires file

Ernest Purpura, then 98, in his Corvette at the Fall Foliage Parade in 2007.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Ernest Purpura, a resident of Williams Commons, will turn 100 years old on Aug. 30.

You might have seen him in the annual Fall Foliage Parade in North Adams. Purpura's driven one of his Corvettes in the parade for many years. For more than two decades, he's displayed the banner for Mayor John Barrett III.

He was born in Quincy but lived in North Adams for 65 years before moving to Williamstown. Mr. Purpura studied drafting and engineering at Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston and, in later years, took additional courses at Hudson Community College in Troy, N.Y.

He headed the drafting department of the former Sprague Electric Co. and managed the former Northern Berkshire Stamp Co., a subsidiary of Sprague. He left the company in 1958 to work for General Electric Co., retiring in 1964.

He married in 1934 and has a daughter, son and granddaughter. He was a member of many local organizations and is a Corvette enthusiast, owning 1954, 1959 and 1986 models. He took great pride in driving them in the parade until last year. He was a member of both the National and Berkshire County Corvette Clubs.

The Purpura family is planning a birthday celebration for him on his birthday at 2 at Williamstown Commons.

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Reverend: Christian Nationalists Make Jesus Victim of 'Identity Theft'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
08:08AM / Sunday, October 04, 2026

David Langston introduces the Rev. Darrell Goodwin on Wednesday morning.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Rev. Darrell Goodwin told attendees at Wednesday's "PrayAction Breakfast" that they need more action to make their prayer effective.

"Sometimes prayer causes us to be in deep reflection," Goodwin told the group gathered at the Williamstown Meetinghouse. "And years and years and years pass, and we've actually done nothing about it.

"Our physical belief system is somehow: Say the words to God, and it becomes God's responsibility, and we've done our part because we've told God exactly what to do."

Goodwin, the president of the United Church of Christ's Southern New England Conference, was invited to Williamstown by First Congregational Church to speak on "The Challenge of Christian Nationalism."

And Goodwin challenged his listeners to take meaningful action to confront and address the ideology in their daily lives.

Christian Nationalism, which Goodwin referred to as White Christian Nationalism, is a perversion of Christ's teachings, he said.

"What does it mean to be spiritually grounded but practically committed?" Goodwin asked rhetorically. "This morning I've been asked to come here to talk about Christian Nationalism, but I think it would be remiss if I didn't say White Christian Nationalism. I want to name all three of these words because each tells us something that we must do.

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