Adams Hurricane Fundraisers Deliver 25K Pounds of Goods

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Northern Berkshire Hurricane Relief is added to the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties' album of donators.
ADAMS, Mass. — The Northern Berkshire community provided more than 25,000 pounds of supplies to the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey.

Local truck driver Wayne Piaggi offered his time and tractor-trailer to drive donations to New Jersey and after two weekend of collection supplies, he dropped off more than a dozen tons of food, water, clothing and cleaning supplies on Monday to the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

"Everything went great," Piaggi said on Friday. "They couldn't believe that the Northern Berkshires would do that for them."

With the needed supplies, Piaggi also delivered a $2,000 check from donations made in a Greylock Federal Credit Union account he established. That account is still open and, around Christmas, he'll be delivering another check with whatever monetary donations continue to come in.

The food bank expressed its appreciation on the Northern Berkshire Hurricane Relief's Facebook page, as well as on its own:
"In this time of Thanksgiving, we would like to express our gratitude to all who supported The FoodBank's work in recent weeks. We received donations, large and small, from supporters, near and far, and thanks to their generosity, The FoodBank has distributed more than 1 million pounds of food and supplies since the devastating storm, Sandy, struck our communities."
Not only were New Jersey residents surprised at the donations, but Piaggi was as well. The effort — loading and sorting — was difficult with the amount of donations far exceeding his expectations.

But with other volunteers helping, the effort went smoothly. The Adams Forest Wardens allowed the donations to be dropped off and stored at their garage and he was accompanied on Monday by friends who helped with collections.

"I was asked the other day if I would do it again and my answer is 'yes.' It's the right thing to do," Piaggi said after recapping the effort.

On Saturday, he's driving a truckload of donated blankets to Breezy Point, N.Y., from the Albany, N.Y., area for a company that hired him to haul goods. A number of local fire departments have also connected with Breezy Point to provide firefighting equipment and construction help.

But the out-of-pocket expenses of using his own truck to make the New Jersy delivery and the need to get back to work, Piaggi said he won't be taking another truck load. Anyone who would like to help is encouraged to donate the account at the Greylock Federal Credit Union.

"They can use the money more at this point," Piaggi said.

Tags: donations,   Sandy,   

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WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) opens a new exhibition, "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art."
 
The exhibit opened on March 22.
 
According to a press release: 
 
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. Rooted in the Babylonian science of astrology, medieval Christian numerology taught that God created a well-ordered universe. Deciphering the universe's numerical patterns would reveal the Creator's grand plan for humanity, including individual fates. 
 
This unquestioned concept deeply pervaded European cultures through centuries. Theologians and lay people alike fervently interpreted the Bible literally and figuratively via number theory, because as King Solomon told God, "Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight" (Wisdom 11:22). 
 
"Cracking the Cosmic Code" explores medieval relationships among numbers, events, and works of art. The medieval and Renaissance art on display in this exhibition from the 5th to 17th centuries—including a 15th-century birth platter by Lippo d'Andrea from Florence; a 14th-century panel fragment with courtly scenes from Palace Curiel de los Ajos, Valladolid, Spain; and a 12th-century wall capital from the Monastery at Moutiers-Saint-Jean—reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. 
 
"There was no realm of thought that was not influenced by the all-consuming belief that all things were celestially ordered, from human life to stones, herbs, and metals," said WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval, who curated the exhibition. "As Vincent Foster Hopper expounds, numbers were 'fundamental realities, alive with memories and eloquent with meaning.' These artworks tease out numerical patterns and their multiple possible meanings, in relation to gender, literature, and the celestial sphere. 
 
"The exhibition looks back while moving forward: It relies on the collection's strengths in Western medieval Christianity, but points to the future with goals of acquiring works from the global Middle Ages. It also nods to the history of the gallery as a medieval period room at this pivotal time in WCMA's history before the momentous move to a new building," Sandoval said.
 
Cracking the Cosmic Code runs through Dec. 22.
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