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A picture book of his life was among the gifts Nystrom received.
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Nystrom's family, including son Paul, left, and daughters Cynthia McFarland and Joyce Powell, attended the event.
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Nystrom lived in the Concord area and later in Waltham and on Cape Cod.
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Nystrom with Richard McCarthy of American Legion Post 152.
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World War II Veteran Marks 100th Birthday

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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World War II veteran Foster H. Nystrom is congratulated by North Berkshire Veterans Agent Stephen Roy on his 100th birthday.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Foster H. Nystrom made a name for himself with his watercolor paintings, mostly of rural New England and seascapes of Cape Cod.

But on Saturday, perhaps his most important work was recognized during a celebration of his 100th birthday (March 29, 1913)  at Sweet Brook Care Centers with friends and family.

It was nearly 70 years ago that Nystrom flew above the North Apennines in a two-seater plane, sketching the mountainous terrain.

He applied his painting and sculptural studies to the task of making maps and recreating the Italian mountain range in a meticulously modeled "sand map" more than 20 feet long for use in the Allied push north toward the Balkans and Austria.

North Berkshire Veterans Agent Stephen Roy read the commendation awarded to Nystrom at the time for his diligence and devotion that "greatly contributed" to the success of the mission.

"Working unusually long hours, he labored with uncanny accuracy to prepare model terrain features to scale," ready Roy.

Nystrom said he and other spent months creating the massive three-dimensional model for use in planning the offensive.


"They could see on the sand table exactly what they would encounter in the terrain as they moved through the Apennines," he said.

At age 100, Nystrom is believed to the one of the oldest, if not the oldest, World War II veteran in the state. "He's a member of a very exclusive group," said Roy.

Nystrom entered the service after attending the Massachusetts College of Art and the Pratt Institute. He started as an illustrator at Rust Craft Card Co. in Boston and later worked with a number of museums, retiring as associate director and head of the museum school at the De Cordova Museum in Lincoln. He moved to Orleans in the 1970s and started an art school.

He lived on his own until a few years ago, when he moved to Sweet Brook to be closer to his daughter, Cynthia McFarland of Williamstown. Also attending the party was his daughter Joyce Powell, in-laws and grandchildren.

Nystrom was recognized for his long career as a painter two years ago by Sweet Brook with its first annual Lifetime Achievement Award.

In between his painting, he restored antique cars and enjoyed tooling around Boston in a Pierce Arrow, said his son, Paul Nystrom, who told his father, "you've been a great dad."

The elder Nystrom laughed at the classic car stories, and recalled some of his adventures with his other favorite pastime — skiing. He used to take the ski train to Adams to ski down Mount Greylock on the old Thunderbolt Trail and recalled time spent at the Franz Josef ski center after the war in Europe ended.

"I'd have to start way way back, a million years ago when I got I out of the military," he said, when asked to speak about his life.


Tags: centenarian,   veterans,   WWII,   

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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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