Gene Wein 'What High School Athletics Should Be About'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Sports
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Top, Gene Wein, bottom left, watches the action at Drury's 2010 Gene Wein Holiday Tournament. Left, he presents the tourney trophies in 2007.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Eugene Wein may have bled Drury Blue Devil blue, but he had a heart for all high school athletes.

"Everyone talks about him being Drury's No. 1 fan, and he was, but he showed you what high school sports fans should be," former Drury athletic director and girls basketball coach John Franzoni said on Monday night.

"He was just there to support the kids. ... Of course, he wanted Drury to win."

Wein, 93, died on Sunday at Williamstown Commons surrounded by his family.

It would taken a larger room to include the extended family of Drury athletes and coaches who knew and revered Gene Wein.

The man for whom the school's holiday basketball tournament is named was a Drury High graduate himself, a World War II veteran and a longtime Eagle Street businessman.

He was also a high school sports fan.

Franzoni recalled on Monday that Wein would regularly return to his other alma mater, the University of Massachusetts, to watch a full day of Western Massachusetts basketball tournament finals — whether or not the Blue Devils were involved.

"He was always positive and always supportive," Franzoni said.



And Wein earned the respect of the high school coaches from Drury's rivals. Often they would go over and shake the hand of the Blue Devils' No. 1 fan when they visited Bucky Bullett Gymnasium, Franzoni said.

"Before our girls game around his birthday (Feb. 7), our girls would go over and sing 'Happy Birthday' to him," Franzoni said. "And the kids from the other teams would go over and shake his hand, too."

Franzoni said one of the highlights of coaching his Drury teams was his postgame handshake with Wein, who would always have positive and encouraging words to pass along.

For Franzoni, that was reminiscent of his high school playing days in the 1980s, when Wein would come into the locker room to shake players' hands.

"Coming back as a coach, one of our first goals was to win his tournament because the kids had such love and respect for him," Franzoni said. "He was always there at the game, always so positive and supportive.

"If you want to see what high school athletics should be about, he exemplified that."

The funeral service for Wein will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 1 p.m. at the MCLA Church Street Center, 265 Church St., North Adams. Burial will follow in Beth Israel Cemetery in Clarksburg. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Congregation Beth Israel or the Drury High School Basketball Booster Club, in care of Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams, MA 01247.

Shiva memorial observances will take place at Congregation Beth Israel on Lois Street on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 5-6, and at the home of Paulette Wein, Berkshire Mill, One Berkshire Place, Adams, on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 8-9. On each evening, Shiva will start at 7, with a brief service at 7:30.

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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