image description
Corey Bishop of the Adams Lassie League, left, and members of Peg Leavitt's family surround a plaque in her honor.
image description
Thomas O. Leavitt receives a photo of his late wife, Peg, from Corey Bishop during Saturday's ceremony.
image description
Youth softball players hold the flag at Saturday's ceremony.
image description
The Rev. Greg LaFreniere, deacon of St. John Paul II Parish, delivers the invocation.
image description
Adams Lassie League administrative director Corey Bishop reads the inscription on the plaque honoring Peg Leavitt.
image description
Attendees at the ceremony look at newspaper clippings from the early days of the Adams Lassie League.
image description
Peg Leavitt's daughter Laura Walesby and husband, Thomas, watch the ceremony.
image description

Women's Sports Pioneer Peg Leavitt Remembered in Adams

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

Peg Leavitt was remembered Saturday for exanding opportunities for young women in sports. 
ADAMS, Mass. — The Mother Town finally has a monument to a woman who was a mother figure to generations of girls and women.
 
On Saturday afternoon, the Adams Lassie League unveiled a plaque honoring Margaret "Peg" Leavitt, one of the league's founders, a multi-sport coach at Hoosac Valley and South Hadley High Schools and a standout athlete in her own right.
 
In a ceremony attended by Leavitt's friends, family members and former players, current league administrative director Corey Bishop and board member Cindy Bird revealed the plaque, which features a photo of the local legend and a little about her life and legacy. The plaque will be prominently displayed on the storage building behind the backstop of Russell Field, so future generations of the town's softball players can learn about the woman who blazed a trail for all of them.
 
"In the '70s and early '80s, the idea of girls participating in sports was not the norm," Leavitt's daughter, Laura Walesby, told the crowd. "She wanted young women to have the same opportunities as young men."
 
The league that she helped found in Adams has been around for 40 years, but until Saturday her contributions were underappreciated, Bishop explained.
 
"It is my understanding from my research that a woman has never been recognized in the town of Adams for her accomplishments and the work that she's done in the town," Bishop said. "I've never seen a plaque anywhere. I've never heard anything.
 
"I know Susan B. Anthony is getting a lot of votes right now, but Peg beat her. Peg's being recognized today, and we're very glad we're doing that."
 
While Adams' most famous native daughter made her name as a suffragette on the national stage, Leavitt was a star on the local fields and in the local gyms, even though she was remembered Saturday as someone who didn't seek the limelight but instead put her young athletes first.
 
"Today we dedicate this plaque, and we also rededicate the young people who will share this place," said the Rev. Greg LaFreniere, deacon of St. John Paul II Parish, who gave the invocation. "As we pray here today, we ask you to lead us to measure success in the ways that you measure excellence, the ways Peg measured excellence and success.
 
"You remind us that while we are called to teach and coach, we are also first called to learn. While we are called to lead, we are first called to serve. As a teacher, coach and mentor, Peg taught us values that are critical both on and off the playing fields and the courts. What Peg brought to our community so many decades ago was a dedication to sportsmanship, fair play and excellence.
 
"She truly was a trailblazer, emerging on our sports scene when sports for girls and young women were in their infancy."
 
A native of Greenfield and graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Leavitt played semi-professional basketball and softball and coached basketball, soccer, track & field and cheerleading. She came of age an era before Title IX expanded opportunities for girls and women in sports but was very much part of the generation that helped realize the promise of the 1972 law.
 
Among the girls she mentored at South Hadley High School was Lesley Visser, who went on to be a legendary sports journalist, earning enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- the only woman to attain that honor.
 
Last month, Visser was interviewed by The Republican of Springfield prior to a book signing in her hometown.
 
"I loved field hockey, even though nobody came to our games," Visser told the paper in a story found on its website. "Coach Peg Leavitt expected us to be prepared, and you had to earn her respect. She could be serious, but she also was fun on the team bus."
 
On Saturday afternoon, Peg's husband, Thomas O. Leavitt, shared a letter that Visser sent to be read at the ceremony.
 
" 'There was no one more influential in my high school and, eventually, my dreams, than coach Leavitt,' " he read. "We knew as a team that we had something special. She would tell us every day to never quit and to play with enthusiasm.
 
"She was a teacher in the best sense of the word. Never played favorites, wanted everyone to reach their potential and had been a great player herself without bragging about it."
 
Thomas added his own thoughts about Peg Leavitt.
 
"Those of you who had me as a teacher know that many loved me and others? Eh," he said. "But Peg? If you didn't love Peg, there was something wrong with you. Everyone loved Peg."

Tags: recognition event,   softball,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Hoosac Valley High School is Moving and Shaking

There have been some major shifts within the Hoosac Valley Regional School District recently, all of which have focused on enhancing the student experience to make it a place where ALL students can find their path.
 
In 2023, Hoosac Valley High School was designated an Innovation Pathway School by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and has since restructured the Program of Studies, utilized creative scheduling, and expanded internship opportunities. Part of this transformation includes participating in a "Portrait of a Graduate" cohort alongside four other Berkshire County schools to determine a collective vision for student success, in partnership with the BARR Foundation.
 
The Innovation Pathways at HVHS are designed to give students coursework and experience in a specific high-demand industry, such as technology, engineering, healthcare, or life sciences. Currently, Biomedical Science & Healthcare and Environmental Studies have received official state IP designation. In addition to the IP designated pathways, HVHS offers programs in Engineering & Technology, Business & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Entertainment, Education, and Sports Medicine. The result is that students have an opportunity for a transformative experience – enabling them to build essential skills, gain awareness of future career opportunities, and make informed choices about post-secondary education in promising fields.
 
Principal Colleen Byrd notes, "What makes our program special is that entry into the Pathway of your choice allows a student to access Advanced Placement and dual enrollment college courses, as well as internships in the community to set them up for success after high school."
 
The Portrait of a Graduate initiative consists of a team of Hoosac educators and students who exemplify the essential skills, practices, and beliefs that define learning experiences across the district. They work to outline the competencies, values, skills, and knowledge that define our vision for student success – keeping in mind that not every student's pathway will look the same. The District's goal is to ensure that all students graduate as responsible people, prepared individuals, lifelong learners, global citizens, critical thinkers, and thoughtful communicators.
 
Another recent change district-wide in grades K-12 is the "Crew" culture. Teachers and students now have time each day to create positive connections and build authentic relationships with one another. Through Responsive Classroom at the elementary school and Crew at the middle and high schools, students and staff gather for 30 minutes each day to engage in meaningful experiences rooted in mutual and shared interests. 
The Crew block is a prioritized structure that allows staff to support all students socially, emotionally, and academically – anchoring them and promoting the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Crew takes many forms at the high school, such as gardening, bird watching, yoga, and sports talk with visits to college games.
 
View Full Story

More Adams Stories