Letter: New Name for Apkin

Letter to the Editor12:00PM / Thursday, August 10, 2023Print Story | Email Story

To the Editor:

George Apkin & Sons Inc., would like to share with you some exciting news about our company. We have been working on a strategic plan to ensure that we will be able to continue servicing all our industrial and dealer customers seamlessly for the long term. To ensure that success, we have recently partnered with the Joseph Freedman Co. in Springfield and its affiliates, Perlman Recycling in Pittsfield and Eastern Vehicle Recycling in Westfield.

We are very excited for the depth that this partnership brings. They have a long history dating back 132 years, a great reputation, a professional and friendly team, and a full suite of metal recycling services to further complement our operations.

The only real change will be a small name change to: Apkin Inc. All of our employees in Adams are staying onboard in their current positions, and both of us (Joe Apkin and Bill Apkin) will be staying on as well. Joe Apkin will be leading the company as president, and Bill Apkin will be staying onboard in an advisory role. Sally Cable and Cindi McLain will remain in the office for anything you need.

We appreciate the community that we work with, and it is important to us that we sustain the reputaton and the standing that we have built. To ensure that, we have worked trelessly to make sure that we have partnered with a company that shares our values. We are confident that you will not be disappointed by the transiton.

Thank you to all who have supported us through the years, we look forward to a new chapter.

Joe & Bill Apkin, the Apkin Team
Adams,Mass.

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Notre Dame Church Closed Indefinitely as Diocese Assesses Structural Damage

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:43AM / Wednesday, September 30, 2026

ADAMS, Mass. — What began as concerns over peeling paint inside Notre Dame Church turned out to be a much larger issue, as the church is now closed indefinitely after inspections revealed structural damage, particularly in the steeple.

Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs Catholic Church, located at 21 Maple St., has been taped off and closed since last week as the Diocese of Springfield assesses water damage affecting several areas of the building.

"There are multiple issues ... but the long and short of it is that there's been a water breach in a number of locations at the church, [compromising] some of the structures. The steeple clearly has been negatively impacted by this water breach, and so they're looking at the steeple as one potential major issue," said Mark Dupont, Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield's director of communications.

"A lot of the other ones are not to that level, but taken as a whole, they might be problematic in the long run. This church is well over 100 years old and has served that community with great distinction over the years, but unfortunately, sometimes our past history with these churches is that they quickly become very costly when they start having issues."

The church was built around 1882 to serve the area's French-speaking residents and is one of the two churches part of the St. John Paul II Parish and St. Stanislaus in Adams, Dupont said. The Catholic Parishes of Adams and Cheshire includes St. Mary of the Assumption in Cheshire

Parish staff were concerned about possible water intrusion and hired a structural mason to inspect the steeple and possibly do some repairs. The hired mason found broken beams.

However, the inspection revealed more extensive damage to the steeple than initially anticipated, prompting parish staff to immediately contact the Diocese of Springfield and close the church, Dupont said.

A more comprehensive inspection is now underway to determine the full extent of the damage and what it could mean for the future of the church, he said.

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