Pittsfield woman wants local MOMS to unite

By Glenn DrohanPrint Story | Email Story
Pam Ellis and her son Billy at home. (Photo by Anthony Fyden)
PITTSFIELD — A local woman who believes “stay-at-home moms” shouldn’t have to stay at home has launched a support group for them that she hopes will offer a variety of activities for mothers and children in Pittsfield and Lenox. Pam Ellis of Kitteredge Road planned to start a local chapter of Moms Offering Moms Support with an introductory meeting at the Lenox Community Center today at 10 a.m. She has proposed a calendar of events that will include playgroups, trips to local playgrounds, a rail-trail walk, “MOMS nights out” and other outings. “I don’t think there’s an awful lot of support out there for stay-at-home moms,” Ellis said Sunday. “This is a good chance for people to meet other mothers, and it offers a lot of activities during the day.” The closest MOMS chapter to Berkshire County is in Springfield. Ellis said she brought the idea here from Middleboro, where she was a member of a MOMS chapter that had about 40 members. The international MOMS Club began in California in 1983 and has grown from one club started there by Mary James into more than 1,500 chapters and 75,000 members nationwide, plus more overseas. “I’m hoping to get it off the ground here,” Ellis said. “We don’t have to start big. Chapters can start with as few as four or five members, but they usually grow pretty fast.” She said she also hopes to meet new friends through the club. She and her husband, Scott, recently moved to Pittsfield with their son, Billy, 2 1/2, when Scott Ellis took a job with the local law firm of Campoli & Campoli. Ellis said the MOMS club will be designed for stay-at-home mothers and their children but will also welcome mothers who work part-time and even stay-at-home fathers who want to take part in activities — except, of course, MOMS Nights Out. The first one of those is tentatively scheduled for April 23 at the 99 Restaurant in Pittsfield. “It is a good club. It’s completely nonprofit, non-denominational, non-discriminatory and non-political,” Ellis said. “The benefits for the kids are enormous with the social aspects, and we also will try to do at least one community-service-oriented project per year.” In Middleboro, for example, the MOMS chapter organized a Christmas-stocking program for less fortunate children, she said. “I’m also hoping to work with the senior center and do things for the elderly, too,” she said. “It’s kind of a natural pairing. I think you kind of come full circle in life, and kids can bring the best out in seniors. They have a lifetime of experience and a world of patience, and I think kids pick up on that.” According to the international club’s Web site, www.momsclub.org, the organization’s goals are to provide support groups for mothers who choose to stay at home to raise their children, provide a forum for topics of interest for mothers, help children in the community and perform at least one service project annually for needy children. It’s guiding principles are: That women must be free to choose their personal path to fulfillment; that, for women who choose it, raising children is an important and fulfilling full-time job; that a family’s decision for a mother to stay at home to raise children often involves considerable financial sacrifice, and that there is no one right way to raise children, “but our members have a common concern in raising their children in a healthful way.” Ellis said she wants to keep the amount of money mothers would have to spend on activities minimal. Among the activities could be free story times at the public library or at the Berkshire Mall. Each mother who joined the group would have to pay annual dues of $25, however, to help pay for newsletters, mailings and publicity, she said. For now, the group is just for moms in Pittsfield and Lenox, but, Ellis said, “I’d love to see something happen all through Berkshire County. I would encourage anyone from Berkshire County to come and find out about us.” For those who missed today’s meeting, Ellis will host another on April 26 at 10:30 a.m. at her home. For information on that meeting or the group, call her at 442-7653. “I think it can be hard to get a club going until you get the word of mouth,” she said, “but once it gets going, it can be a really wonderful experience.”
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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