At Eastover Resort, it’s still all in the family

By Kate AbbottPrint Story | Email Story
Ticki Winsor. (Photo By Kate Abbott)
LENOX — Robert and Susan McNinch have sold their shares in Eastover Resort after more than 40 years of running it. But the resort’s Berkshire Cottage and 20 buildings, 600 acres, 17 bison and one cannon will not change, Ticki Winsor, Susan McNinch’s sister, said in an interview last week. Winsor cemented a lifelong attachment to Eastover by buying it outright on March 25, with help from her daughters, Betsy Kelly of Lenox and Susie Sudnikovich of Mendham, N.J. George and Ruth Bisacca founded the resort 57 years ago. They handed it on to their daughters, McNinch and Winsor, when they retired, Winsor said. The McNinches stepped back from the active running of the resort the resort four years ago, and Winsor and Kelly have run it between them since. “Because I’ve lived here all my life, it’s not just my job — it is my life, Winsor said. “I think my daughter feels the same. The staff and the guests are part of my family.” The McNinches will remain in town, but they will not be involved at all in running the resort, she said. “After nearly 45 years of hard work, they wanted to retire. It’s well deserved,” she said. “But once you’re a part of Eastover, you’re always a part of it. They’re already missed by the guests and staff.” Susan McNinch and Winsor have worked at Eastover since they were teenagers, and Robert McNinch began working there in the summers in 1959 and 1960, Winsor said. He met his wife there and came to work at the resort full-time with her in 1965. Winsor said there were no job descriptions at Eastover back then: They all did whatever needed doing. Bob McNinch waited tables and worked with the maintenance crew before he became general manager. Susan McNinch worked in the dining room and the store before taking over the resort’s accounting. Eastover opened Memorial Day 1947 as a resort for single people. On a full “singles weekend,” it can accommodate 350 guests, Winsor said. The McNinches were not the first guests to pair up at Eastover. As guests met and married, the resort began hosting couples and families. And children of people who met at Eastover came back as singles and met others. “We take pride in the many families who have come back with their children and grandchildren,” Winsor said. “Next weekend, there’s a couple getting married here who met here as children.” Eastover no longer reenacts Civil War battles on the lawn, but the guests and the staff still keep busy, she said. Besides volleyball, swimming, archery, dances, horseback riding, cross country skiing and basketball, the resort hosts special events throughout the year. “The fun of it is all the different things we do. It’s a recreational resort — informal,” Winsor said. “We host singles, couples and families at different times. We have corporate retreats and specialty weekends like the Berkshire Rally, Girls’ Weekend and Alcoholics Anonymous Sober Weekend.” The resort hosts picnics, “Murder Mystery” dinners and local events, too, as well as safari rides through the bison’s’ pasture. Bisacca bought four bison for the resort 36 years ago, when the government auctioned them from herds on wildlife reserves. The herd has grown to 17, and Winsor expects to see four more calves in the next two months. She said she sees promise for Eastover’s future. “I’m really excited about our future and very excited to carry on. I don’t separate my work from my private life; I can’t imagine not having it.”
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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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