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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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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