Williamstown digest

12:00AM / Thursday, June 17, 2004Print Story | Email Story

Book signing Water Street Books will host a book signing event with Elizabeth Kolbert, author of â€œProphet of Love,â€ tonight [Thursday, June 17] at 7:30. Kolbert will read from her book and sign copies. She is a staff writer covering politics for the New Yorker and former reporter for The New York Times. The event is free and open to the public. Information: 458-8071. Scholarship drive Richard Dodds, campaign chairman for the Williamstown Community Scholarship Committeeâ€™s annual spring fund drive, has announced that the campaign collected over $5,000 for Williamstown graduates of Mount Greylock Regional High School and C.H. McCann Technical School who plan to further their education. More than half the gifts ranged from $10 to $12 from individuals, â€œtestimony to the strength of numbers in supporting a worthy cause when everyone is feeling the pinch,â€ Dodds said in a news release. He noted substantial donations from The Orchards hotel and the law offices of Grinnell, Dubendorf & Smith. The scholarship fund, first organized in 1953, provides awards from $200 to $500 to seniors selected by scholarship committees at the two schools. The Williamstown Community Association Scholarship Committee members are Dodds, Bonnie Clark, Maury Filler, Ed Filiault, James Gazzaniga, Donald Westall and Selda Stern. Robert Ware serves as its counsel. Deaths Longtime Williamstown resident Mary Wood Lawrence died of heart failure at age 91 Monday. A full obituary was not available at press time. Well-known in the area as an educator and extraordinary bibliophile, she had taught English and writing at Berkshire Community College and Pine Cobble School and earlier served on the faculty of Quinnipiac College (now Quinnipiac University) and the editorial staff of the Atlantic Monthly. With her late husband, Professor Nathaniel Lawrence, she shared a great love of life, of learning, high peaks and mountaineering, back roads, far-flung adventure, visitors, social justice, nature, the arts, language and conversation late into the night. She leaves her children, Mary Ellen Tripler of Corvallis, Ore., Roger Lawrence of Williamstown, and Niel Lawrence of Olympia, Wash., and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church in Williamstown, Sunday, June 20, at 2 pm. Donations in her honor and in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Mary and Nathaniel Lawrence Traveling Fellowship, by check made out to Williams College and addressed to the attention of Diana Elvin, Williams College, 75 Park St., Williamstown, 01267. According to the family, the fellowship makes it possible for others to share Mrs. Lawrenceâ€™s delight in expanding her understanding of the world through travel. Phyllis Elizabeth (Reimer) Cilli, 87, formerly of 121 Berkshire Dr., Williamstown, died Monday June 14, in the emergency room of North Adams Regional Hospital, where she was brought from the Williamstown Commons. She was born in Lynn on Jan. 23, 1917, a daughter of Albert H. Reimer and Margaret (Morton) Reimer. She moved to North Adams at an early age and attended local schools. She graduated from the Drury High School in 1935. She last worked in the childrenâ€™s department of the former England Brothers Department Store in North Adams, until her retirement. Before that, she was employed at the former Giant Department Store in North Adams. She also owned and operated a childrenâ€™s clothing store in Williamstown, Tots to Teens. In her early years, she worked at the former F.W. Woolworth Co. Store on Main Street, North Adams, and at the former Sprague Electric Co. She was the first woman member of the Williamstown Board of Trade, when she owned her store. She was a member of St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church in Williamstown. She enjoyed crafts, knitting and decorating. Her husband, Anthony A. â€œTonyâ€ Cilli, died on April 26, 1998. They were married on Sept. 27, 1942, in St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church in North Adams. She leaves three daughters, Alberta R. Goebel of East Greenwich, R.I., Bette Ann Martin of Medfield and Cindy C. Tetreault of East Windsor, Conn.; a sister, Margaret Liles of the state of Washington, five grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. A brother, Morton Reimer, is deceased. The funeral was scheduled for today [Thursday June 17] at 11 at the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montaga funeral home, Central Chapels, 74 Marshall St., North Adams, with the Rev. Peter Elvin, rector of St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church in Williamstown, officiating. Burial was scheduled to follow in the family lot in Eastlawn Cemetery, Williamstown. Roberta Ann â€œBobbieâ€ (Walsh) Costine, 61, of 25 The Lane, Stamford, Vt., died on Friday, June 11, at North Adams Regional Hospital. She was born in Adams on Nov. 17, 1942, a daughter of John Walsh and Mary (Toohey) Walsh. She attended schools in Adams and graduated from the former Adams Memorial High School in 1959. She then attended the Hairdressing & Beauty School in Springfield. She worked as the activities director at the former Adams Rest Home on Franklin Street in North Adams and was last employed as the manager of Treet Cleaners & Launderers in Williamstown, retiring in 1992. She was a devoted mother and grandmother and loved spending time with her family. She enjoyed crossword puzzles and was an avid reader. She leaves her husband Richard C. Costine, whom she married on June 7, 1985, in the Stamford Community Church in Stamford,Vt.; two daughters, Suzanne Bullett of Stamford, and Mary Beth Finney-Andrus of Northampton; two sons, John Finney of Buxton, Maine, and James Finney of Newmarket, N.H.; two brothers, Thomas Walsh of Adams and James Walsh of Williamstown; a sister, Mary Potter of Plainfield; and four grandchildren She was predeceased by a brother, John â€œJackâ€ Walsh. The funeral and burial in the family plot in Millard Cemetery, Stamford, were private. Memorial donations are suggested for the Stamford Volunteer Fire Department or the charity of the donorâ€™s choice, through the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna funeral home, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams MA 01247. Margaret (Mears) Eldred Green, 90, formerly of Williamstown, died on Saturday, May 8, at the Rosewood Heights Health Center in Liverpool, N.Y. Raised in Williamstown, she was the daughter of Professor and Mrs. Brainerd Mears. Her father for many years was head of the Chemistry Department at Williams College and served as moderator at town meetings. Educated in the Williamstown public schools, she graduated from Williamstown High School in 1930 and subsequently was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wheaton College, after which she became a teacher of Latin and French. She was the widow of Lewis Eldred, one time president of Elmira College. After his death, she married her former high school classmate, Gilbert Green of Hoosick Falls, N.Y., who has since passed away. She leaves her daughter, Sarah E. Bratspis of Albany, N.Y.; a brother, Brainerd Mears, of Laramie, Wyo.; a great-granddaughter, nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. A son, Lewis Eldred, a brother, Whitney Mears, and a sister, Mary Louise King. are deceased. The funeral was May 23 in Liverpool. Graveside services were held Sunday, June 13, at the Hoosick Cemetery, Hoosick, N.Y. Agnes Betty (Costick) Portz Jehlicka, 88, formerly of 140 Melbourne Road, Pittsfield, died on Sunday, June 6, at the Sweet Brook Care Center in Williamstown, where she had been living since April. She was born in Akron, Ohio, on July 27, 1915, a daughter of Joseph Costick and Mary (Bosko) Costick. She attended schools in Akron and graduated from high school there. She first worked as a clerk with the Akron Police Department until moving to Leesburg, Fla., in the late 1950s. She later lived in California, where she worked at the Sharp Army Depot. She also lived in Payson, Ariz., where she and her husband built a home in the Tonto Rim before she retired to Inverness, Fla. Her first husband was Charles L. Portz, who died in 1979. They were married in 1935. After he died, she moved to Ocala, Fla., until 2001, when she moved to Williamstown to be near her son. Her second husband was Earl W. Jehlicka, who died in 1997. They were married in 1980. She leaves her son, Charles R. Portz of Williamstown; a sister, Marie Costick of Sutterâ€™s Creek, Calif., and a stepdaughter, Janet Jehlicka Booth. A brother and a sister are deceased. The funeral was private, with the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna funeral home, West Chapels, in North Adams, in charge of arrangements. Clarence Richard Noyes, 99, of 41 Sand Springs Road, Williamstown, died on Friday, June 11, at the Williamstown Commons. He was born in the Blackinton section of North Adams on Oct. 18, 1904, a son of Edgar Noyes and Clara (Jones) Noyes. He moved to Williamstown as a young child with his family and attended local schools. In the 1920s, he was the owner and operator of a dry cleaning business on Spring Street in Williamstown. He then worked as an assistant in the Biology Department at Williams College. In the 1940s, he worked at General Electric Co. in Pittsfield, and he was last employed in the Buildings & Grounds Department at Williams as a painter and interior decorator. At the time of retirement in 1971, he was head of the department. He was a longtime member of St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church of Williamstown. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing and gardening. He was an avid reader. In 1993, he was grand marshal of the Williamstown Fourth of July parade. His wife, Lillian (Wallace) Noyes, whom he married on Sept. 7, 1928, in Troy, N.Y., died on March 18, 1981. He leaves two daughters, Sally Morse of Pittsfield and Carol Chenail of Williamstown; a son, Wallace Richard â€œDickâ€ Noyes of Lady Lake, Fla.; a sister, Edith McLenithan of Cambridge, N.Y.; 13 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two brothers and two sisters, Edgar, Stanley, Lillian and Thelma. The funeral was Wednesday St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church of Williamstown, with the Rev. Peter Elvin, rector, officiating. Burial followed in the family plot in Westlawn Cemetery, Williamstown. Memorial donations are suggested for the David & Joyce Milne Public Library in Williamstown or the Berkshire Humane Society, through the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna funeral home, West Chapels, 521 West Main St, North Adams, MA 01247.

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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

02:13PM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

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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