Eastover reaches out locally

By Bill SamplePrint Story | Email Story
Ticki Winsor, owner and General Manager of Eastover Resort. (Photo By Bill Sample)
LENOX — Eastover Resort and Conference center in Lenox may be one of the best-kept secrets in the Berkshires. That will change if new owner and General Manager Ticki Winsor accomplishes her goal of introducing the time-honored resort to local residents who may not know much about it. Winsor recently hosted the first annual Eastover Ambassador/Alumni Club meeting, an event that drew past and present Eastover employees from around the world for an evening of memories, reunion and fun. The purpose of the meeting was to shed light on the fact that the resort is in an expansion mode and to solicit ideas from friends and former staff members on how to introduce Eastover and it's many amenities to local residents. "While we are well known throughout the Boston and New York areas, little is known about us in our own backyard," Winsor told the group gathered in the American Heritage Room. She announced that to introduce Eastover to Berkshire County businesses and families, the resort and conference center will soon open the gates for the first time to day visitors. Along with daily activities, including tennis, softball, miniature golf, driving range, hiking and mountain bike trails, horseback riding, swimming pools, hayrides, kids’ camp and skeet shooting, several special events will be open to the public "Office Fever Reliever" events are planned for July 13-15 and Aug. 30 through Sept. 2, and "Family Fun Days" will take place Aug. 23-26. Details will be announced. Information: 637-0625 or 800-VACA-FUN. As Eastover alumni settled in to enjoy free refreshments and exchange hearty hellos to old friends, the room buzzed with stories of the history and camaraderie that come from working in such a unique place. One such visitor was Laura Kendrick of Calgary, Canada, who said that although she worked only one summer at Eastover two years ago, she would never forget the experience. "I heard about Eastover from a friend in Calgary, so I called them on a lark to see if there were any openings,” she said. “After talking for a little while, they hired me on the spot, right over the phone." Although admitting it was a bit of a risk for her to travel all that way for a summer job she had taken sight unseen, she said it was a decision she never regretted. "It was so great working here. I met so many fun and friendly people, and it opened so many opportunities for me. The people I met here were the reason I decided to stay in the Berkshires," she said. Kendrick currently lives in Housatonic and no longer works at Eastover. Asked why she attended the event, she replied, "To be honest, to me it was much more than just a job; it was more like a family; that’s how well they treated me here. I was glad to come back." That seemed to be the overwhelming consensus among the roughly 20 people at the event. Some told of how three or four generations of their family have worked at Eastover over the years. Bob Newton of Lee, who worked at the resort for six years, said, "Now my teenage son Robbie works here in the kitchen. I worked here, and my father worked here years ago, and took a trip to Oklahoma with [former owner] George Bisacca with a station wagon and a two-horse trailer to pick up the first of the buffalo." Newton, who clearly enjoyed the reunion, added, "From one generation to the next, the story is the same. It’s like a close-knit family working here." Winsor told the story of former employee Lauren Kittler, who started working at Eastover in the mid 1950s and stayed for more than 40 years, doing a variety of jobs. "When Lauren died recently, we decided to build a small park in his memory up near the main mansion," she said. But Kittler was not the longest-working employee at the resort. "That was Gert Bock, whose mother, an immigrant from Germany, also worked here,” Winsor said. “Gert worked here for 53 years." The same family has run Eastover for the past 57 years, beginning in 1946, when family patriarch and Civil War buff George Bisacca bought the property. Previously the mansion, stables and grounds had been the summer cottage of wealthy stockbroker Harris Fahnstock of New York City. The estate was built in 1910. The American Heritage Room, where the Ambassador/Alumni Club met, contains one of the largest privately held Civil War memorabilia collections in the United States. The long corridor — and seemingly all available wall spaces in the area — are lined with photographs, paintings and documents of that era. A collection of Civil War cannons, carriages, wagons and even firefighting equipment round out a collection that will impress even an expert in the field. Visitors have been amazed that such an impressive museum exists in a resort, but it is just one small part of the unique and welcoming atmosphere guests are supposed to experience at Eastover — soon to be a secret no longer.
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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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