Lenox Chamber to sponsor Berkshire Coaching Weekend

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The Lenox Chamber of Commerce announced today, plans for a Berkshire Coaching Weekend October 9-11. The weekend festivities will kick off on Saturday, October 9th with the Coachmen driving through Lenox en route to Shakespeare & Company. On Sunday, October 10th, the drive will proceed through Stockbridge en route to the Norman Rockwell Museum, and on Monday, October 11th another drive is planned through Lenox before stopping at The Mount Estate and Gardens. Berkshire residents and visitors to the area are invited to come and hail the magnificent coaches along the coach route and visit Shakespeare & Company and be part of the coaching experience. Coaches will arrive at approximately 12:00 PM. On Sunday evening, October 10th, the Lenox Chamber of Commerce and Ventfort Hall Association will host a Black Tie Gilded Age Gala at the Lenox Club. The event will feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on the porch, followed by dinner and dancing to the Carlins Orchestra. Gala tickets are $125 per person. Members of the New York Coaching Club and the Four In Hand Club of America will participate in the Columbus Day drive. Some of these Coachmen are coming from as far away as Vermont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Illinois and Florida. The New York Coaching Club was established in 1875 at the fashionable Knickerbocker Club at 61st Street and 5th Avenue. Coaching came to the Berkshires in the closing years of the nineteenth-century, as Lenox became known as a summer resort with fine hotels and magnificent “cottages” owned by prominent New York families. Coaching became one of the activities of local sporting gentlemen, who kept fine carriages and blood horses in their coach houses and stables. Many of the Club’s members summered in Lenox and it was only a matter of time before the Club made Lenox the focal point of one of its outings. Harris Fahnestock regularly drove at Club meets and events and his coach was frequently seen at Eastover in Lenox, his summer estate. George Griswold Haven, Jr., also participated in Club meets and drives. He summered at Sunnycroft just off Kemble Street in Lenox. His next-door neighbor, Frank Knight Sturgis, was an equally enthusiastic Coaching Club member. Another Club member William C. Whitney owned Antlers, the rustic October Mountain preserve. These members of the Coaching Club tooled their coaches along the main streets of Lenox and the surrounding areas and brought coaching to a high standard here in the Berkshires and brought the elegance of the New York Elite. Today, Stockbridge resident Harvey Waller has followed the example of these former Lenox coaching men and acquired a team of horses. One of his acquisitions, “Old Times”, once driven by James Selby on his record breaking run in England, was turned out for the 2003 Lenox Tub Parade last September. To make a donation to help support this Coaching Weekend in the Berkshires, please make checks payable to Ventfort Hall Association and mail to 104 Walker Street, Lenox, MA 01240. When making a donation, please reference “Berkshire Coaching Weekend” on your check. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For further information on the Berkshire Coaching Weekend please visit the Lenox Chamber of Commerce website, www.lenox.org or call 413-637-3646.
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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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