A timeless tradition at The Red Lion Inn

By Deborah RawsonPrint Story | Email Story
Amber Winslow, left, of Averill Park, N.Y., shares a smile with her grandmother, Jeanne Herrick of Lee, and mother, Dee, on the porch of the Red Lion Inn. (Photo by Deborah Rawson)
STOCKBRIDGE — For the past several years, Jeanne Herrick of Lee and her oldest daughter Dee Winslow of Averill Park, N.Y., have gotten together at the Red Lion Inn to celebrate Herrick’s birthday. Each year, Winslow travels to town to share an afternoon in Stockbridge with her mother, and sitting on the porch at the Red Lion is the center for all other activities. “We all get together for dinner or cake and ice cream at some point for my mother’s birthday, but an afternoon on the porch is a special day just for the girls,” Winslow said. This year was an extra special one and the beginning of a whole new tradition, as the youngest female of the family was able to attend for the first time. Amber Winslow, who will be 17 in October, said she was glad she was able to come this year. Although she liked relaxing on the porch, she really enjoyed the shopping and especially the driving to and from home to make the visit. The younger Winslow recently acquired her driver’s license and was happy to be anywhere that required driving. The women walked around Stockbridge, checking out the different shops and galleries, and purchased some miniatures in the general store. They also visited the Holsten Gallery as one of their stops and said they were breath-taken by a glass sculpture worth $42,000. But then, it was back to the inn. “We really enjoy just sitting here, relaxing, and people watching,” said Herrick, who has worked in downtown Stockbridge at the Austin Riggs Center for nearly 30 years, where she is a doctor’s secretary. “Although I’m down here every day, the Red Lion Inn isn’t part of my regular routine,” she said. “It’s nice to be one of the people relaxing on the porch for a change instead of rushing by on my way to or from work. I wish we could do it more than once a year.” Unfortunately Herrick’s other daughter and granddaughter could not be there this year due to work obligations, she said. One surprise the trio didn’t expect during their people watching was to see Herrick’s husband, Corky, driving by in a school bus. “I knew he had a trip today but I didn’t think we’d see him,” said Herrick. Corky Herrick was transporting students from the PALS children chorus in Boston to and from Simon’s Rock College and Tanglewood for the Massini Bus Company out of Sheffield, and was far too concentrated on pedestrians and downtown traffic to notice the calls from the women on the porch as he passed by. Paul and Betsy Brazeau of Wilmington, Del., also make a traditional return to the Red Lion Inn. “We come up every year for the 4th of July party at my cousin Michael’s (Morey) house in North Adams, but we always make a trip to the Red Lion to sit on the porch and have coffee or cocktails,” Betsy Brazeau said. “Sometimes we’ll eat in the dining room or the courtyard, depending on what time we’re here and how much time we have, but we always find time to relax for a bit on the porch. People have been flocking to the Red Lion Inn to sit on the welcoming wicker furniture on the porch, dine in the elegant dining room or shop in the quaint little giftshop for quite some time. The edifice has provided a rest stop for people for nearly 230 years. In 177, Silas Pepoon opened The Stockbridge Tavern to accommodate travelers making their way along the newly designed, although crude, stagecoach route that had recently opened between Boston and Albany. The Berkshire County Congress met at the tavern in 1774, and it is said that the document it signed, railing against all things British, was “America’s First Declaration of Independence.” The widow Anna Bingham bought the prosperous tavern in 1807 and operated a small inn with eight bedrooms on the second floor and a ballroom on the top floor. The large open fireplace on the first floor heated the building. The inn changed hands several times before catching fire in August 1896. The Treadway-Plumb family, who owned the inn at the time, realized the its importance for the success of the town and erected a more elegant inn. The townspeople apparently knew the importance of the inn as well, since many citizens charged into the burning building and were able to save many of the pictures, china, and clothing, among other things. The inn again changed hands again before being purchased in 1958 by the Fitzpatrick family, who own it and operate it to this day. One thing hasn’t changed, however: Relaxing on the famous porch and people-watching is a tradition shared by those simply passing through or those lucky enough to be living here.
Share
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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."
 
View Full Story

More Stories

Sports
image description

Lee Executes Game Plan to Perfection in Quarter-Final Win

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Volleyball Reaches State's Final Four

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Boys Win 3rd Straight Regional Crown

Sports
Sports
image description

Mount Greylock Girls Again Top Monson in Western Mass Final

Sports
Sports
image description

Lenox Sweeps Its Way to Western Mass Crown

Sports
Community News
image description

North Adams License Commission Sees Little Need for License...

Community News
Latest Stories
Previous Next

What's Trending?