Controversy still blooms over use of Lilac Park

By Claire CoxPrint Story | Email Story
Lilac Park in bloom. Photo by Leila Hashim
LENOX — Lilac Park has become a grounds for a controversy about its use after surviving periods of neglect and a threat of conversion into a parking lot since it was established as the Lenox Village Green nearly a century ago. There was a time when weekend activities in the park on Main Street included sales of hotdogs and hamburgers, along with merchants’ wares, competing with established businesses. There also was an effort to install a gazebo in the park for concerts and other events. The Selectmen placed a limit of four events a year in the park, which recently was used for three Sunday craft fairs. The gazebo proposal was denied. The subject of the use of the park was revived at a selectmen’s meeting on Sept. 8, at which a request to hold a band concert there during Apple Squeeze weekend also was denied. There has been no official word from the Garden Club, which is responsible for maintaining the town-owned park. But Susan Dana, a former club president, said, “The park is supposed to be a place for passive and peaceful, quiet recreations. At the same time, it appears to be a perfect venue for music events.” With that in mind, the Selectmen plan to meet during the winter with officials of the Garden Club, the Chamber of Commerce and other interested citizens to set a policy on how the park should be used. Selectman Roscoe Sandlin, who was voted down on two efforts to make way for the requested concert, conducted a survey of 53 Lenox residents that showed a majority favoring public events n the park. The score was 42 for, 11 against. Most of those favoring the concert stressed that it would be a one-time event. Those against tended to emphasize the historic importance of the park as a restful oasis in the midst of a busy town. Lilac Park, on 1.5 acres on Main Street in the middle of Lenox’s Historic District, was established in 1908 on land given by the family of Andrew T. Servin, according to a Garden Club history provided by Marianne de Gersdorff, club president. The Servin home was moved to Tucker Street, where it was converted into a two-family house that is currently being renovated. The park land includes the Lenox Academy at one end and the Congregational Chapel at the other. Initially it was planted with specimen lilacs donated from gardens of private estates, according to the Garden Club’s official history. By 1953, the history recounts, the park had fallen into such disrepair that it was targeted as a possible site for a parking lot. Neighbors intervened, commissioning a landscape architect to create a restoration plan, which the Garden Club implemented. Because of sporadic maintenance, the park became overgrown with trees and weeds that wiped out new lilac planting. Finally, in 1991, the Garden Club, aided by the town, restored the park again with 100 lilacs and other flowering shrubs — 1,500 day lilies and two carloads of spring bulbs. Several benches were installed. The restoration was funded by the club's annual Garden and House Tour. Memorial lilacs and benches were sold, with the proceeds going to the Lilac Park Endowment Fund for garden maintenance. In recognition of its efforts, the club has received a Certificate of Merit from the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts and the Cornelia Watson Bowl for Historic Preservation. What happens next at Lilac Park, the winter meetings should decide.
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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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