Phyllis Jaffe will focus on â€œThree Late Lamented Literary Legends: William Styron, Wendy Wasserstein

10:53AM / Monday, July 30, 2007Print Story | Email Story

Teacher and lecturer Phyllis Jaffe will focus on â€œThree Late Lamented Literary Legends: William Styron, Wendy Wasserstein, Kurt Vonnegutâ€ for a talk at Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum on Wednesday, August 22 at 4:00pm, followed by a question- and-answer period and a Victorian Tea. Jaffe will present a celebration of three significant writers whose themes, styles and characterizations capture the essence of American behaviors and concerns. The fictional personalities created by these authors are especially vibrant depictions of the interactions among human beings and their societies. Jaffe returns to Ventfort Hall for the seventh time as a lecturer. She was an Advanced Placement and Shakespeare teacher in the New York City high schools, where she was named Teacher of the Year. She was also a mentor and curriculum developer for the New York City Board of Education. Here in the Berkshires and at Sarasota, Florida, she is the facilitator of ten book groups. As an Elderhostel lecturer for the past eleven years, Jaffe has taught many programs for the Berkshire Institute for Lifetime Learning. She also continues as presenter at Shakespeare & Companyâ€™s Humanities Lectures. Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum programs are partially underwritten by the Lenox Cultural Council and the Richmond Cultural Council, members of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Admission for the lecture is $15 per person, $12 for members. For more information or reservations, call 413-637-3206. Ventfort Hall is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox. An Official Project of Save Americaâ€™s Treasures, Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum offers tours of the historic mansion, as well as lectures, concerts, teas, theater and other programs. This elegant Elizabethan Revival Berkshire â€œcottage,â€ listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is open to the public year-around and is available for private rental. Built in 1893 for George and Sarah Morgan (sister of the financier, J. P. Morgan), Ventfort Hall has undergone substantial restoration, which continues.

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BVNA Nurses Raise Funds for Berkshire Bounty

06:38AM / Wednesday, December 24, 2025

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massachusetts Nursing Association members of the Berkshire Visiting Nurses Association raised $650 to help with food insecurity in Berkshire County.

The nurses and health-care professionals of BVNA have given back to the community every holiday season for the last three years. The first year, they adopted a large family, raised money, bought, wrapped and delivered the gifts for the family. Last year, they sold raffle tickets and the money raised went to the charitable cause of the winner.

This year, with food insecurity as a rising issue, they chose to give to Berkshire Bounty in Great Barrington.

They sold raffle tickets for a drawing to win one of two items: A lottery ticket tree or a gift certificate tree, each worth $100. They will be giving the organization the donation this month.

Berkshire Bounty seeks to improve food security in the county through food donations from retailers and local farms; supplemental purchases of healthy foods; distribution to food sites and home deliveries; and collaborating with partners to address emergencies and improve the food system.

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