iBerkshires Profile: Jennifer Perilli
Friendly Fred's owner lives up to store nameWINDSOR, Mass. – Jennifer Perilli would never call herself a hero. From sun up to sun down, seven days a week, she works at her general store, Friendly Fred's, which sits near the highest elevation on Route 9 in this town of about 900 residents.
Perilli helps out her neighbors: with food, fuel and a friendly word, just as the name of her business intones. Friendly Fred's is largely patronized by local customers looking for groceries, coffee, sandwiches and Perilli's near-legendary pizza, which is made on Friday nights during the warmer weather.
There's only one other full-time employee and a few part-time helpers to run the store with Perilli, which means she's always busy. You could imagine her amazement when she learned that she was named one of the commonwealth's Unsung Heroines of 2009.
“It was quite surprising. I felt awkward, actually,” said Perilli, 56. Perilli was nominated for the honor by fellow Windsorite and town Treasurer Diane Sturtevant, who's known the small town shopkeeper since she bought the store in the early 1990s.
“To me, she epitomizes what community is supposed to be, which I think is really rare, even in small towns,” said Sturtevant. “She knows everyone in town. I don't believe I've ever seen her cross. I do not believe I have ever heard her utter an unkind word about another human being.”
Sturtevant said Perilli pays attention to things one would never imagine. "I've gone into the store before and picked up half a gallon of milk, and put it on the counter, [only to] have her look at me and say, 'Your husband bought milk an hour ago.'"
As an example of how much a part of the Windsor community Perilli is, Sturtevant noted how a Windsor family has brought every one of their newborn babies to Friendly Fred's on the way home from the hospital, just to show Perilli.
"I think she's like everybody's family member," said Sturtevant, "and I think she needs to be recognized for that."
Along with 100 others from across the state, Perilli went to an awards ceremony on May 13 at the State House in Boston. She was joined there by a sizable contingent of Berkshire County heroines: Margo Van Peterson, of Florida, Sandra Corinne Newman, of Great Barrington, Heather M. McNeice and Carolyn Valli, both of Pittsfield, and Inez Flinn of Sheffield. They were selected from among 400 nominees. The event honored these women who quietly, make their communities better places in which to live.
"It was very special," said Perilli of going to Boston.
The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, which sponsors the annual awards, is an independent state agency that was created by the Legislature in 1998 to advance Bay State women to full equality in all areas of life and to promote their rights and opportunities.
For Perilli, being an active and positive member of her community just comes naturally.
"It's just doing what you have to do. It's what everybody should be doing," said Perilli. “It is really nice to be recognized, but [being a community-builder is] just something you don't think about.”
Contact Noah Hoffenberg at hoff1013@gmail.com.
