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The Sullivan family revealed the dedication sign at Tillotson Park in honor of Robert Sullivan.

Lenox Dedicates Baseball Field To Former Star

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Old newspaper clippings and photos were available for friends and family to relive Robert Sullivan's glory days.
LENOX — Robert Sullivan may have passed up a shot at baseball legend but he secured a spot in the heart of Lenox Dale.

The baseball field at the newly renovated Tillotson Park was dedicated Saturday to the man who declined a chance of playing professional baseball to return home and work the family farm.

Sullivan led the Lenox High School Millionaires to a championship in 1946 and then played in the Cincinnati Reds' minor league teams before giving up the sport he loved.

"We were so privileged to be good enough to be a teammate of Bob's," Tom Bosworth, Sullivan's friend and 1946 teammate, said. "He was a baseball prodigy."

Over the last few years, the park has received hundreds of thousands of dollars of upgrades and when it was finally completed, it was an easy decision to name it after Sullivan, Lenox Community Center Director Kim Graham said. Sullivan grew up across the street from the park and is arguably the greatest player the county has had.

"I just wish he was here for it. Baseball was his life," Sullivan's granddaughter Kelly Sullivan said.

Boswell, Kelly Sullivan, Robert's son Michael Sullivan and his grandson Michael Sullivan Jr. unveiled the banner that proudly dedicated the field to a large crowd . Michael Sullivan threw out the first pitch of the Lenox-versus-St. Joseph junior varsity game to family friend Tristian Vaber.


Robert Sullivan's son Michael Sullivan threw out the first pitch at the newly-named Bob Sullivan Memorial Field.
"It's very emotional. It's a great honor," Michael Sullivan said after the ceremony. "The whole thing was a surprise to us."

The dedication was a "clear" decision for the Community Center board in February, Graham said. The park added additional parking, basketball courts and upgrades to become more family oriented, she said.


"This park is long overdue for Lenox Dale," Graham said. "It's no longer just a baseball field. It's a family park."

While the dedication was originally planned for opening day, it had to be rescheduled because of rain. Saturday was the first date the center had.

For the ceremony, a table filled with old newspaper clippings and photos relived Robert Sullivan's playing days.

"He was the best baseball player to come out of Lenox High and I love him," former teammate Duke Lahart said.

The day he left the sport, Robert Sullivan was offered a spot on the spring training roster with the Detriot Tigers, Michael Sullivan said.

Robert Sullivan's love of baseball has continued through the generations. Michael Sullivan and his son both have remained dedicated to the high school team as a coach and a player.

The ceremony brought back waves of memories for the family. After the ceremony, the Lenox team took turns shaking the hands of the members of the 1946 team who were present.

"Some of these old-timers just keep talking about him," Michael Sullivan said. "It's such a huge honor for the family."
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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