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Friendship Center volunteer Erik Wobus, left, Doppelgangers President Robert Donnelly, Director of Food Distribution Mark Lincourt, Doppelgangers Vice President Chip Beckwith and volunteer Fran Morandi were at the center on Eagle Street.

North Adams Motorcycle Club Aids Friendship Center

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Mark Lincourt helped carry the donations into the Eagle Street center.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Doppelgangers motorcycle club surprised the Friendship Center with a pickup truck full of donations Wednesday evening after collecting them from the area over the past two weeks.

According to club President Robert Donnelly, the group put boxes and posters in various local businesses and its clubhouse on Oct. 12  to collect food and clothing.

On Wednesday, Donnelly and Vice President Claude "Chip" Beckwith dropped off three boxes of food and multiple bags of clothing, enough to fill the truck bed.

In total, 182 pounds of clothing and blankets and 123 pounds of food.

"We want to be good neighbors," Beckwith said. He said the group had been looking for ways to help the community.

The Friendship Center has picked up where the Northern Berkshire Food Pantry left off when it closed two years ago. Entering its second holiday season, Director of Food Distribution Mark Lincourt said it now serves more than 1,100 families throughout North Berkshire.

The new pantry was started on Eagle Street by the Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative and received its first donation in February 2011. Lincourt said the center's operations have grown tremendously in the last two years.

The volunteer group distributes food to families in need. The Doppelgangers' clubhouse is in the Crystal Hard Hat's former location on Union Street. The club is private — with about 15-members — for owners of Harley-Davidson and Indian motorcycles.

Tags: donations,   food pantry,   motorcycle club,   

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North Adams Clothing Store Moving to Larger Space

Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Label Shopper is moving across the parking lot to the former Peebles location in April.
 
The discount clothing store has been located in the downtown's L-shaped mall downtown since 2009. It replaced Fashion Bug, which had been in that spot for 24 years before closing in 2007; the company liquidated in 2013. 
 
Label Shopper is part of Peter Harris Clothes, established in 1970 by Peter Elitzer. Starting as a single store in Latham, N.Y., offering brand-name apparel at discount prices, the company operates more than 70 stores throughout the Northeast and Midwest.
 
The store is set to close on April 6 for the move and reopen on April 9 in the former Gordmans, according to signage. 
 
Gordmans briefly replaced Peebles in the former Kmart until the parent company of the two brands declared bankruptcy and closed its stores in 2020. 
 
At 17,250 square feet, the Gordman's space is at least double the size of Label Shopper's current location.
 
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