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Pittsfield Church Celebrating 100th Year

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — St. Mark's Church has been a big part of Linda Murphy's life.

Her parents were active in the West Street church and so was she. Growing up on Onota Street, she would walk to the church's bazaars and dinners and was in its Militia of Mary.

At one dinner, a young man she hadn't seen too much of at church events helped park her family's car. It wasn't too long after that they were married.

Now Murphy is the parish nurse, hosting health clinics and screenings while her husband, Dick Murphy, works in the parish food pantry and delivers Meals on Wheels on the weekends with their son.

She continues to attend Mass with her parents, husband and two of their three children who still live in Pittsfield.

"It's family," Dick Murphy said. "It's community."

Dick Murphy got involved in the church at an early age but his family did not have a car so he seldom had a chance to attend parish activities. While still part of the parish, he didn't step foot into St. Mark's until his confirmation but since then, he has been an active member.

For three the generations of devoted Catholics, St. Mark's has been a cornerstone of their life, as the parish has been for many families in the West Side. And they are still going strong as the parish enters its 100th year.

Formed as an offshoot of St. Joseph's on North Street because of population boom in 1913, St. Mark's opened a church at the corner of Onota and West street with the Rev. Michael Leonard as its first pastor. Leonard would lead the parish until his death in 1955 at age 94; the Rev. Thomas Finn succeeded him.

"People didn't have cars and it was hard to get to [North Street]," said the Rev. John Salatino, its current pastor. "The population on this side of town was growing."

In 1932, the parish built a larger church on West Street for $250,000. It featured Gothic style architecture, vaulted ceilings, granite from West Townsend, floors of Belgian and Italian marble and chestnut interior woodwork.

Vito Penna, 87, remembers his father laying bricks and digging the foundation. Penna lived right across the street but because he was Italian, he had to go to Mount Carmel Church instead.

But when the church opened its door, Penna would walk across the street to attend Mass even though he was later confirmed at Mount Carmel. He worked in St. Mark's food pantry and for the last 38 years has been working the parish bingo nights.

"In the meantime, they were saving to build the school. The school opened in 1965," said Salatino, a city native who grew up in the parish.

The parish school operated independently until the diocese consolidated all the city's parochial schools into one district in 1974. Now, St. Mark's educates students from pre-K to Grade 8 and the school is used for "religious education and parish events," Salatino said.

In 1968, Msgr. Joseph Johnson was appointed pastor following Finn's death and the Rev. Henry Dorsch took over in 1994 after Johnson's retirement. In 2003, Salatino was appointed the parish's fifth pastor, bringing him home to the church he grew up in.

Salatino had left the parish for college and spent 20 years working in other churches, including St. Patrick's in Chicopee and St. Mary's in Westfield. He was asked to return to Pittsfield in 2003 because he could give Mass in Spanish at St. Joseph's and at St. Peter's in Great Barrington.

"I was gone for 20 years and it was nice to come back," Salatino said.

One hundred years after the population had soared so much that Catholics needed another church, parishioners are seeing more and more churches nearby close down. But St. Mark's is still holding Mass, running a food pantry that feeds nearly 200 families a month and delivering meals to elderly among other church activities.

This weekend, the parish is celebrating with a centennial Mass at 4 p.m. on Saturday. It will include the confirmation of some 20 high school-age students with the Bishop Timothy McDonnell, 10 visiting priests — some of whom have served St. Mark's — Mayor Daniel Bianchi and acting Police Chief Michael Wynn. There will be a reception following the Mass and a gala that night. The parish is also selling commemorative shirts to support its programs.

Salatino has just returned from a Mediterranean tour of St. Mark relics with 20 parishioners. The pilgrimage was yet another celebratory event for the 100th year.

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 

 

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

 

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 

 

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 

 

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 

 

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.