The spruce was donated to the city by Teena Guenther and Paul Askew.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city's Christmas tree has arrived.
City workers, with help from L.P. Adams, installed the 35-foot donated tree Thursday morning.
Weighing just about one ton, the tree was donated by Broadway Street residents Teena Guenther and her husband, Paul Askew.
Jim Sullivan owned the home prior and said he had planted the tree 30 years ago.
"I planted that tree around 30 years ago, my daughter brought a blue spruce twig home from school (Capeless Elementary) and I stuck it in the ground in the front yard," Sullivan wrote on iBerkshires' Facebook post about the installation.
The city cut down and loaded the tree onto a flatbed truck Thursday morning, transported it down First Street, and over to Park Square. There L.P. Adams had a crane waiting to lift it and set it down on the tree stand.
The tree will be lit on Friday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. The Taconic High School chorus will be singing carols and Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive to meet with children. There will be free hot chocolate available, donated by Patrick's Pub.
Those planning to attend the ceremony are asked to bring non-perishable food items that will be donated to the Christian Center’s food pantry.
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Pittsfield Rally Wages 'Good Trouble' Against Trump Administration
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Shirley Edgerton recalled the 'good trouble' the late John Lewis did as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement and said the current administration is trying to roll back hard-fought rights.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community members made "good trouble" at Park Square on Thursday in honor of late U.S. Rep. John Lewis.
"Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of non-violent action to respond to attacks that are being posed on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration, and to remind them that in America, the power lies with the people," emcee Sonya Bykofsky said.
"… John Lewis coined the phrase 'good trouble,' and he used that to describe the necessary disruptions that lead to positive change. That's why we're here. That is our goal. This is the anniversary of his passing so we are here, again, to defend our democracy, to carry on his legacy, from voter suppression bills like the SAVE Act to the criminalization of protest, the Trump administration has launched a full-scale attack on our civil and human rights, but we know again that we will win if we stand together."
The Georgian congressman passed at the age of 80 in 2020. Shirley Edgerton of the Berkshire NAACP relayed Lewis' experience of constant fear as a child because of signs that said, "No colored boys," and "No colored girls."
"His parents and grandparents used to tell him, 'Don't get in trouble.' Nevertheless, as a young man, he was inspired to activism by the Montgomery Bus Boycott that started when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat," she said.
"He said she inspired us to find a way to get in the way, to get in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble."
She explained that Lewis risked his life countless times by organizing voter registration drives, sit-ins at lunch counters, and was beaten and arrested while challenging Jim Crow segregation in the South.
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