Kristen Wright, left, her mother, Ann Marie Wright, and Tammy Meranti watch one of the Wrights' trees put into place at the bottom of Main Street.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Ann Marie Wright remembered planting the two fluffy blue spruces not long after she and her husband, Peter Wright, had moved to their home on Mountain View Drive.
They were about this high, she said, her hand hovering just about her knee.
"We planted them after we first came to this house ... We were here what, 47 years? They were little," Wright said. "It's a sad day in my heart."
Wright was teary-eyed as one of the 25-foot trees swung aloft, dangling from a crane, to be deposited on a trailer and ferried to North Adams. One will sit by City Hall, in Dr. Rosenthal Square, and the other will be the main Christmas tree at the top of Main Street on Monument Square.
Both trees were being donated by the family in loving memory of her husband, a Drury High School graduate and longtime educator. He had been an administrator at McCann Technical School and Drury and retired after 22 years as superintendent of the Windham Southwest Supervisory Union in Vermont. He was probably best known to generations of children as Dr. Wright, having earned his doctorate in education in 1973.
The high school sweethearts were married 51 years until Wright's death last year at age 75. They have two daughters, Lisa and Kristen, and three grandchildren.
Kristen Wright was with her mother early Thursday morning at the former family home to document the removal of the trees and a huge part of her family's life.
"They're going to be beautiful," she said, and believed her father would be pleased to see the spruces they'd cared for for so many years brightening up the city's downtown for the holidays.
The home is being sold and Ann Marie Wright had been concerned over their future. They'd paid to have them regularly clipped and maintained to keep them healthy and shaped.
"We've always taken care of our property," she said. "We're afraid somebody's really not going to care for them. ...
"I'd rather donate them and in my heart, I'll know maybe that people come down, seeing the lights will think of him."
The trees were removed by the North Adams Highway Department and Fire & Alarm and Atlantis under the direction of Fire Director Stephen Meranti. Two times the large crane from Atlantis Corp. of Stephentown, N.Y., lifted a tree above the electrical wires on the narrow corner and to the nearby trailer and then followed it down to the city where it again hoisted the spruce into position.
The annual tree lighting will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 21, Thanksgiving Eve, on Main Street. A number of events are planned to coincide with the tree lighting, which Santa Claus will attend.
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Spectrum Cable Hearing Set in North Adams
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A public hearing for the renewal of the cable television contract for four North Berkshire communities will be held on Wednesday, April 24, at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
The 10-year contract with Spectrum/Charter Communications will cover the city of North Adams and the towns of Adams, Cheshire and Clarksburg.
The hearing in Council Chambers is open to residents of all four communities. In-person attendance is encouraged but a remote option is available here via Zoom.
Topics covered during the hearing will include the future of cable-related community needs and interests (community television) and performance of the operator under the cable license. It does not include internet or other provided services.
The hearing is required under state law as part of the contract renewal process. Any documents or reports relating to the contract can be obtained through the governmental offices of each community.
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