Adams Committee Raising Money for Susan B. Anthony Celebration

The anniversary committee discusses upcoming fundraisers for next year's Susan B. Anthony celebration. 

ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Suffrage Centennial Celebration Committee is finalizing plans for upcoming events and fundraisers.

The committee was formed by the town of Adams to spearhead a yearlong celebration of Susan B. Anthony's 200th birthday and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment that ensured women the right to vote. Adams is taking the lead nationally in recognizing Anthony as she was born on East Road in 1820.

As part of the festivities, the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum will be holding a Historic Costume Contest and Fundraiser at First Congregational Church in Williamstown on Oct. 19. Guests are encouraged to dress in historically accurate outfits from Anthony's time and judges from local theater, art, and historical organizations will award prizes in several categories. Proceeds will go to the museum and to the committee.

Trivia buffs can head to the Bass Water Grill in Cheshire on Nov. 7th for a Women's History Trivia Night. Teams of four will compete for prizes over five rounds of trivia with questions leaning heavily toward history-making women. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds go to the committee.

On Jan. 18, Jill and Edmund St. John IV will be hosting music bingo at the Bass Water Grill. Listen to your favorite hits and play various styles of bingo while raising money for the cause. For every $25 donated, each contestant will receive two bingo cards.

The Black and Red Gala will be the anniversary committee's formal dinner fundraiser. It will be at Berkshire Hills Country Club in Pittsfield and include a full dinner and a cash bar. The event will fall exactly on what would have been Anthony's 200th birthday. Samantha Talora will provide the entertainment for the evening. Tickets are $60 per person.

Two new potential events were discussed Thursday night. Adams resident Virginia Duval wants the next town election to highlight the efforts of Anthony by emphasizing not just a woman's right to vote, but everyone's.

"We think it's appropriate because everyone who is a registered voter in Adams can participate and it's not going to cost you any money," she said. "We'd like to have the best turnout ever for a town election."

Duval, who is part of the Vote for Susan Project, is talking with the Adams Council on Aging's Erica Girgenti about getting voters transportation to the polls for the day.

"We have enthusiastic support from Erica at the Council on Aging for loaning the project a van on election day," she said. "In part for people to schedule trips to the polls but also part of the time to run a hop on and off bus around town."

Another possible fundraising vehicle would be a hoedown hosted by Frank and Sandy Talora. The country-themed event would be held at the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club in the spring. Country music and traditional Southern barbecue would be provided at the all ages party.

All of these events are aimed at closing the gap between the roughly $200,000 already raised and the ultimate goal of $300,000. The committee will hold the signature event next August during which the Susan B. Anthony statue sculpted by world-renowned artist Brian Hanlon will be unveiled at the Town Common.

For more information on all the events leading up to the celebration visit celebratesuffrage.org or the Celebrate Susan B Anthony Facebook page.

Berkshire County Reflects on a Rainy Memorial Day

Staff WritersiBerkshires
03:28PM / Monday, May 25, 2026

Pittsfield holds its services at Pittsfield Cemetery on Monday. See more photos here.

ADAMS, Mass. — Memorial Day was initially to remember the lives lost in the Civil War, eventually coming to honor all those servicemen and women who sacrificed for their country over more than 250 years.

Sgt. First Class Brian Bergeron, keynote speaker at Adams' observances in the Visitors Center, invoked the county's 21st century losses on Monday: Army Sgt. 1st Class Daniel H. Petithory of Cheshire; Army Sgt. Glenn R. Allison of Pittsfield; Army Chief Warrant Officer Stephen M. Wells of North Egremont; Army Spc. Michael R. DeMarsico II of North Adams; Army Spc. Mitchell K. Daehling of Dalton, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Jacob Galliher of Pittsfield.

 

"We carry the memory of the Berkshire County residents who gave their lives in Vietnam. Young men like Specialist Kevin Hallam and Lance Corporal David Bory Fitzfield, and so many others from Dalton, Adams, Great Berrington, Lee, and towns across our hills, their names are etched on our local memorials, on our memorial skating rink, and on our hearts," he said. 

 

Bergeron is an 18-year veteran of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, and was deployed multiple times for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He is currently assigned as the regional team leader of the Western Massachusetts Recruiting and Retention Battalion, and serves as the Westover Recruit Sustainment Program drill sergeant.

 

"Those warriors gave everything for the country they loved, for the Constitution they swore to uphold, and for the people of the United States, who bask in the freedom provided them by these brave soldiers. Think of the young soldiers who left a small town much like ours, never to return," he said.

 

"So let us leave here today with more than words. Let us commit to live lives worthy of their sacrifice, to cherish the freedoms they defend, to teach our children a true cost of living, and to ensure that their stories are told, their names are spoken, their legacy endurance."

 

Adams had joined Dalton, North Adams and Williamstown in canceling its parade because of the cold, rainy weather. Instead, dozens of residents and veterans gathered at the Visitors Center to hear Hoosac Valley High students Sophie Wilson and Genevieve Lagess read "In Flanders Fields" and the Gettysburg Address, respectively. The Hoosac Valley band played "The Star-Spangled Banner" and Fred Lora, School Committee chair and retired Army lieutenant colonel, was master of ceremonies.