WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Field Park will be silent on Monday morning.
It just won't be the usual, solemn moment of silence that accompanies American Legion Post 152's annual Memorial Day observance.
The silence will be total, because the usual Memorial Day ceremony and the parade that precedes it were canceled nearly a month ago by the post in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But although there will not be a public gathering or a closure of Main Street, there will be remembrance of Williamstown veterans who have died — either in service of their country or during peacetime.
"We're basically going to do the same thing we do on Veterans Day," Post 152 Commander Tom Webb said on Wednesday. "What that consists of is we're going to each of the [town's] cemeteries and doing a short ceremony.
"We'll lower the flag, do Taps, fire a gun salute, raise the flag and go to the next cemetery."
He said everyone will wear masks and maintain social distancing rules, and he suspects that will be a little easier than usual because the ceremonies likely will involve fewer veterans than usually participate in the November memorials.
"We're basically notifying all the members of the honor guard, but I'm fairly certain at least half of them won't come," Webb said. "We'll pare it down, but it will be pared down voluntarily. In the end, we'll probably have somewhere between six and 10 people to do all the cemeteries."
Webb said he was not sure how other American Legion posts in the area were handling the holiday. He said the decision to cancel the public remembrance in Williamstown was an obvious one.
"There's not a lot you can do about it," he said. "It is what it is. It's better to be safe than it is to pull off some kind of event. We had, basically, a ceremony prepared for this year, but we'll use it for next year's ceremony instead.
"At this point, I don't think there's much anybody can do."
One thing the Legionnaires can do is honor the memory of their fallen comrades. They just will do so outside the public eye.
"We're not making an announcement of where we're starting or when because we don't want the public to come," Webb said. "We appreciate people coming out any other year, but this is something we're going to do more or less privately for safety concerns."
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Williamstown Fire Committee Talks Station Project Cuts, Truck Replacement
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee on Wednesday signed off on more than $1 million in cost cutting measures for the planned Main Street fire station.
Some of the "value engineering" changes are cosmetic, while at least one pushes off a planned expense into the future.
The committee, which oversees the Fire District, also made plans to hold meetings over the next two Wednesdays to finalize its fiscal year 2025 budget request and other warrant articles for the May 28 annual district meeting. One of those warrant articles could include a request for a new mini rescue truck.
The value engineering changes to the building project originated with the district's Building Committee, which asked the Prudential Committee to review and sign off.
In all, the cuts approved on Wednesday are estimated to trim $1.135 million off the project's price tag.
The biggest ticket items included $250,000 to simplify the exterior masonry, $200,000 to eliminate a side yard shed, $150,000 to switch from a metal roof to asphalt shingles and $75,000 to "white box" certain areas on the second floor of the planned building.
The white boxing means the interior spaces will be built but not finished. So instead of dividing a large space into six bunk rooms and installing two restrooms on the second floor, that space will be left empty and unframed for now.
The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter. click for more
Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, say the gift reflects their desire to not only support Williams but also President Maud S. Mandel's strategic vision and plan for the college.
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Neighbors of a proposed subdivision off Summer Street last week asked the Planning Board to take a critical look at the project, which the residents say is out of scale to the neighborhood. click for more