Dalton Man Arraigned in Political Sign Arson

Staff ReportsiBerkshires
03:06PM / Tuesday, October 13, 2020Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A dangerousness hearing is being held for the defendant in the Holiday Brook Farm arson.

Lonnie Durfee, 49, of Dalton was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on Tuesday on a charge of burning personal property.

Durfee was charged with setting fire on Friday evening to a political sign made up of nearly 20 plastic-covered hay bales that was near the roadway.

The Berkshire district attorney's office requested the court hold Durfee as a danger to the community. Judge Paul Smyth scheduled a dangerousness hearing for Friday.

"This is a sad reflection of the vast polarization in our country and in the Berkshires. We believe Mr. Durfee destroyed personal property because he disagreed with the property owner's political views. Our community will not accept those types of actions under any circumstances," District Attorney Andrea Harrington said.

"We will hold Mr. Durfee accountable and I hope the community uses this incident as a rallying cry to reject fervent divisiveness and hate."

Durfee is accused of using gasoline and motor oil to set fire to hay bales displaying support for the Biden/Harris presidential campaign on Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton on Friday, Oct. 9. Dalton Police, State Police, and the Fire Marshal' Office determined someone had intentionally lit the fire and the investigation ultimately led Dalton Police to arrest Durfee on Saturday morning.

The farm has since replaced the sign with one of similar size with a message of "Love, Unity, Respect."

Farm officials say their loss has been met with an outpouring of support from the community, including a GoFundMe campaign. All donations will be given to the local American Civil Liberties Union, they wrote in a post on Facebook.

"What began as an oversized endorsement of our choice of candidates, has blossomed into an outpouring of support of incredible proportions," they wrote. "It's hard to express the depth of our appreciation for all the folks who care about our farm and want to contribute."

Tags: arson,

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Pittsfield Parks OKs Annual Events, Hears Wahconah Park Idea

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:11PM / Sunday, February 22, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Parks Commission signed off on some annual city events on Tuesday.

Commissioners approved the 80th annual Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble, the Westside Legends' 6th annual Easter egg hunt, and another lineup of Eagles Band concerts in the park. The Eagles Community Band is in its 90th year.

Pittsfield's 80th egg hunt will be held at The Common on Saturday, April 4 (rain date April 11) from 10 to noon. The free event is open to children ages 2-11 and will feature a balloon artist, a face painter, the Easter bunny, and, of course, plastic eggs filled with small prizes.

The Westside Easter Egg Hunt, organized by the Westside Legends, is on the same day, April 4, from 1 to 3 p.m at Durant Park. It was scheduled to not conflict with the city's event, and will include tabling from community organizations, and some raffles.

City officials are also planning an opportunity to appreciate the Wahconah Park grandstand's century of history in Pittsfield. Demolition is currently out to bid, and prices are expected the first week of March.

"We want to have some conversation around opening up the grandstand one last time for the community to come in and look around and share memories," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath reported.

"I think it would we'd be remiss if we just brought in the wrecking ball and people were like, 'Wait a minute, I didn't have a chance to have one last look out from my favorite spot in the grandstand,' So we're going to figure out how to do that, how to get that done safely, and just how to celebrate this with some folks."

He has been in touch with Larry Moore of Berkshire Baseball to share facts about the park, "and just remind people how much of a storied past Wahconah Park has had, and just keep hope alive for the next iteration of Wahconah Park, whatever that looks like."

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