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Sports Camp Arrow Wood opens this summer at the former Lakeside Christian Camp on Richmond Pond.

Camp Arrow Wood Prepares to Open in Former Lakeside Camp

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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Camp Arrow Wood is one of three recreational facilities purchased by Mill Town Capital in 2020. 

RICHMOND, Mass. — The former Lakeside Christian Camp is getting a makeover into Camp Arrow Wood and will welcome sporty kids from across the country this summer.

"The goal is to create a sports-centric camp, a place where kids can not only get better at sports over the summer but have opportunities to explore what a traditional camp is like at the same time," camp director Matthew Linick said.

"So as opposed to going to a specialty basketball camp we believe we can do the same thing that specialty camp would do except we can offer all the traditional fun stuff as well, so a lot of this stuff is programmatic in nature, in terms of the way we do things and the why we do things."

There will be a traditional Camp Arrow Wood, a leadership camp for student-athletes ages 16 to 18, and an outdoor adventure camp called Arrow Wood Outdoors that will feature hiking, climbing, mountain biking, and camping.

The property is undergoing a long list of renovations to both its sports facilities and buildings that kicked off early this year. There will be new basketball courts, tennis courts, a new soccer field, auxiliary field for other sports, and new baseball and softball fields.

A new low ropes course, beach volleyball field, and possibly a climbing wall will also be a part of the activities that campers can enjoy.

Five cabins are being renovated at the moment, undergoing projects such as bathroom replacements, and the parts of the dining halls are being upgraded as well.

The 135-acre property has 22 cabins with front porches that look out into the lake. 


"The bones of the property are quite good," Linick said. "It's laid out almost exclusively on the water so almost every building at the camp has a view of the water which is really nice, so that part was great, and honestly they did a great job of keeping it camp like with the limited amount of budget I assume that they had, so we're really just improving existing structures right now."

Registration is now open for Camp Arrow Wood on its new website and the camp is also hiring for both summer jobs and higher-level positions.

Linick said there are campers coming from Utah, Philadelphia, and New York City to name a few and he would like to see kids enroll from even farther locations such as California.

Investment group Mill Town Capital acquired the camp, the former Berkshire West, and Bousquet Ski Area in 2020 to enhance outdoor and indoor recreation offerings in the area.

The property has been used as a camp for more than 100 years and for the last 40 years operated as the Lakeside Christian Camp. The camp was closed in 2020 and 2021. 

The new Bousquet has a couple of seasons under its belt and recently opened a new lodge and restaurant. Across the street will be Bousquet Sport in the former Berkshire West.

When the camp is not in session, the location will also be available to rent for events.  There are four spaces that have been identified for such use: a quad right by the water, a rustic barn, the dining room, and a four-season auxiliary lodge.


Tags: camping,   

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Pittsfield's This and That Sports Celebrating Six Years

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — This and That Sports is celebrating its sixth birthday with a party.

Owner Reggie Davis opened the collectables and card store at 128 Fenn St., pursuing a hobby he has had since he was a teenager.

He started with small card shows and later collected a broad range of items, including sports memorabilia, autographs, Beanie Babies, and Matchbox cars. 

"It's been a long time, and it's not just cards. I mean, I collect everything. I love sports memorabilia, autographs," he said. 

Originally from Great Barrington, he moved to Connecticut and operated a collectibles store there from 2004 to 2014 before moving back to Berkshire County. He worked for FedEx before opening the new store in 2020. 

For the first six months, he balanced the store with his career with FedEx, with help from his wife, Crystal, who worked around her own overnight hospital shifts. He left FedEx to focus on the store full time and works with his son, Bret.

He said it is more than a job and he is happy to open his doors to the collecting community.

"It's like something that I looked at as a pleasure business. It wasn't about the money. It was more like bringing the collecting part of the hobby to Berkshire County," he said.

Davis said he misses live baseball in Pittsfield, recalling Pittsfield Mets games. He said collecting brings him closer to that feeling of watching a local team when he was younger.

"I've always remembered growing up as a kid of the Pittsfield Mets and then the Pittsfield Suns and baseball being here and I was a big sports person, I played a lot of sports, and it's kind of sad and I think I want to continue the sports collecting part, the hobby. You can't go to a baseball game here unless it's like a high school game. So it's kind of continuing the collecting part of the hobby without the actual sports being here," he said.

Davis said the store's customers have become friends. He added that he likes to see the younger generation open packs of cards.

"The amazing part about it is not just the kids, but the customers. Like, I have customers that've been coming in for four, five, six [years] even new ones that just started coming in like a month ago," he said. "We've been out to dinner with these people. We travel. Customers have become friends, even close friends, which is nice."

He said one of the most challenging parts of the business has been to keep everything in stock especially with the surge in popularity of Pokemon cards. 

"We have people that stop in all the time, and they're like wow you got a great selection of Pokemon, you have a big selection, and I think that's you know we have distribution for sports and Pokemon, but it sells so quick," he said. "I think the hardest thing is to be able to keep product on the shelf."

Not only does he sell collectibles, but he also purchased a card grading company called Revolutionary Card Grading that he opened next door. The company, based in Georgia, produces specialized color-matched designs but card grading and customer submissions are now handled locally since taking full ownership of the company last year.

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