North Adams First Woman Mayor Creates Women's Hall of Fame
The mayor has created a Hall of Fame for women who have furthered women's rights and have had a positive impact on the community. The first members of the Hall of Fame also include Frances Buckley, left, Jane Swift and the late Gailanne Cariddi.
"Each March I will induct women who have contributed to the growth of women's rights, have had positive impacts on the community, and overall are examples of strength, wisdom and courage," Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. "Those who are brave, bold and fearless. Women who have paved the way for a better tomorrow so."
The mayor singled out four women for induction into the North Adams Hall of Fame: former City Council President Frances Buckley, former Gov. Jane Swift, women's boxing pioneer Gail Grandchamp and the late state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi.
Buckley has a number of "firsts": she was the first woman to preside over the City Council in 1981, the first to chair the City Democratic Committee, the first president of the former North Adams Chamber of Commerce and the first to run for mayor back in 1983. She was involved in numerous civic activities, including the Fall Foliage Parade, and operated a successful real estate business.
"Buckley has paved the way for a woman to hold leadership roles in this community and I'm proud to honor her tonight," said Macksey.
Swift graduated from Drury High School and received her bachelor's degree from Trinity College, which Macksey noted was also her alma mater. The future governor's career in public service began at the age of 25 when she became the youngest woman elected to the state Senate, representing the Berkshires, and then the youngest woman to hold a leadership position in the Senate. Then Gov. Paul Celucci appointed her director of the office of consumer affairs and business regulation in 1997 and a year later she was elected lieutenant governor.
She became the first woman governor in 2001 when Celucci resigned to become ambassador to Canada. She also was the youngest woman governor and the first to give birth while in office.
"As lieutenant governor she instituted meaningful remediation programs for struggling students and help parents access more information regarding their children's schools. She worked hard and tirelessly to provide tax relief to Massachusetts families, reducing the state income tax through a ballot initiative overwhelmingly approved by the voters," Macksey said. "She championed solutions that provide a guaranteed college education for foster children and enabled state employees to better balance the demands of work and family."
Grandchamp, a city native, also graduated from Drury and was employed at what was then North Adams State College, where she joined the boxing team and became a mentor to students.
She fought for eight years to get women recognized as amateur boxers in Massachusetts, resulting in a 1992 court ruling that forced the U.S. Amateur Boxing Federation to follow suit. This was all done with her own time and money while acting on her own behalf.
Grandchamp became the state's first professional woman boxer and fought her fist bout at the Mohawk Theater in 1987. She was honored by the Legislature in 2012 and wrote a book about her experieces, "A Fighter With Heart," that she's hoped to turn into a movie. She now runs a personal training and boxing studio in North Adams.
"But most importantly, Grandchamp is focused on our youth of this community. In particular, she has turned her own life into stories that provide people to make healthier choices based on faith and love and to support the community," said Macksey. "She is a mentor for many and most importantly, she is an asset for everyone."
Cariddi was a city councilor of more than 20 years and was finance manager of her family's toy distribution business. She graduated from Drury and Bentley College and was serving her fourth term as the representative for the 1st District at the time of her death. She also served on numerous boards including Northern Berkshire Community Television, on which she hosted her own show, "Something You Should Know."
"She was an active member in our community in so many ways, but specifically remembered for her advocacy for the Berkshire Bike Path Council," said Macksey. "She also served on the North Adams public building committee, and she had been involved in numerous local initiatives."
Upon her death, Cariddi left more than $400,000 to the public library, the North Adams Historical Society and to the maintenance of the bike path that will connect North Adams and Williamstown.
The mayor also declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day and the month of April 2022 as World Autism month in North Adams "to create a kinder more inclusive world for people with autism spectrum disorder." Reading from a proclamation brought forward by an individual with autism, Macksey said autism spectrum disorder affects one in 44 U.S. children and one in 45 adults.
She also read a proclamation declaring March 31 as Transgender Visibility Day to "recognize the generations of struggle, activism and courage that have brought our country closer to full equity of transgender and gender nonbinary people." She noted that transgender Americans have faced higher levels of harassment, violence, discrimination and homeless and called upon residents "to strongly recommit to transinclusion at all levels."
(The mayor referred to Buckley as the first woman to serve on the council but she was the third: the first was Faith W. Carley, elected to a one-year term in 1923, and the second was Lottie Harriman, who served several terms in the 1940s and for whom the airport is named.)
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