Mohawk Soaring Club Celebrates 70th Anniversary Sept. 10 and 11

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The weekend of Sept. 10 and 11 will see the skies filled with colorful gliders as the Mohawk Soaring Club celebrates its 70th anniversary with a fly-in/tow-in event.

The event will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the Club will offer the public the opportunity to observe the flights and interact with the glider pilots and crews who have been invited to soar at the Harriman and West Airport, 836 State Road in North Adams, Massachusetts.

The Mohawk Soaring Club (MSC) was formed in 1952 by Francis P. Bundy and three other young engineers from the General Electric Company. The club was incorporated in the State of New York on May 26, 1952 "to promote and encourage interest in aviation and particularly motorless flight." 

In 1971, one of the members established a private operation, Berkshire Sailflights, Inc., and MSC moved its operations to Harriman and West Airport in North Adams, while still soaring at the Saratoga County Airport. Over the years, MSC continued to use the North Adams airport and slowly grew their membership. This allowed for the purchase of a tow plane, and MSC has continued to grow and operate in North Adams ever since.

The MSC is very motivated to make soaring a popular sport in North Adams. In recent years, Harriman and West has been significantly improved as an airport with projects that include a major overhaul of the runway and taxiway, the addition of an instrument approach, and the addition a new operations and administration building at the airport including restrooms and Wi-Fi. A restaurant is in the works.

The conditions at Harriman and West are some of the best available in the region for gliding. This is due to the ridge lift caused by the Mt. Greylock ridge and the thermals formed in the adjacent valley.

As part of the Club’s celebration of its 70th Anniversary, it hopes to grow its membership and share its love of soaring with the community. Opening the airport to the public will allow aviation enthusiasts and others to have an informed look at how glider operations work, to see gliders up close, and talk with the pilots and crew of the various clubs in the area that will be participating in this event. We hope to have as many as 20 gliders attending this event from the many clubs in our northeast region.

The Harriman and West Airport will be open to the public on September 10th from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm with food trucks and ice cream available for refreshments, toy glider giveaways for children, and information concerning clubs in the area. It will also be possible to reserve glider rides for future dates at the airport.

The Mohawk Soaring Club welcomes the public to this event and looks forward to sharing its love of soaring to celebrate its 70th Anniversary.

For more information, visit soarmohawk.com or Facebook at mohawksoaring

Clarksburg OKs $5.1M Budget; Moves CPA Adoption Forward

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
08:44PM / Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Newly elected Moderator Seth Alexander kept the meeting moving. 

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The annual town meeting sped through most of the warrant on Wednesday night, swiftly passing a total budget of $5.1 million for fiscal 2025 with no comments. 

 

Close to 70 voters at Clarksburg School also moved adoption of the state's Community Preservation Act to the November ballot after a lot of questions in trying to understand the scope of the act. 

 

The town operating budget is $1,767,759, down $113,995 largely because of debt falling off. Major increases include insurance, utilities and supplies; the addition of a full-time laborer in the Department of Public Works and an additional eight hours a week for the accountant.

 

The school budget is at $2,967,609, up $129,192 or 4 percent over this year. Clarksburg's assessment to the Northern Berkshire Vocational School District is $363,220.

 

Approved was delaying the swearing in of new officers until after town meeting; extending the one-year terms of moderator and tree warden to three years beginning with the 2025 election; switching the licensing of dogs beginning in January and enacting a bylaw ordering dog owners to pick up after their pets. This last was amended to include the words "and wheelchair-bound" after the exemption for owners who are blind. 

 

The town more recently established an Agricultural Committee and on Wednesday approved a right-to-farm bylaw to protect agriculture. 

 

Larry Beach of River Road asked why anyone would be against and what the downside would be. Select Board Chair Robert Norcross said neighbors of farmers can complain about smells and livestock like chickens.