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Aubuchon Hardware has been on Union Street since 1987.

North Adams Aubuchon Closing Doors After 36 Years

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The store's cats Abbey and Shawna will be transferred to the Williamstown store. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Aubuchon Hardware on Union Street will be closing this fall after 36 years. 
 
The interim store manager Scott Wascher made the announcement on his Facebook page Tuesday. He was not immediatley available to speak to iBerkshires yesterday. 
 
The closing is due to "falling sales and location," Wascher posted. 
 
The store opened at 41 Union, in what had been a Carr's Hardware, in September 1987. The company's then owner, William Aubuchon, had attended the opening. 
 
The family-owned chain has more than 100 stores in Northeast and dates to 1908. Last month, Aubuchon Company acquired J.B. Hostetter & Sons in Mount Joy, Pa. 
 
Residents won't be without a hardware store, though they may have to travel a little farther to the Williamstown location. Also, Carr Hardware opened a 10,000-square-foot store on State Road in 2012 and a new hardware and lumberyard, Duke's, is opening on Saturday on Curran Highway.
 
The store will hold a clearance sale beginning Oct. 14 and its hours, starting Tuesday, are 8 to 5 on weekdays; it will be closed on weekends. It's not clear how many employees will be affected by the closure and those at the store expressed disappointment at the news. 
 
Abbey and Shawna, the store's cats, are expected to move to the Williamstown store to work with Matt and Annette Moullan. Employees also had said they could have a home with a former store manager. 
 
"The Williamstown store will take over serving our customers in the area," Wascher wrote. "We would like to thank our customers for the continued support throughout the years."

Tags: business closing,   hardware,   

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Keene SwampBats Down North Adams

By Ben McDonoughFor iBerkshires.com Sports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The SteepleCats battled back from an early deficit and pulled within one run midway through Saturday night’s contest, but a late offensive push by the Keene Swamp Bats resulted in an 8-4 defeat in New England Collegiate Baseball League action at Joe Wolfe Field.
 
Keene struck first in the opening inning. Jackson Smith led off with a single and later scored on an RBI double by Jackson Marshall. Eli Stephens followed with an RBI single to put the Swamp Bats ahead 2-0.
 
The SteepleCats answered in the second inning. After Matthew Colella lined a double into the gap, Parker Camelo delivered an RBI single to score Colella and cut the deficit to one.
 
North Adams’ defense kept the game close over the next two innings. A great catch at third base robbed Michael O’Brien of extra bases in the second, while center field and left field each came up with impressive grabs during a scoreless third inning.
 
The Swamp Bats added to their lead in the fourth. Consecutive singles put runners on second and third before an error allowed both to score, extending the advantage to 4-1.
 
The SteepleCats quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning. Nelphie Lopez opened the frame with a double before Sean Stephenson singled to put runners at the corners. Sebastian Rose followed with an RBI single, and after Stephenson aggressively advanced around the bases, Colella drove in another run with a groundout to trim the deficit to 4-3.
 
Richie Kerstetter provided a strong inning out of the bullpen in the fifth, retiring three of the four hitters he faced after issuing a leadoff walk. Steven Sams entered in the sixth and struck out one, though Nico Senese led off the inning with a solo home run that pushed Keene’s lead to 5-3.
 
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