Author to Discuss the Liberations of Sue Moody

01:59PM / Thursday, May 14, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On May 20 at 5:30 pm the Berkshire County Historical Society hosts Gail Gelburd for a talk on her newest book, "The Liberation of Sue Moody."

According to a press release

The book chronicles the true story of an Otis resident who, as a journalist in 1939 Paris, endured war, hunger, and constant threats to her safety, yet refused to lose her voice or her sense of identity.

Surviving war and starvation is not a backdrop in this book, it is the lifeline that runs through every chapter. In her talk, Gelburd will discuss her research which involved pouring through boxes of journals and letters written by Moody.

Tickets are $5 for BCHS members, $10 for non-members and can be purchased by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org. This event is sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Housatonic Heritage.

Gail Gelburd has a PhD and is an artist and author, having written more than a dozen books, mostly about artists. She has also been a professor and museum director and is currently a member of the Otis Historical Commission.

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EPA, GE Conducting Vernal Pool Study on Housatonic River

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
11:44AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A pilot study will determine the best way to remediate PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, from vernal pools in the Housatonic River.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric held an open house for the Vernal Pool Pilot Study on Reach 5A, a five-mile stretch between the river's confluence and Lenox border. Despite the rain, several people attended the event at the Berkshire Athenaeum.

EPA project manager Josh Fontaine explained that it is an evaluation of which remediation method to use for the remaining vernal pools in Reach 5A.

"We're going to be testing two different methods. One is an excavation method, which we already know has been very successful with another vernal pool cleaned up much earlier in the project," he said.

"And then the other is the application of two different carbon amendments. It would be the application of powdered activated carbon and the application of granulated activated carbon."

Ten vernal pools will be cleaned using these methods: five with excavation and five with active carbon; seven additional vernal pools will be monitored as controls. Construction will be complete around October, but the pools will be left to their natural processes and monitored with surveys and sampling for three years.

Fontaine said there is no frontrunner for methodology.

"We know the excavation method is effective, but we would like to see if the less invasive method of using the amendment will be as effective for potential use," he said.

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