Southern Berkshire County residents and visitors have a new option for fly-fishing and outdoor activity equipment. Housatonic River Outfitters opened its doors in Great Barrington on Labor Day weekend, said the store's owner, Harold D. McMillan Jr. Located at 684 South Main St., just south of downtown, the store is in the space previously occupied by Appalachian Mountain Gear.
Equipment for hiking, backpacking and fly-fishing is sold at the 960-square-foot store, as well as camping equipment, such as sleeping bags, tents and stoves, McMillan said. He also sells technical clothing for those outdoor activities: snowshoes, hiking shoes, layering, shell jackets, hats, gloves and socks. Kayaks are for sale as well.
Housatonic River Outfitters also carries binoculars, water bottles and hydrators, as well as a large selection of travel books, how-to guides, fiction, cookbooks and books about backpacking. Power bars and power gels are available, as well as some gourmet foods, like jams, and many gift items and greeting cards. About half of the inventory is from the previous store, which was open for six years and owned by Rick Donovan, who decided to sell the store because he wanted to be outdoors more, McMillan said.
He owns another store of the same name in Cornwall Bridge, Conn. It's been open for eight years and, with 2,800 square feet of retail space, is nearly three times the size of the new store, he said. McMillan, who has lived in Canaan, Conn. for two years and that state's northwest corner for 8 years, said he had been wanting to expand in the Berkshires for years. Besides the local terrain, he cited the character and population of Great Barrington as reasons for moving there.
A fly-fishing guide, employed at his other store, told him that Appalachian Mountain Gear was for sale, McMillan said. He agreed on a price with Donovan, and three weeks later, the transaction was complete. "I thought it was most cost-effective to buy an existing business than start from scratch," he said. McMillan then reorganized and rearranged the store and, dollar-wise, doubled the size of its inventory, he said.
The bulk of his business comes from the sale of equipment for fly-fishing, backpacking, hiking and other outdoor activities, he said. His typical customer is a recreational hiker and backpacker, he said. McMillan estimates that half of his customers are local residents, and half are weekenders, adding that many of his customers have second homes in the area. Prices at the store range from $5 to $1,000, which is the price of some fly-fishing rods. Average store items, like backpacks and tents, are priced in the $200 to $300 range, he said.
Besides size, his two stores are different in many other ways. His new store is 80 percent backpacking and outdoor activity equipment and 20 percent fly-fishing equipment; his Connecticut store, on the other hand, is just the opposite. He attributes that store's large fly-fishing inventory to market demand in Northwest Connecticut, one of the top fly-fishing areas in the country, he said. In addition his older store has inventory not available in his new one: historical pieces, like antiquated fly-fishing gear, reels and bamboo rods, and artwork — painting and prints of fishing and hunting scenes and old Adirondack artwork.
Another difference between the two stores is the number of employees each has. McMillan employs two part-time employees at his new store, while his Connecticut store has a full-time manager, two part-time employees and six fly-fishing guides, who take customers out for day lessons and reveal the "hot spots" and local patterns of fishing areas.
Although currently in the retail lull between the summer and the holiday shopping season, he said business at his new store has been very good so far. He said he plans on renting out kayaks — maybe canoes — at his new store in the spring.
McMillan gave a resounding "oh, yes" when asked if he planned on expanding again in the future. "I will be expanding as quick as the space and economics allows," he said.
Where might his next store be? "Anywhere along the Housatonic is fair game," he said.
After leaving his job as an investment advisor on Wall Street nine years ago, McMillan opened a fly-fishing and outdoor activity store in Fairfield County, Conn. "I always had a passion for fly-fishing, so I opened a retail store," said McMillan, who has practiced the sport for 30 years and attributes his interest to his father.
A Central Illinois native, McMillan subsequently sold that store to an investment group and opened his Cornwall Bridge store, he said. His dog, Max, keeping him company, McMillan divides his time evenly between his two stores — three days per week in each one.
Housatonic River Outfitters in Great Barrington is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. The store is closed on Tuesday. For more information, call 528-8811 or access www.dryflies.com.
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North Adams Inauguration Set for New Year's Day
Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city's new government will be sworn in on Thursday, Jan. 1, at 11 a.m. in Council Chambers.
The inauguration and organization of government is open to the public and may be broadcast on Northern Berkshire Community Television.
City Clerk Tina Leonesio will be in charge, calling the council to order and administering the oath of office until the new president is elected and sworn in. Once the council is issued its committee and liaison assignment, the School Committee members and McCann School Committee representatives will be sworn in.
The president will select two councilors to draw seat numbers for the next term and two to escort Mayor Jennifer Macksey to council chambers, where she will be sworn in and will address the city.
This ceremony has become something of a recent New Year's Day tradition, though the adoption in 1965 of the Plan A form of government has the mayor take office on the first Monday in January. However, the council takes office on Jan. 1.
As far back as 1913, the swearing in was a Monday in council chambers. The first mayor elected under Plan A, James Cleary, took the oath along with the nine councilors on Monday, Jan. 1, 1968. This continued through Mayors Francis Floriani, Joseph Bianco and Richard Lamb.
The date was shifted for the first inauguration of John Barrett III in 1984. The ceremony was moved to Drury High School on a Sunday night, Jan. 1, to allow for the event to be open to the public. It was the first time it had been broadcast on radio (WMNB) and television (cable Channel 7). (Macksey also held her first inauguration at Drury in 2022 because of expected attendance.)
Samuel Currence served his country in the Air Force with distinction, professionalism and unparalleled humility from 1962 to 1985, retiring as a technical sergeant. click for more
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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