PITTSFIELD â Call me a wedding planner! Weddings, as we knew them prior to COVID-19, are on the horizon.
If all goes well, Massachusetts will relax its gathering restrictions for indoor and outdoor events on May 29, allowing for groups of 200 indoors and 250 outdoors; with a plan to remove all business restrictions on Aug. 1. I think that may be a sign. Aug. 1 is Herman Melville s birthday, said Lesley Herzberg, executive director of the Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melvilleâs Arrowhead, as over a dozen Berkshires-based wedding vendors primped the lawn of the historic farmhouse, at 780 Holmes Road, for a wedding-themed photo shoot.
Storyteller and performing artist Tammy Denease will portray former slave Clo Pratt in the next installment in her Hidden Women series at 6 p.m. Friday, March 12, for the Berkshire County Historical Society.
Although born into slavery, Pratt is willed her freedom by her former mistress. As a free woman, Pratt earns her living by hiring herself out, making clothes with her loom and cleaning local homes.
Join Denease on a trip to Colonial Connecticut, and learn about some of the events that led to freedom for the Colonies, including the meeting between George Washington and Rochambeau at Joseph Webbâs house.
Several times a week, in all weather, I drive to Pittsfield State Forest to hike the varied paths there. On my way, I pass over Pecks Road, then Dan Casey Memorial Drive before turning on to Churchill Road. Almost every time, I wonder who Dan Casey was or who was this Churchill? Could it be the Prime Minister of England?
I knew about Peck, since Jabez Peck ran two textile mills on this road, for over 50 years. It turns out Churchill is named after John Churchill, a captain in the Revolutionary War, who bought land for a farm on what is now state forest. Dan Casey was a city councilor who lived up on Hancock Road and loved fishing. He advocated for a causeway to be built over Onota Lake, and when he passed away the council named the road for him.
PITTSFIELD â The Berkshire County Historical Society invites you to travel back in time, virtually, and learn about important, yet unknown, women in New England History.
The Hidden Women Series will bring to life historical figures Elizabeth âMumBetâ Freeman, Clo Pratt and Belinda the Afrikan. Tammy Denease will bring these characters to life in a virtual theater setting with minimal props and authentic clothing. In her oral tradition-type presentation, Denease will engage the audience through folk tales that teach life lessons, leaving her audience educated and eager to learn more.
Denease was born in Columbus, Miss., where she spent countless hours with her great-grandmother and grandmother. Her great-grandmother was a former enslaved person and lived to be 125 and her grandmother lived to be a 100. Both were known storytellers and passed this gift along to their granddaughter. An accomplished performing artist, storyteller, actor, and playwright, Denease speciali