I began this regular series for the Berkshire Eagle in November 2017 and continued it until February 2019. About once a month, I went in search of images in a different town in Berkshire Country, Massachusetts, trying to articulate the idea of “American Spirit” that Massachusetts refers to on its license plates and that Berkshires artist Norman Rockwell depicted in his paintings.
I initially modeled the project on Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms,” a vision of America that transcended political turmoil through the everyday lives of its citizens. But that premise quickly felt untrue, because it left out the political realities that are no less American: racism, wealth inequality, poor access to health care, climate change. These, too, exist in the "Premier Cultural Resort of America.”
This project isn’t a whole as much as a personal evolution in understanding my country.
Sheri, who preferred to not give her last name for privacy reasons, arranges heart shaped stones outside her pink-painted home in Stockbridge. Sheri’s son, Mikey, was born with Down Syndrome almost three decades ago, and that’s when she developed a close relationship with God. “My son, when he was born, required a lot of attention,” Sheri said. “I gave up nursing and decided to devote my life to him. It’s through his being that I learned how much patience a person can have, how much love you can have.” Sheri began to study the Bible, and at one point, she decided to devote her home to the Sacred Heart. Around that time, the heart-shaped rocks - and pieces of concrete - started showing up. “When cement starts turning into hearts, then it’s time to pay attention,” Sheri said. “I think it’s God’s way of speaking to us, of letting us know that yes, he is still there.”
A horse stands behind a pasture gate along Stockbridge’s Rattlesnake Mountain Road. The road is named after the timber rattlesnake, which was once a widespread species on Massachusetts's mountainous bedrock but is now endangered following deforestation and poaching in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The timber rattlesnake has suffered the largest decline of any native reptile species in the state.
A maple tree sprawls along Goodrich Road.
Tim McKee and Eliot the dog, of Stockbridge, greet Dennis Brown of Lee on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019 outside the Stockbridge Fire Department. Both McKee and Brown were on their morning walks when they stopped to chat and pet Eliot. They talked about how the Berkshires have changed over the years. “When I was a kid, there was a lot of industry here - now that’s all gone,” Brown said. McKee added, “We have cleaner rivers, but there’s no jobs.”
Ice melts in the flooded marsh around Kampoosa Brook along Route 7 in Stockbridge on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. Earlier that week saw several days of rain and temperatures between 10 and 30 degrees above the historic average. As the climate changes, United States Historical Climatology Network weather station records indicate that the Northeast experiences warmer winter temperatures as well as more winter precipitation in the form of rain, rather than snow.
Doris Gingras of Dalton speaks to Rose Haddad of Hinsdale inside Juice ’N Java Coffee House in Dalton on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. The two friends got together to exchange Christmas gifts.
Dalton volunteer firefighter Jordan Anderson keeps an eye on a hydrant along Main Street. The Dalton Fire Department used the hydrant and one of its hoses to fill the town’s ice rink on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019.
Crane Currency, which has been printing U.S. currency for 140 years and currently prints banknotes for central banks all around the world, is the largest employer in Dalton with 350 employees. Zenas Crane, son of Crane & Co. founder Stephen Crane, originally started this paper mill in 1801.
Nicole Brown and her pug, Lexi, stand for a portrait outside their Flansburgh Ave house in Dalton on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. Brown said she moved to Berkshire County the month before to be close to her family following a divorce. “After 18 years, you have to get your life together,” she said. “It’s nice here - I really do like it here.”
Beech trees’ copper-colored leaves show through the Tunnel Road bridge that spans the Deerfield River in Florida on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018.
A cat sits on some farm equipment along South County Road on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018.
Jim Gessing, who lives along Blackstone Road in Florida, hangs his birdfeeder after filling it on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. He said he sees “everything” come to his feeders: chickadees, blue jays, cardinals, and so on. “I want to make sure I take care of my birds,” he said.
Connie Gray stands among the prom and wedding dresses she has left in her at-home shop, K C Bridal Alternatives, along North County Road in Florida. While Gray has been selling dresses out of her home for 12 years, she first opened the business in North Adams with her daughter, Kellie, 24 years ago. Kellie stopped working with her mother in 2000, and now Gray is looking to retire after having a heart attack last year. “I’m trying to sell as much as I can, give away as much as I can,” Gray said. She just donated 189 prom dresses to Jessica’s Closet in Wilmington, Vt. Even as she discussed retiring, Gray reflected fondly on some of the more memorable moments: the time she prevented one bridal party member from pushing another down the stairs; the time she supplied the same woman with four different wedding dresses for four different weddings; the year a bunch of grooms wanted camouflage tuxedos. “I loved every minute of it,” Gray said.
Richard Minacci, 54, stands inside the doorway of what used to be Ried Cleaners along Main Street to get out of the rain on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Minacci slept outside the night before and said he’s currently struggling with health issues as well as alcohol addiction, which prevent him from working regularly. On Monday, he waved to passerby and talked about how the cooler temperatures and rain make life a little more difficult. By wintertime, he said, a few friends will likely give him a place to sleep inside. “I do the best I can,” he said.
The historic City Store sits at the intersection of Main and Railroad streets in downtown Great Barrington. It was the city’s first commercial block.
Eden Lewke, 10, looks up at her bowling score at The Cove bowling alley in Great Barrington while her friend Mischa Tedesco, 11, watches on. Both girls were visiting the Berkshires from New York City on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018, since they had a school holiday for Rosh Hashanah.
Taft Farms on Route 183 in Great Barrington displays an enormous pumpkin for customers to guess its weight on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018.
Jodi Reeves opens up the door to the silo at the old Steele Farm along Bailey Road in Lanesborough on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. Reeves, who is a garden caretaker, has rented the property for four years. She keeps goats, chickens and horses there.
Grant, a Gypsy Vanner horse, stands at the fence at Wedgewood Stable along North Main Street on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018.
Mackenzie Valenzuela, 5, laughs as her mother, Erika, pushes her swing on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. The Valenzuelas put up the swing just a few days before as an early birthday gift to Mackenzie, who turns six at the end of the month.
Chris Walsh works on pasting new stickers to the front of his business, Walsh Builders, along Route 7 in Lanesborough. Walsh, who moved to the former Lanesborough Fire Department building a year and a half ago, said he was trying to improve his advertising. “I figured I’d get some stickers and get people’s attention,” he said.
Wellesley residents June Murphy-Katz, her son, Josh, and her husband, Harvey, all wait for their brunch at Bob’s Country Kitchen on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018. Murphy-Katz spent the previous week teaching at the Days in the Arts camp at Tanglewood.
Sandisfield resident Margaret O’Clair visits the post office on Monday, July 2, 2018.
Kalin Kershner, 16, and her dad Jason, right, laugh at goats Annabell, far left, and Daffer, center, who belong to Jason’s brother Seth. Kalin and Jason visited Seth in Sandisfield Monday, July 2, 2018, after traveling from Hawaii.
Sandisfield Highway Department equipment operator Chad Giard pauses for a portrait before continuing reclamation work along South Sandisfield Road.
Hanna O’Brien, 19, walks over to her father Bobby (not shown) to hand him a piece of chlorine she found in the pool while Bobby’s mother, Bonnie, and his 4-year-old nephew, Caleb, swim at the other end of the pool. Bobby, who is the Sandisfield Highway Department director and a fifth generation resident of the South County town, enjoyed the water with his family as temperatures soared into the 90’s.
New Boston Inn owner Barbara Colorio shows off photos of paranormal activity within her building. The circa-1737 Sandisfield inn is rumored to be haunted and has been featured on television shows like “Ghost Hunter”; Colorio herself has many stories to tell from the 15 years she’s run the place.
Pittsfield resident Alex Demick walks into Harry’s Super Market on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Demick read a Louis L’Amour’s novel as he walked, explaining that he likes to read westerns and stories about “survivalist stuff” and “outdoor life.”
Ana Avari, 3, runs around with her bat along Memorial Drive in Pittsfield on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Ana played outside on the warm afternoon as her mother, Latasha, and her seven-month-old sister, Ridley, and some neighbors watched.
African American historical figures Samuel Harrison, left, and Edward Brooke, right, are featured in Durant Park in Pittsfield. Harrison was the first minister for Second Congregational Church in Pittsfield before serving as chaplain for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. Brooke was the first popularly elected African American to serve in the U.S. Senate, and he represented Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979.
Barbara Scott of Pittsfield makes her selection inside of Waconah Street Greenhouse on Saturday, May 26, 2018. Scott shopped for flowers with her husband of 66 years, Alan.
Dalton residents Rudy Gagliardi and his daughter, Jordyn, walk back to their car with their selections from Dairy Cone along Tyler Road in Pittsfield on Thursday, May 26, 2018.
Nick Chenail steps out from preparing bean plants in a small greenhouse at Mt. Williams Farm on Sunday, April 22, 2018. Chenail’s great-grandfather started the dairy farm, which today milks 80 cows and sells produce. He said Sundays afternoons are usually easygoing, though with better weather finally here, everything will get busy. “We’ve been just sitting around waiting for the ground to dry up,” Chenail said.
Bion Hauver and his dog, Bailey, go out for a stroll near Williamstown Elementary School on April 22, 2018.
Evening sun shines on trees at the former Spruces Mobile Home Park in Williamstown on April 22, 2018. The park was devastated by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 due to flooding by the nearby Hoosic River. About five percent of the Williamstown’s population was displaced. The park has since been bought by the town and now acts as a recreation area.
Williams College freshmen Ella Dunn, top, Cate Osborne, bottom right, and Austin Huang, bottom left, enjoy the warm sun on campus.
A cat investigates along Arnold Street in Williamstown.
Lukas Burrow, 9, enjoys a snow cone he bought from an ice cream truck along Maple Street in Williamstown on Sunday, April 22, 2018.
Joanne Thornton repairs a garden bed in her yard along Route 7 in Williamstown. “The plows every year come through, both sides, and sort of knock everything over,” she said. “And I put it back up.”
From left to right, Jim Kauffman, “Just Mike,” and Roger Meyer, all of Otis, sit at the bar at Knox Trail Inn in Otis on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Kauffman is one of five partners who bought the circa-1820 inn last year and renovated it. Another partner, Peter Sullivan, said the goal was to bring back a gathering place for the community. “When this place was closed, you could feel there was a vacuum,” he said.
Susan Derryberry walks her dog, Rusty, along the Otis Resevoir Dam on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Derryberry adopted Rusty from the Berkshire Humane Society.
Icicles hang from a lakehouse along Pine Road in Otis on March 27, 2018.
Dave Conklin picks up one of his fish carvings at his shop in Otis on Friday, March 23, 2018. Conklin, who started wood carving eight years ago, makes his fish and other creatures in what used to be Hall’s General Store. He sells them at local fairs in the summertime. “I don’t make a lot of money doing it,” he said, “but I have fun.”
Nathaniel Miranda, 12, walks his dog Demon around the lot across from his house on North Holden Street in North Adams on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. “I don’t usually like to walk out here because of the trash,” Nathaniel said. After Thanksgiving, he had to keep Demon from eating an old turkey carcass out there. On Monday, Nathaniel was mostly concerned with Demon not eating the snowman he had just made.
Ruth and Leonard Fortin stand for a portrait along Notch Road in North Adams on Feb. 16, 2018. The couple, both originally from Williamstown, has been married almost 50 years and have lived in North Adams about a decade less than that. The day they were photographed, they were out for a walk. Now that the Fortins are retired, they said they’re “in love” with Mt. Greylock and the other natural areas to walk and hike in.
“Imaginarium” glows on an otherwise cloudy afternoon in North Adams on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. The mural was painted by Brooklyn artist and Belarus native Yu-Baba as part of the DownStreet Art 2017 summer season on the backside of the juvenile courthouse. DownStreet Art has commissioned several permanent art installations “to make all of downtown North Adams a work of art.”
Riley and Tyler Sumner, ages 2 and 4, play on the snow pile by the Main Street bus stop in North Adams while their parents, Michael and Stephanie, help Riley’s twin brother Logan get up on the pile. The Sumners waited for the bus to Adams to visit Stephanie’s family on Friday, Feb. 16. 2018.
Rainclouds hover over North Adams (which has the motto, "We hold the Western Gateway") as seen here from the hairpin turn along Route 2 on Monday, February 19, 2018.
Charles Thomas stands inside May’s Antiques and Collectibles, the shop he and his late wife, May, opened 35 years ago after they moved from Long Island to Sheffield. “My wife used to be a collector, and we got so much stuff so we started selling it,” he said. “Years ago this used to be ‘antique alley’ - things were good.” On Saturday, Jan. 20, Thomas had a retirement sale. He plans to close the business in a couple months.
Sheffield transfer station attendant Louis Rossi helps resident Jenn Goewey. “I take my recycling seriously,” Goewey joked - not so jokingly - on Saturday.
Cars sit in the lot of Custom Classics Repair and Restoration in Sheffield.
xAudrey Bartzsch, 15, of New Marlborough explores in the Lime Kiln Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Sheffield on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. Bartzsch trekked with her mom and two fellow members of the local 4-H “Trailblazers” group. The same members also show chickens.
Keith Ives stokes a bonfire at Maple Shade Farm in Sheffield on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. Ives has been helping the farm’s owner - his mother-in-law, Barbara Delmolino - on the weekends for the past decade. Last weekend, he burned some of the brush he had cleared. “It doesn’t take long for it to take over,” he said.
The southern end of the Berkshires are visible from Silver Street in Sheffield as photographed on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018.
Carolyn Phinney Estes gets a lick from her dog, Shadow, as the two sit outside Racing Mart in Adams on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. Phinney Estes, who describes herself as an activist raising awareness about sexual violence, said Shadow has been her invaluable companion over the years. “He’s kept me alive.”
Mt. Greylock rises up behind the houses along Depot Street on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. In the driveway, Faustine Rios watches on as her brother, Dennis Kingsbury, works under the hood. Rios was over for a visit in Adams with Kingsbury.
Sun shines on the St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. According to the St. John Paul II Parish, the church was built in 1902 as Polish immigrants arrived in Adams looking for work in the town’s cotton and paper mills.
Limited Editions Barber Shop co-owner Mike Stubbs trims Nick Boulger’s hair Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. Stubbs opened the shop with his high school best friend Corey Joiner six years ago. He used to do glass work in Pittsfield, though he’s been a barber for the past ten years. “You’re making people happy and looking good,” he said. “It makes you feel better.”
Jaeschke’s Orchard employee Mike Brigley places stickers on wholesale apples for Simos, a distributor for the Springfield, Mass. school system. Brigley studied agriculture at the University of Massachusetts and has worked in farming since he graduated in 1981. He said the industry has changed quite a bit. He remembers when the Polish community in Adams, for example, used to close school so kids could help during the harvest season. “That doesn’t happen anymore,” he said. “It’s a changed world.”
One side of Nathan Samson’s masterpiece glows on the corner of Brown Street and Route 8 in Adams. Samson, whose grandfather Rolland started the family’s Christmas lights tradition years ago “to bring joy to others,” said he put up 40,000-plus lights on Nov. 1 with friends and hired help. Even with six people, the job took 55 hours total, but that doesn’t discourage Samson. “I want to keep the family tradition going,” he said. All the lights came down on Dec. 31.
“Chicken whisperer” Josie Langenback, 2, picks up a chicken while her brother, Jason, 4, and her mother, Jess, along with Shea the dog, all spend time outside along Henderson Road in Clarksburg Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. Jess said her grandparents originally bought their family’s property and cleared the woods there. Her parents own Stamford Valley Golf Course just down the hill.
A painting by Gus Jammaio hangs above the photocopy machine in Clarksburg Town Hall. It depicts two longtime Clarksburg fixtures: Mary Baker, who was town clerk for half a century, and town treasurer Earl Taylor, who has a road named after him.
Hudson Brook babbles along West Road in Clarksburg on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. It’s one of two waterways in the old mill town.
The oldest house in Clarksburg sits along Horrigan Road. According to town officials, it belonged to Nicholas Clark, the namesake of the town first settled in 1769. Resident Debra Bedard has lived there for 32 years, and said three additions have been made to the original structure. The day this photo was taken, she had space heaters going inside as she waited for her furnace to be fixed.
Taylor Harvey, 25, finishes cleaning a deer skull in his West Road driveway in Clarksburg Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. Taylor hunted the 130-pound deer the Saturday before in Pownal, Vt.