USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 1916-1955 > Part 39
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The purpose of the Association, which is part of a world- wide fellowship, is to develop Christian character and leader-
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ship among young people by the practical application of Christ's teachings in spiritual, mental, social, and physical ac- tivities, while fully recognizing and treating with honor the teachings of the churches of their choice.
The major policy change in recent years has been the pro- vision of services for women and girls. While the Association has tried to meet developing needs, it has never aggressively promoted the enrollment of women and girls. In 1953, the YMCA building was modernized at a cost of $300,000. The present membership is 1,960, compared with 1,548 in 1915.
Summer vacation and waterfront facilities are provided at Camp Merrill for adults and Camp Sumner for boys, both located at Pontoosuc Lake. The adult camp was established in 1904; the children's, in 1924.
Boys' Club
In 1950, the Boys' Club of Pittsfield celebrated the 50th anni- versary of its founding. It had been established largely through the interest and financial support of Zenas Crane of Dalton. The club opened in a single room in the Renne Building on Fenn Street, with Prentice A. Jordan as superintendent. The room accommodated about seventy boys, and was supplied with a small library and a variety of table games. The first president of the board of directors was William C. Stevenson.
A few months after its founding, the club took additional rooms in the Renne Building, one being equipped as a gym- nasium. Bathing facilities were added. Soon, a class in manual training was started, a penny savings bank was established, a cobbling outfit was provided to teach boys to repair their own shoes, a class in mechanical drawing was formed, a boys' or- chestra was organized, and basketball games and other athletic events were arranged among the various teams in the club. A summer camp was conducted near Richmond Pond.
Membership in the club increased rapidly to 800 or more, which necessitated larger quarters. These were provided through the generosity of Zenas Crane, who built for the club its present quarters on Melville Street, dedicated in 1906. The
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club continued to grow so rapidly that in 1910 the three-storied building had to be enlarged by adding a gymnasium at the rear.
Funds bequeathed by Franklin W. Russell enabled the club to purchase, as part of its expansion program, two farms and a shore front on Richmond Pond and to erect there a cottage camp for summer use. It has been developed into the pleasant and useful facility known as Camp Franklin W. Russell.
As the club continued to grow, it became apparent to Zenas Marshall Crane, son of the Boys' Club's original sponsor and benefactor, Zenas Crane, that more space was needed. In con- sequence, the younger Crane in 1927 gave $150,000 to renovate the club building and build an addition to include a new audi- torium, a swimming pool, new locker and shower and dressing rooms, and showers for girls and women.
Membership in the Boys' Club has grown to 2,400. The club's widely diversified program includes classes in woodworking, electricity, sheet metal work, typewriting, oil painting, and air- craft. It has a well stocked library. Recreationally, it offers a game room, an auditorium, a gymnasium, two basketball courts, a large swimming pool with all facilities, and 190 acres of summer vacation land at Camp Russell.
Recently, an Alumni Association of the Boys' Club has been formed and has assisted greatly in promoting the club's projects. Resigning as superintendent in 1920, Prentice A. Jordan was succeeded by James E. Keegan, who retired in 1951, when his post was taken by the present incumbent, Fred S. Fahey. The president of the board of directors in 1955 was William F. Retallick.
Girls' Club
The Pittsfield Girls' Club was organized in 1913 as the Girls' League Association. It grew out of the activities of the Working Girls' Club and the Business Women's Club, which had sep- arate club rooms in the Park Building on Bank Row but jointly used a dining room, a kitchen where cooking classes were con- ducted, and a gymnasium with a physical director in charge.
These activities were made possible by the generosity of Mrs.
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Almira Cooley, who in 1910 was instrumental in forming the Young Women's Home Association for the purpose of provid- ing more adequate facilities for women's leisure time activities. After Mrs. Cooley's death in 1912, the purpose of the Home Association was forwarded by her son, Arthur N. Cooley, known for years only as "the unknown benefactor."
Since the programs for young women were so popular and successful, it was suggested that classes might be organized for school girls. This was tried experimentally with good results, and out of this came the Girls' League Association, which was organized to furnish instruction in all proper subjects "except religion," to encourage all legitimate forms of pleasure and recreation, and to provide rooms, equipment, facilities, and in- structors "for the girls of Pittsfield and its immediate vicinity under 16 years of age."
This program was ably developed by the organization's first executive secretary, Miss Gertrude A. J. Peaslee. Some 330 girls from eleven schools enrolled in the program which included gymnastics, classes in raffia and reed crafts and crocheting. Miss Peaslee organized the Camp Fire Girls in Pittsfield in 1913, and added the program to the League's activities. Enrollment grew rapidly, taxing the limited facilities in the Park Building.
To help relieve the pressure, the Home Association donated funds to start cooking classes in the public schools. In 1922, through the Home Association, the "unknown benefactor" pro- vided the League with quarters of its own, buying a house at the corner of East and Willis streets. The house was remodeled and a gymnasium added on its west side. A year after the League had moved into its new home, the identity of its bene- factor became known, with the death of Arthur N. Cooley.
The League became a charter member of the Community Fund Association, and an item of $10,000 for the League was included in the first Community Fund campaign. The League's program steadily expanded until the girls could enjoy basket- ball, tap dancing, pop-nights, dramatics, masquerade parties, story telling, Christmas and other parties, social dancing for
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girls and later for boys and girls, tennis, archery, soccer, base- ball, posture contests, athletic meets, basketry, lamp-shade mak- ing, and other handicrafts. Swimming classes were conducted in the Boys' Club pool.
From 1921 to 1928, through the courtesy of Miss Gertrude Watson and the Women's Club, the Camp Fire Girls used the facilities of Camp Witawentin on Richmond Pond. Needing a larger camp, the Girls' League and the Camp Fire Girls of Pitts- field and Dalton raised almost $53,000 by popular subscription to supply the need.
A fine camp site of 85 acres, with 1,800 feet of shore front, was purchased on the west side of Onota Lake. A road, bridges, and camp buildings were constructed; electric power, telephone, and city water were installed. New Camp Witawentin opened in the summer of 1929, for the use of all Pittsfield and Dalton girls of Camp Fire age.
In 1936, after 23 years of service, Miss Peaslee resigned as executive secretary, being succeeded by Miss Sophie T. Fish- back, of Cleveland. The latter added more opportunities and at- tractions for high school girls-a game room, open house for boys and girls on Saturday nights, a "charm school," and dances every other Friday night.
Resigning in 1942, Miss Fishback was succeeded by one of her staff, Miss Edith de Bonis, who led the League successfully through the difficult war years with their many shortages of essential materials and equipment. More and more use was made of the League's facilities. Total attendance during 1945 exceeded 57,000. At this time, a new project, "Teenerie," was organized by a committee of adults and representatives of the 9th grade in each of the junior high schools. In 1946, the League was host to the first national conference of Girls' Clubs of America, organized at Springfield the previous year. More than a hundred delegates attended.
The Junior League subsidized in 1948 a survey of leisure time activities available to girls and young women. The survey, sponsored by Community Chests and Councils and conducted by Sidney B. Markey, revealed that more than twice as much
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was spent to provide facilities and programs for boys and men as for girls and women.
Camp Witawentin unfortunately had to be closed late in the spring of 1945 when a water shortage forced the city to pump an additional supply out of the lake. The State Board of Health thereupon closed the lake for public use. The Women's Club made available to the Girls' Club a site on its property beside Richmond Pond, where day camps were established for six weeks each summer for five years. A Home Vacation Camp for six weeks was also established at headquarters in Pittsfield, and provided recreational and other activities for girls who could not go to camp.
In 1950, Camp Witawentin on Onota Lake was reopened, being reorganized and rehabilitated under the direction of Fred Dubois in consultation with representatives of the Girls' Club, Girl Scouts, Pittsfield and Dalton Camp Fire, Jewish Com- munity Center, and the local Kiwanis Club, which has assumed sponsorship of the project. Miss Margaret M. Noble was named director.
Since 1944, when Miss de Bonis resigned, the executive sec- retaries of the Girls' Club have been Mrs. Orin P. McCarty, Miss Betty E. Kingsley, and Miss Noble. The president in 1955 was Mrs. David K. Spofford.
Early in 1955, with the slogan that "Girls are important, too," the Pittsfield Girls' Building Fund drive got under way to raise $350,000 to provide a new girls' center and an ade- quate Girl Scout day camp on Richmond Pond. The drive was conducted by a committee representing the Community Chest and Council, the Girls' Club, the Berkshire Hills Girl Scout Council, and the Camp Fire Girls' Council. The goal of the drive was greatly exceeded, going more than $86,000 over the top, to a total of $436,491. A new modern structure for the Girls' Club has been designed, which will also provide offices for the Girl Scouts and the Camp Fire Girls.
Boy Scouts
Under its original name of Berkshire County Council, the local unit of the Boy Scouts of America was organized in Pitts-
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field in 1916, with Frank E. Peirson as first president. Having a budget of $1,955 in 1916, the Council numbered 12 troops and 208 boy members. Ten years later, the budget had increased to $11,000 for 30 units and 671 boy members. The Council was over $7,000 in debt at this time. In 1946, the Council budget had risen to $21,000, with 76 units and 1,695 boy members. The present enrollment is 3,325 boy members in 113 units, with a budget of $38,000.
George P. Goodrich was the first professional scout execu- tive, followed by Joseph B. Owen, Larry E. Soars, George F. Morton, Perry S. S. Jackson, Russell G. Exley, and the present director, William D. Dyer. Burton H. Morrell was president in 1955.
Over the years the Council has operated several summer camps for its membership. The first was Camp Peirson on Rich- mond Pond. Later, the Council secured Camp Sunrise on Big Pond in Otis. Several other sites were tried but found inade- quate. Finally, in 1944, the Council, on a long term lease from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, secured the site of its present Camp Eagle on October Mountain in Washington. W. Bradford West and Monroe B. England were active in the orig- inal Camp Eagle planning and development. The Council has an investment in camp facilities of $50,000. Expansion is con- tinuing as needs increase.
The purpose of Berkshire Council is to promote, supervise, and administer the educational and recreational program of the Boy Scouts of America for character development, citizenship training, and physical fitness of the boys of Berkshire County. The Council is responsible for recruiting and training qualified leaders, maintaining standards of the Boy Scout movement, and making its facilities available to all boys of Berkshire County.
Girl Scouts
Girl scouting in Pittsfield owes its origin in 1918 to the Rev- erend Clarence H. Perry of the Immanuel Community Church. Realizing the need for scouting activities for girls, he inspired Mrs. Nelson P. Musgrove to found a troop at the Neighbor-
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hood Center. This group, known as Troop 1, started with eight girls.
By 1931, there were three troops, meeting at St. Stephen's Church, the Elm Street Chapel, and the First Methodist Church. The combined membership was 125. In this year, a community committee for the Girl Scouts was organized as prescribed by national headquarters. Constitution and by-laws were adopted in 1932, and the professional services of national headquarters became available for assistance in all phases of the local pro- gram. With this help, more leaders were obtained and the num- ber of troops increased. By 1936, there were 14 troops, includ- ing the first Brownie troop of 15 girls aged seven to ten. Mem- bership had risen to 210.
In 1934, troop leaders organized as the Leaders' Association for the purpose of training and to exchange program ideas with a view to better scouting. To insure the best leadership, a training course for all leaders became compulsory in 1936. An executive committee of men and women interested in furthering Girl Scout activities was established in 1937.
With increasing enrollment, the need for a paid director and a central headquarters became acute. Office space on North Street was provided by Simon England in 1939, and in 1942 a full time executive director, Miss Gladys A. Wetherell, was in- stalled. Requirements for membership in the Community Fund were met in the same year. Greater community participation was achieved in 1949 by the establishment of an association council of elected officers and chairmen from a slate presented by a standing nominating committee, members at large, and rep- resentatives from the Leaders' Association.
After thorough study by an area development committee headed by Mrs. Eugene O. Brielman, a county organization was formed in 1952 to unite and make more effective the work of all troops. Incorporated with approval of Girl Scout national headquarters, the agency is known as Berkshire Hills Council of Girl Scouts. The area includes Pittsfield, Lee, Stockbridge, Sheffield, Lenox, and Great Barrington, with Mrs. Homer C. Earll of Lee as field director.
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Camping is an integral part of Girl Scouting. Since 1933, when the Boy Scout camp in Otis was loaned for two weeks in August, local troops have camped at various sites, including Lake Ashmere and Camp Marion White at Richmond Pond, opened in 1939. Following the use of several temporary loca- tions, in 1950 the Girl Scouts joined with the Camp Fire Girls, Jewish Community Center, and the Girls' League for regular summer camping at Camp Witawentin on Onota Lake. Owned by the Girls' League, the long unused camp was rehabilitated as a community project of the Kiwanis Club. Land for a per- manent camp at Richmond Pond was purchased from the Women's Club in 1953.
Service to others is the keynote of scouting and the local council emphasizes cooperation in a wide range of useful ac- tivities, such as work as hospital aides, getting out the vote, baby sitting for women voters, civil defense, carol singing, story telling at the public library, clerical work for the Red Cross and Community Council, Red Feather campaign assistance, and knitting for veterans' hospitals. Present county enrollment totals 1,975 girls between the ages of 7 and 18, and 415 adults, including board and committee members and leaders.
The executive directors have been Miss Gladys A. Wetherell, Miss Marion B. Ochampaugh, Miss Adelaide R. Carter, and Mrs. Edward B. Calkins, the present administrator. Mrs. Don- ald G. MacDonald is president.
Camp Fire Girls
The Pittsfield Council of Camp Fire Girls was established in 1913, three years after the founding of the national organiza- tion by Dr. Luther C. Gulick. Miss Gertrude A. J. Peaslee, who for many years served as chief guardian, was the local founder. The organization was sponsored by the Girls' League, with Dr. Mary Anna Wood as chief adviser. The program at that time was closely related to the Girls' League and was based on the platform of the Camp Fire Girls "to perpetuate the spiritual ideals of the home" and "to stimulate and aid in the formation: of habits making for health and character."
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The organization for many years had no paid executive, so that records of its early history are scanty. But the association was always active in community affairs, with girls participating in Community Chest drives, clean-up campaigns, and city-wide Christmas caroling for the benefit of hospital patients and shut- ins.
The organization became a member of the Community Chest in 1952 and received its first budget allocation of $1,477 that year. Its headquarters, originally in the Girls' League building, were later moved to 22 Pearl Street, and in 1955 to the Red Feather House at 54 Wendell Avenue.
In 1955, the Camp Fire Girls engaged a full-time executive, Mrs. Roberta Moody, to consolidate present membership, strengthen the program, and extend services to more girls. Five groups have been added in outlying areas; services to girls in low income groups have been doubled. There are approximately 200 Camp Fire Girls registered and meeting weekly in the homes of their leaders. The 1955 president was Mrs. James P. McGurk.
Each year the Council has a candy sale to supplement its U.C.S. allocation for operating expenses. By selling candy from door to door, the girls earn a nickel a box for their group and help the Council to balance its budget. At the same time they acquire skill in handling money and an appreciation of financial aspects of their program.
Emphasis upon outdoor activities has become increasingly important each year, with groups holding three council-wide outdoor gatherings annually. Individual outings with leaders are held at least once a month. In 1955 Dr. George M. Shipton received the Luther C. Gulick award, highest honor of the Na- tional Camp Fire Girls, in recognition of his 20 years of service to the local organization.
FMTA, FMCYC
Reflecting local sympathy for the national temperance move- ment, the Father Mathew Total Abstinence Society began in 1877. The organization traces its founding to the Pittsfield Cath-
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olic Total Abstinence and Benevolent Society, established in 1874. Its purpose was to provide programs for adults which would further the cause and aims of temperance. It progressed through the years with this goal until 1952, when, through the influence of the Right Reverend Eugene F. Marshall, the Rev- erend John J. Murphy, and John L. Quinlan, the society changed its objective and became the Father Mathew Catholic Youth Center. In 1955, the president was David I. Sweeney, with Thomas A. Duane as executive director. FMCYC has headquarters on Melville Street in a building completed in 1913.
The Center aims to provide children with wholesome recrea- tional activity based on group work practice and stressing the idea that the individual, to develop fully, must give to the pro- gram as much as possible. From a membership of 550 children in the beginning, enrollment has grown to some 2,000.
College Club
The Pittsfield College Club was founded in the summer of 1915. Its purpose was "to develop the result of women's col- legiate education into a force of practical value to the com- munity, and to maintain a spirit of fellowship among the mem- bers." Two of the women most active in forming the group were Mrs. Louis F. Blume (now Mrs. Albert Willie) and Miss Ruth A. Mills. The latter was the first president of the club, and many of its early meetings were held in her home.
At the first meeting in July 1915, 43 members were accepted, representing 18 colleges. Active membership requires a degree from an accredited college; associate membership requires one or two years of college study. Acceptance into membership is by the unanimous vote of the club. Honorary membership is also provided. At present Mrs. Mary Schumann Hayes of Pitts- field, writer of novels and short stories, is the only honorary member. The club now has a membership of almost 300, with 136 colleges represented. The president is Mrs. Edward L. Raab.
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At first, meetings were held in the homes of members; all programs were furnished by the hostesses. Miss Eleanor Mc- Cormick and her sisters were responsible for many of the music programs. Other members wrote skits and plays of merit. The club early set up four standing committees-membership, so- cial, literary, and social service-and still works largely in these channels.
By 1925, larger quarters were needed. Meetings have since been held in the South Street Inn, the ballroom of the White Tree Inn, the Women's Club, the Wendell-Sheraton Hotel, and the Berkshire Museum.
From its founding, the club has been instrumental in making college education possible for others through its scholarship fund. The first scholarship was for $100, given to a girl chosen on the basis of need and ability. Now the club offers two schol- arships of $250 each. A midsummer dance and special programs provide the money for these larger grants.
During World War II, the club purchased war bonds. Its members assisted in the rationing offices, at the warning center, and in the home nursing courses. It contributed money for kits for women in the bombed areas of England and contributed to the Community Fund.
As has long been its practice, the club assists in many com- munity activities, such as the Community Chest campaigns, the hospital bazaars, and the Sale for the Blind. It provided and equipped a gift cart for Hillcrest Hospital. With the city Parks and Recreation Department, the club organized the Golden Age Club in 1949 and works actively with that group. In 1951, the College Club was invited to join the Community Council.
For several years a Toy Tea was held in December, the mem- bers bringing their small children who gave toys for the Day Care Center, the Christian Center, and the children's wards of the hospitals. These teas were discontinued, due to the work of the Eagle's Toy Fund. They were replaced by a tea held for girls home from college for the holidays.
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The "spirit of fellowship among the members" has been pro- moted by meetings of the social group. These were first held in the afternoon at the homes of members. Now a similar group meets in the evening. The literary group has been responsible for many interesting discussions of its own and for arranging excellent programs for public meetings and lectures. These pro- grams have brought many prominent speakers to Pittsfield- among them, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary Beard, Franklin P. Adams, Carl Carmer, Bertita Harding, Ted Shawn, Walter Prichard Eaton, Walter Duranty, and Dr. Millicent C. Mc- Intosh. Recognizing the increasingly broad interests of its mem- bers, the club has added to its original groups new ones in child guidance, music appreciation, and handcraft.
Junior League
The Junior League of Pittsfield, founded in 1930, grew out of a group organized by Mrs. Lucy W. Dodge and Mrs. Brace W. Paddock to do sewing for the House of Mercy. In 1932, with Mrs. Henry D. Brigham as president, it became affiliated with the Association of Junior Leagues of America.
During the Depression, the Junior League helped to relieve the needy by establishing a Milk Fund, a Community Clothes Cupboard, the Children's Dental Health Clinic, raising funds for these and other purposes principally through an annual ball. The Junior League Ball has long been one of the highlights of the city's social season. The League joined the Council of Social Agencies and the Social Service Index, and was given the use of a room for its activities by the Berkshire Life Insurance Company.
During the late 1930s, the League sponsored art and handi- craft exhibits, concerts, lectures, and plays for both adults and children. It organized a Scribblers Club and gave to the Berk- shire Museum a music record library to make symphonic re- cordings available to the public. Later, the League gave $1,000 to the Berkshire Athenaeum to erect and equip a sound-proof booth to aid the program, and the Record Lending Library was removed to the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Music Room in
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