Students unravel one heck of a yarn

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN — Small sturdy hands wield wooden needles, turning yarns – chunky and multicolored, or fluffy and purple – into scarves or squares in what has become a popular endeavor at Williamstown Elementary School – knitting. Third grader Claire Paulsen, whose father is a coach at Williams College, is knitting fluffy purple yarn, the college color. “I love it,” she said. “I like doing finger-and-eye coordination. And I like the way the yarn feels.” Tommy Dils is knitting an astonishingly tiny blanket for a premature baby. And Ben Krant is knitting a scarf for his mom. “I think it’s very fun,” said Ben. “I’m going to try to get it done by Mother’s Day.” Claire, Tommy and Ben were among 14 third graders assembled in teacher Mary Johnson’s Room 240 at midday Tuesday. Johnson, who has been knitting for 40 years, said she initiated the activity during this winter’s seemingly interminable deep freeze, when, due to the cold, students were given indoor recess and were bored and restless. She started teaching two students the garter stitch, and, after a week or so, asked them to teach two others. More students got hooked, and now about a dozen of her 19 students are knitting. “What I particularly like is that their projects are almost always for somebody else,” said Johnson. “They are thinking about family, friends and community. Last year, my third graders made a quilt for the Louison House [homeless shelter for families] in Adams. This year, we are beginning to knit preemie blankets for Project Linus.” She added, “It’s really made a connection with their families.” Only one parent, a father, said he was going to take his son hunting, presumably as an antidote, she said. Johnson also works in knitting with math lessons, particularly in designing. “How many stitches do we need to cast on to make an 8-inch-wide piece, if we are getting five stitches to an inch?” she asked, as an example. A later question was, “How do we figure out how many rows to knit to get a 5-foot scarf?” During winter study at Williams College, Johnson taught the art and history of knitting. Students there each knit an 8-inch square. These are being sewn together to make a blanket for donation to the Louison House. And one of her Williams students, Jennyfer Machuca, is organizing knitting squares on campus to help Project Linus/Afghans for Afghans. Johnson’s mother taught her to knit at age 8, the same age as the students she is teaching. She has knitted for the New York City designers KnitWits and is currently a project knitter for Storey Publications. She reminded her students, “Yes, one person can make a difference.” The knitting group meets from 8:20 to 8:40 a.m., before classes; from 12:30 to 12:50, and from 2 to 2:15 p.m. Johnson is starting an after-school group, from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. As she deftly helped straighten out snarls and answered questions, she said, “The only problem is there’s just one of me.”
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Senior Golf Series Returns in September

Community submission
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Berkshire County Fall Senior Golf series returns in September with events on five consecutive Wednesdays starting Sept. 18.
 
It is the 22nd year of the series, which is a fund-raiser for junior golf in the county, and it is open to players aged 50 and up.
 
The series will feature two divisions for each event based on the combined ages of the playing partners.
 
Golfers play from the white tees (or equivalent) with participants 70 and over or who have a handicap of more than 9 able to play from the forward tees.
 
Gross and net prices will be available in each division.
 
The cost is $55 per event and includes a round of golf, food and prizes. Carts are available for an additional fee.
 
Golfers should call the pro shop at the course for that week's event no sooner than two weeks before the event to register.
 
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