PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ethel Connors will hit a milestone on Wednesday: 100 years.
Her bridge club friends at the Ralph Froio Senior Center threw her a surprise birthday party a day ahead of her turning centenarian.
Connors walked into her weekly game to a standing ovation on Tuesday.
"This is unreal. I couldn't believe it," Connors said. "It really is a surprise."
She weaved her way through the crowd, giving hugs along the way, and there was food, a birthday cake, and the group cheers a toast to Connors.
Connors said the secret to longevity is "exercise, exercise." Every day, Connors does something, whether that be at the hospital or as a participant of the Berkshire Family YMCA's Silver Sneakers program. When she takes a vacation to Cape Cod, she can be seen out on a kayak.
Connors is a Pittsfield native and worked for 25 years as a teacher's aide after she spent a few years as an X-ray technician. She started in the classrooms of the former Tucker School.
"When the two community schools opened up, I went to Westside and then I went to Morningside," Connors said.
She retired from Morningside and still lives in the same house she grew up in.
Meanwhile, she raised five children -- three of whom are retiring themselves. Her elder child does consulting work now, but only a few days a week, and her daughter is a radiologist. Connors has two grandchildren and a great-grandson, and her friend Ellie Persip jokingly adds herself to that list as "an adopted daughter."
Connors has been playing bridge for 22 years at the senior center, where the group shares plenty of laughs. While Persip says Connors is "really good" at bridge, she enjoys socializing over a number of different games.
She is also an avid reader and always continues to learn, such as recently taking classes to learn to speak Italian.
The bridge club organized the surprise party to recognize the important milestone but with Connors' popularity, those at the senior center won't be the only ones honoring the occasion.
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Dalton Health Board Orders Dust-Abatement Plan for Concrete Site
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
Residents protest on Wednesday ahead of a Board of Health meeting.
DALTON, Mass. — Residents urged for quicker action to address the dust and particulates affecting their neighborhood allegedly from Berkshire Concrete's dig site.
During Wednesday's meeting, the Board of Health voted to send a letter to the company requiring a comprehensive plan by April 25.
This letter establishes a formal deadline for submitting a detailed plan to address the dust nuisance and notes that failure to comply with this requirement could lead to financial penalties and potential legal action.
The board also recommended to request that a third-party review the dust mitigation plans and ongoing air quality monitoring as conditions of the special permit for Berkshire Concrete.
Resident David Pugh argued that Petricca Industries, the parent company of Berkshire Concrete, has shown a generational disregard.
"The history speaks for itself," he said. A petition submitted by residents argues this point, using newspaper clippings dating back to 1976.
"What we need with [the board's] action, is the same level of reaction by the people who created the problem to begin," Pugh said.
This letter establishes a formal deadline for submitting a detailed plan to address the dust nuisance and notes that failure to comply with this requirement could lead to financial penalties and potential legal action.
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The mission of Hancock Shaker Village is to preserve the history of the Shakers and to educate the public about them, and the baby animals are a big contributor to that.
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