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Wally is lifted into position for his new location at the left side of the Berkshire Museum entrance on Monday.

Wally the Stegosaurus Returns to Berkshire Museum

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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The fiberglass dinosaur was refurbished by the studio that created him more than 50 years ago. See more photos here.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — He's large, he's prehistoric, and he is back home at the Berkshire Museum.

Wally the 1,200-pound, life-sized fiberglass Stegosaurus was crane-lifted to the museum's lawn on Monday after a yearlong hiatus for some rest and recuperation. During this time, he received a full inspection, tail restoration, surface crack repairs, and a new paint job.

The beloved Pittsfield hallmark of 24 years now sits on the left side of the museum's front lawn. He previously lived on the right side of the lawn.

"That's been our No. 1 question this whole time is 'Where's Wally?'" the museum's marketing and brand manager Kimberly Donoughe said. "Everybody wants to know where Wally is."

In April 2020, he made the journey back to his birthplace — Louis Paul Jonas Studios — down Route 7 South through Pittsfield, Lenox, Stockbridge, and Great Barrington before crossing the border to New York. The museum published Wally's route and estimated travel times so that fans could get a glimpse of the local celebrity in his travels.

For safety, he wore a mask over his nose and snout and donned banners that read "Thank you for doing your part to make COVID-19 extinct."

From the fall of 2020 to now, he spent time in quarantine at an undisclosed location nearby while the museum made infrastructure repairs to the lawn that he calls home.


Wally is a 26-foot-long, 12-foot-tall fiberglass sculpture created by artist Louis Paul Jonas in Hudson, N.Y., more than 50 years ago.

The Berkshire Museum welcomed him in 1997 after he spent 30 years outside of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Cleveland then commissioned a twin, "Steggie II," to take his place from the original casts.

Wally was the second dinosaur made from a mold created for the Sinclair Dinoland pavilion at the New York World's Fair in 1964-1965. Jonas is known for his work on natural history exhibits and worked with paleontologists to craft the Dinoland sculptures that were later featured in museums around the country.

His studio also created the dioramas for Berkshire Museum's "Worlds in Miniature" display.

In 1997, there was a naming contest held for the dinosaur and he was given the name "Wally" by a child because, at the time, scientific research showed that Stegosauruses had brains the size of a walnut.

Wally's return occurred less than two weeks before the museum unveils a fully renovated second floor on Friday, Aug. 6. The renovations include nine upgraded galleries, new exhibitions, two flexible learning spaces, and new amenities.


Tags: Berkshire Museum,   dinosaurs,   

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DCF Clears Two Pittsfield High Administrators

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.—The Department of Children and Families has reportedly cleared two Pittsfield High School administrators of misconduct: Dean of Students Molly West and Vice Principal Alison Shepard.

On Friday, School Committee Chair William Cameron confirmed that DCF’s 51A investigation of allegations of abuse or neglect made against PHS Dean of Students Molly West was unsupported.

"(Superintendent Joseph Curtis) told me yesterday that his office has received formal notice from DCF that the agency's investigation of those allegations has been completed, and that the allegations were found to be unsupported," Cameron wrote VIA email.

Earlier in the week, he announced that the first part of a committee-initiated investigation led by Mary-Lou Rup, a retired Superior Court judge, was completed and West, one of the school’s two deans, was cleared by Rup.  

iBerkshires inquired about the DCF investigation running parallel.  On Thursday, Cameron said the district has reason to believe that DCF's investigation has cleared West, but he did not have written confirmation of that assertion.

"I have been told by [interim Deputy Superintendent Matt] Bishop, who is the Pittsfield Public Schools' contact with DCF in these matters, that the agency's investigation of Ms. West was returned with a determination that the allegations made against her were unsupported," he wrote.

"I have not seen formal confirmation of this from DCF. Apparently, its report to Dr. Bishop was provided through a conversation."

The Berkshire Eagle Wednesday night reported that DCF has determined that allegations of misconduct against PHS Vice Principal Alison Shepard were unsupported.  The Eagle also reported that DCF cleared Berkshire Family YMCA staff member Taverick "Tank" Roberson in January and he returned from administrative leave.

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