Charles Cahoon to Give Talk on Hoosac Tunnel Aug. 7

STEPHENTOWN, N.Y. — Charles Cahoon will give an illustrated talk on the Hoosac Tunnel, on Sunday, Aug. 7, at 2 p.m. at the Stephentown Heritage Center. 

The tunnel, a straight run of 4.75 miles between North Adams and the Massachusetts town of Florida, is the longest active railroad tunnel east of the Rockies.  This Stephentown Historical Society program meeting will be held. The program is free and the building is handicapped accessible.

The construction of the Hoosac Tunnel produced a shorter and lower elevation rail route from Boston to Troy, New York.  The work took nearly 25 years and cost the lives of 196 workers.  Drilling and removal of two million tons of rock required innovative surveying and engineering methods and 21 million dollars.  The first train chugged through the tunnel in 1875.  Both freight and passenger service used this route.  It currently carries eight freight trains a day.

Cahoon is the president of the North Adams Historical Society dba North Adams Museum of History and Science.  He has been promoting the history of the tunnel since 1971 when the town of North Adams began preparing the centennial celebration of the tunnel’s completion.

For more information, go to (518) 733-0010.

New Moon Lodge Holds Veterans Dinner and Resource Fair

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:45AM / Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Andrew Berry, a psychologist who works with veterans, speaks at Saturday's resource fair. More photos here. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — More than 200 area veterans and their families were connected to a host of resources available to them on Saturday and had dinner, too. 

 

Organizations such as Hope for Warriors, American Veterans Archaeological Recovery, High & Mighty Therapeutic Riding Center, Veterans Affairs representatives and veterans service officers lined the hall at New Moon Lodge.

 

Local restaurant Biggins Diggins served up smoked prime rib, Cajun-smoked pork chops, smoked chicken, baked potatoes, and seasonal vegetables

 

The Freemasons hosted the inaugural Veterans Dinner and Resource Fair at their South Street lodge with hopes it will be replicated elsewhere.

 

Lodge Master Bernard Tremblay said these resources had never been gathered in one place before.

 

"We keep copious records of what events and things that go on during the course of our history here, and the last time we had any type of event like this for veterans was at the end of World War One that I can see at the Dedication of the Memorial Plaque up in the lodge room upstairs," he said. 

 

"So, this was very unique. I talked to the veteran services group around the perimeter, and they themselves said they haven't seen anything on a local level like this."