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Members of Mount Greylock Regional School's Class of 1962 gather for a photo at 2012's 50th reunion. The first class to graduate from the regional school are planning its 60th in September.
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The class of 1962's 50th reunion weekend included a brunch at Mount Greylock in a cafeteria that was replaced as part of an addition/renovation project six years later.

Mount Greylock's First Graduating Class Returning for 60th Reunion

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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A newspaper clipping provided by Caroline Martel promotes the Mount Greylock Class of 1962's class play, 'Our Town.'
 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The last time the first class to graduate from Mount Greylock Regional School got together at the high school, members did not know it was the last time it could gather in that space.
 
"We had brunch there on Sunday in the cafeteria," Caroline George Martel recalled recently. "Some people hadn't even seen the new addition. We didn't have seventh and eighth grade there when I went there."
 
When Martel and members of the class of 1962 talk about the "new" addition, they mean the wing added in 1968.
 
Although portions of the original 1960 structure remain — notably the gymnasium and auditorium — most of Mount Greylock's original academic space was torn down during an addition/renovation project that welcomed students in the fall of 2018.
 
In mid-September, the school's first graduating class will gather for its 60th reunion — nearly 10 years to the day after that brunch to mark the 50th anniversary.
 
In 2012, the class held a banquet at the Williams Inn — another Williamstown institution that doesn't exist anymore — on Saturday night.
 
"This one is going to be a little more casual," Martel said of the Sept. 17 gathering. "It's going to be at the Waubeeka Golf Links with a social hour at 4 and dinner at 5. We're doing it early so people can drive home."
 
The school also has offered to give attendees at this year's reunion a tour of the new Mount Greylock while they are in town for the reunion, she said.
 
Martel served on the organizing committee for the 50th and again this summer is tracking down old classmates and inviting them to come celebrate their history and a significant moment in the histories of Lanesborugh and Williamstown.
 
"We don't do a Facebook page," Martel said of the organizing effort. "Quite a few of us don't have it. We have 11 members who don't do email even, so we have to send their invitations on paper.
 
"We didn't grow up with a computer."
 
Early responses were encouraging. In early August, Martel reported having heard from 13 of her classmates. "Not too bad, considering I just sent it out last week," she said.
 
Organizers are planning on a crowd of about 42 at Saturday's dinner, including, they expect, many out-of-towners who might be making their first trip to the Berkshires since the 50th reunion.
 
Martel, who lives in nearby Pownal, Vt., is one alumna who has been able to keep close ties with her alma mater.
 
"Our class gives a scholarship every year for a graduating senior and we show up to give it out on Class Night," she said. "We've been doing that since 2012. They try to alternate — giving it to a Lanesborough resident one year and a Williamstown resident the next. We rely on the guidance department to help with that.
 
"The young lady who got it this year is going to Russell Sage College. We got to meet her and her parents that night, which is nice for us."
 
Although milestone reunions are one way to preserve connections to the rest of the class, Martel said there also have been less formal gatherings over the years.
 
"We get together with people in the area whenever they're traveling and want to meet for lunch," she said. "I have someone coming from San Jose next week. She's only been to one reunion. We probably haven't seen her for 30 years. Her husband graduated from Hoosac Valley, and they're coming for his [reunion].
 
"We did the 55th reunion five years ago. In between, we lost 10 members. It's hard, because you lose people in between. We say this one is going to be it because it is a lot of work."

Tags: class reunion,   MGRS,   

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Williamstown Business Owner Calls for Action on Economic Development

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Spring Street business owner and former town official is sounding the alarm about the economic health of the Village Business District.
 
Amy Jeschawitz, who owns Nature's Closet and formerly served on the Planning Board, went to the Finance Committee last week to raise concerns about what she characterized as the lack of an "overall plan" for economic development in the town.
 
"Economic development, housing, new growth and business all go hand in hand," Jeschawitz said, alluding to the topic that dominated the Fin Comm's meeting before she addressed the body. "I know what a struggle it is for housing in this town."
 
Jeschawitz sent a letter to both the Fin Comm and the Select Board in which she called on town officials to take action.
 
"As a community we can no longer sit and pretend we are insulated because we live in Williamstown and have Williams College," Jeschawitz wrote. "We need growth, we need new homes, we need  jobs, we need better transportation options and we need to start filling the needs of the  tourism industry who come here from NYC and the Boston area.  
 
"We do not need to form a committee to study this – we have done that repeatedly over the  years to no action. Reports sitting on shelves. We need you, the Select Board and Finance  Committee to start taking actions."
 
Jeschawitz appearance before the Finance Committee on Oct. 29 was followed by a "Williamstown Business District Walking Tour" on Thursday afternoon that was posted as a public meeting for the Select Board to have what the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce billed as "a constructive conversation … to discuss ways to improve the economic development of Williamstown."
 
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