Tea & Talk at Ventfort Hall Focuses on Peters Family

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Leonard Constance Peters
LENOX, Mass. — Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum hosts Carol Lindsay, who will discuss her third great-grandfather, Leonard Constance Peters, who was instrumental in the development of Lenox, on Tuesday, July 25, at 4 p.m. 
 
A tea will follow her presentation "L.C. Peters: From Immigrant to Pillar of the Community."
 
Lindsay will review L.C. Peters' familial ties in Kennington and Kent, England, and the influence his father had on him and his brothers. She will discuss his immigration to the United States with a timeline of his travels, work history and settling in Lenox, showing images of important documents as well as his incredible contributions to many aspects of life in Lenox with newspaper articles showing periodic contributions.
 
Lindsay was born and raised on Long Island and spent her summers and school vacations as a child on Yokum Farm, owned by the Peters, on Housatonic Street. Her grandfather, Leonard H. Peters Jr., would often take her for a drive around Lenox and point out the buildings that had once belonged to the family. 
 
This piqued her interest into the history of the family in Lenox. She spent three years researching and discovered that the family has close to 150 years of history and community contributions, beginning with Leonard Constance Peters, also known as L.C. Peters. 
 
Tickets are $30 for members with advance reservation; $35 at the door; $22 for students age 22 and younger. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows.
 
The summer series of Tea & Talks is sponsored by the Dobbins Foundation.
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Lt. Gov. Touts Rural Grant Awards in Cummington

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Cummington welcomes Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao for an announcement on state grants for rural communities.

CUMMINGTON, Mass. — A state grant has boosted the Berkshire Trail Building revitalization by $400,000, a project that has been in the works for over six years.

"Make sure to get a look at it on your way out," Selectman Brian Gilman told a crowd at the Community House. "The next time you pass this way, you might not recognize it because of all the new life that is breathed into it."

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll traveled to Cummington on Friday to celebrate $10 million in Community One Stop for Growth funding for rural communities. Last year, the town was awarded $400,000 to transform the former Berkshire Trail Elementary School into governmental offices, a food incubator, a business rental space, and an early childhood education facility.

Driscoll said the administration wants to build a commonwealth that is more affordable, equitable, and competitive "but that equity piece also includes geographic equity." The Rural Development Fund, administered by the Executive Office of Economic Development, provides grants for community projects in rural and small towns.

"We wanted to make sure that we had a better handle on how tiny towns and rural communities could receive a little bit more of the funding," Driscoll explained.

"Because the formula was a little tilted towards higher populations and so many of our tiny towns and rural places have lots of geography and lots of roads but not a lot of people so the formula didn't work in their favor."

The 22,000-square-foot school, located at 2 Main St., was built 75 years ago and closed in 2015. Gilman explained that this presented a chance to reimagine and repurpose the building, which in hindsight "could and perhaps should have felt like a daunting task for a small town of 800 people with a very part-time and mostly volunteer local government."

"But the Select Board at the time boldly moved forward with keeping activity in the building until a permanent plan could be put in place. Folks asked the Select Board about using space in the building for a variety of purposes," he said.

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