Berkshire County Historical Society Forest Bathing

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Join certified guide Kathleen Schoenberg for forest bathing.
 
Start your Sunday with a one-hour guided, stroll on the nature trail at Arrowhead on Sunday, Oct. 29, beginning at 11 am. 
 
The walk will be less than a mile and includes several breaks for meditation and mindful activities. 
 
Tickets are available at berkshirehistory.org: $25 for Berkshire County Historical Society members, and $30 for non-members. 
 
This event is sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
 
According to a press release, A forest bathing session is a two-hour, guided program designed to encourage mindfulness and facilitate the participant's deep connection with nature.  Participants have a wide range of experiences – they might find themselves feeling the textures of the trees and rocks, breathing in the scents of the forest, or lying under a canopy while being guided to activate their senses.   
 
choenberg is a graduate of The Forest Therapy School with experience leading both one-on-one and group walks.
 
"Melville was inspired by the landscapes of the Berkshires," said Schoenberg.  "He once wrote, ‘Nature is not so much her ever-sweet interpreter, as the mere supplier of that cunning alphabet, whereby selecting and combining as he pleases, each man reads his own peculiar lesson according to his own peculiar mind and mood.'  In many ways this describes Forest Bathing - participants give to and receive from the forest, and each participant will take away something completely different."

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Berkshire Veterans Mark 50 Years Since Vietnam War End

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — County veterans gathered over the weekend to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War's conclusion, recognizing the horrors that soldiers endured long after returning home.

Master of ceremonies Lenwood "Woody" Vaspra said when most Vietnam veterans returned, there were no tributes, recognition, speeches, parades, or even handshakes.

"For many of them, it was a horrible return home from Vietnam in a very chaotic time," he said to a crowd in Park Square on Saturday, National Vietnam Veterans Day.

The Vietnam War officially ended 50 years ago in May 1975. Fifty-two years ago, the last American troops departed Vietnam. The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 designated March 29 of each year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.

"We're here to join together as a people, to honor the brave men and women who have stood in defense of our country and for all the countless men and women who are still serving in harm's way all around the world," Vaspra said.

He explained that this day provides the opportunity to pay special tribute to the many Americans who served in the war, the 58,281 names memorialized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and to those who never received the recognition they deserve.

"It is time to say thank you and honor all Vietnam veterans," he said.

During his remarks, Vaspra explained that many veterans have been able to re-enter society, go to school, find a job, and raise a family, but their war experience never went away.

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