Poetry Event to Celebrate Earth Day and the Hoosic River Watershed

12:04PM / Wednesday, April 16, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A poetry event focused on the Hoosic River Watershed will take place on Thursday, April 24, at 4:30 PM.

Poets and individuals interested in poetry of all ages are invited to participate in this Earth Day celebration.

The event will begin at the Mohican Recreational Path – Syndicate Road Trailhead parking lot. Participants will walk along the Hoosic bike trail in Williamstown to seek poetic inspiration. Writing prompts will be available for those who wish to use them. Time will be allotted for participants to share their poems, phrases, or other creative expressions inspired by the river. The program is scheduled to last for 1.5 hours.

This free workshop is open to the public and is funded by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. Registration is required and limited to 16 participants. Interested individuals can register at the provided link.

The facilitator for this event is Arianna Alexsandra Collins, the Executive Director of the Hoosic River Watershed Association. Ms. Collins is also a naturalist educator and poet with over 30 years of experience in outdoor education and community engagement. She has been facilitating quarterly Poetry Shares at her local library in Ashfield for several years. Samples of Ms. Collins’ poetry can be found at https://hearkentoavalon.com/earthvoice-poetry/.

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Coach John T. Allen Remembered for More than Just Wins

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
04:35PM / Wednesday, October 14, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — John Agostini says his high school football coach was the most important influence in his life except for Agostini's own parents.

And, like a good parent, John T. Allen knew how to push the right buttons.

For Agostini, that moment came not long after Allen made the Mount Greylock Regional School eighth-grader feel special by inviting him to be the only member of his class to play on the varsity team.

"After football season had ended, I encountered a different John Allen, an angry John Allen," Agostini recalled on Wednesday morning. "I was in the very small weight room we had at Greylock at that time. I vividly remember John Allen entered the weight room. He had fire in his eyes. And, worse yet, he had rolled up papers in his hands.

"The papers were a list of people who were on the honor roll. While waving those papers at me as if they were a tomahawk, he informed me that my sister's name was on that list. My name was not. Coach then proceeded to go up one side of me and down the other without giving me a chance to respond. He then stopped and, in a much calmer voice, he said something that hurt me more than anything else. He told me he was, 'disappointed,' in me. Coach Allen was not somebody I wanted to disappoint.

"At that moment, John Allen absolutely ruined my day. But looking back after all these years, I understand something: He may have ruined my day, but, in a very real sense, he gave me my life."

Agostini, a 1971 Mount Greylock graduate who served more than 20 years as a Superior Court judge, delivered the eulogy for Allen, who coached football at Mount Greylock for 39 years.

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