Berkshire County Historical Opens Arrowhead on May 17

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society (BCHS)will open Herman Melville's historic home, Arrowhead, for guided tours beginning May 17. 
 
Melville lived at Arrowhead from 1850-1863 and there wrote his masterpiece "Moby-Dick" inspired by the view of Mount Greylock outside his study window. 
 
Tours are offered Thursday through Monday on the hour with the first tour beginning at 10 am and the last at 3 pm. Rates for guided tours are: adults $20, students $10, children 12 and under free. Reservations are not required but can be made by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org. Group tours are available by appointment for groups of twelve or more; $15 per person.
 
To celebrate the seasonal re-opening, BCHS will offer special orchard tours in collaboration with Berkshire Cider Project.
 
In 2022, BCHS teamed up with Berkshire Cider Project to plant a new orchard at Arrowhead. About 25 apple varieties were selected to represent the historic orchard on site during Melville's time and other important heirloom varieties. The orchard provides a learning destination for fruit growers, activities for kids and family, and provides apples to be used for cider making. Throughout the day Berkshire Cider Project's Matt Brogan will be pruning the orchard and at 10 am and 2 pm will demonstrate proper pruning and grafting techniques and discuss the history of apples in New England. 
 
Cider samples will be available for guests 21+.
 
The celebration continues into the evening with a special concert of sea shanties by Alex Harvey and Shinbone Alley at 7 pm. Come early and picnic on the grounds and step into the tavern and warm up those swashbuckling vocal chords with hard ciders and beer from Berkshire Cider Project and Hot Plate Brewing Company for sale during the event.
 
Alex Harvey is an old-world folklorist who performs street ballads and songs of the sea in a project he calls Shinbone Alley. Tickets are available by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org - $15 BCHS Members, $20 nonmembers.
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Soccer Hall of Fame Adds Members, Awards Scholarships

Community submission
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The 2026 CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Berkshire Hills Country Club on Thursday.
 
The Hall of Fame's mission is to preserve the sport's history in Berkshire County, to honor excellence within the game and to make a connection between the generations that bring communities together. With players who last played on a soccer field in Berkshire County in the 1960s to the scholarship winners at the banquet on May 14th who played their last high school game in the fall of last year, we are achieving our goal. 
 
It is worth noting that this class of inductees is stellar. We have four County MVP selections, 14 All-Berkshire selections, eight All-Western Mass selections and, and nine captain honors, five four-year varsity starters and one five-year varsity starter. 
 
The players were introduced by committee chairmen Al Belanger and Patrick West. The scholarship winners were introduced by Chris Dumas, a member of the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame committee. The photographer for the evening was Ricco Fruscio. Over the past 21 years, the scholarships awarded to high school seniors in Berkshire County have topped $250,000.  
 
The 2026 Inductees:
Katie Dumas Sturm (Wahconah 2015) was a hard-nosed, and relentless four-year starter for Wahconah. She was a two-year captain in the middle of the field, scoring and assisting on clutch goals in big games. She was rewarded with being named All Berkshire, and All Western Mass in her senior year. She is married to Brent Sturm (who is also being inducted into the hall of fame this year) and has a son Banks and a 7-week-old Everett Michael. She works at General Dynamics. 
 
Brent Sturm (Wahconah 2009) was named to the All Berkshire Team in both his junior and senior years and won a Western Mass championship during his time at Wahconah. He also went on to have a stellar career at Wentworth Institute. He and his wife, Katie, are the first husband and wife inductees into the CIAO Soccer Hall of Fame in the same year.  After college, he helped coach the Wahconah Soccer and basketball teams. He works at General Dynamics.
   
Nicole Gamberoni (Lenox 2019) was an impact player on her team for five years while at Lenox making All-Berkshire teams four times. She was captain twice, finished with 107 points, and was the league MVP two times. She also went on to play soccer at AIC. She is working at Lenox High School while she is getting her master’s degree. 
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