Dave Read

A Prairie Home Companion at Tanglewood, July 2, 2000

July 2, 2000 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

The 2000 Tanglewood season got underway Saturday with the live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor and special guests Emanuel Ax, Norumbega Harmony, and the Berkshire Highlanders. It was a pretty good show, mostly – except for the parts that were brilliant.

It seems silly to use superlatives to describe a show that had as casual and relaxed a feel to it as this one did, but Keillor used some himself when he introduced Tanglewood and the Berkshires to his vast radio audience, so it’s OK for us to wax laudatory.

The selection of special guests was perfect and they all gave great performances. The show’s regulars, The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, piano player Richard Dworsky, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and sound effects master Tom Keith, all turned in their usual excellent performances.

A few highlights:

Russell’s uncanny impersonation of President Clinton reciting Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” in response to Keillor’s query, “How does it feel to be leaving the White House?”
Keith’s oral fireworks display to the accompaniment of “Stars and Stripes Forever” played by Ax and Dworsky;
Keillor’s monologue, about one of the last of the dying breed of Norwegian bachelor farmers and his struggle to maintain his independence and dignity in the midst of a town full of Pumpkin Heads.

Berkshire Highlanders at Tanglewood

Berkshire Highlanders perform on the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Compabion at Tanglewood, July 2, 2000. photo: Dave Read.

It was wonderful to see and hear The Berkshire Highlanders in the Shed. Their Greylock Tartan kilts are perfect representations of the subtly beautiful Berkshire hills, and their repertoire is unusually engaging, as indicated by the Shaker hymn, Simple Gifts they played on stage.

In addition to providing the show’s classical music interlude with “Estampes” by Claude Debussy, Emanuel Ax also made his acting debut, starring in an episode of the very funny radio drama, “Guy Noir: Radio Private Eye.” Ax was sharp in both roles.

Norumbega Harmony, one of New England’s largest and most active groups of Sacred Harp and shape-note singers, gave beautiful performances of the Shaker hymn “The Good Samaritan,” and a 19th centruy anthem, “Millennial Praise.”

Garrison Keillor’s Tanglewood connection

Garrison Keillor’s wife was a student at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute when she was sixteen, and their second date was at Tanglewood eight years ago, which he memorialized in a song that displayed his poetic acuity (e.g.: “I couldn’t see how a redneck’s gonna judge Seiji Qzawa.” Another bon mot was his rhyming admonition, “Music is a gift from God – please shut up, and at the end, applaud.”

Somehow it seems especially fitting that this Tanglewood season, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Aaron Copland, the quintessential American composer, was opened with A Prairie Home Companion, which celebrates everything that’s pretty good about America.

Adams, MA

The town of Adams, located 15 miles north of Pittsfield on Rt. 8, is noted as the birthplace in 1820 of Susan B. Anthony, a descendent of the Quakers who settled the area in the 18th century. Adams is situated along the Hoosac River, with the Hoosac Range to the east and the summit of the state’s highest peak, Mt. Greylock, immediately east of town. A statue of President William McKinley is located at McKinley Square at the intersection of Columbia & Maple Streets, Adams, MA. The base is surrounded with three scenes of his actions, in the Civil War, in Congress, and as President, with the fourth side bearing a quote from the Pan-American Exposition: “Let us remember that our interest is in concord not conflict, and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not of war.”

Quaker Meeting House

The Quaker Meeting House, built in 1782, is open to visitors on Sundays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Adams celebrates the legacy of Susan B. Anthony with a summer festival; the Adams Agricultural Fair is held every August and the annual Greylock Ramble attracts as many as 1,000 hikers to the mountain on Columbus Day. (Photo credit)

Town Hall: 8 Park St. 01220; 413-743-8320
Population: 8,809
Settled by/Inc’d: Rhode Island Quakers/1776
Named for: Samuel Adams,
Revolutionary
Elevation: 799′
Adams, MA town website

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Adams, MA once known as the East Hoosuk Plantation

First surveyed in 1739 and known as the East Hoosuk Plantation, Adams was incorporated in 1778 and included present-day North Adams until 1878. A National Register Historic District of 70 Victorian homes recalls the days when textile industry drove Adams’ economy, as does a statue of President William McKinley whose policies benefited the domestic textile industry and who was a friend of the Plunkett brothers, founders of the Berkshire Cotton Mfg. Co..

Alford, Mass.

Alford, MA has had a mill for its grist since 1763, when the town had about twenty fewer residents than it does today! During the first half of the 19th century, there were a dozen marble quarries in Alford, but when the railroads were laid elsewhere, they became unprofitable. Today, Alford is the quintessential bedroom community: no stores, no motels or hotels, and not a single gas station.

By ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

“Old-fashioned, easygoing Alford …”

“Old-fashioned, easygoing Alford is not so far off the main traveled routes through Berkshire that it is a backwoods village, nor so close to have taken on the frills of a summer resort. The scattered houses, white church, and little school are built on a narrow shelf of land extending a quarter of a mile along the eastern side of the platter-shaped valley.

“To the south is Mt. Everett, one of the highest mountains in Berkshire, 2,624 feet above sea level. The western slopes of the valley are checkered with meadow and woodlots, mounting toward an unbroken line of trees against the sky.” (The Berkshire Hills, by Federal Writers’ Project, © 1939, Berkshire Hills Conference, Inc.)

Alford, MA facts:

Town Hall: 5 Alford Center Rd.
Phone: (413) 528-4536
Population: 399
Settled/Inc’d: 1740/1773
Named for: Col. John Alford of Charlestown
Elevation: 960′
Alford.org

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Becket, Mass.

The world famous Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival is located in Becket, an upland town that once supported a prosperous lumber industry and now is noted for its many summer camps and second homes. The West Branch of the Westfield River, which forms part of the northern boundary of Becket, is highly regarded by trout anglers. [retweet]

“In 1927, the Ballou Reservoir burst its earthen bank and poured a 25 foot wall of water down the narrow valley…and the settlement was nearly wiped out. The town’s principal industry, a silk mill, was swept away; houses and shops floated downstream with the flotsam and the debris. This disaster marked the end of Becket’s era of industrialism.” [The Berkshire Hills, by Federal Writers’ Project, © 1939, Berkshire Hills Conference, Inc.]

Becket Lore:

Paul Revere and Johhny Appleseed – The bell in the Congregational Church (1780) was made by Paul Revere. Johnny Appleseed hiked to the top of Jacob’s Ladder around 1801.

In 1975, Bob Dylan & The Rolling Thunder Revue (including Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Allen Ginsberg, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott) spent the day at Mama Frasca’s Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Revue spent the day at the Mama Frasca’s Dream Away Lodge in Becket, MA.

How Becket got named

The original “Beckett” for which the town of Becket was named, is an estate or “tithing” which once belonged to the Admiral Lord Barrington (as in “Great Barrington, MA). It is located at the southern tip of Berkshire, England, about five miles east of the important railroad town of Swindon.

Sir Francis Bernard, the Royal Governor of Massachusetts in 1765, was a close friend of Lord Barrington and was himself a native of Berkshire. It is said that he enjoyed many a happy restful holiday in the beautiful surroundings of Beckett, and that these pleasant memories influenced him in 1765 to give the name Becket to Township Number Four when he approved its incorporation.

The origin of the name “Beckett” is still a puzzle. In early days it had been spelled “Becote” and is believed to be of Norman French derivation. There seems to be no known connection with the name or family of the famous Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas A’Becket. The name always went with the property, long before it was granted to Lord Barrington as part of his perquisites when he was raised to peerage.

Becket, MA facts:

Town Hall: 557 Main St.
Phone: (413) 623-8934
Population: 1,755
Settled/Inc’d: 1740/1765
Elevation: 1,207′
Town website: townofbecket.org/

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Cheshire, Mass

The Berkshires town of Cheshire, Mass. boasts a 500 acre lake, spectacular views from Stafford Hill, and one of the most unusual monuments anywhere, which celebrates the 1,235 pound cheese presented to President Jefferson by Cheshire farmers. Cheshire is located within the valley of the Hoosic River, and is the site of a dammed reservoir on the river. To the west, parts of Mount Greylock State Reservation take up sections of town, and includes a section of the auto road.

Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, Cheshire Reservoir, Cheshire, MA

To the southeast, North Mountain peaks just outside town limits before descending to the valley. The Appalachian Trail crosses through the center of town, heading from North Mountain to Mount Greylock. The southern foothils of the Hoosac Range make up much of the eastern side of town, and much of the land is dotted with sections of the Chalet and Stafford Hill Wildlife Management Areas. Several other brooks feed into the river along the way.

“The Great Cheese symbolized Cheshire’s satisfaction with the election of Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency in 1800. The idea of creating this monster among edibles was put forth by a baptist clergyman of Cheshire, Elder John Leland. A friend of Jefferson, he thought the town should send the new executive a testimonial of esteem.” (The Berkshire Hills, by Federal Writers’ Project, © 1939, Berkshire Hills Conference, Inc.)

The popular Ashuwillticook Rail Trail runs along the shore of Cheshire reservoir, and many Appalachian Trail through-hikers receive mail and provisions at the village post office.

Cheshire, MA facts:

Town Hall: 80 Church St.
Phone: (413)743-1690
Population: 3,401
Settled/Inc’d: 1766
Named for: Cheshire, England
Elevation: 945′

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Clarksburg, Mass

The Berkshire county town of Clarksburg, located on the scenic and historic Mohawk Trail, combines all of the benefits of rural living with an excellent elementary school (K-8), sufficient land available for development, and direct access to the urban amenities of nearby North Adams, Mass. The town recently created three areas for industrial development and intends to aggressively promote them to relieve the present basically residential tax burden.

Captain Matthew Ketchum, Colonel William Bullock, and Nicholas Clark are credited with having originally settled the eventual township in 1769, and the latter ultimately became Clarksburg’s namesake. The town began as a mostly agrarian community, with mills springing up along the waterways in the nineteenth century. The major mills were one to make cashmere, and several mills supplied gunpowder during the Civil War. However, the industry was stopped by the town after one of the mills exploded in 1869. (from wikipedia.)

Clarksburg, MA facts:

Town Hall: 111 River Rd.
Phone: (413) 663-7940
Population: 1,686
Settled/Inc’d: Capt. Ketchum, N. Clark/1769
Named for: Nicholas Clark’s family
Elevation: 1,000′

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