Ice rink at the former BPAC in Lenox

LENOX – Ideas excite memories of days past.

Today, when one looks for alternatives to make Lenox more enjoyable to both its citizens and tourists, the value of ice-skating comes to mind.

Some officials are trying to map a plan for open space and recreation.

Herein is a thought for re-use of a building that once housed a full -ize skating rink in Lenox.

The Berkshire Beacon, in an editorial last week, looked at the old style of flooding a tennis court behind the Lenox Community Center as a way to serve young people and also create an all-purpose entity for the community.

Now comes the possible updating of the Lenox School for Boys multi center BPAC that was built by the school with monies believed to be funded by the late Col. Helm G. Wilde of High Lawn Farm, a trustee of the school.

Today the building, owned by Shakespeare and Company, serves as a theater site for its productions.

Can there be a town and gown plan to serve both entities? Yes on two fronts:

-Elliott Morss of Lenox, an economist, argues that “Beyond the skating rink possibility, which I believe is worth exploring further – what would it take to get the freezer units working and forming a skating club…?”

-Some type of public grant might be sought.

Years ago, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) built a series of rinks in and around Boston. Today, they are managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

Russell White of Stockbridge, hockey coach at Monument Mountain Regional High School, said the building contained the gym and basketball court on one side and the rink with its mechanicals on the other.

In the middle were locker rooms and storage areas.

According to Thomas H. Bosworth, former athletic director at Lenox High School, Lenox had good hockey teams up until the late 1970s.

According to several people, the colonel became upset with the costs/debt on the building and/or the ongoing expenses for operating the rink – electricity, oil, salaries, etc. – according to Mr. White.

He pulled the plug on his involvement as a trustee, which later, in part, forced the school to close.

This was a time when several area boarding schools closed for various reasons, according to Mr. White.

In any event, there was a pro team that played in the building named after the colonel’s farm: High Lawn Jerseys!

There are several adults today that played either for the pro team and/or on the high school hockey team, which earned a couple of championships.

Joseph M. McCusker of Pittsfield was the hockey coach at Lenox and later sold insurance with Leo Mahoney.

This all raises the question of what does Lenox want.

-There is currently the small rink adjacent to the community center.

-There is the flooded rink proposal idea for the tennis court in back of the community center.

-Community action groups, along with state grants, might help fund the restoration of a rink at S&Co. This will take some effort on several fronts: local leaders, S&Co. officials, possibly some grants and an overall plan as to who will use it and under what conditions.

The skating rink idea surfaced when The Berkshire Beacon editorialized last week that this community should consider one behind the Lenox Community Center on the tennis courts.

In the old days, volunteers could build the site with boards and the firemen could supply water from a nearby hydrant and spray the area nightly.

There are issues of access and/or right-of-way issues. That said, the people at S&Co. are good people, and the town could come to the table with a letter of intent or a plan that may match each one’s goals.

Posted by George C. Jordan III on February 28, 2013. Filed under Community News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry