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L to R: Gayle P. Fawcett, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking Operations for Berkshire Bank, and Marge Lillpopp, Stephanie Talanian & Dave Gage of Elder Services greet Sheeptacular Event participants from the Historic Popcorn Wagon in Park Square in Pittsfield. |
Things are popping at Elder Services
Elder Services operates Popcorn Wagon to benefit Meals on Wheels
Through the generosity of Berkshire Bank Foundation, Elder Services will operate the historic popcorn wagon in Park Square this summer, with all proceeds to benefit Elder Services’ Meals on Wheels program.
The wagon was manufactured by C. Cretors & Company of Chicago, Illinois and
sold to L.B. Taylor of Inellete, South Dakota in 1907 for $200. The Cretors C
Model horse drawn wagon was purchased by Daniel (Stuffy) McGinnis and brought
to Park Square, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1910.
McGinnis’ wagon featured freshly-made popcorn from a steam operated popper
and sold for 5 cents a bag to people waiting for the trolley car. Later, the
steam popper was replaced with an electric popper. McGinnis, his son, and
grandson operated the wagon before it passed into the hands of Earl Borden and
his family. His daughter Margaret operated the wagon until 2003 when it was
sold to the Berkshire Bank Foundation.
The Berkshire Bank Foundation, originally funded with a grant from Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Berkshire Bank, purchased the Park Square landmark to preserve the historic presence of the popular icon.
"We have a strong commitment to downtown Pittsfield and felt is was very important to preserve the popcorn wagon for future generations. It would have been a loss to the City to have the popcorn wagon sold and moved elsewhere," stated Michael P. Daly, president and chief executive officer of the foundation and the bank. "We are pleased to provide Elder Services of Berkshire County the opportunity to operate the historic wagon on Park Square for the benefit of their valuable Meals on Wheels program," he added.
All proceeds from the sale of refreshments from the popcorn wagon, which is anticipated to operate 11a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday as well as selected Saturdays, will go to Elder Services’ Meals on Wheels program, which provides hot, nutritious, home-delivered meals to over 750 homebound Berkshire County elders each weekday.
Funding for this essential program has remained basically the same for the past 10 years, while the costs of purchasing the food, preparing the meals, and delivering them to the homes of the elders who need them has continued to increase, creating a $95,000 deficit this fiscal year.
Anyone interested in donating to the Meals on Wheels program, may call Louisa Weeden at Elder Services, 413-499-0524 or 1-800-544-5242.