History of ballooning in Berkshires exhibited during April at MCLA

Susan Denault, archivist at the Freel Library at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts reports:

During the month of April (and perhaps through May) Freel Library on the upper level at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has an exhibit done by Dawn Morin, who is a junior majoring in History at MCLA. The exhibit entitled "Ballooning over the Berkshires" is about the early history of gas ballooning in North Adams and Pittsfield, Mass. North Adams in the early 1900s was the ballooning center of New England and the Northeast. Dawn's research has revealed that North Adams was the ballooning center for very famous ballooning enthusiasts in the U.S. and around the world. Her display has reproductions of photographs and documents found in various local archives, from the North Adams Transcript, the Berkshire Eagle and from the Berkshire Gas Company in Pittsfield. Her research stemmed from a lengthy research paper she did for me in my Local History Research Methods class last fall. Dawn will also have joint exhibits at the North Adams Public Library (where she is interning this semester) and the Pittsfield Public libraries. For further information contact Susan Denault or Linda Kaufmann at the Ref. desk in Freel Library.

Susan Denault/Archivist
Freel Library