Educational change gripped the city as the 1960s evaporated into the '70s. My Pittsfield High School graduating class of 1970 had been split into two as the city welcomed Taconic High. It was a bittersweet time for those involved as friendships forged over two years on the East Street campus were ruptured and compromised by the new school.
It was the beginning of what we now call the West Side, and the new high school was a big part of giving that section of the city a new identity.
After taking a year off, I resumed my educational pursuits at BCC in 1971. Again, changes in education were upon us, and I again was a role player. BCC's new West Street campus was being completed and would be ready for the spring semester of 1972.
I would have the honor of being in the last group of students to attend the college at its Second Street site.
The old BCC was hard to get your hands around in the 1960s.
While there was an occasional "older" adult taking a class or two, the highest percentage of students were the recent high school grads.
Whether it was for academic or economic reasons, BCC proved a safe place for those who were either unsure of their academic future or unwilling to spend more
There were, however, those who attended BCC because it was where they wanted to be.
The Pittsfield High campus seemed so much larger and more sophisticated than the smaller and older BCC building, which served as the Pittsfield High site for graduating classes from 1898 to 1933.
There wasn't much parking, and the three floors at BCC kept students grumpy but in tip-top shape.
Still, it was college and we were being taught by college professors. And the best part? No one from BCC was on the phone to our parents if we missed - or skipped - a class. I can't say I felt either extra cerebral or motivated in that building, but I dutifully attended, made new friends, and tried to embrace the end of an era on Second Street.
Where ya goin' in the fall?
Seniors in Berkshire County hear that question often as their public education years come to a close. BCC has never been the wrong answer.
It's hard to believe that the new school - the one I first attended in 1972 - is closing in on 40 years. You could still smell the fresh paint when we walked in to start that second semester in January. There were student lounges, nooks and crannies, lecture rooms and a cafeteria. It was a lot more intimidating than the Second Street campus had ever been, and all of a sudden it felt like college.
Heck, there was even adequate parking. The wind blew bitterly that winter and spring as we walked uphill from the parking lot to the doors. We still weren't a diverse college community at that point, though. There is a significant immigrant population at the college now, but a limited one in 1972. And if you were 40 years old, you were a teacher - not a student. Those changes would come later.
I don't remember anyone breaking a bottle of champagne against the bricks to christen the new BCC, but those of us who broke the place in did so with respect and honor.
When we said "I'm going to BCC," the words carried more punch than they did when we talked about the relic - historical and memorable as it was - on Second Street.
Change in this case certainly was for the better.
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