Джим Шульман завершил серию колонок о воспоминаниях бэби-бумеров в газете The Eagle

More than a decade after his first entry in the pages of this paper, Pittsfield native Jim Shulman has submitted his last Baby Boomer Memories column. Published Aug. 28, it’s different than most previous entries in the series: Instead of remembering the past, it compels the author’s generational cohort — baby boomers, of course — to live in the present while growing gracefully into senior citizen years. From observing my parents and acceptance of their aging, and from others who have not done so, I offer the following items of advice to baby boomers. Yet while Mr. Shulman’s twice monthly column bore the namesake of the baby boomer generation, it really functioned as a love letter to all generations of Berkshire residents. Just as the people who comprise them, communities must understand their past to make the most of the present and navigate the future. With every entry weaving color and texture into the fabric of Berkshire memory, Mr. Shulman unfailingly channeled potent nostalgia for many baby boomers (as well as the remaining silent generation and elder Gen-Xers). But history is more than nostalgia. Mr. Shulman’s shared view into our local history was not just a means to remember for baby boomers but a map of understanding for all who came after. What did the local landmarks that contextualize our shared landscape look like to our parents and grandparents? What has changed and what has remained constant in our communities over the decades? The answers to these questions carefully catalogued by Mr. Shulman illuminate the footprints we follow, the shoulders we stand on, the cloth from which we are all cut. We’re honored that Mr. Shulman, born in Pittsfield but now an Ohio resident, chose The Eagle as a repository of the memories linking him to his native home. In fact, his herculean effort to preserve and disseminate local history reminds us of the important role community newspapers play in archiving the stories of people and places for future generations’ edification. So much of America’s history is made accessible by perusing the clippings and photographs showing what a community contemporaneously found worthy of collective attention and memory. It’s one of the many reasons why it’s sad to see the disappearance of smaller newspapers across the country. It’s also one of the many reasons this newspaper and its readers are blessed to have Mr. Shulman’s contributions to our county’s memory. Columns come and go, but memories — if we persevere to preserve them — last forever. Thanks for the memories, Jim.