Gazette beat reporter ready to cover Hilltowns
Bera Dunau
My journalism career began in the Hilltowns.
In 2011, I was interviewed for a reporter’s position at The Berkshire Beacon, a small Lenox-based paper. Because I was visiting friends in the Pioneer Valley at the time, the publisher and I met at the Old Creamery in Cummington. I got the job, less than a year after graduating from Hampshire College, and the course of my life was forever altered.
A lot has happened since that successful interview in the Hilltowns.
My career has taken me from the Berkshires, to Cooperstown, New York, to Foxboro and finally to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, where I’ve worked for more than three years. I’ve covered U.S. Rep. Richard Neal’s 2012 primary challenge, talked with people in line for marijuana on the first day of legal recreational sales in Northampton, reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert at Gillette Stadium, chronicled a community coming to terms with the crimes of a monster, a
A community ‘hero’ carries on at the Elbow Room in Williamsburg
Melissa Krueger, owner of Elbow Room Coffee in Williamsburg, gets an order ready for Paul Rudof, a regular customer. Before COVID, Rudof had a routine of stopping at Elbow Room for coffee and a game of Ms. Pac-Man on a vintage 1980 arcade machine set on free play. “It’s wonderful coffee, I love Melissa and I love her community involvement,” said Rudof. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
An order waiting for a customer at the Elbow Room owned by Melissa Krueger. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Melissa Krueger, owner of Elbow Room Coffee in Williamsburg, stands with orders for customers on Thursday, Dec. 10. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS