ICE STORM 2008

FCTS Culinary & Cafeteria staff

Provide hot homemade food to weary line repair crews
FCTS Culinary Arts Instructor Chef Ben Pike pours fresh vegetable rice soup while Dave Courchesne from WMECO looks on. Dave Courchesne, Alan Lavigne (WMECO) and Aleta Smith, ’09 from Greenfield and freshmen Zane Reid from Turners Falls load up gallons of freshly made, hot, homemade soup.

On the evening of December 11th, New England was hit by an ice storm that left 800,000 customers without electricity. Crews from New England and around the country converged in the region to clear roads and restore power. The hill towns of Franklin County took a particularly hard hit from the storm, some with 100% of the community left without electricity.

After days of endless work in the cold, the call for “warm food” came early on Wednesday from the Western Mass Electric Company, and Chef Ben Pike from the Culinary Arts program at the Franklin County Technical School didn't’t hesitate to say “yes.”

“And I’m glad they called,” said Pike, “We all owe those men and women a lot right now.”

The cafeteria manager, Linda Clark, felt exactly the same way. She was able to donate baked goods and macaroni and cheese along with the Culinary Art’s contribution of 15 gallons of hot soup and fresh cookies, along with utensils, bowls, napkins, and trash bags.

“It really is the least we could do,” stated Clark.

A bit stunned, WMECO employee Dave Courchesne summed it up: “After six days of (the line work), the cold sandwiches and such is getting old. I’m so impressed by this—these people act like professionals.”