By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, JUNE 26-28, 2015) — One Thursday, THE PLANET enjoyed a long, leisurely breakfast at The Red Lion Inn with two of Pittsfield most loyal and successful native sons. Our deliberations, moreover, summoned the memory of a third favorite and famous son. We speak of public servants par excellence Chuck Garivaltis and carousel maker Jim Shulman. This man in is businessman and author Larry Bossidy.

First, however, allow a word about this hackneyed phrase “public servant.”

“Public Servant” Vs. Public Servant (the Quotes Tell All)

Too often, it is thrown into the trash compactor when employed to grant false praise to weak, compliant politicians who (a) are unemployable in The Dreaded Private Sector … (b) who couldn’t put “C & D” after “A & B” in a “smarts” test … (c) who lack a political will or backbone and therefore … (d) will always take orders from The Bosses. Names names. How’s Tricia Farley Bouvier, for starters? They — The Suits — will be erecting a statue in her honor at a foo-foo reception at the oh-so-swank Hotel on North for her work in saving humanity from pestilence, eradicating poverty, curing Ebola, and, most importantly, voting the way “Leadership” (always in quotes for such usage) orders her to vote on Beacon Hill.

No, when THE PLANET rhetorically uses “public servants” in the context displayed in this column, we mean a selfless devotion to community utilized in a manner than extends one out of his or her “me -first” comfort zone. The men we speak of here are public servants in the highest sense. They don’t want credit. They want (and get) results.

Each grew up in Pittsfield “back in the day” — in the day when the city took pride in itself, provided reliable services, taxed reasonably, and rolled out clean sidewalks for responsible citizens who dressed clean and as well as they could afford when they stepped out in public.

The Hit Man

Garivaltis was of one of the great schoolboy athletes ever to come out of Pittsfield. THE PLANET will enter Chuck as our nominee as Berkshire County’s “Greatest Hitter,” a skill he parlayed into a signing with the New York (and soon-to-be San Francisco) Giants of the National League. He played two  seasons in the Giants chain. In fact, Chuck still holds records in the fabled All American Amateur Baseball Association Tournament, still held to this day at Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pa. The tournament has featured many players who went on to careers in the Majors.

The tournament’s record books to this day show Garivaltis as the tournament’s batting champion in 1952 and 1953, the only time in its history anyone has won consecutive batting titles. He hit an otherworldly .483 and .685. Chuck also made the Hearst New England All-Star Team and is the only player from Western Mass. to be named to the team twice. Chuck was a teammate of Larry Bossidy‘s at PHS, and the two moved on to play baseball for Colgate University.

Yes, that Larry Bossidy.

‘Out of the House, Tiger; My Son’s Going to Colate’

LARRY BOSSIDY

Bossidy was a twirler (THE PLANET‘s favorite cliche for “pitcher”) with big league stuff. He had a fastball in the mid-90s, which interested several big league clubs, none more than the Detroit Tigers. The Bengals offered the kid a $40,000 bonus to sign with them, a fortune back in the early 50s. Bossidy’s mom, however, had the “long view” in mind, the type of strategic thinking for which Larry became famous in his stint in the highest levels of corporate America. She told the Tigers’ scout he couldn’t come in the house, because her son would be going back to Colgate to finish his studies. At Colgate, Garivaltis’ bat and Bossidy’s arm led the team to College World Series and Larry into the university’s Hall of Fame.

Bossidy, of course, would become a business leader at GE, Allied Signal, and Honeywell, respected the world over for his acumen in commerce, management, and the leadership of men and women. Presidents want this man’s advice. World leaders study his counsel on matters such as leadership, how to handle personnel, and the keys to successful negotiation. Moral of the story: Always listen to your mom.

Remind THE PLANET some day to tell you the story of the time last year when Chuck got involved with Larry’s family to surprise the latter on his 80th birthday. The gift was to be a hand-carved replica of the sign that graced the Bossidy family’s shoe store in downtown Pittsfield. It’s a tale of the ineffectiveness and inefficiency city government, ca. “present day.” It’s hilarious — in a profoundly sad way.

More importantly, however, was Chuck’s service to the city after his playing days ended.

As a property owner, he has contributed heavily to the local tax base going on three generations. He has held seats on the city council, school committee, and parks commission, plus numerous boards and commissions. Chuck served honestly and for the right reasons, and the city today finds itself in short supply of such people. As you can see, Chuck Garivaltis has been, remains, and always will be one of THE PLANET‘s heroes.

He Never Forget His Hometown

In six degrees of removal, Jim Shulman, like Bossidy, has shoe leather hanging from the family tree. Jim’s family owned (and still does) Jim’s House of Shoes in Pittsfield. With Chuck Garivaltis, Jim shares career success. Where Chuck came from playing Monopoly with real properties, Shulman made his mark as an executive in the medical industry.

Jim — like Chuck and Larry — grew up in Pittsfield’s “post-war” Golden Age, and like those two men, he never forgot his hometown. As we’ve seen, Chuck continues to give back to the community as a successful businessman. Larry gave the city parks a gift of $1 million — and trust THE PLANET — we know full well the story of how the city took that $1 million and basically defied the wishes and intent of its benefactor. Alas, that, too, is another story.

Jim Shulman decided to give back with a carousel. We should have said, “with a (of all things) a carousel.” The choice fits the man well, evoking as it does an innocent optimism that will never be out of fashion, although in present-day Pittsfield with its severe problems continuing to go unaddressed, will always look out of place. The carousel connotes images of childhood, of a simpler time, of the type of pure, blameless, and unimpeachable fun that each of the three men knew so well in the Pittsfield of their respective youths.

That type of youth did once happen. It’s real. It’s not a Leave it to Beaver fantasy. Can it happen again? Yes, it can. The real question, though, is “Will the politicians and those who call the shots ever begin the hard (even harsh) treatments required if the city is ever to get back a semblance of its former glory?”

Digging Deep for All of Us

The carousel will soon break ground on the property Jim and his wife own adjacent to CVS on West and Center streets. Talk about a “story for another day.” All of us remember the stadium-cum-Civic Authority  fiasco, which connects us to The Bossidy Bucks and Chuck’s stint as manager for the old-time baseball team that Jim Bouton put together as a prelude and promotion to a revitalized Wahconah Park. Funny, how life often reminds us that there are no such things as coincidences.

As Schulman explained as we munched on done-to-order scrambled eggs and sides, the carousel serves as a vehicle that will bring people together. Indeed, each of the magnificent horses has been carved by volunteers from the community, people from all walks of life, most of whom had never taken a chisel to wood with love prior to that. Over the course of 10 years, Shulman has led his team of carvers into the creation of a gem that will outlive all of us. When those horses are bobbing their circular way always back to the beginning, they will bear testimony to what can be done when a community comes together. Those volunteers feel a sense of “ownership” cultivated chip-by-chip over a decade. That type of unsullied possession can be infectious — at least that’s what Jim Shulman hopes.

To finance his dream, Shulman didn’t go the Richard Stanley Route. He didn’t hold up the community for public funds. He didn’t expect the taxpaying public to become his venture capitalist. In fact, most of the $1.5 million spent to date has come out of Jim’s own pocket. The project will need another $1.5 million for full completion, although the immediate goal, Phase 1, is to raise $500,000 to put up the main building and get the horses moving.

Backward, Forward into and from the Present

All of this, Ladies and Gentlemen, is meant to return us backward in remembrance and forward in hope. Are we wallowing in nostalgia to think of the former? Are we naive to the limit to even think of the latter? Time will tell.

Meanwhile, let’s hoist a cup in honor of men such as Garivaltis, Bossidy, and Shulman. They are of another breed. Another era. Shall we yet again have to prove our patience with all our soul?

Gentlemen, THE PLANET salutes you!

——– 000 ——–

With that, we open The Comment Line. We welcome your views on today’s column or any other topic you wish to place on the agenda. We only ask, as always, that you stay on point, move the discussion forward, stay out of the gutter, and dazzle.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

————————————————————————————————

“Is the great chain that draws all to agree, / And drawn supports, upheld by God or thee?” — Alexander Pope, “Essay on Man,” (1732).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.