10/09/2026
In 1915, the Berkshire Eagle’s Kelton B. Miller (1860-1941) leased a space on the North Street Bridge at Eagle Street (now Sottile Park) from the Boston & Albany Railroad and placed his daily news bulletin board in operation. Locals would congregate around the outdoor news outlet to learn of breaking news, war updates, election returns, sports scores, fire locations, and holiday greetings. At one point, evolving technology saw the bulletin board become a 27” television surrounded by dials indicating temperature, wind direction, barometric pressure, and wind velocity. On October 9, 1952, photographer William F. Plouffe (1915-1999) captured the public’s interest in the Eagle’s new, revolutionary, all-electronic bulletin board. The news machine was ten times faster than its predecessor and reproduced maps, pictures, and drawings. It was the world’s largest electronic bulletin board, manufactured by the Alden Products Company of Brockton, Mass, and gave new meaning to the term “social media.”
Images:
Photograph by William F. Plouffe (1915-1999) on October 9, 1952.
The Berkshire Eagle, December 17, 1957.
Postcard, early 20th century. The view is approximately from where the bulletin board was located, looking east towards the Eagle Building.
