Our Rocke
By Sandy Balayan
July 2025
Little did Linda Rocke know that a chance meeting with Arlene Tolopko at the Knox Trail Inn would turn into ten years of editing the Otis Observer. Anyone who knows Arlene knows that she has mastered the art of persuasion and her particular brand of enthusiasm is contagious. Arlene mentioned to Linda that she wanted to start a town newspaper and Linda unknowingly made the mistake of mentioning she had a journalism and marketing communications degree from Suffolk University in Boston. Linda agreed to attend a planning meeting and when she arrived, Arlene told her she was the editor. Already busy with other things, Linda lived up to the saying “The way to get something done is to give it to someone who is already busy.” With this, Linda was off and running and ten years later she is moving on.
Otis Observer Christmas Staff Party, 2018, Linda bottom right — Photo: Arthur Provenz
As our editor, Linda put the finishing touches on eleven issues a year over the last ten years, being sure the paper had continuity and there were no errors and all was grammatically correct. She worked hard with our wonderful graphic designer Tina Sotis to make sure the giant puzzle they worked together on became a cohesive, readable newspaper for our community.
Even though Linda will not be editing the Otis Observer as of this very issue, she is not idle. Never has she been idle and probably will continue on as long as she can use her talents in some manner. Linda has relocated from Otis to New Hampshire, but she continues to work part-time as the Marketing Director for Ventfort Hall in Lenox, a Gilded Age mansion that now is a museum and event space highlighting American life in the nineteenth century. A work in progress, restoration of portions of the mansion continues today.
Linda’s job description at Ventfort Hall is actually the closest to what she majored in in college. Her storied career (yes a pun based on her journalism career!) has included working at her hometown newspaper, working in the ad department, training other advertising managers, selling software to newspapers while traveling throughout the US and Canada, and even stints as a manager and director for the Boston Herald and Fidelity Capital’s Community Newspapers. Working her way up to the top of her specialty was satisfying but Linda felt it was time to start her own consulting firm. After moving to the Berkshires in 2003, her husband Robert’s birthplace, she took a less demanding position at the Albany Times Union as an account executive without having to worry about a staff to manage and budgets to construct and meet. “Working in Albany helped me get used to living in a new place that was far quieter than I was used to. My husband had family in the area, so it made sense to settle in Otis.”
After the Albany job, the part-time job at Ventfort Hall opened new doors for Linda. She loved being part of the Ventfort Hall Team and felt she was finally doing exactly what she was trained for in college. She still works part-time even though she left the Otis area about four years ago to move closer to her children and grandchildren in New Hampshire. “Ventfort Hall has allowed me to work remotely which has been a great gift. My job is in communications which entails press releases, website and social media maintenance and event planning as part of the programming committee. I find it all very interesting and the flexible hours work perfectly for me. I have no plans to retire from that position and will do it as long as I can. I have adapted to the ever changing challenges of social media which is a newer phenomenon not taught in my undergraduate days, but I find that working for a nonprofit is right up my alley. To help create and publicize events, working to know what we need and find solutions through communication to achieve the goals of Ventfort Hall is very satisfying for me.”
“It’s bittersweet to leave the Otis Observer. I have worked hard for ten years to put the paper in the hands of our community but I enjoyed it. I am proud of the work I did and the growth of the paper over the last ten years. We were a great team and I’ve enjoyed working with everyone. I wish the Otis Observer continued success in the years to come,” said Linda.
Thank you so much for your dedication and hard work over the last ten years. You will be missed.
