“06880” culture correspondent Robin Moyer Chung writes:
MoCA\CT’s newest — and final — 250th-anniversary exhibition, “Looking for History,” is “Connecticut Industry.” The exhaustively researched work was created by artist and acclaimed large-scale muralist Michael Borders.
According to executive director Robin Jaffee Frank, “We selected Michael Borders for ‘Looking for History’ because we are a nation of states, and our state is Connecticut. (That’s why we have CT in our name.)”
Addressing the opening night crowd, Borders noted that “Connecticut Industry” is foremost a work about history. MoCA is the first institution to show it for its aesthetic and artistic value.
Michael Borders, at his MoCA reception. (Photo/Mariana Roman)
His work consists of 8 10-by-40-foot panels, each evoking the industrial history of a Connecticut county since the 1600s. Intended to be viewed in an octagonal, cylindrical format, the panels here are on full display.
In each, the upper portions — depicting the sweaty merger of body and machinery intrinsic to the industries in a cubist/classical manner — are tempered in the lower portions by folk art-inflected renderings of hundreds of people who helped sustain and shape them.
As a viewer I found it provocative but visually intense; I returned a few days later to continue unpacking it.
2 of Michael Borders’ 8 panels: New Haven and Fairfield Counties. (Photo/Lewis Derogene)
For instance, in the Fairfield County panel, elements of hat-making, Sikorsky helicopters and sewing-machine production are layered on top of the outline of the county. Other images denoting maritime history, farming and transportation swirl about, like a collage.
TIP: Refer to his studies and composite drawings to best locate the details — and to get a peek into Borders’ intricate mind.
The people beneath, all documented, are those who helped spark the industries, from the Native Americans who preceded the settlers — such as Mahackemo, sachem of the Pequonnock who ceded his land to Roger Ludlow — through Igor Sikorsky and beyond. (If you’re interested in more, Borders wrote a 178-page treatise.)
Details, from “Connecticut Industry.”
From 1978 to 1981 Borders, enamored with manufacturing history, visited “chambers of commerce, historical societies, and industrial sites” to trace their origins to the modern era.
He received a $5,000 grant toward creating the set of murals, with the goal of completing it in three years.
Twenty-five years later, they were complete.
His studio was the basement of an elementary school in Hartford, and the teachers would bring their children downstairs to watch him paint and ask him questions.
“Boy, it was a wonderful experience,” Borders recalls.
I’m sure it was for the kids, and their teachers as well.
(“06880” regularly covers Westport’s varied art scene. If you enjoy stories like this — or anything else on our hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Our series of Staples Players’ highlight reels continues with the spring 2016 production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
The farce parodying 1920 American musical comedy was a different show for directors David Roth and Kerry Long.
Of course, it was a smash.
As always, this nutshell comes courtesy of former Staples media instructor Jim Honeycutt. Click here or below to see.
In the decade since, many actors have gone on to successful careers, both onstage and off. For example:
Christian Melhuish (Robert Martin) is a singer, actor and dancer in New York. After graduating from Temple University with a BFA in musical theater, Christian has performed regionally around the country. Credits include Jesus (“Godspell”), Romeo (“Romeo & Juliet”) and Bob Gaudio (“Jersey Boys”). He has also performed Off-Broadway and in cabarets and staged readings.
Keanan Pucci (Robert Martin, Butler) graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, contributing to virtual production pipelines and visual development for projects like Netflix’s “Escape from Hat.” His film credits include “An Inconsistent Story in Stealing. Click here for a showcase of his interactive and 3D work.
Colin McKechnie (George) is part of the premiere of Dance With Us with DGDC. He graduated from Ithaca College g with a BFA in acting, and a minor in dance. A stage and screen actor, he is playing Tony in the film adaption of Stephen King’s “I Know What You Need.”
Remy Laifer (Feldzeig) is a New York-based actor and musician. A graduate of Northwestern University’s theatre program, he has appeared on television in NBC’s “New Amsterdam.” His film work includes “Escape from Myrtle Broadway” and “3 Worlds, 1 Modern Romance.”
Wellington Baumann (Feldzeig) is a litigation associate at Fried Frank in New York City. focusing on white collar criminal defense, commercial disputes and real estate litigation. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College and the Washington & Lee University School of Law.
Julia Mandelbaum (Kitty) graduated from Rider University. She performed professionally in “Evita,” “Singing in the Rain,” and more
Jimmy Ray Stagg (Gangster #2) is a sketch writer and performer associated with The Second City. He also performs with the independent comedy group Penny For Your Intrusive Thoughts.
Jacob Leaf(Adolpho) is a professional actor. He has appeared in “Mamma Mia!,” “Gypsy,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Eurydice” and more.
Caroline Didelot(Janet Van De Graff) appeared in “Kinky Boots” at Baldwin Wallace University, “42nd Street” at New London Barn Playhouse, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” for Prime Video.
Jordan Goodness (The Drowsy Chaperone) is an SEO manager. Her specialties include writing, content marketing, keyword research, data analysis and technical SEO.
Mackenzie Lavoie (Reporters, Maid)earned a bachelor of science in arts administration, combined arts and a minor in film and media studies at Wagner College. She is a communications and PR professional specializing in strategic storytelling, media relations and brand positioning.
Nick Ribolla (Gangster #1) is an actor and archival producer known for his work on documentary-style and short film projects including “The Janes,” “Love & Stuff” and “Maybe Next Time.”
Daniel Pauker (Superintendent, Butler) is a technical animator. He has a passion for 3D software and systems.
Mikayla Czizik (Bridesmaid) is a New York-based actor, singer and dancer. She graduated with a BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch and the Atlantic Acting School. She played Ash in her UK and Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut.
Mia Kobylinski (Bridesmaid) is a designer at Snake River Interiors. Her love of travel and photography help her gather design inspiration from all over the world.
Zoe Samuels (Bridesmaid) (Bridesmaid) is an associate strategy director at Edelman. She graduated with a degree in theater and Chinese from Middlebury College.
Chad Celini (Butler) is an actor and performer who works in regional theater and independent productions. He has appeared in “Godspell,” “Curtains” and holiday musical revues, and on screen in the 2025 film “Game Over.”
Samantha Medina Chachra (The Drowsy Chaperone) is a New York City-based actress, singer-songwriter, and cellist. She incorporates her cello skills into producing pop and corporate music tracks.
Nick Rossi(Butler) is a professional singer, actor and musician. He has appeared regionally in “Master Harold … and the Boys,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Pericles,” “La Cage Aux Folles” and “Jersey Boys.”
Avery Mendillo (Maid) is a New York–based actor and singer with roots in musical theatre, and a career in film and TV. She recently filmed her first feature film.
Jackie Rhoads(Maid) is a filmmaker, actor, writer and producer, who studied film at Vanderbilt University. She creates and stars in videos on her YouTube channel, which has over 20,000 subscribers, and supports the development team at Fivestone Studios, a production company based in Nashville.
Zoe Fox (Trix the Aviatrix) has extensive acting experience, ranging from “Grease” and “Hello Dolly!” to Shakespeare.
Brooke Wrubel(Maid) is a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University specializing in Early Christian, Byzantine and Western Medieval Art, with a focus on the development of pilgrimage shrines across Italy, Greece and the Holy Land. She holds a BA in art history and Italian studies from Bowdoin College, and an MA in the history of art from the University of Pennsylvania.
This Roundup was posted in error yesterday. It is reposted here today.
“06880” apologizes for the error. This email hack has completely screwed up our workflow. We might be a little wonky for a few days, as we spend hours battling to get our life back from financial institutions, merchants and more.
A reminder: Please use 06880blog@gmail.com as our only email. Thank you!
There are many ways Westporters can volunteer to help our community.
One of the best is through Volunteer Emergency Medical Services.
It’s a big commitment. With a big payoff: helping people at a stressful time, and actually saving lives.
The next Emergency Medical Technician course begins October 5. It provides students with topics ranging from basic bandaging to childbirth and multi-system trauma care. The course runs through January.
No prior experience is necessary. For more information and to register for the EMT class, click here.
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The Artists Collective of Westport’s annual trunk show is much more than, well, art sold from actual car trunks.
There’s music and food (and easels, panels and tables too).
The next one is Sunday, October 4 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), at the Westport Library’s lower parking lot.
Bring a large vehicle, to haul away your purchases.
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Westport has a Minuteman Yacht Club. A Cedar Point Yacht Club. A Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club.
But no “Compo Yacht Club.”
That didn’t stop Merlin Classics — the Greens Farms company that creates original designs with a retro and vintage feel, customized by city and state — from designing one.
The website calls it “Westport’s ‘finest institution since 1920,’ founded the very week the taps ran dry and dedicated ever since to seamanship, navigation and the six o’clock gun.
“The club burgee flies a martini where lesser clubs fly a star, and in 100 years no member has ever been observed actually sailing — although many tell tall tales. This is the ship’s store: everything below carries the flag, everyone who wears it holds the rank of Commodore, and dues are one olive. Every piece is printed to order in the USA, and profits support hunger relief.”
The design can be purchased on t-shirts, caps, shot glasses, coffee mugs and more. Click here to see.
And though the Compo Yacht Club does not really exist, Merlin does. And they’re absolutely donating some of the proceeds to local hunger relief organizations.
Ahoy, mates!
Some of the Merlin merchandise.
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There’s a new speech pathology service for teenagers and adults in town.
Melissa Katz recently launched Beyond Words Language & Cognition. She specializes in helping adults with communication, language (aphasia), cognitive, voice and swallowing difficulties related to neurological conditions including stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, concussion and more.
She also provides care partner support and educational lectures regarding healthy aging and cognitive wellness.
Before moving to Connecticut, Katz worked as a Senior Speech-Language Pathologist at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital in Philadelphia on the stroke and brain injury unit. She co-initiated the music therapy program and led the Cancer Care Committee.
“After moving to Connecticut, I realized that it can be challenging for adults and families to navigate life when returning home from a hospital or rehab after having a neurological illness. Many people who are ‘higher functioning’ may not even go to the hospital and aren’t set up with any resources.” she says. “I wanted to create a practice where therapy is personalized and focused on helping people communicate and function more confidently in everyday life.”
Huw Jones — new executive director of the 87-year-old Norwalk Symphony — spoke to the Sunrise Rotary Club on Friday.
He offered historical highlights, like the 1966 Itzhak Perlman performance of Tchaikovsky.
They’ll showcase the same work Festival in their season opener October 24 (7:30 p.m,, Norwalk Concert Hall). They will perform his “Pathétique{ Symphony, his virtuosic “Violin Concerto” with Sirena Huang as soloist, and 3 songs by Nicolas Flagello. Click here for tickets, and more information.
Sunrise Rotarian Katie Augustyn and Jim Ezzes, with Huw Jones.
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Miller Motorcars continues its support of breast cancer awareness this Thursday (September 24).
They’ll host the American Cancer Society’s annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, and the Men Wear Pink Campaign, at Maserati of Westport (5:30 to 8 p.m.).
The evening includes music from Old Exit 19, raffles, and more.
A former Westporter, who returns occasionally, has noticed that some things never change here.
Literraly.
He writes: “In Green’s Farms, if you drive down Westway Road about 150 feet before the bridge over Sasco Creek crossing into Fairfield, a sign reads ‘Construction Ahead, Road Use Restricted, State Liability Limited.'”
“There is no actual construction, but the sign has been there forever. Google Maps can trace it back about a decade and a half.
“But I place the installation of the sign decades earlier. I think it’s been there since about 1989 or so.
“I was in grade school at the time. and the sign prompted me to ask my parents what ‘liability’ means.
“Maybe your readers remember the actual construction project it was put up for. It could be the bridge over Sasco Creek. Perhaps it can be designated an official landmark due to longevity.”
Long-lived sign.
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Trumpeter Andy Gravish is a Jazz at the Post favorite. His decades of experience reach back to the big bands of Buddy Rich and the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
He and 5 frequent collaborators — pianist David Morgan, bassist Yuriy Galkin, drummer Erik Halvorson and saxophonist Greg Wall — join him this Thursday at the VFW (shows 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45). Click here for tickets, and more information.
And finally …. this is not a pink Maserati (story above). But it’s close:
(Another day, another Roundup … and another gentle reminder that this hyper-local blog relies on reader support. If you appreciate what we do, please click here to help. Thank you!)
For weeks after the Twin Towers fell, we felt a welter of emotions: Sorrow. Rage. Numbness. Uncertainty.
Westporters wanted to help, in any way they could. Some volunteered at Ground Zero. Some tended to victims’ families. A few joined the military.
Alexis Liistro, in Staples’ Class of 2002 yearbook.
Alexis Liistro was a senior at Staples High School. Her younger sister Samantha was a freshman. Alexis took her out of school.
After they finally got hold of their parents, the sisters headed to Compo Beach.
Across Long Island Sound, they saw the destruction unfolding. Smoke filled the horizon.
A quarter century later, Alexis remembers how peaceful the water was.
“We were standing on this pristine, familiar beach where everything felt strangely safe and still, while not very far away something almost incomprehensibly horrific was happening,” she says.
“I looked across the Sound, and tried to reconcile those two realities. How could the water be so calm and beautiful, when there was so much horror just beyond it?”
A calm day at Compo Beach (Photo/Justin Reed)
That fall, in her Graphic Design class, that memory became the foundation for a piece.
A friend had an older photograph of the New York skyline, and gave it to Alexis. She was learning Photoshop, and experimented with the image.
She removed the World Trade Center from the skyline — but left the towers visible, in the Hudson River’s reflection.
That became the message: “Gone … but never forgotten.”
Alexis Liistro’s image.
“The towers are physically absent from the city, but they remain in the water,” Alexis explains.
“At the time I was thinking about the people our community had lost, including parents of kids I knew, and about the idea that someone’s physical absence does not erase their presence from our lives. The reflection became a way of representing memory.”
Alexis’s piece became part of 2 fundraisers: one by the Staples High Art Club, the other by the Key Club. Both raised money to help families affected by the attacks.
Twenty-five years later, Alexis says, “the image affects me differently. At 17, I was trying to make sense of something that I didn’t have the life experience or vocabulary to fully comprehend.
“I wasn’t trying to make some grand statement about history. I was trying to express what I had actually felt standing beside my little sister at Compo Beach that day: the surreal coexistence of extraordinary beauty and unimaginable horror, separated only by a stretch of peaceful water.
Alexis Liistro, today.
Looking at it now, she says, “I think that is why the reflection still feels meaningful to me. Twenty-five years have passed. The skyline changed. We grew up. Families learned how to continue living with people missing from them. An entire generation has been born that has no memory of September 11 at all.
“But the reflection is still there.
In a way she could not have understood when she created it, Alexis says, “that may be what remembering actually is. The world continues above the surface, but what was lost remains reflected beneath it.”
Alexis now lives and practices intellectual property law in San Francisco.
But — like 9/11 itself — her image of the New York City skyline, and the gone-but-not-forgotten Twin Towers, lives on.
Dr. Daryl Styner and her husband have lived in Westport for over 42 years. She was a professor in a doctoral program in dentistry before retiring. She writes:
After the September 13 deluge, concerns have been heightened for residents who live near new builds all over town.
Demolished homes are being replaced with much larger structures. Many are at maximum coverage on lots both small and large.
Neighbors who up to now have not had water problems now incur significant water run-off from these new structures. In many neighborhoods (like mine in the Long Lots area),we are paying for expensive “fixes,” because builders and town engineers under-estimate the drainage needs for these new builds.
With changes in our weather patterns, and the volume of water hitting our area, maybe it is time for building officials to re-think the formulas used to determine how much drainage and what kind of land grading is needed to adequately redirect water run-off, and what types of drainage systems are being used.
Long after the rain ended.
In 2017, an original 1950’s house on Long Lots Road was demolished and replaced with a new home, whose structure is easily 3-4 times the size of its predecessor.
The front to back pitch/slope of the property is significant, and an underground stream runs in this area between this house and the neighboring property on Long Lots Road.
During and very shortly after construction was finished, there were indications to both the house below (at the back of the property), and to the adjacent neighbor that water run-off was an issue, especially after any significant rain.
The adjacent neighbor eventually needed rubber boots to walk on the property. It became increasingly unusable for children to be able to play because of the “new” grading redirecting water run-off to their backyard.
Long after rain stops, water remains.
They got no accountability from the town, nor the builder, or the homeowners who purchased this new build. These neighbors had to lay out significant dollars to remedy this problem with additional drainage, regrading and plantings, just to get back the use of their own backyard.
The other house below them, a new build in 2004-5, had major beefed-up drainage systems built-in to this structure, but has eventually seen increasingly overwhelming water run-off into their driveway after big rains.
A building site near Daryl Styner’s home. The weight of the contents are pushing against a barrier that is not supposed to cross onto her property. In a big rain, mud will course onto her land and driveway, washing out all the aeration, topsoiling and reseeding they’ve done.
Significant water pools at the back end like a lake, which during heavy rain then overflows through mature Norway spruce trees into the driveway of the house below them, and sometimes overwhelming the storm drain as well.
This same torrent of water spills onto our property, flowing like a river through an entire line of mature Norway spruces.
My new neighbors (here a little over a year), are in the process of working with contractors on additional drainage solutions.
Many others have experienced this themselves, are now going through it, or know friends in nearby neighborhoods who have all experienced it as well. The consensus is that they all feel that existing owners — taxpayers — are not being protected at all.
Debris from runoff clogs storm drains.
Our town officials should have an equal responsibility to protect the adjacent properties of every new building project that comes before them. For many residents, that’s just not happening.
Drainage system plans for new builds need to be scrutinized more closely, beefed up, and closely monitored. Regrading on properties need to be scrutinized more closely and monitored.
Many builders (not all) cut corners for their bottom line. There has to be more accountability. Owners and families are being forced to pay dearly for the aftermath of their projects.
This should not be happening. This is not right.
(“06880” Opinion pages are open to all. Send submissions to 06880blog@gmail.com. To support this hyperlocal blog, please click here.)
Every week, “Then & Now” curator and pre-demolition archivist Dave Matlow provides images of now-demolished homes, and the structures that replace them.
They’re part of a project he worked on from 2004 to 2020.
A reminder: This is a community blog. Our neighbors live here. Some built those new structures; others are the second (or beyond) owners.
If you comment, please be kind. Taste is subjective. Wherever we live, everyone has loves their home.
Sure, we post 3 to 5 (or more!) stories a day, about anything and everything.
We’ve added a podcast, 2 Strolls (summer and winter), and Instagram Lives and reels.
Today we roll out our latest community-building innovation: celebrations and collaborations with some of Westport’s most interesting people, places and businesses.
The first one is at Kiin Sauna. It’s both a hot event — and very, very cool.
On October 10 (5 to 7 p.m., 1555 Post Road East), “06880” invites you to “Community, Connection and Contrast.” KiiN is next to Sherpa, Longevity, Zion and CT Sports Recovery — all wellness businesses too.
Kiin Sauna
You’ll see friends and neighbors. Enjoy complimentary beverages. Meet KiiN founder Ginger Richardson, who will tell you all about the benefits of a sauna and cold plunge.
If you feel adventurous, you can try a sauna and cold plunge yourself. (Sauna and plunge space is limited; click here to sign up.)
Ginger and her crew are great hosts. It’s a fun way to learn about a new spot in town.
Dave Briggs and I will host more events soon, all over town. We look forward to this new series.
We have just 2 requests: If your business would like to collaborate with us, email us: 06880blog@gmail.com.
And we need a clever name for this series. If you’ve got one, send it along: 06880@gmail.com.
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