During the first month of the 1967-68 school year – as Staples entered a tumultuous era that would earn it a reputation as one of the most progressive high schools in the country – the town turned its attention to the school’s past.
Staples Hall – the original brick building built on Riverside Avenue in 1884 (now the site of the Saugatuck Elementary School auditorium), overshadowed by construction of the “new” unit in 1938, abandoned when the high school decamped to North Avenue in 1958 but then put back in use by Bedford Junior High for homeroom, English, social studies, music and shop (though without bathroom facilities for boys) — met its end.
The occasion drew a small crowd. Frank Osborne, a graduate of Staples’ Class of 1894 and still a Westport resident, was present. Just before the building was razed, he posed on the front steps for a photograph (below) with 3 former Staples teachers: Caroline Beers, Walter Stevenson and Gladys Mansir.
“It seems a shame that they have to destroy all of it – that they couldn’t leave something,” Mr. Osborne said. “The building is still so sound.”
The building was far from sound, however, and in fact the lintel was saved. It was placed in the courtyard on North Avenue; later it was moved to a grassy spot at the entrance, by the tennis courts.
Demolition — and the lintel that still lives, at the North Avenue entrance. (Photo courtesy of Eric Bosch)
During the wrecking operation, the cornerstone that had been laid 83 years earlier was recovered. The old copper box and its contents of 30 items were given to 1st Selectman Herbert Baldwin.
Plans were to eventually hand the box to Einar Anderson, Charles Lunny and Joel Adams, trustees of the Horace Staples estate. “There is hope that it can be opened publicly with some trace of the ceremony with which it was laid in the corner almost 100 years ago,” the Town Crier reported.
That did not happen. Instead, the cornerstone was stuffed into the back of the main office safe on North Avenue. In 1976 the Alternatives class used it during their study of the American bicentennial. The Westport Historical Society gained possession of the box (minus a few items) in the late ‘70s.
That cornerstone – along with the lintel, some souvenir bricks, and fading memories of longtime Westporters – are all that remain of the building that, for over 8 decades, was Staples High School.
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)
Westport was the first town in the US to form a sister city relationship with one in war-torn Ukraine. Since 2022 we’ve send gifts, medical and communication supplies, wood-burning stoves and much more to our new friends in Lyman.
Thanks too Ukraine Aid International — the boots-on-the-ground non-profit founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer — Weston has a sister city too.
During a recent video call, students there connected with their peers in Siversk.
The Ukrainian youngsters have been displaced by the war. They are now scattered in different parts of the country.
All have enjoyed time at UAI Camp in the Carpathian Mountains. They spend time outdoors, play board games with friends, and find a place to breathe.
One girl said she met her best friend at camp. They return together every year.
Inspired by the call, Weston High School launched a student-led fundraising campaign: the WHS Camp Days Challenge.
Students organized events, invited their community to participate, and raised funds for children affected by the war. The 12th grade was recognized as the campaign’s top fundraising class.
Donations will help address urgent winter needs during prolonged power outages, including power banks and rechargeable lights.
They will also help UAI continue its camp program for children displaced from Siversk.
Each camp session costs $10,000. It provides children with a safe space to rest, reconnect, and simply be kids.
Weston High students, on a video call with Siversk, Ukraine.
HOLIDAY HOMES: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
Last year, this Compo Road South home was the first in town with Christmas decorations.
They’ve done it again.
(Photo/Ed Simek)
Santa has taken note, and will be sure not to miss them.
“home for the holidays” heads to playhouse
You can’t go home again.
But you can go to “Home for the Holidays,” at the Westport Country Playhouse.
Two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole joins Grammy Award-winning pianist Billy Stritch on December 3 (8 p.m.).
Ebersole starred in “Grey Gardens,” “42nd Street” and “War Paint” on Broadway, and also works in film and television. Stritch is a music director, singer and composer, best known for his 25 years musical director and pianist for Liza Minnelli.
Speaking of the holidays: Your decorating plans just got easier.
The 4th annual Scout Troop 36 holiday wreath sale is underway.
They offer handmade 22-inch wreaths, decorated with a bow and pine cones.
The cost is $40. Proceeds help fund camping trips, outdoor adventures, programs and equipment.
Click here to order. The deadline is November 18. Pickup is November 22 at Saugatuck Congregational Church, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
PRISONERS’ ART SHINES AT MOCA
Bread. Toothpaste. Dental floss. Thread pulled from bedsheets.
Artists in Connecticut prisons have turned those materials into art
On December 5, the Museum of Contemporary Art\Connecticut opens the Community Partners in Action Prison Arts Annual Show. It includes over 700 works by more than 150 artists incarcerated in state prisons, with an audio and video installation featuring formerly incarcerated artists’ work and voices.
An opening reception is set for December 5 (4 to 6 p.m.).
But the popular local tennis instructor, whose tennis academy in his native Cameroon changed the lives of thousands of youngsters, and was aided by his many friends in the Westport area, lives on.
“Padel for a Purpose” — a fundraiser this Sunday (November 15, 2 p.m., The Sports Haus, 129 Woodward Avenue, Norwalk) brings 2 racquet sports together.
Attendees will play padel, to help children in Cameroon build brighter futures through tennis.
It’s already sold out for play. But everyone is invite to watch, cheer, and learn more about the Oyebog Tennis Academy. The event includes a pro exhibition, light bites and beverages. Click here for tickets ($35), and more information.
water main progress on evergreen parkway
After weeks of construction, Aquarion is testing the new water main on a section of Evergreen Parkway.
Meanwhile, another section of the street just received delivery of main sections. They’re waiting for installation.
Waiting for next steps, on Evergreen Parkway. (Hat tip and photo/Mark Mathias)
“WESTPORT … NATURALLY” & SONG OF THE DAY
There were few visitors to Compo Beach yesterday, during a cold, driving rain.
But Nicola Sharian and his dog were there. They paused long enough — and dried off the lens — to take this striking “Westport … Naturally” image.
Fun “Friday the 13th” fact: Westport teenager Ari Lehman was the first actor to play Jason in the movie of the same name.
(Did you know it’s bad luck to not donate to “06880” on Friday the 13th — or any other day? Well, we don’t now either. But it can’t hurt. Click here to support your hyper-local blog. Jason thanks you!)
Last night, the state Department of Transportation told Westport what many long suspected: It will move forward with its “on-alignment replacement” option for the Cribari Bridge.
But, to hearty applause from 200 residents in the Town Hall auditorium, project manager James Barrows also announced that the clearance height would be 13 feet, 10 inches.
That’s 2 feet, 5 inches lower than the 16 feet, 3 inches originally proposed. Still, the reduced height would allow tractor trailers onto the 142-year-old span.
CTDOT’s on-alignment option.
A number of speakers urged CTDOT to shave another 6 inches off the bridge, to prohibit the largest trucks from traveling through Saugatuck, and Greens Farms Road and Bridge Street, when I-95 is clogged.
Trucks and traffic were the predominant themes at the meeting, which DOT officials noted was not mandatory in the planning process. It was scheduled as a follow-up to a Town Hall session last March.
In its aftermath, 833 residents wrote and called the state department with comments. Barrows said that all had been “carefully considered,” in devising the current plan.
Connecticut Department of Transportation project manager James Barrows. (Photo/Dan Woog)
The top 3 concerns of residents — including the bulk of those 833 comments — were truck usage, traffic and historic preservation.
Other issues included public health, bridge design, quality of life, process, the environment, economic impact, pedestrian and bike safety, and marine navigation.
Offering photos that showed substantial deterioration to the underside and pilings of the Cribari Bridge, Barrows noted the importance of renovation to ensure safety for motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and boaters.
Deterioration of the Cribari Bridge.
No decision will be final until the Federal Highway Administration — which is funding 80% of the $78 million to $86 million project — gives its okay.
Residents urged CTDOT — which will pay the other 20% — to extend its November 27 deadline for comments on the on-alignment plan. Barrows seemed amenable, while noting that requests for federal funding have deadlines too.
The 3-year timeline includes construction of a temporary bridge just north of the existing one. A similar structure was built in the early 1990s, the last time the bridge was substantially renovated.
CTDOT slide showing a temporary bridge.
Barrows and other CTDOT officials noted several times that while their plan involves the bridge structure — its trusses, roadway, underside and more — the town of Westport has the right to impose restrictions on use of bridge.
That would be done through the local traffic authority: the board of selectpersons.
The project manager said, however, that physical restrictions could pose safety issues.
The 20-minute presentation was followed by more than 2 dozen public comments.
In brief remarks, 1st Selectman Kevin Christie said he looked forward to working with CTDOT.
1st Selectman Kevin Christie. (Photo/Dan Woog)
He was followed by Melissa Levy, chair of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) Cribari Bridge Subcommittee. She focused on Westport’s role in the process going forward, and how the town could continue to influence CTDOT’s plans.
The first speakers were from “Westport United — One Voice.” The ad hoc group — including the RTM Transit Committee, nearly 2 dozen town leaders from both parties, and 7 community organizations and coalitions — released a statement yesterday, urging Governor Lamont, CTDOT an the FHA to “protect surrounding neighborhoods from increased truck traffic and other unintended transportation impacts.”
Valerie Seiling Jacobs, Morley Boyd, Chris Tait, Art Schoeller, Werner Liepolt and Matthew Mandell — representing Save Westport Now, Preserve Westport, the Greens Farms Association and more — focused on one aspect each of the bridge debate, including traffic, health and historic considerations.
A slide last night included this scene from Westport artist Robert Lambdin’s WPA mural. It shows the importance of the Cribari Bridge to the commerce of the community.
Traffic, congestion and associated quality of life issues were top of mind for many of the residents who followed. Linda Prestegaard told DOT, “I don’t believe your traffic studies.”
Bridge Street homeowner Shannon Taylor added, “I don’t need a traffic study. I can look out my window and see what’s happening.”
Speakers described the 5-mile corridor (red) from I-95 exit 17 over the Cribari Bridge (far left), through Bridge Street and Greens Farms Road toward I-95 exit 18.
Dave Stalling grew up in Westport. After graduating from Staples High School in 1979, he served in a Marine Corps Force Recon unit.
He has degrees in forestry and journalism, has worked for wildlife conservation organizations, and served as president of the Montana Wildlife Federation. He lives in Missoula, and writes:
I have worked on wildlife conservation issues in Montana for almost 40 years, so I often met with and got to know former Senator Jon Tester.
He supported most of the issues I fought for, and not just wildlife related. He helped me with my veteran’s benefits; he passed legislation to help veterans like me; he fully supported gay rights issues (and loves and supports his gay son), and he worked with my son Cory, to help pass the Muscular Dystrophy Care Act.
Former Senator Jon Tester with Cory Stalling.
So yes, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, I’m defending Jon Tester. [The former senator riled many Democrats by endorsing independent Seth Bodnar over Democrat Alani Bankhead. Republican Kurt Alme won the open seat last week.]
I am a Montana Democrat. I’m a gay, wolf-loving, pot-smoking, flower-sniffing, liberal environmentalist living in Missoula.
I was a proud drop of water in the recent Blue Wave.
I struggle with mental health and related addiction issues. It sucks. It’s been more difficult as I watch the deterioration of our country — this country I grew up in and once loved so much that I enlisted in the Marine Corps to defend it; to defend the principles I thought our country stood for and I still embrace: Freedom. Liberty and justice for all. Acceptance. Diversity. Unity.
Dave Stalling
When I was young it was common to hear “I don’t agree with what you say, but I would defend with my life your right to say it.”
Nowadays it’s more along the lines of “I don’t agree with what you say, and that makes you an anti-American socialist Muslim (or a fascist, racist Nazi.)”
To cope, I often get away from the noise and into the wilds. Sometimes I watch Barack Obama clips that still inspire me and give me hope. (And Michelle!)
They are my leaders. They are intelligent, inspiring, graceful leaders with integrity. They unite rather than divide people.
United We Stand!
I fear we’re losing that. I fear we too often respond to the divisive MAGA rudeness and anger with our own divisive rudeness and anger adding to divisiveness, rudeness and anger.
We should instead practice what we say we believe in: understanding, empathy, kindness, forgiveness, love, peace.
Dave Stalling cooks dinner.
That’s not easy for me to do. I’m a former Force Recon Marine who has been in a lot of fights. I have been through anger management twice, along with related legal trouble.
But the anger I fed hurt me more than anyone else. It contributed to my mental health issues, related addiction issues, high blood pressure and stress.
So I worked hard at it. I still work at it. I strive to be a better, healthier, kinder, more forgiving person.
I have a wonderful, close, empathetic, kind-hearted friend named Wyatt. He’s helped me become a more open, honest, empathetic, kinder and more forgiving person.
He’s reminded me how important it is to consider what others might be struggling with. To walk in their shoes, as they say (even if it’s a drag queen’s high heels or a logger’s calk boots.)
I might get annoyed with someone in public. But instead of letting that person control my emotions, I will look for something positive. I may say, “That’s a nice shirt.” They smile. I smile. They say “thank you.” We all feel better.
Dave Stalling’s Montana.
It reminds me of the block parties held on Hickory Lane, where I grew up. We’d set up picnic tables and grills, and have a potluck cookout in the circle at the end of our dead-end road.
We set aside differences. We got to know each other. We got along.
That was back when we knew and interacted with our neighbors. We all mostly got along and helped each other when needed, and focused on subjects like fishing, football, shoveling snow, helping each other get our cars up the icy hill, cleaning up after storm damage.
How beautiful it was to set aside our differences, and enjoy standing on a beach at night as a strong breeze blew salty water on our faces while waves crashed into rocks.
For a little while we could free our minds of differences, and share our common humanity.
My dad had a friend we jokingly referred to as Archie Bunker. They didn’t share politics, but they were as close as brothers. They sometimes argued. They fished together. They loved each other.
Dave Stalling’s childhood home, on Hickory Drive.
We were more united. At least we white men were. I’m well aware of flaws in my thinking. They certainly weren’t good times for many women, black people, indigenous people, gays and so on. But my point is this: People of differing values, beliefs and views frequently socialized together.
Little League games, community events, at the ice cream shop, out catching blue crabs, clams, lobsters and striped bass, or playing kickball, hockey and hide-and-seek.
We were a neighborhood. A community. We knew each other. We socialized.
That requires a certain level of manners, understanding, kindness, empathy, cooperation, compromise and love. You know, those things we say we believe in.
We need that back. Let’s not allow the childish, bitter, insulting behavior and anger and hate that drives MAGA control our thoughts, emotions and actions.
We can kill it with kindness. My father succinctly put it this way: “Be nice.”
Let’s be leaders. Let the Blue Wave wash in a return to civility, empathy, forgiveness, kindness and diplomacy in our politics and how we treat each other.
Let’s start with ourselves.
Which brings me back to Jon Tester.
Dave Stalling, with former Senator Jon Tester.
I don’t like what he recently did. I don’t like how he sabotaged the Democratic Party in Montana by recruiting and supporting Seth Bodner as an independent.
But I don’t hate Jon Tester. I believe he was doing what he thought was best for Montana.
I do not agree with him. But I know him to be a sincere, honest, good-hearted man with integrity.
I can’t hate him. I wish others wouldn’t. Think of the good he did. Let it go. Forgive. Move on. Unite. Be nice.
I am grateful to Senator Jon Tester for all the great things he accomplished, and his assistance and kindness to me and my son.
Hours before tonight’s state Department of Transportation meeting about he Cribari Bridge (7 p.m.), a statement headlined “Westport United — One Voice: Shared Priorities for the William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge” has been released.
The statement — “United in support of Westport’s future” — has been endorsed by the Representative Town Meeting Transit Committee, nearly 2 dozen town leaders from both the Democratic and Republic parties, and 7 community organizations and coalitions. Together, they represent more than 7,000 Westporters.
The message says:
The future of the Cribari Bridge will affect Westport’s safety, transportation, historic character, environment, and neighborhoods for generations. We appreciate the significant work undertaken by the State of Connecticut and CTDOT, as well as the opportunity for federal funding and support.
We recognize the complexity of this project and share the goal of providing safe, reliable infrastructure.
On March 3, 2026, the Westport Representative Town Meeting adopted the following Sense of the Meeting resolution: RESOLVED: It is the sense of the Westport Representative Town Meeting that the Town administration should engage with the Connecticut Department of Transportation to ensure that the Cribari Bridge across the Saugatuck river is restored, rehabilitated or replaced as soon as practicable.
Any upgrade should at a minimum maintain or evoke the historic design of the current structure. The finished structure should be wide enough to include pedestrian and bike lanes and a height restriction to ensure that it will not provide access for semi tractor trucks.
We, the undersigned, support the principles expressed in this resolution and ask that they guide the evaluation of alternatives and any subsequent design and implementation. We believe that protecting surrounding residential streets and neighborhoods from increased truck traffic and other unintended transportation impacts should be an integral part of the planning process.
We respectfully ask Governor Ned Lamont, CTDOT, and the Federal Highway Administration to work collaboratively with Westport to incorporate these priorities into the project and provide a written response explaining how they will be addressed before final approvals. We want this project to succeed. Success should be measured not only by the bridge that is built or rehabilitated, but by how well it serves and protects Westport.
The messages was signed by the RTM Transit Committee/Cribari Bridge Subcommittee:
Melissa Levy, Claudia Shaum, Dick Lowenstein, Peter Gold, Rachel Cohn, Ross Burkhardt, Gail Coykendall, Victoria Wylie, Jenna Petok, Jill Grayson and Addison Moore.
It was also signed by these town leaders, in their individual capacities: Amy Wistreich, Jonathan Steinberg, Melissa Katz Kane, Danielle Dobin, Jeff Hammer, Liz Heyer, Rich Hightower, Brian Gaines, Paul Lebowitz, Craig Schiavone, Patrizia Zucaro, Michael Cammeyer, Neil Phillips, Jill Dillon, Abby Tolan, Nicole Laskin, Ron Corwin, Ken Bernhard, Larry Weisman, Markus Marty, Melissa Bernstein and Heidi Hammer.
The community organizations are Coalition for Westport, Greens Farms Association, Residents of the Bridge Street Neighborhood, Save Westport Now, Westport Preservation Alliance, and Westport Alliance for Saugatuck.
Clarence Hayes is a former Representative Town Meeting (RTM) member, with grandchildren in the Westport public schools. He writes:
Our district spends a lot of energy telling us how great our schools are. But are our schools actually adding anything beyond what our families bring through the door?
Across 126 Connecticut towns with their own school district, the best predictor of
performance is the percentage of adults holding a bachelor’s degree.
It is not income, race or per pupil expenditures. It’s the parents, stupid.
The top performers are small, fairly homogeneous towns where most adults hold a college degree, and most children attend the local public school.
Westport fits that profile: 80% of our adults hold a bachelor’s degree or more.
The state maintains District Reference Groups. Westport is part of DRG A, the top group, with 7 other towns: New Canaan, Easton/Redding, Weston, Darien, Ridgefield, Wilton and District 9.
Are we doing better or worse than our peers?
In 2026, Westport was ranked 6th out of 8 in DRG A — below average — for both reading and math, on the 3rd grade state evaluation. Only 72.8% of Westport 3rd graders met the state reading standard, down from 80.7% in 2025.
Given Westport parents’ educational profile, the predicted value is about 82%. We fell more than 9 points short: 27% of our third graders did not meet the standard.
In a town with our advantages, that is an indictment of the schools.
Among our neighbors, New Canaan is the most telling. In June 2024 the state named 5 districts not on track to comply with its Right to Read law — Westport and New Canaan among them.
New Canaan then fell in line, and adopted a state-approved phonics-based program. Westport has not.
This year, New Canaan’s special education 3rd graders rose from 58 to 71% meeting the standard. Westport’s fell from 45 to 26%.
Darien is Westport’s mirror image. It has the most college-educated adults of any town, and all of its elementary schools were Teachers College partners, using the “Units of Study” balanced literacy program.
Darien also scores 7 points below prediction, and slipped from 81.7 to 79.9% this year.
The difference: Darien last year began to replace that program in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Westport has not.
Westport fought the state, was denied a waiver, and still lists Teachers College Units of Study on its website as core to its reading program — one the state rejected for teaching children to guess at words from pictures and context.
Who pays for that? Not the children whose parents can hire a tutor. It is the children who most need explicit, systematic phonics: students with dyslexia and others on IEPs.
Among all high-needs Westport 3rd graders, just 27.8% met the standard — the
same as the statewide (not DRG A) rate for high needs students. That is a shocking result for one of the wealthiest towns in America.
I have seen the difference in my own family. Two of my grandchildren went through Westport’s balanced literacy program.
Three attend a state school in the UK that uses a government-validated phonics program. Children there are assessed every 6 weeks.Parents know exactly where their child stands. Any child who falls behind gets daily “keep-up” sessions as soon as the assessment is done.
My grandchildren in England learned to read easily. My granddaughter here struggled until I taught her phonics myself, every night for 6 months.
Not every Westport child has someone at home who can do that.
England also gives every 6-year-old a national Phonics Screening Check.
Connecticut has no common check whose results parents can see and compare.
The books tell the same story. Westport prizes its classroom libraries of graded readers.
Reading them with my granddaughter, I found a hodgepodge from many publishers which were ranked by how “easy” a book looks — big type, pictures, few words – not by a standard phoneme progression following the letter-sound patterns a child has been taught.
In England, every early reader matches the sounds the child has mastered, so
she can decode every word. This is a hallmark of the CT Right to Read approved
programs.
Westport defends its approach as building a love of reading, and its administrators argue the state’s programs would hold children back.
That gets it backwards: children cannot love books they cannot read.
English schools keep the two apart. Phonics lessons and matched books build the skill, and teachers reading stories and poetry aloud build the love.
Westport blends them, and shortchanges both.
Westport parents are doing their part. It is time our schools did theirs: Adopt a state- approved phonics program in full; tell parents what is actually taught in each classroom; report every child’s phonics progress with a standard Phonics Screening Check, and pat ourselves on the back only if we repeatedly outperform our peers.
Not when our superintendent gets an award.
(“06880″‘s Opinion pages are open to all. Submissions may be emailed to 06880blog@gmail.com. To support this hyper-local blog, please click here. Thank you!)
In a career spanning 40 years, John Nunziato has helped shape and evolve brands like Coca-Cola, Burger King, Chicken of the Sea, Jolly Rancher, Gillette, Campbell’s, Unilever and Johnson & Johnson. He’s won major design awards, and speaks at industry conferences.
Locally, the longtime Westport resident has lent his talents to the Library’s VersoFest, school theater programs, and other organizations.
Recently, Nunziato launched @TheBrandvertisist. On Instagram and TikTok he shares behind-the-scenes stories about branding, advertising, creativity, happy accidents, lessons learned, and the occasional “beautiful mistake” that helped shape his career.
In one post, he strolled through downtown. GG & Joe, Spotted Horse, Lucky Brands, Blue Mercury, Vineyard Vines — all got his attention. Click here to hear his thoughts.
John Nunziato, on a branding tour of downtown Westport.
startup westport pitch competition: who wins $25,000?
We’re a few months away from the opening pitch of the baseball season.
But just one week away from StartUp Westport’s 2nd annual Pitch competition.
Next Thursday (November 19, 6 p.m., Westport Library), 4 Connecticut startups take the stage to pitch their businesses, showcase their ideas — and compete for $30,000 in prize money. The grand prize is $25,000.
Think “Shark Tank.” Each founder presents their business to a panel of judges. The audience votes for their favorite company too.
This year’s finalists — selected from 41 applicants — are:
Batch Global: A global sperm donation marketplace designed to make the process of finding and connecting with donors more accessible.
PayScopeMD:An AI-powered platform that helps physicians benchmark employment contracts and better understand their compensation.
Biome Botanicals:A natural digestive health company developing botanical-based products that support digestive wellness.
Starteryou:An AI-powered work-based learning platform connecting people with real-world work experiences and opportunities to build career-ready skills.
Jane Ho writes: “This holiday season, I hope ‘06880’ readers will consider making a donation to the Westport Senior Center.
“It’s a remarkable place that serves as a safe haven for so many seniors and veterans.
“I began bringing my mother after she was diagnosed with dementia. I met 3 angels, who brought so much joy into my mom’s life and mine.
“We quickly bonded and became friends — sharing stories, laughing, playing pool, attending lectures and tea parties, celebrating birthdays and enjoying holiday parties together at the Center.
“The staff are so warm and inviting, I looked forward to seeing them every day.
“The luncheon is an integral part, where everyone gathers to spend time with old friends and make new ones.
“This is made possible by the dedicated, hardworking volunteers who serve lunch each day.
“It would be wonderful for the Senior Center to have a fund to help purchase door prizes for Volunteer Appreciation Day, hosting special events, an electronic bingo board — your generosity will be greatly appreciated.”
Paulina Przybysz, serving lunch at Sue’s Cafe in the Senior Center.
firefighters “share the warmth” with coat collection
The Westport Fire Department and Westport Uniformed Firefighters Charitable Foundation are collecting new or gently used winter coats, gloves, scarves, hats and snowsuits, for the Bridgeport Rescue Mission.
And to make it easy, there are 6 drop-off spots:
Fire headquarters, next to Terrain
Senior Center
Town Hall
Kings Highway Elementary School
Coleytown Elementary School
Long Lots Elementary School.
The “Share the Warmth” collection drive runs through November 20.
STOCK THE SHELVES, SO BRIDGEPORT KIDS CAN SHOP
The Youth Klub in Bridgeport has a brilliant idea.
Serving low-income families and children, it rewards children for good behavior and trying their best in school. At the Holiday Store, they redeem their points by “buying” gifts for their families.
The Women’s League of Westport is helping stock the store’s shelves. On December 6 (11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot), they’re collecting new, unwrapped presents.
Suggested ideas for children: books, dolls, board games, stuffed animals, educational and arts/crafts toys, cars/trucks, Legos, games, soccer balls and footballs.
For men: electronics, grooming kits, headphones, tools, cologne/skin care, watches, wallets, scarves, hats, gloves, slippers, mugs.
For women: make-up kit, perfume, costume jewelry, manicure set, toiletries, nail polish sets, books, scarves, hats, gloves, picture frames, slippers.
Youngsters shop at the holiday store.
PREMIER LEAGUE PRODUCER SCORES WITH ROTARY CLUB
Staples High School Class of 2001 graduate Michael Carey — now senior producer of Premier League soccer coverage at NBC Sports — gave an inside look at professional sports programming Tuesday, at the Westport Rotary Club’s lunch meeting.
The Premier League is the most watched sports program in the world.
Carey oversees studio and match coverage in both the US and England. He previously helped produce the Summer Olympics and NFL football.
When Simone Biles withdrew in the middle of the Tokyo Olympics, Carey completely rewrote the story. “That change may have impacted my schedule more than any other person on the planet,” he said. “I’m happy I did it, but I never want to do it again.”
Mike Carey, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Hat tip and photo/Dave Matlow)
the arts & local real estate: all you need to know
Non-profit arts and culture generates nearly $1 billion in economic activity in Connecticut: $600 million spent by organizations, and another $350 million by audiences on dining, parking and lodging.
Next Tuesday (November 17, 8 a.m., SoNo Collection in Norwalk), FLB Law’s 9th annual Real Estate Outlook explores how the arts give Fairfield County properties a second life, while enriching community culture, attracting foot traffic and increasing real estate values.
Panelists for “Second Acts: Real Estate and the Arts in Fairfield County” — including Carleigh Walsh (Levitt Pavilion), Darcy Hicks (Norwalk Art Space), Eric Bernheim (FLB Law), Danny Loftus George (Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts), Jessica Vonashek (Manresa Island — will discuss the artistic uses of these properties, and why they matter to the real estate market, local businesses and community members.
The Levitt Pavilion is more than an entertainment venue. It’s also an economic engine. (Photo/Susan Garment)
WESTPORT GARDEN CLUB CELEBRATES VETERANS DAY
To honor local veterans yesterday, the Westport Garden Club placed 250 flowers at VFW Post 399. Lori Meinke created the arrangement.
It’s still there, for everyone — servicemembers and everyone else — to enjoy.
(Photo/Kathie Motes Bennewitz)
ASTRONOMERS’ ALERT: ALL ABOUT CORONAS
Other posts range from local (Verso Studios) to international (The Gap). To join Nunziato’s 6,000-plus followers, follow @TheBrandvertisist.’
What’s up with coronas? (The sun’s version, not the brew.)
Next Tuesday (November 17, 8 p.m., Westport Astronomical Society hosts Dr. George Hripcsak.
The New York astronomer will review visual properties of the solar corona, related work in the area, the design and construction of a coronagraph, and images taken with it
Longtime Westport resident Rena died Tuesday. She was 93, and led a long life of advocacy and adventure.
She grew up in a mid-century modern home in Fairfield designed by her father.
Surrounded by Russian culture, original art, song, music and philosophical conversations, Rena’s life-long search for meaning and beauty in life was formed.
She earned a B.S. in biology and psychology at Tufts, studied early education at the University of Bridgeport, school psychology as a 2-time master’s student at Fairfield University, and wrote her Ph.D. thesis at NYU on the subject of language acquisition and abstract thought in deaf students.
She worked for many years in the Fairfield Schools as a psychologist and deafness specialist. She used a sabbatical and retirement to work at the American International Schools as a counselor in Tanzania and Israel.
Back in the US, she focused on non-profit and private advocacy for students with special needs. She also worked for the state of Connecticut as an advocate for students in the foster care system.
Rena finally retired, at 89 years of age.
She was a world traveler, beginning with bicycling adventures in Europe. Later, she hiked and toured in the US and abroad.
Rena filled many albums with photos of friends made, landmarks and scenery, local cultural arts and crafts, clothing and hats, and exotic animals.
In a note left behind, she said her bucket list was fulfilled, including singing at a wedding of a classmate’s wedding, in dorm competitions, and with a band on a military ship returning from Germany.
Also on that list: rebuilding homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Rena is survived by her daughters Rachel and Carla, sons-in-law Adam and Jay, grandchildren Noah, Leah, Ross and Ruby, and niece Selena Alkon Sautter.
A funeral services will be held Friday (November 13, 1 p.m., Abraham L. Green & Son Funeral Home, Fairfield).
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to The Center for Children’s Advocacy.
“westport … naturally” & song of the day
We sometimes think of Sherwood Island as a “beach.”
But there is so much more there — including woods.
Molly Alger’s “Westport … Naturally” image reminds us of some of the wonders of Connecticut’s first state park.
And finally … Tony Butala, a founder of the Lettermen, died November 1 in Wisconsin. He was 87.
The New York Times called the trio “a mainstay of the pop charts, cruising through the rocking 1960s as the musical equivalent of dad’s comfy Buick on a highway filled with fire-breathing Corvettes and Mustangs.”Click here for a full obituary.
(Whether you think of “06880” as a comfy Buick or a fire-breathing Corvette, we are your hyper-local blog. We’re here 24/7/365, and we depend on your support. Please click here to help. We thank you!)
When Heida Hermanns fled Germany in the 1930s, she did not leave with only what she could carry. Her belongings included 2 grand pianos — one of which she had won in a competition — along with paintings, furniture and dishes.
Those are not the usual possessions of refugees. But, says Anneruth Serman, who worked alongside Hermanns for years at the Westport Arts Center (now MoCA\CT), “Heida did everything on a grand scale.”
On Saturday (November 14, 4 to 8 p.m.), MoCA\CT hosts the final round of the 54th annual Heida Hermanns International Music Competition.
Three promising and accomplished classical pianists will compete for the $20,000 first prize, and a solo recital at MoCA.
Hermanns died in 1995. But the gifted pianist, who moved to Westport inspired by its “eclectic, liberal, creative, artistic reputation,” and quickly became involved in its cultural life, is remembered well.
A young Heida Hermanns. (Photo courtesy of MoCA\CT)
MoCA\CT executive board member Elizabeth Strick recalls Joyce Thompson, former Westport Arts Center president, saying that when she walked into the office at 9 a.m., the phone would be ringing.
It was Hermanns, who often supplied the vision and expected others to supply the legwork. She contributed money to a project, but never all of it; the rest was theirs to raise.
Much of what she set in motion was built for artists. When the town leased Greens Farms Elementary School to the Arts Center, its classrooms became studios for painters, sculptors and writers.
Hermanns inspired, and largely funded, the conversion of the gym into a large open space with a small stage and movable risers in memory of her husband: Artur Holde Hall.
The popular performance and exhibition space also hosted art shows, even a children’s opera.
Artur Holde Hall, at the Westport Arts Center.
But music was the center of Hermanns’ world. Born Hedwig Goldschmidt in 1906 in Wiesbaden, Germany, she grew up in a German-Jewish family. Her mother, a gifted pianist, gave her first lessons.
At 14 she debuted with the Wiesbaden Symphony; the next year, she entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik.
By 18 she had debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic, and was touring Europe as a recitalist and soloist. She adopted her aunt’s surname, Hermanns, to avoid bias against her Jewish name.
Heida Hermanns
In 1932 she married the music critic Artur Holde. As Nazi persecution intensified, she performed for the Jewish Kulturbund while Artur edited Jewish newspapers. After the Nuremberg Laws the couple fled on visitor visas, arriving in New York in October 1936.
For all the possessions she brought, their early years in America were difficult. They spoke little English and lived in poverty.
Hermanns practiced in a hotel lobby, and taught at the Y School of Music and a nearby music school.
After a trip to Cuba in 1937 to reenter the country legally, they became US citizens in 1942. They also brought her parents and their sisters out of Germany.
In New York Hermanns performed widely, including at Carnegie Hall, and concertized in a duo with John Corigliano Sr.
Heida Hermanns and John Corigliano (father of today’s composer).
In the late 1940s, fear of nuclear attack led the couple to Westport. Hermanns taught at the Westport Music School, and helped found the Friends of Music chamber concert series.
She recorded frequently with Ruth Steinkraus Cohen, the musician and United Nations activist for whom the Post Road bridge is named.
After Artur’s death in 1962 she turned her grief into purpose, devoting herself to the next generation of musicians. She taught at the Manhattan School of Music, and founded Performers of Connecticut to create performance opportunities for young artists.
She also established the Heida Hermanns Young Performers Competition, known today as the Heida Hermanns International Music Competition.
The competition included winds, strings and voice. Each category needed its own judges, and every year brought the same debate over which instruments to feature. Finally, Hermanns settled it: “Make it piano, and be done with it.”
In her later years, confined to bed, she ran things with a stack of index cards and a telephone. By evening, everyone was organized and moving. A friend said, “She accomplishes more from her bed than other people accomplish in a day at the office.”
Toward the end of her life, Hermanns made a simple request of those around her: “If you love me, continue my work.”
The competition has done exactly that, growing from a local event into an international one. The finals bring 3 pianists to the stage in one evening.
The competition has launched winners into competitions around the globe, including the Van Cliburn Competition,
This year’s finalists include (from left, below) Matthew Figel, representing the US; Juhee Lim from (South Korea) and Daria Podorozhnova (Russia). To learn more about them, click here.
John Vaccaro, a long-time advocate for Heida and her mission to nourish young musical artists, says, “Heida thought of all Westport’s artists as her children. She had none of her own. Those were her children. She put everything she had into supporting them.”
“It was important for Heida to continue that legacy of supporting young musicians and classical music through the Heida Hermanns International Music Competition because, she said, ‘remember, you have to raise all your children.'”
(“06880” regularly covers Westport’s arts scene — including its past. If you enjoy stories like these, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: danwoog@gmail.com. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
