WWPT — “Wrecker Radio” — has been voted the best high school radio station in the United States. The announcement was named at the 2011 John Drury Awards, which honor high school radio across the country.
In addition, ‘PT — 90.3 FM — won 7 out of 9 Drury Awards for sports broadcasting. That includes Ben Myers’ and Ben Greenberg’s work on the boys soccer FCIAC finals.
And WWPT took both 1st and 2nd place for broadcast of a radio drama — the “Dracula” show the Staples audio production class did in conjunction with one of David Roth’s acting classes.
But wait — there’s more! Remember Monday’s “06880” post on Wyatt Davis’s radio show? A news piece by Hannah Foley won 2nd place, highlighting “The Wy-Master’s” amazing triumph over muscular dystrophy.
Congratulations to WWPT advisor Mike Zito; to all who participate in Wrecker Radio — and to 2011 graduates DJ Sixsmith and Eric Gallanty, who helped make it all possible.
Click here to hear the best high school radio station in the nation!
It’s a great show — but, sponsors say, the toughest part is describing it to the potential audience of families, kids, and basically everyone in Westport.
Finally, someone came up with this: “‘Striking 12’ is to Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘Little Match Girl‘ as ‘Rent’ is to ‘La Boheme.'”
Or try this: “‘Striking 12’ is a cross between a concert and a theater piece. It brings the spirit of ‘Match Girl’ into contemporary New York.”
And: “It’s a concert-with-a-story, band-is-the-actors musical, with hauntingly beautiful songs and a funny, heartwarming story….part rock concert, part musical…the hippest holiday show in recent memory.”
If that sounds like PR, it is. I haven’t seen “Striking 12.” But I trust the people who have.
They love the show. They think GrooveLily — the band that plays, mixing electric violin, piano and drums to create new music with roots in classical, musical theater, jazz and rock — is way cool.
David Roth — who, as director of Staples Players, knows a thing or two about satisfying an audience — says, “I first heard about GrooveLily from someone who was obsessed by them.
“Now I listen to them a lot, and use them in my directing class. It’s one of the most creative and different mixtures of theater and music I’ve ever seen.”
Supporters of the show want to spread the word to everyone in Westport that — despite the hectic holiday season — this is a show not to miss.
Writing on the Playhouse blog, Chad Kinsman says:
It’s not kid’s music, but music that is accessible to kids and adults, and everyone in between! One of the hardest things about planning a family outing during the holidays is trying to find something everyone will enjoy, and I can safely say “Striking 12” is just that. Younger patrons will enjoy the story, tweens and teens will like the band’s sense of humor, and everyone will love the songs.
He continues:
There is the poignancy (of “Match Girl,” but unexpectedly mixed with musical comedy, pop-rock tunes, old-fashioned uplift, and the little salesgirl whose holiday spirit can’t be matched.
Inside the clever lyrics and great melodies are important life lessons. It’s a touching, family-and-friends-affirming show perfect to help spread the holiday spirit to you and yours.
I hope I’ve done a good job of conveying the excitement of “Striking 12.”
If not: bah, Humbug!
(For tickets to the December 10 4 and 7 p.m. performances, click here.)
To many Americans, Edward R. Murrow is a vague name — a pioneering journalist or something.
To Mark Herz, he’s a professional inspiration — and the name on an award that Herz just won.
Herz — a Staples graduate, WSHU Public Radio reporter and local host of “All Things Considered” — has won a prestigious 2011 Edward R. Murrow Award for a story called “Policing the Mentally Ill.”
Mark Herz (left) accepts his Edward R. Murrow Award from "60 Minutes" correspondent Bob Simon.
The honor — bestowed by the Radio Television Digital News Association — came in the Audio News Series category.
Herz’s 2-part story explored how police are trained to deal with mentally ill people. The 1st piece took listeners to a session where officers experience what it’s like to hear auditory hallucinations. The 2nd brought listeners on patrol with a charismatic New Haven officer, who put his training into practice.
The sounds and voices were perfect for radio, Herz says. The piece also benefited from Herz’s own background: While in school, he studied psychiatry.
Before he became a cop, Ray Hassett — the man Herz rode with — was an actor. “He’s streetwise and gruff,” Herz says. “He can be tough and intimidating when he has to.”
Because Hassett commented so skillfully on his work with mentally ill people, Herz decided to structure the piece without narration. “That takes a lot more work,” the reporter pointed out. “But it turned out to be a great package.”
His 1st national award was “extremely gratifying,” Herz says.
“Journalism is like a 2nd life for me. It’s nice to get this kind of validation.”
(This is not Mark Herz’s only award this year. He earned 2 first prizes from the Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters Association, for “Policing the Mentally Ill” and “Yale Carillon.”)
It’s a compelling story, though one that did not receive much publicity at the time.
On September 14, Harrison Malec was running with fellow youth rowers from the Saugatuck Rowing Club. Suddenly, the 14-year-old collapsed.
Teammate Will Cromwell immediately started CPR. Coach Sharon Kriz called 911. Westport EMS paramedics were there within 4 minutes, followed by police and fire personnel.
They took over CPR, applied a cardiac monitor, shocked Harrison’s heart back into a normal rhythm, stabilized him, and took him to the hospital.
Tests revealed an extremely rare cardiac abnormality. After open heart surgery, Harrison returned to school 6 weeks later. He’s expected to fully recover.
To say thanks, William Raveis Realty — where Harrison’s mother Joelle works — held a fundraiser for EMS. The Malec family then presented Westport EMS members with a check and a plaque.
Harrison Malec (3rd from left), his parents, coach, Raveis representatives and EMS members -- including coordinator Marc Hartog, 2nd from right -- at the presentation. (Photo/April Book)
Marc Hartog, EMS coordinator, said that in over 30 years as a paramedic, he could could on two hands the number of cardiac arrest patients he’s treated who walk out of the hospital to lead fully productive.
And, he added, “this is the first time one of them has come back in person to thank us.”
What?!
EMS and other people save your life, and you don’t go back to thank them?!
How could those people have been saved? They didn’t even have hearts to begin with.
(For information on CPR classes — offered free to Westport residents — click here or call 203-341-6030.)
I usually try to keep 2 important parts of my life — writing and soccer — separate. “06880” readers don’t need to hear the details of every high school game I coach (though they’re available at www.StaplesSoccer.com!), and when I’m out on the field, it’s the one time I don’t worry about which “06880” reader is going postal in the comments section.
But occasionally my soccer and writing worlds intersect. Today’s post is about the 2011 Staples boys soccer team.
Ben Root (left) and Dylan Evans double-team a Norwalk player. (Photo by Carl McNair)
Our season ended Monday, with a 1-0 state tournament loss to Farmington.
If you’re any good at all, you end the season with a loss. Only 1 team wins the championship; in Connecticut, 31 lose in the tournament.
That doesn’t make losing any easier to take. For the 25 or so players on our squad — teenagers who have dedicated themselves, several hours a day since last August (and really, years ago) to the goal of winning the last game of the season — the end comes with stunning finality.
One day — day after day after day — you’re battling opponents, the weather, rival fans, even the referees, for every edge. Then the whistle blows, and suddenly there’s no tomorrow. Just a long bus ride home.
One player said, “Dan, this is so hard. I have to do it once. How do you do it year after year?”
Every team is special. But the 2011 Staples boys soccer team was especially special.
Jake Malowitz moves upfield against Greenwich. The captain's leadership and passion played a great role in Staples' success. (Photo by Carl McNair)
Of our 21 matches, 16 were decided by 1-goal margins, or were ties. That takes an incredible toll, emotionally as well as physically.
Early in the season, we gave up a couple of late goals. We tied games we could have won. Players could have pointed fingers at teammates, or doubted themselves.
They didn’t. Instead, they resolved to do better. By the end of the year — en route to the FCIAC (league) championship, in the league final, and throughout the state tournament — they battled right to the end. They fought for themselves and their teammates, they gutted every game out, and they exited with their heads held high.
They were bound together by pasta dinners, singing on bus rides, weekends together. And all along, they found time for others beyond their team. They performed community service. They served as role models for younger players. They did themselves proud.
In a note to the parents of our players Monday night I said:
You may not always realize it – because you bear the brunt of their teenage-ness – but they are remarkable young men. In addition to being talented, tough athletes, they are passionate, compassionate, hard-working, intelligent, lively, and very funny people. As coaches, we get to see a side of them that you don’t always see. I consider myself fortunate, and lucky, to have spent this season with them.
So, to the 2011 team, I say: “I respect you and admire you. Thanks for the privilege of sharing the 2011 year with you.”
And, to the 2012 team — whose members have not yet been chosen — I say: “Let’s get to work. The season is just 9 months away.”
The Wreckers celebrate against Fairfield Ludlowe -- one of many joyful moments this year. (Photo by Carl McNair)
I’ve never been to the Big & Tall shop, at the corner of Post Road and Turkey Hill.
Go figure.
But when Tom Roth invited me to his new store next door, I couldn’t resist. Who needs pants in size 80 waist, or a shirt with a 26 1/2-inch neck, when you can wander over to Montage?
The name — a combination of modern and vintage— is as clever as the store itself. Montage is filled with home furnishings, period lighting, original art and jewelry by local artists.
Each piece is vintage — from mid-century modern and Art Deco to mod — and has been restored to its original condition, in a Norwalk studio.
Tom Roth, Robin Babbin and Heidi Lyme enjoy their furnishings at Montage.
Tom (the owner of Norwalk’s Weathervane Hill, a fabrics and furniture store) and his creative partner Robin Babbin (whose background is in graphic and textile design) have created the perfect antidote to the same ol’/same ol’ places — you know, stores with furniture that looks fantastic, until you get it home. And realize not only is it not special, but you could have bought it anywhere.
Tom and Robin — longtime Westporters who travel the world looking for unique stuff — sell unique pieces. Each one has a story — and they tell those stories to customers.
So, says Tom, in addition to home furnishings, Montage sells “conversation and history.”
Plus, it’s green: Every piece has been recycled.
There’s a sofa from an IBM factory in the 1950s. A pair of 1940s Deco club chairs. Slipper chairs from the ’60s.
Montage is heavy with “Mad Men”-style bar carts, cocktail tables and the like. Tom and Robin like the designs from that era — and so do customers.
Robin Babbin, Heidi Lyme and Tom Roth, with a few of their many eclectic items.
Tom relishes “the hunt. Robin and I are always looking for new and interesting pieces,” he says. Once they find something, the next challenge is remodeling or refinishing it, to “make it wonderful.”
He points with pride to a rosewood table. “It’s better than new!” Tom says.
“We love finding things with good bones,” Robin adds. “Those are the pieces we can bring to life.”
Customers include interior designers, and homeowners looking to update. Like Montage pieces, each customer has a story to tell — what she’s looking for as she redecorates, and why. Tom, Robin and interior decorator Heidi Lyme listen closely.
Everything is sold on approval. “If you can fit it in your car, take it home and try it out!” Tom says.
From the outside, Montage looks like a small store. Inside, there’s more room than you think — and more furniture, lighting and artwork than you’d ever imagine.
Each is unique, and special. And Tom, Robin and Heidi can’t wait to tell you the story behind every single piece.
He’s at every Wrecker football game. He’s been to dozens of concerts, from Springsteen and Jimmy Buffett to Sugarland and Kenny Chesney.
He takes a full course load, but really enjoys TV production. He’s an active member of the Photography Club and Best Buddies.
He loves the Yankees and — to his Giant-fan father Brett’s dismay — the Patriots.
He hosts a popular Tuesday afternoon show on WWPT-FM. Calling himself “The Wy-Master,” Wyatt develops a theme each show; finds an eclectic assortment of music fitting that theme, then writes out a script tying it all together.
Not bad for someone who — because of cerebral palsy — cannot use his extremities. And is unable to speak.
Wyatt Davis, at the WWPT-FM controls.
Wyatt has been a well-known and popular Westporter for years. He and his twin sister Kate were born 14 weeks prematurely. Nearly a decade ago — as a 1st grader at Coleytown Elementary School — Wyatt’s spirit impressed Pete Caliguire, a member of the Staples football staff.
Pete invited Wyatt to be on the sidelines of the big Thanksgiving Day game against Greenwich. Since then, he’s a regular presence at games, practices, even film sessions.
Wyatt was active in the Coleytown variety show, and in middle school became adept at using an adaptive camera.
All the while, he was in a “power chair.” A technological marvel, it’s got a laptop and speaking device. With very limited motor skills, Wyatt controls his world by moving his head.
At the end of 8th grade, Wyatt went with his class to a Staples orientation session. Media production teacher Mike Zito found him, and got him involved. The rest — as WWPT listeners know — is history.
In addition to concerts, Wyatt attends as many big sports events as he can.
Each of Wyatt’s shows has a theme — colors, the seasons, whatever. Using iTunes he, his father and sister choose 14 to 16 songs. Then, Wyatt and his aide Sharon Magera — an amazing woman who has been with him since 1st grade — make the final selection, and burn a CD.
He imports what he wants to say into his computer. When the show begins, the device speaks Wyatt’s words.
“The Wy-Master” is one of WWPT’s most eclectic shows. Wyatt’s tastes range from U2 to Duke Ellington. “The genre doesn’t matter,” his father explains. “In our house, if the music’s good we listen to it.”
Wyatt has always loved music, his father says. He sits in on his sister’s guitar lessons. And every day, he listens to his fellow broadcasters’ shows on ‘PT.
Brett says that Wyatt’s opportunities and experiences at Staples are “beyond incredible.”
His mother, Vicky, adds: “Hopefully after graduation, a job at a radio or TV station can be part of his life. Meanwhile, almost every day, something different or wonderful happens.”
The next wonderful thing might come this Saturday. Members of the WWPT staff travel to Naperville, Illinois, for the Drury Awards — an annual recognition of excellence in high school broadcasting. The Staples radio station is national finalists in 12 categories — more than any other high school station in the country.
One of the nominations is for “Best News Feature Story.” The subject is “The Wy-Master” show.
It aired as a newscast on WWPT earlier this year. It was produced by Hannah Foley, Eric Gallanty — and Wyatt Davis, “The Wy-Master,” himself.
A little snow doesn't stop Wyatt Davis from enjoying the slopes.
(Wyatt Davis’s show airs every other Tuesday, 12:30-1:30 p.m., on WWPT-FM, 90.3)
The holiday season has begun. Local stores have “Christmas” (can I say that?) decorations up, and Wal-Mart — thankfully not a local store — has announced it will open at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.
“Our customers told us they would rather stay up late to shop than get up early, so we’re going to hold special events on Thanksgiving and Black Friday,” Walmart’s chief merchandising officer said. (No word on what Walmart’s hard-working, non-unionized workers associates think about punching in late on Thanksgiving night.)
While “06880” cannot become a bulletin board for every worthy help-the-less-fortunate endeavor this winter (bah, humbug!), 3 special events have caught our eye.
First: Once again, the Conservative Synagogue is partnering with gourmet bakers, caterers and fine food outlets to provide Thanksgiving pies — while making a donation to Homes With Hope.
The “Share the Pie” fundraiser offers apple, pecan and pumpkin pies for $20. The deadline to order is this Wednesday (November 16); pies can be picked up Tuesday, November 22 at the synagogue parking lot.
Second: The Department of Human Services is again sponsoring a holiday giving program for Westport residents.
Those who can contribute — gift cards for food, gas and discount department stores, for example, along with tax-deductible donations of money that’s used to fulfill last-minute requests — do so. Human Services acts as a facilitator, protecting the confidentiality of donors and recipients.
To donate — or request help — email humansrv@westportct.gov, or call 203-341-1069.
Third: The Westport Police Department local union 2080 and Police Benevolent Association are again sponsoring a toy drive. New, unopened and unwrapped toys — as well as cash donations — will be collected at police headquarters any time through December 18.
There are plenty of ways to do good this holiday season. These are just 3.
And none require a trip to Walmart at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving night.
Each year, a Staples High School student is asked to speak at Westport’s Veterans Day ceremony.
In a town like this — where the military is an afterthought, if thought of at all — finding an appropriate, articulate high school senior is no easy task.
This year, Taylor McNair nailed it.
Here’s his speech, delivered yesterday at Town Hall.
In the fall of 2006, while on leave from Iraq, Private First Class Nick Madaras rounded up as many soccer balls as he could find to bring back for his 2nd tour of duty. His plan was to distribute the balls to the Iraqi children he had watched day after day.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Nick was killed by an IED shortly after returning to Baqubah, Iraq.
PFC Nick Madaras
Just weeks after hearing of his death, a fellow Wilton citizen and Korean War veteran contacted the Madaras family in hopes of maintaining Nick’s legacy, and more importantly, fulfilling Nick’s desire to do good. From this, the “Kick for Nick” organization was born: an initiative based in Wilton that collects and ships balls to children in Iraq and Afghanistan, for distribution by U.S. soldiers.
I never had the pleasure of meeting Nick. I did, however, have the pleasure of fulfilling his one wish. Three years ago, when I was a freshman in high school, Staples soccer coach Dan Woog approached my older brother, then a senior, and asked if he would organize a “Kick for Nick” drive.
I remember sitting in my basement, deflating hundreds of soccer balls and inscribing “PFC Nick Madaras” on each one. Yet it wasn’t until just recently, after meeting with Nick’s dad Bill to drop off the soccer balls from another successful drive this year, that I realized the power of those words.
I don’t know many veterans. So when assistant principal Rich Franzis, an Iraq War veteran himself, asked if I would be interested in giving this speech today, I was honored yet hesitant. My connection to this country’s servicemen and women was distant, to say the least.
I thought long and hard about the kind of sentiments a 17-year-old kid from Westport would have about Veterans Day. My grandfathers and uncles didn’t fight in any wars; my friends have shown no interest in enlisting in the military. Yet my mind continued to bounce back to the recent “Kick for Nick drive.” As it turns out, you don’t need to know a veteran to appreciate this special day.
And so I return to the power of those few words: a simple class rank, PFC, and the name of a fallen soldier, Nick Madaras. Each and every ball a child receives is etched with this name, which serves as a constant reminder of what the United States military, of what you, have done for the world. Each time a child touches a soccer ball, and his or her face glows with happiness, we can take pride in the fact that a U.S. soldier created that smile.
Taylor McNair (right) with Bill Madaras, after presenting 150 soccer balls from this year's "Kick for Nick" drive.
In 2008, ESPN did a story on PFC Nick Madaras. Among the hundreds of comments on their web page, one stands out. The commenter wrote, “I am a 53 year old US Coast Guard veteran, and when I watched this on ESPN I sat and cried for this beautiful family and this beautiful story. That story describes American soldiers so, so well.”
For me, Veterans Day is more than recognizing the sacrifices a soldier must make. It’s about recognizing the impact that these sacrifices would have.
Nick Madaras sought to make his impact through the fundamental lesson of sharing. Other soldiers have made their impact through acts of selflessness or gallantry. The one thing I’ve discovered over these past few years, however, is that it doesn’t matter what kind of impact you made; rather, that you have made an impact at all.
Nick is like so many other veterans around the country. All of you, whether you know it or not, have gone above and beyond the call of duty in so many ways. For Nick, this meant bringing happiness to the children he interacted with every day in a war-ravaged country. For others of you, it might have been saving a fellow soldier’s life, or maybe putting your own life on the line to protect the fundamental principles of this nation.
For me, today is about appreciating that impact.
Servicemen and women are a unique group of people. In almost every case you are heroic yet humble, altruistic but modest. For generations, Americans have put the very foundation of our country, liberty, in your hands. And for generations you have answered this call, and done so valiantly, with little recognition.
So today I know I speak for millions of other Americans when I say, thank you. Thank you Nick Madaras, for making this world a happier place by use of a simple soccer ball.
And thank you, all of you, for the often-intangible yet ever-present impacts you have made, not only in this town or this country, but in every corner of the world.
Dozens of flags in the Staples courtyard honored fallen soldiers yesterday. Each bore the name of a fallen soldier from the area -- including Wilfredo Perez of Norwalk (above), and Nick Madaras.
Click below to view Taylor McNair’s speech, as broadcast on the “Good Morning Staples” TV show. Taylor begins speaking at the 2:20 mark.
When Westporter Helen Faith Keane Reichert died in September — just a few weeks before her 110th birthday — there was a burst of publicity.
The media noted her extended centenarian family: her brother Peter Keane of Westport (“the baby of the family,” just 101); her brother Irving Kahn, the 105-year-old chairman of the New York investment firm Kahn Brothers, and her sister Lee Kahn, who died 6 years ago at 101.
Now, New York Magazine is paying attention.
The current issue has a story headlined: “What Do a Bunch of Old Jews Know About Living Forever?”
Helen Faith Keane Reichert (Photo/New York Magazine and Olive Villaluna)
It starts with an anecdote about Irving’s youngest son, Thomas Graham Kahn. (Helen changed her name from Kahn to Kaine in 1936 at the suggestion of an editor at Liberty magazine. Peter followed suit.)
At 69, he’s president of Kahn Brothers. How, the story asks, can he take a vacation if the chairman — his 105-year-old dad — won’t?
The story describes the family’s involvement with the Longevity Genes Project at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The main test group is Ashkenazi Jews. It’s a fascinating story, delving into genetics, life in Eastern Europe and siblings who at one point were thought to be the oldest brothers and sisters in the world.
There’s also a portrait of Peter Keane, whose home here is on “a pleasant suburban street filled with mature shrubs and trees.”
Glaucoma and macular degeneration have blinded him, but “he looks to be in great shape,” writer Jesse Green says. “He has a lot of hair, not even all gray; his voice is clear and expressive.”
It adds delightful details: His wife Beth is just 67. (They met in 1984, “when she was 40 and Peter a very youthful divorcé of 73.”)
Peter Keane (Photo/New York Magazine and Peter Keane)
The story describes Peter’s life: his graduation from Cornell with a degree in ornithology; his work (at $17 a week) with photographer Margaret Bourke-White; his work as an assistant cameraman on the sets of “Gone With the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz”; 2 tours of the Pacific in the Signal Corps with Frank Capra; work on the development of Technicolor; his work in video technology with HBO, until his retirement 20 years ago, at 81.
The New York Magazine article describes the last days of Helen — nicknamed “Happy” — who would have been 110 this past Friday.
It’s a long, fascinating story — one well worth reading.
There are many other Westporters with fascinating stories, of course. Their lives are what make living here — next to and among them — so rich and deep for the rest of us.
We gain strength from them, even if we don’t know know all the details, or even know them very well at all.
But I can’t imagine anyone with a longer, more fascinating story than the Keane/Kahns.
Even if I knew so little about them, for so many of my own years here.
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In addition, ‘PT — 90.3 FM — won 7 out of 9 Drury Awards for sports broadcasting. That includes Ben Myers’ and Ben Greenberg’s work on the boys soccer FCIAC finals.
