As the choir entered Washington’s National Cathedral for Tuesday’s inaugural worship service, they were instructed to keep their eyes forward.
One young boy could not resist sneaking a look at the President of the United States.
His name is Michael. His mother is Sara Edwards, a 1986 graduate of Staples High School.
The photo has gone viral. 06880 is indeed everywhere.
Gordon Joseloff’s announcement that he will not run for a 3rd term as first selectman means the race for Westport’s “chief executive” is wide open.
First Selectman Gordon Joseloff
Former Board of Education chairman Jim Marpe has already announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination. State Representative Jonathan Steinberg and Board of Finance vice chair Helen Garten are rumored to be mulling runs on the Democratic ticket.
There will be more names floated, for sure. Some might even run.
The election is nearly a year away. But this is important — the future of Westport is at stake! — so let’s open the “06880” comments section for your thoughts.
Please stick to this topic: Who you’d like to see as 1st selectman, and why. Feel free to talk about any Westporters who’d make good leaders — but please do not talk smack about previous ones. Let’s keep this discussion focused on the future.
I refuse every “missing cat/dog” request (except Andy — hey, that was national news).
I didn’t do anything on the pit bulls last week, because everyone got the Red Alert.
But — for various reasons, as you’ll see — this one tugged at my heartstrings.
Here’s an email I just got from Betsy Phillips Kahn:
I ran into a woman named Donna. She lives at Compo Beach — the end of Norwalk Avenue, near Bradley. She is displaced after the hurricane, waiting on FEMA.
Not the missing cat. But a black cat nonetheless.
But she comes to her house daily to feed and tend her 2 cats. One has disappeared. It is so cold, and she was so worried. I told her I would look, and spread the word.
If anyone has seen a little black cat around the beach, please try to catch him and hold him until I see her. It won’t be that long. She comes every day.
You can call me at 203-222-9693, or email me: betsydesigns@hotmail.com.
She seemed so sad, and it’s freezing.
…may be sent to the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute, Box 17081, Jackson, MS 39217.
Tracy Sugarman
The civil rights activist — best known for organizing the Mississippi Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and who as vice chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party at the 1964 Democratic National Convention gave a nationally televised description of her difficult life as a sharecropper on a cotton plantation, and the retaliation she suffered trying to register to vote — was a longtime friend of Tracy’s. She was a welcome visitor in his Westport home.
Tracy’s family has announced that he will be honored at a memorial service this spring.
Sam Goodgame is a true leader.
After graduating from Staples in 2007, he earned an appointment to the US Military Academy. He went through Ranger training in Georgia, moved on to Fort Campbell, and is now a platoon leader in Afghanistan.
1st Lieutenant Sam Goodgame (right), with one of his soldiers in Afghanistan.
Sam always looks out for his troops. His soldiers get basic supplies, but they love fresh-baked cookies, personal notes — anything that reminds of them of the best of America.
This is a great project for veterans, families, school classrooms, Scouts, clubs, organizations — every Westporter, really.
Sam describes his men below. Feel free to “choose” one soldier, or more; include each name in a care package sent to:
1LT Sam Goodgame
PSD PLT, HHC 1-187 IN, 3BCT, 101 ABN DIV (AASLT)
FOB Gardez, Afghanistan
APO AE 09339
Martin (Platoon sergeant; Canada/Arkansas; 4 kids; seasoned combat veteran; has an Irish wife)
Zach (Medic; North Carolina; 3 kids; likes to work out)
Bryan (Radio guy; Illinois; 1 newborn; likes video games)
John (Squad leader; Florida; funny; on his 5th deployment)
Joseph (Team leader; Wisconsin; very smart; into physics and chemistry)
Daryl (SAW gunner; Florida; 1 newborn; laid back; just had wisdom teeth removed)
Jake (Rifleman; Hawaii; trustworthy and honest)
Jared (Rifleman; Oklahoma; 2 kids; encyclopedic knowledge of classic rock guitarists)
Marcos (Squad leader; Texas; 2 kids; shot through the hand last deployment; former Air Force nuclear weapons technician)
Kyle (Team leader; Upstate New York; 1 kid; wants to be a helicopter pilot)
Jacob (Rifleman; North Carolina; 1 kid; quiet; likes video games)
Isaiah (Team leader; Florida; entire family of high-ranking enlisted; former fullback at UGA)
Andrew (Rifleman; upstate New York; former lacrosse goalie at Syracuse)
Will (Rifleman; California; 6-4 and muscular)
Trevor (Team leader; Virginia; highly competent; rising leader)
…and to prove it, this was what the fountain at Geiger’s looked like this afternoon:
Temperatures Wednesday and Thursday are expected to peak in the mid-20s.
Brrrrrr!
A host of Westporters were in Washington yesterday for the presidential inauguration.
Electoral College voter Jim Ezzes was there. So was Wake Forest University student Sanders McNair, and technology writer David Pogue and his kids.
Board of Education member Mark Mathias was there with his family, too. Here’s his report:
Late last week, it occurred to us that Monday was not only Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but President Obama’s inauguration ceremony. Most importantly, it was a day off from work and school for the whole family. Time for a road trip!
We heard about buses that go to Washington for the day, so were secured seats on one of them for our family. You ride down very early the day of the inauguration, see it, then return home the same day. Sweet.
The Mathias family (far right) with young Westporters, at the exit 18 park-and-ride before boarding the midnight bus to Washington.
The driving itself was uneventful, but the day in Washington was magic.
There were crowds everywhere, and everyone was in a good mood. Forgetting about politics for a minute, we were there to see yet another manifestation of how our country hands control from one term to another. Peacefully and safely. For hundreds of years.
While the subways were running, we walked everywhere. On the day of the inauguration there are no taxis, and very few private vehicles on any streets. All of downtown DC is a pedestrian area.
Nick and Nicole Mathias, with inauguration tickets. The Washington Monument is in the background.
We got tickets courtesy of a Connecticut legislator, but the area in which we stood was so oversubscribed and crowded that being further away might have been better.
What was so wonderful was seeing so many people who were there to see the leader who had been peacefully elected to run our country. Clearly the bulk of attendees were Democrats, but there were members of all political parties who were there for the event, as well as to support our leaders.
As we talked and mingled with others, there was a definite happiness and warmth in the air. People had come from all over the country for this event. The weather held out as forecasts of cold weather, rain and even snow did not materialize. Instead we had quite cool weather, but sunny skies and good crowds kept us warm.
Even before we went, our son said he wanted to buy an Obama bobblehead. Among all of the souvenir items, we found one for him.
The Mathias family at the inauguration. The US Capitol is behind them.
What came to mind at the end of the day were two things.
First, the day was like a MasterCard commercial:
Second, while the attendees were saying history was made on Monday, the history made for me was with my family and children who were able to experience the inauguration of the President of the United States. Not only will they remember the event, but hopefully it will remind them of the strength and value of what this country is, and what they are a part of.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision in favor of Roe, in the important abortion case versus Wade.
Two days ago, Rev. Debra Haffner — community minister with Westport’s Unitarian Church, and president and CEO of the Westport-based Religious Institute (a national multifaith organization advocating for sexual health, education and justice) –celebrated the event.
Rev. Debra Haffner
She led the litany at a special service at Washington’s First Congregational United Church of Christ. Attendees included elected officials and their staffs who have worked tirelessly in the area of abortion rights. The sponsor was the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. Organizations represented included Catholics for Choice, and the National Latino Roundtable.
“We held these men and women in our prayers for their courageous support of reproductive justice,” Rev. Haffner said.
She called abortion “a moral decision that should be left to a woman, her family, her doctor and her faith.”
Rev. Haffner said the service was “beautiful. There was wonderful music, plenty of enthusiasm, a rabbi and several Christian ministers.”
One highlight: an award given to an African-American doctor. For years, he was the only abortion provider in the state of Mississippi.
But, Rev. Haffner says, the battle for reproductive rights is not yet over.
“I was 18 — a freshman at Wesleyan — when I learned that Roe v. Wade had been decided.
“I’m now 58, and post-menopausal. I never could have imagined that we’d still be fighting this fight.”
What do you give yourself when you’re 70 years old, but feel modern and important and eagerly looking ahead to the next 70 years?
If you’re Staples Tuition Grants, you give yourself a new website. And a redesigned logo.
STG — which started in 1943, with a $100 gift from the Staples PTA — is now a huge operation. Last year, the all-volunteer organization handed out $314,000 in scholarships to 111 people: 30 graduating seniors, and 81 Staples alums. The largest award was $6,000.
Each year, Staples Tuition Grants helps dozens of Staples seniors and graduates attend college.
Along the way, they interviewed all 135 applicants. And they spent a considerable amount of time raising the funds to maintain a healthy endowment.
The new logo actually builds on the old one. Miggs Burroughs — Westport’s go-to graphic designer, and himself a Staples grad — spiffed up the original tree, which symbolizes “the blossoming of youth through education.”
Miggs also reconfigured the logo, placing “Staples Tuition Grants” underneath the tree. The name now depicts STG’s “deep roots in the community,” while the extended tail on the letter “R” reflects an outreached hand.
The new website, meanwhile — spearheaded by Ann Pawlick — features an intriguing (and very educational) page dedicated to the nearly 100 named awards.
The list reads like a Who’s Who of Westporters.
It starts with Dorothy Adams — a beloved, early 20th-century principal at the Bridge Street School, and its new incarnation as Saugatuck Elementary.
Next is Dr. Jean Beasley — a female African-American pediatrician in Westport, when both were rarities anywhere.
Phil Schuyler is one of many fascinating Westporters with an STG award named in his honor.
The list includes — among many others — Bruce Betts, Richard Cion, Noel de Caprio, Irwin Donenfeld, Doug Donovan, Chuck Eliot, Sharon Frey, Eric Goldschmidt, Preston Hirten, Ann Kiester and Katy Macieski, Joe Koeller, Elliott Landon, Michael Kowall, the Krosse Family, Susan Malloy, Natalie Maynard, Joe and Mel Mioli, Lou Santella, Phil Schuyler, Betty and Ralph Sheffer, Ken Sweetnam, Joan Wilder and Ted Youngling.
Many died before their time. Others died after long service to our town. Some are still alive, but remembered gratefully by those whose lives they touched.
The new Staples Tuition Grants website is functional too, of course. Students can apply online (this year’s deadline is March 22). There’s an alumni page, to see what great things STG grads are up to.
And, of course, donors can donate.
The entire site is worth checking out. You’ll educate yourself about one of Westport’s oldest, most noteworthy non-profit organizations.
You’ll educate yourself about the men, women and teenagers (and foundations and corporations) whose names adorn much-appreciated awards.
And — hopefully — you’ll be inspired to make a donation, so that even more students can educate themselves, too.
(Click here to check out the Staples Tuition Grants website.)
Posted in Education, Organizations, People, Staples HS, technology
Tagged Staples Tuition Grants
On December 10 — a little over a month ago — I wrote an “06880” story on one of my favorite people, Tracy Sugarman. The occasion was the publication of his 1st novel — at age 91.
Tracy died yesterday. He lay down for a nap, and did not wake up.
The best way to remember this remarkable Westporter — and American — is by reprinting last month’s post. For other “06880” stories, click the links below:
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You may hear that old adage “You’re never too old to try something new,” and scoff. Or shuffle off to play shuffleboard.
Tracy Sugarman takes it to heart.
The Westport icon — a famous illustrator for 40 years, who published 3 non-fiction books about his experiences as a Freedom Rider during the civil rights movement, and 1 based on his service as an officer in World War II (including storming the beach on D-Day) — has just written his 1st novel.
He’s 91 years old.
Tracy Sugarman
Nobody Said Amen is the fictionalized tale of 2 families — one white, one black — as they navigate the challenges of social change in the Mississippi Delta.
It’s a story of fighting for the right to vote, the Ku Klux Klan, and love. They’re not easy topics to write about — but Tracy Sugarman was there.
He was already in his 40s when he traveled to Ruleville, Mississippi in 1964 and ’65. His training group included 3 young men named Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney. On Tracy’s 2nd day in Mississippi, they disappeared.
He’d headed south as an artist, intending to draw the scenes he saw. “I was an observer for about 2 hours,” he says. “Then I become a participant. This was way too important to be a voyeur.”
Tracy’s involvement in the civil rights era changed his life. He developed a deep friendship with Fannie Lou Hamer. She and many other movement leaders visited his Westport home.
Tracy Sugarman was grand marshal at Westport’s 2011 Memorial Day ceremony.
Two of Tracy’s books — Stranger at the Gates and We Had Sneakers, They Had Guns — chronicled the civil rights era. My War was a collection of letters and drawings he’d sent to his young wife, June, during the harrowing days of World War II. Drawing Conclusions was his rendition, in words and pictures, of the biggest historical, societal and cultural stories of his time.
For nearly 90 years, he never imagined writing fiction.
But as he worked on Drawing Conclusions — it was published 5 years ago, when he was “just” 86 — he figured it might be fun to try a novel.
It took 2 years (though, he points out, “I did other things too”).
“I was charmed by this world I was inventing,” Tracy says of the writing process. “People just showed up, and insisted on being in it. They were characters I’d never met!”
He had no idea how the story would end. But — as with everything he’s done — Tracy made it all work out.
His publisher — Syracuse University Press — liked Amen. But after a change of editors, they decided fiction was not right for an academic publisher.
Tracy asked Maxine Bleiweis about self-publishing. The Westport Library director put Tracy in touch with David Wilk, a Westonite and expert in the field.
That’s how Nobody Said Amen became a book. (Officially, it’s “a Morris Jesup book, in association with the Westport Library.”)
More importantly, it’s on Amazon — in paperback and Kindle.
If it’s surprising to learn that a 91-year-old has self-published a book available on e-readers, you don’t know Tracy Sugarman. He looks, sounds — and thinks — like the young people he so admires.
“All these young kids put themselves in harm’s way,” he says of the Freedom Riders. “They thrived, survived, and changed Mississippi.”
That experienced reinforced an idea he’d had since World War II, 2 decades earlier: “Only young people can change the country. They’re wonderfully inspiring. They certainly changed my life.”
So, as he closes in on a century of living, what’s next?
“Everyone says you’re very old to write a novel,” Tracy says. “Well, I don’t feel it!” He’s ready for plenty of new challenges.
“You’re as young as you feel” is one adage Tracy Sugarman proves true.
Here’s another: “You’re never too old to try something new.”
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