This week’s “Persona Live Westport” interview featured Lindsay Czarniak of ESPN and Fox Sports talking about sports, media careers and motherhood with Marysol Castro, the first Latina PA announcer in Major League Baseball (New York Mets). Both are Westport residents. Click below to watch.
This coming Monday (March 2, 6 p.m., Westport Library Forum), the Persona Live interview features Westporter Darrin McMahon, Dartmouth professor of history and author of “Happiness: A History.” He and Persona founder Rob Simmelkjaer will discuss the origins of happiness as a concept, and how people have come to view happiness not just an possibility but an earthly entitlement — even an obligation.
This and all “Persona Live Westport” interviews are also available on the Persona interview app, currently available in beta for iPhones. You can download the app (iPhone only) here.
Clement Onyemelukwe — the “Father of Electricity” in Nigeria, whose 1963 marriage to a Peace Corps volunteer made news around the world, and who then spent many years in Westport with his wife Catherine — died last month at home. The cause was metastic non-small cell, non-smoker’s lung cancer. He was 86.
Clement Onyemelukwe
Clement Chukwukadibia Onyemelukwe was born April 1, 1933, in Nanka, Anambra State, Nigeria. After graduating from a premier colonial-era secondary school, he attended the University College Ibadan for 2 years before being sent by the British colonial government to Leeds University.
He received his B.Sc. engineering degree in 1956, and worked in the power sector in the UK. He acquired a second degree in economics from London University.
Onyemelukwe was recruited to fill civil service positions after Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960. By 1962 he was chief engineer of the Electricity Corporation on Nigeria.
During the nation’s civil war he led Biafra’s Coal Corporation and electrical utility, served as executive chairman of the Biafra Airports Board, and chaired the Panel on Post-War Reconstruction. He returned to Lagos and the Electricity Corporation after Biafra surrendered to Nigeria in 1970.
Onyemelukwe founded an engineering firm in Lagos in 1973, and a project management company in the UK 3 years later. He also wrote 5 books on economic growth. His latest, “The Decline of the American Economy,” will be published this spring.
Although, his obituary says, “his parents had rejoiced” that he returned to Nigeria after 9 years in the UK “without a foreign white wife,” in 1963 he met Catherine Zastrow.
They married the next year. The New York Times ran stories on the wedding. One was headlined “Peace Corps Worker to Wed Nigerian Engineer.” The marriage was also covered in Life and Ebony magazines.
Clement and Catherine Onyemelukwe’s marriage was covered by Life Magazine in January 1965.
Interracial marriage was still illegal in Kentucky, where Catherine lived while in the Peace Corps. When her parents returned home after the wedding, they had to change their phone number because of hate calls.
The couple received telegrams from around the world. Many were supportive, but some were not.
They moved to Westport in 1993. He became an American citizen in 2007. He spoke to the Y’s Men, and could often be seen researching or writing at the Westport Library.
Catherine Onyemelukwe was president of the library board in 1999-2000, and later became director of development for the Westport Weston Family Y. She is an active member of TEAM Westport, and the Unitarian Church.
Clement’s obituary calls him a well-loved church and community member. “His warm smile, easy laugh and joy in recounting stories of Nigeria made him an engaging conversationalist. He loved to discuss politics and economics.”
He is survived by his wife; 3 children, Chinakueze, Elizabeth and Samuel; 5 grandchildren, and 4 siblings.
His life will be celebrated on Saturday, March 7 (Unitarian Church of Westport, 1 p.m.). He will be buried in the family compound in his ancestral village beside his parents in April.
Westport is awash in organizations that benefit young people — here, in the rest of Fairfield County, the country and the world. It’s one of the strengths of our community.
Many throw fundraisers. Westporters support them generously, with time as well as money.
But most of these kid-focused groups’ events don’t actually involve young people themselves.
That’s why Experience Camp’s Day of Champions is so wonderful.
Not to mention unique, cool, and tons of fun.
Experience Camp is the Westport-based network of summer camps for youngsters who have lost a parent, sibling or primary caregiver. The program builds confidence, encourages laughter, and allows them to navigate grief through friendship, teamwork, sports and the common bond of loss.
This year, Experience Camps will serve 1,000 boys and girls, at 5 locations from Maine to California.
Of course, running such a life-changing program costs money: $1,000 for a week at camp.
For much of its first decade, Experience Camps — founded by Westporter Sara Deren — relied on gala fundraisers in big cities, and foundation grants.
In 2017 Deren asked fellow Westport resident Gery Grove to help raise funds here. She teamed with Melissa Post, who like Grove loved the idea of the camp.
They thought about the usual events, like cocktail parties. But they realized the best way to raise money for kids was to involve kids themselves.
Together with a hard-working committee, they launched the first Day of Champions in 2018.
Fun at Experience Camps’ Day of Champions …
Camp Mahackeno was the perfect venue for the camp-like color war/field day. Twenty teams of 10 to 15 people each (kindergarten through adult) competed in sponge races, an obstacle course, toothpick pickup contest with oven mitts, archery and others activities. Many wore costumes.
Points were awarded for spirit, fundraising, cheering and more. It was a joyful day — and it brought in over $150,000.
… and funny hair …
To participate, teams had to raise at least $1,000. Some were well over $25,000.
Organizers feared the first year might have been a fluke.
It wasn’t.
Last year’s Day of Champions brought in more than $225,000. Over the past 2 years, Westport’s Michelle Yanover — who lost her mom at 7 — has raised over $45,000. Working with his New York Life firm, Grove’s husband Matt added another $40,000-plus.
… and a tug-of-war …
This year’s 3rd annual event is Sunday, May 17 (8 to 11:30 a.m.). Due to construction at Mahackeno, it’s moved to another great location: Fairfield County Hunt Club.
Yet as fun and financially important as the Day of Champions is, there’s another element that makes it special.
… and more fun. (Photos/Stephen Dodd)
“It teaches kids a lot,” Grove says. “They learn there are other kids who need their support — kids who don’t have their entire family here anymore.
“Kids get a chance to raise money for a resonant cause. And they have the best time doing it. Our lives are busy, but families come and do this together. Kids, teachers, parents, town officials — everyone puts concerns and differences aside for the day. It’s a great time!”
(Click here to register a team. Spectators are welcome too.)
Ceramic artist Marion Grebow — who died last week at 66 — was best known locally for her River of Names mural at the Westport Library.
But she also created “Marion’s Wall” at Earthplace.
It’s one of the top attractions at the science/conservation/education center. Every day kids stop, touch it, and look for the animals.
The wall — part of Earthplace for more than 15 years — depicts plants and animals native to Connecticut. It also shows the sanctuary, including a bear statue.
If you haven’t seen it, enjoy these photos. Then get over to Earthplace, and enjoy the real thing!
If you thought the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce’s Best Pizza and Best Burger contests were great, you’ll really enjoy this year’s menu.
It’s guaranteed to be super.
Well, at any rate, “souper.”
March is “Westport Soup Month,” the Chamber says. First Selectman Jim Marpe makes it official on Monday (March 2, 12:30 p.m., Mystic Market).
All month long, 19 soup-making restaurants and markets will compete in 7 categories. Westporters can visit the venues (see below), then vote for
Best Chicken Soup
Best Beef Soup
Best Vegetable Soup
Best Asian Soup
Best Onion Soup
Best Matzoh Ball Soup
Best Chowder.
The contest runs March 1 to March 31. Voting can be done online (click here). All voters are entered into a drawing, to win free soup from one of the victors.
Winners will be announced in April.
Here’s wishing the Chamber — and all participants — many soupy sales.
They’re all different types: men and women, old and young, in shape and trying to get there.
With their jogging gear, headphones and determined looks, though, they all tend to look the same.
Except for Julie Van Norden.
Julie Van Norden
You might have seen her running, from her home near the Merritt Parkway through town and back. Or a longer run, toward the train station or Staples.
She’s the one holding a couple of empty beer cans.
Or (to be fair) other garbage.
No, she doesn’t have a problem. Just the opposite: She’s doing her bit to fix the problem others have.
You know, the ones who throw trash out the car window, wherever they want.
“I love where I live. I want to keep it clean,” she says.
So she “plogs.” That’s her word for “picking up litter while jogging.”
Julie Van Norden, at work.
Right now, Julie may be the only Westport runner who does this.
She focuses on items that can be recycled. She scopes out what needs to be picked up on her her way out. On her way back, she picks up whatever she can carry.
Back home, she sorts it all out into her recycling bins.
Wouldn’t it be great if we saw other folks running with beer cans too?
Then maybe one day, none of them would have to.
(To nominate an Unsung Hero, email dwoog@optonline.net)
Like many kids growing up in the 1970s and early ’80s, Casey Kasem was part of Michael Wolfe’s life.
But the teenager did not just listen to “American Top 40.” He was obsessed by it.
And when WNEW-FM did its annual countdown of the 1,000 greatest rock songs of all time, Wolfe sat in his New Rochelle home and followed it with “uncommon interest.”
He is not a musician. He did not become a DJ.
But — 4 decades later — Wolfe’s fascination with countdowns remains.
Thanks to the wonders of podcasts, he’s sharing it with the world.
Wolfe — now an 18-year Westport resident — spent more than 2 decades as a publisher or assistant publisher of consumer magazines like GQ, Men’s Journal, Rolling Stone. When the media landscape changed, he developed his own marketing and content business. He does PR consulting too, and is working on a documentary film.
For even longer, he’s known David Yas.
Michael Wolfe (left) and David Yas.
As undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania, they bonded over their shared “strange, pathetic passion for music trivia.”
A couple of years ago Yas — who has a law degree, worked as a financial advisor and, most recently, founded the pod617 podcast network in Boston — and Wolfe started talking about ways they might share their love of countdowns with the world.
“We’re fans. We’re not music journalists or ultimate authorities,” Wolfe explains. “We wanted to talk about the songs that worked, the ones that didn’t, the ones that embarrassed us. We’d do it with an educational element, and we’d dive deep. But we’re not academics.”
The result is “Past Tens: A Top 10 Time Machine.” Once a week they post the Top 10 of that same week from a randomly generated year — any one from 1960 to 2000. For over an hour, the old friends count the songs down, and riff on both the music and the era.
The other day for example, they explored 1978. The podcast’s title was “Best Music Week Ever? Bee Real.” (’78 was the height — or depth — of disco. “Bee Real” is a nod to the genre’s icons, the Bee Gees.)
Other recent years include 1973, ’87, ’80, and “The Head-Shaking Music of 1992.”
The podcast is sometimes taped in Boston, sometimes here.
Wolfe takes care of the research. He unearths plenty of interesting information. (Who knew that Joe Walsh played backup on many Andy Gibb hits?)
But he’s always learning. After hearing “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” on the 1969 countdown, for example, I told him the song had been recorded in Bridgeport. That was news to him.
Yas handles the production end. Yet nothing is planned. Yas hears the countdown for the first time — just like the thousands of other listeners.
“Our discussion is truly live,” Wolfe says. “We just turn on the music, talk and laugh. That’s why listeners like it.”
The chat veers between songs they love and hate; those that have stood the test of time, and those that haven’t. Occasionally they take heavy detours, like debating whether Michael Jackson’s music can be separated from his actions.
(Wolfe and Yas agreed: His songs may mean something different now, but they are always part of the place they occupied in our own personal histories.)
And boy, do listeners provide feedback. “How could you not love ‘Brandy’?!” one woman complained, after Wolfe and Yas trashed the tune that everyone else on the planet adores. Of course, arguments about “Brandy” are part of the fun.
“There’s so much angst and anger in the podcast world. Pop culture keeps us light,” Wolfe says.
Standing out in the podcast world is not easy. Wolfe says there are 700,000 or so out there. Right now they’re doing that by work of mouth. But they’re looking at marketing plans, and talking to networks to expand their reach.
The countdown concept is scalable too. Wolfe says they could look back at the Top 10 TV shows of a given year, or People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People.
For now though, he and Yas are concentrating on music.
Hear, hear!
(“Past Tens: A Top 10 Time Machine” is available on Spotify, Adori, and pretty much everywhere else you find podcasts. Or you can click here for the website.)
It’s a low-impact activity that builds both aerobic endurance and muscular strength. Cardio and resistance workouts burn ginormous numbers of calories, and use every major muscle group.
But not everyone has the time to get out on the river. (Or wants to — particularly before dawn, and in our fickle New England weather.)
Now they don’t have to.
Row House is open to anyone, for 45-minute sessions on an ergometer.
It sounds like all the work, with none of the fun. Rowers have love/hate relationships with “ergs” — rowing machines. Workouts can be brutal — but at least the reward is a boat on the water. The Row House is just a storefront, in Compo Acres Shopping Center.
Yet there’s something about that workout — competing against yourself, while rowing with everyone else (“all in the same boat”), with music blasting, lights pulsing and a coach urging you on — that keeps people coming back again and again.
Westport’s Row House is owned by Dana and Rob Montefusco. The couple — her degrees are in speech and language pathology; his in architecture and construction management, and he was a personal trainer — were looking for an exercise-related project.
Row House — which grew from its first Columbus Circle location in 2014, to over 250 franchises across North America today — seemed perfect.
Dana Montefusco, at the Row House front desk.
They opened last April. Now the 25 machines are in constant use. The youngest rower is 13; the oldest, 80. There are husbands and wives, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters.
Some rowers work out at 5:30 a.m., before the train. Then come people with flexible schedules. Late afternoon draws the after-work crew. Weekends are a broad mix.
Feedback is great. “I’m surprised — it was fun and enjoyable,” one person said. “I’m not in pain!”
Another headed to Row House after surgery. It was the only exercise her doctor approved.
A third liked the fact that ergs give a full body workout. (Rowing is 60% legs, 30% core and 10% arms, Dana says.) “I don’t have to do something else afterward,” he noted.
One of the 25 Row House ergs.
Row House works hard to make workouts fun. One day there is a rowing relay race; another day, one side of the class competes against the other.
Row House coaches are an attraction too. An eclectic bunch — they include business executives, marketers and teachers — they create a welcoming environment. (They also instruct newcomers on proper technique.)
Colby Mello is one of the coaches. A 2008 Staples High School graduate whose day job is in consulting, she runs evening and weekend classes.
“There’s a huge misconception about rowing machines,” Mello notes. “People think they’re devilish machines. That’s why they’re usually empty at the gym.”
They’re not empty at Row House.
Row House offers monthly memberships (4 sessions for $99, 8 for $135, unlimited for $167), and class packs ($155 for 5 classes,$260 for 10). The drop-in fee is $32. For more information, click here.
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March is “Westport Soup Month,” the Chamber says. First Selectman Jim Marpe makes it official on Monday (March 2, 12:30 p.m., Mystic Market).
The result is “
It sounds like all the work, with none of the fun. Rowers have love/hate relationships with “ergs” — rowing machines. Workouts can be brutal — but at least the reward is a boat on the water. The Row House is just a storefront, in Compo Acres Shopping Center.
