Whenever a minister moves to a new church, there’s a story.
The story was particularly intriguing when Rev. Alison Patton came to Saugatuck Congregational Church.
It’s one of our oldest congregations. In fact, the meetinghouse was where Westport was founded — from parts of Norwalk, Fairfield and Weston — in 1835.
Even more intriguing: The new pastor did not actually have a church to preach and work in. It was closed for rebuilding, after a Thanksgiving fire that nearly burned it to the ground.
What impelled her to take on that challenge? What has she learned about Westport in the years since? Why is social justice so important to her church, and to her personally? What drives her interfaith work in Westport?
Those are some of the topics Rev. Patton and I discussed in the latest “06880” podcast. Now — thanks to the Westport Library– you can hear our conversation. Just click below.
Marley Brown is an enthusiastic, creative junior at Staples High School. Her most recent project: designing a holiday tree ornament to commemorate the development and distribution of COVID vaccines. It can hang for years to come, a reminder of the trials and triumphs of the global pandemic.
She and her family spend nights and weekends sticking labels on vials, stuffing plastic baubles, and tying ribbon to create the cute decorations. They are available with Pfizer, Moderna or generic labels.
Marley has already sold hundreds of ornaments all across North America, via Etsy, Facebook and Amazon.
She’s earning money. But she’s paying it forward. Marley donates some of her profits to the Ehlers Danlos Society. She and her mother suffer from the genetic connective tissue disease, which makes her joints prone to injuries and dislocations.
Click here to purchase ornaments — and help find a treatment for EDS.
I stopped reading the New York Times story about a California spiritual adviser who receives messages from the dead after the 3rd paragraph (when I learned she charges $1,111 an hour — she “likes the synchronicity”).
But several “06880” readers read on. They learned — deep in the story — that Carissa Schumacher — the high-priced medium to stars like Jennifer Aniston, Uma Thurman and Andie MacDowell — was raised in Westport.
She was a member of Staples High School’s Class of 2000 (and earned All-FCIAC status as a cheerleader). She went on to Brown University, where she majored in cognitive neuroscience.
After learning of our high school (and college) connection, I re-read the article. It’s actually pretty interesting. Click here to see.
Caarissa Schumacher meditates in the Elfin Forest. (Photo/Michelle Groskopf for the New York Times)
The Westport Farmers’ Market is all about shopping local. So it’s natural for them to hold a special Holiday Artist Market this Saturday (December 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center.
“Local artisans don’t experience supply chain issues the way big box stores do,” notes Lori Cochran-Dougall, executive director of the Farmers’ Market. “If there was ever a year to spend, support and give local, this is it.”
The Artist Market takes place in 3 open-air greenhouses, and features a wide array of one-of-a-kind handcrafted gift ideas. Food trucks will be on hand too.
Longtime Westporter John Washburn died peacefully at his home recently. He was 91.
He was born in Pittsburgh to Dr. Stephen and Lois Fellows Washburn, both educators. He received his BS in industrial management from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) in 1952.
One week after graduation he married his high school sweetheart, Olga Dukewich. They moved to Cleveland, where John started his career with Standard Oil of Ohio.
They brought their young family to Westport in 1968, when John joined Xerox Education Group in Stamford as a vice president. Over the course of his career John held senior executive positions with Xerox, Scovill, Mott and GenRad.
In retirement, John served on the board of directors of Physicians Health Services, and as a consultant to the Eastern Companies. He spent many hours dedicated to his beloved Westport community, including as treasurer of both Greens Farms Church and the Westport Historical Society, as a member of the Westport Schools Building Planning Committee and the Westport Conservation Commission, and as a volunteer with the Y’s Men, Westport Library, and at the polls on election days.
John’s greatest joy and accomplishment was his family. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who enjoyed life. John loved to sail and kayak in the waters around Westport. He played tennis and golf, swam, and took daily walks in his neighborhood.
He especially loved traveling with Olga to Europe and Asia, and visiting their children and grandchildren. For years John and Olga hosted a spring gathering for their children and grandchildren in Sanibel, Florida.
John is survived by his wife of 69 years, Olga; their children Pamela Washburn (David Boyers) of Los Altos, California, Janice Trentacosti (Charlie) of Austin, Texas; John S. Washburn of Carmel, Indiana, and grandchildren Michelle, Michael, Jordan, JB, Julia, Anabelle and Sophia. He is also survived by his sister Carolyn Shields of Staunton, Virginia, brother Alan of Monterey, California, and many nieces and nephews.
Services were held at Greens Farms Church. Donations in John’s memory can be made to Westport EMS.
Newport has a Christmas Stroll. So does Ridgefield.
Why not Westport?
Great idea! So “06880” (the blog) is sponsoring the first-ever Christmas Stroll for 06880 (the town).
The date is Saturday, December 11. From 4 to 7 p.m., downtown will be even more festive than usual.
Staples’ elite Orphenians will sing. Don Memo will provide hot drinks, at 2 locations.
There’s face painting for kids, and an ugly sweater contest for everyone.
Santa will hang out by Savvy + Grace. He’ll pose for photos with kids, who can also drop off self-addressed letters to him. They’ll be mailed back, with a personal note.
Merchants will offer special surprises from 4 to 7 p.m. during the Stroll too. Here are a few:
Among the special shopping offerings:
20% off at Allison Daniel Designs (Sconset Square) and WEST.
Free topaz or pyrite crystal at Age of Reason.
Something special from Franny’s Farmacy.
Garlic knots at Joe’s Pizza.
10% of all purchases — plus 10% donated to Westport PAL — at Local to Market.
Silk mask giveaway at Calico.
Spend $150-$250, get 10% off. Spend $250-$500, get 15% off. Spend $500 or more, get 20% off at Kerri Rosenthal.
Sorelle Gallery offers festive beverages to sip while browsing artwork, plus a giveaway. Sign up for their email list and select a free print, while supplies last.
A free gift to children who stop by The Toy Post between 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday (they close at 6).
Free skincare samples, beverages and a raffle prize (30-minute facial) at Organachs.
Holiday treats and drinks; up to 30% off on select styles at Cotelac.
Buy one, get 1/2 off of Whip Salon brand products
20% off all holiday items at Westport Book Shop.
Adult holiday beverages and 10% off a full-price purchase to anyone mentioning the “06880” blog at Nic + Zoe.
Hot chocolate at Le Rouge Chocolates, Rye Ridge Deliand Winfield Street Coffee.
Hot chocolate and holiday treats at The Fred Shop.
1 free health and wellness coaching session from Dark Horse Health and Wellness (Playhouse Square; stop by or call 203-349-5597).
Every July, our “06880” blog party brings people together at Compo. But why wait a whole year? The Christmas Stroll is one more way to celebrate our wonderful community — online, and in person.
Among the many tributes to legendary composer Stephen Sondheim, this one caught Veri Krassner’s eye.
Joshua Henry — the Tony-nominated actor whose credits include “Hamilton,” “Scottsboro Boys” and the current film “Tick, Tick….Boom!” — posted a photograph of Sondheim and the cast of “Being Alive” at the Westport Country Playhouse in 2007.
He noted how memorable the show was — especially because Sondheim himself was there to see it.
Henry was just beginning his career then. But he remembered Sondheim — and Westport.
Speaking of Sondheim and the Playhouse: The legendary theater released a statement honoring the Broadway icon. The WCP says:
“During the summer of 1950, Stephen Sondheim was an apprentice at Westport Country Playhouse. He worked in a variety of capacities on 14 shows and appeared in a production of “The Life of the Party,” written by the Playhouse’s founder Lawrence Langner. Many of Sondheim’s fellow apprentices that year continued as theater professionals, including composer Mary Rodgers, film director Frank Perry, theatrical agent Peggy Hadley, and Actors’ Equity officer Conard Fowkes.
“Fifteen years after his apprenticeship, Sondheim’s own work appeared on the Playhouse stage with a production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ (1965). ‘A Little Night Music’ (1975) and ‘Side by Side by Sondheim’ (1978) followed in the next decade. Most recently, ‘Into the Woods’ (2012) was directed by Mark Lamos, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director.
“’Being Alive!,’ a world premiere conceived and directed by Billy Porter, took the Playhouse stage in 2007, with music and lyrics by Sondheim, who also provided collaborative assistance. The retrospective of Sondheim songs featured Chuck Cooper, Joshua Henry, and Leslie Odom, Jr., among others.
In 2006, the Playhouse honored its illustrious apprentice with a gala tribute performance, “The Ladies Who Sing Sondheim,” with Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Barbara Cook, and Patti LuPone, directed by John Doyle.
Lamos said: “The entire Westport Country Playhouse family is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Stephen Sondheim. I got to know Stephen a bit over the years, mostly socially. He eagerly granted my request to appear in a tribute to Mary Rodgers, who he’d gotten to know while they were both apprentices here. She was our guest of honor when we saluted her father Richard Rodgers at Westport Country Playhouse’s annual gala in 2009.
“Yet when I was directing ‘A Little Night Music’ for Baltimore Center Stage and tried staging a short musical sequence that made no sense to me, I emailed him to ask about it. In minutes, he answered right back. ‘Oh you can cut that. It was something Pat (Birch, the original Broadway choreographer) and Hal (Prince, the legendary director) cooked up, but it’s not needed at all.’
“And just a year ago he graciously agreed to participate in the shooting of a short-form documentary by filmmaker Doug Tirola that celebrates the history of Westport Country Playhouse. In the video clip he wished the Playhouse a happy 90th birthday, then jokingly wished himself the same, since ‘we’re the same age.’ That’s a memory that I find particularly poignant today.”
Stephen Sondheim (crouching, top of photo), during his 1950 apprenticeship. The photo was taken at the Jolly Fisherman restaurant. Also in the photo: future film director Frank Perry (front row, left) and Richard Rodgers’ daughter Mary (2nd row, 4th from left).
Sconset Square merchants hosts a holiday stroll this Thursday (December 2, 5:30 to 8 p.m.).
Singers from Staples High School and Greens Farm Academy will entertain. There are events at 5 stores, plus Christopher’s French Crepe Food truck.
At Bungalow, for example, Suzie Kondi showcases her cashmeres and Westport’s Ronit Tarshis her jewels. Christopher LaGuardia of LaGuardia Design Group in the Hamptons will sign books.
Bungalow is part of Sconset Square’s Holiday Stroll.
Plumed Serpent — the popular bridal and formal gown store in Colonial Green — was damaged in an October fire. It was contained in the front of the store, and no one was hurt.
All merchandise is gone. The store is bare. A sign says “Closed.”
However — thankfully — it’s only temporary. They’re still hosting appointments for current brides, for fittings and pick-ups.
They’re not sure when. But, they assure anxious brides and brides-to-be: They will reopen.
At Staples High School, Matt Makovsky was a talented athlete. He captained the football team, and ran track. Sports helped get him into an Ivy League school.
He had other talents too. He played piano, drums and violin. He sang in the choir.
Still, the Class of 2001 graduate says, he was not really in touch with his artistic side. He hung out with “the popular kids” — the jocks.
Matt Makovsky, in the 2001 Staples High School yearbook …
“I didn’t know how to reconcile both parts of my life,” he notes with regret. “I wish I had that perspective back then.”
Nearly 20 years after his last football game, Makovsky still counts his University of Pennsylvania teammates among his closest friends. Sports gave him his identity.
“There’s a reason companies recruit athletes,” he says. “They can take on a lot. They’ve learned character.”
He misses the locker room. Plus, he says, “I was in great shape.”
But now — with a degree from Columbia Business School, and years as a successful entrepreneur — Makovsky has changed careers.
He wants to be a pop star.
Makovsky has spent a lot of time thinking about his high school years. “Things were more separate than they should have been,” he says of the Staples culture.
Speaking of himself and his classmates — in every realm — he says, “We didn’t truly embrace what was special about what others did. I wish I had spent more time developing relationships in other areas besides sports.”
He pauses. “You only have so much wisdom at 16.”
Makovsky was as talented a musician as he was an athlete. Though he says he was the best violinist, he was not named concertmaster. Mariangela Lisanti practiced more.
She also won first place in both the Intel Science Talent Search an Siemens Competition. She’s done quite well, and is now a professor at Princeton. However, Makovsky says with amazement, “at Staples I got more recognition than she did.”
At Penn, he thought about joining an an elite a cappella group.
“They were sick!” he says with awe. “But I was singularly focused on football. We all ran together. We didn’t have time for other stuff.”
Now — after shifting gears — he does.
… and today.
A friend from the business world, Jared Feldman, had also been a star athlete in New Jersey. But he’d never let go of his artistic side. When he played some beats. Makovsky was intrigued.
He wrote some lyrics. The next morning, Feldman sent a “super-polished version” of Makovsky’s beat.
Feldman arranged some studio time. “As soon as I hard my voice, I was hooked,” Makovsky recalls.
He set up a home studio. He wrote songs.
Meanwhile, he continued working as CEO with Skylabs, an innovation firm.
“I’d get my teeth kicked in by a client,” he says. “Then I’d go home and write 2, 3 or 4 hours a night. It helped me in business. But I reached a breaking point.”
Calling himself “Mak,” he released one album.
His second — “Lucid Dream” — dropped a few weeks ago. The difference this time, he says, is producer Yonatan Watts. Makovsky formed a bond with the “operatic and hip hop singer/songwriter,” who has worked with Ariana Grande — a relationship as close as he has with his former football teammates.
Making music is “an intimate process,” Makovsky says. “Those moments when it gives you chills — you can’t buy that.”
“Lucid Dreams” already has 750,000 streams. Part of that is due to Makovsky’s marketing.
“I have resources a 17-year-old can’t have,” he says. “I’m applying my business and athletic mentality to being an artist. I want to win at this too.”
Makovsky thinks about his Staples days often.
“I wasn’t able to embrace all the parts of myself,” he says. “I didn’t have the maturity or understanding. Young people have evolved more, but at 16 you still don’t understand every part of you.”
“My culture in high school didn’t provide an environment to fully be myself. I don’t blame it. I wanted to be football captain more than concertmaster.
“But nothing beats being Justin Bieber or Ariana Grande. That’s a different stratosphere.”
Matt Makovsky, making music.
At Penn — where the Quakers set a 4-year Ivy League record for football success –Makovsky played in front of 40,000 fans. He recently did his first post-quarantine show, for an audience of 100.
But, he says, “the energy was great. There’s a connection between a performer and an audience. That kind of love is amazing. If you believe in what you do, that’s a game-changer.”
And now that he thinks about it, Makovsky realizes there are plenty of connections between sports and music.
Every locker room has a sound system. And, he says, “every athlete secretly wants to be a musician.”
Long ago, Makovsky’s mother told him, “Football will end. But music will always be part of your life.”
She was right.
So his message to today’s Staples students is the same one he’d give to his 16-year-old self: “Embrace who you are. Be open. Experiment. The more well-rounded you can be, the more full person you’ll become.”
Winslow Park — formerly, “the Baron’s property” — gets all the love.
Every day from dawn to dusk, dogs, dog owners, walkers and joggers enjoy the 32 spectacular acres of rolling hills, meadows and woods just steps from downtown, between the Post Road and North Compo.
Baron’s South — the much hillier and more rugged 22 acres on the other side of the Post Road, between South Compo and Imperial Avenue — gets less attention.
But it too is a remarkable Westport park.
And it’s not as if no one hikes its paths, encountering deer rather than dogs.
Nearly a dozen “06880” readers quickly identified Baron’s South as the site of last week’s Photo Challenge. It showed an old fountain, behind what was once Baron Walter Langer van Langendorff’s “Golden Shadows” home.
(“The baron” was a fascinating 20th-century Westporter. He founded Evyan Perfumes, among many other accomplishments. Click here for his back story. Click here to see last week’s photo.)
Fred Cantor, Tom Erickson, Amy Schneider, Wendy Crowther, Chip Stephens, John F. Suggs, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Dick Lowenstein, Alec Stevens and Morley Boyd all knew that the fountain lies, hidden in plain sight, near the baron’s once elegant, now-crumbling “mansion.”
As usual, Morley has the last word. His comment:
It’s the neglected fountain behind the neglected Golden Shadows mansion which is situated within the neglected town-owned open space parcel once considered a public park but now largely clear-cut, overrun by invasives and utilized for government- sanctioned illegal dumping of contaminated fill. Cheers!
This week’s Photo Challenge is less controversial, and more timely. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
Just in time to kick off the holiday shopping season, a small ceremony honored the re-lighting and re-naming of the pedestrian tunnel between Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza.
New lights show off Miggs Burroughs’ stunning lenticular images. They portray Westporters connecting with each other. Each changes, depending on the angle you view them from.
The original name was “Tunnel Vision.” Suzanne Tanner came up with the new “Tunnel of Love & Community” — abbreviated as (of course) TLC. Then it was re-opened — as it always has been — to the public, 24/7/365.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker (center) and guests enjoy the newly re-lit Tunnel of Love & Community.
While all the tunnel re-dedicators were bundled up in Friday’s chill, Ann Chernow’s grandchildren chilled at Compo Beach.
Well, actually, they went in the water.
She sends a photo of “2 of my crazy grandchildren. They usually swim in the Pacific in San Francisco.” At 47 degrees, Long Island Sound was much chillier.
Westport’s hidden music gem, Voices Cafe, offers in-person, high quality live music (or livestream), with café-style seating. Everyone brings their own snacks and beverages.
Coming this Saturday (December 4): Eclectic musical duo The Whispering Tree, and award-winning folk couple Ash and Eric (formerly, The Promise is Hope).
Click here for tickets and more information. Seats are assigned by ticket purchase date.
Photos keep coming in of new Thanksgiving Day traditions. Here’s one more — of a group of dads and sons — with the by-now-familiar name: Turkey Bowl. (Hat tip: Bianca Jonas)
If you need an activity, check out these 2 from Wakeman Town Farm.
“In “Making Spirits Brighter: A Holiday Mixology Class” (December 6, 7 p.m.), “Mixxed by Ed” Hernandez will teach you how to make 5 holiday-themed drinks, using natural ingredients picked straight from the farm. Premium liquor is provided by Remy Cointreau.
“A Holiday Centerpiece Workshop” (December 14, 7 p.m.), features WTF’s Chyrse Terill and Ellen Goldman. Materials are collected from the Farm. You can take home your creation — and feel free to bring an appetizer, bottle of wine or other drink.
Former Staples High School football star Joseph Vincent DeMattio died Wednesday, following a courageous battle with a long-time illness. He was 63, and is survived by a large extended family and hundreds of friends.
Joey played tackle on the Wreckers’ 1975 state champion team, and was a 1997 inductee into team’s Wall of Fame. He also played defense for the University of Maryland where he played defense for the Maryland Terrapins. An excellent athlete, he returned to Westport and played softball for the legendary Sonny’s team.
His family says, “There was never a dull moment in Joey’s life. From running with the bulls in Pamplona to fighting pirates in the Bahamas, he was no stranger to adventure or travel.”
Although Joey held several positions in his career, his favorite was working for Keith Richards in Weston. He often said how down to earth and kind the family was to him.
He was also an accomplished inventor, and held 2 provisional patents.
Joey had a huge heart, especially for children and the elderly.
Joey loved Saugatuck, Jr’s Hot Dog Stand, Compo Beach, Aunt Jean’s eggplant parm, Walter K, the Maryland Terrapins, Ledo’s Pizza, inventing things, his little dog Tony, his beautiful home, eating any food (especially Italian), his Saugatuck Saints jacket, Calvin the monkey, yelling at umpires, playing football, traveling, the Three Stooges, the Rolling Stones, and pistachio ice cream.
His family notes, “Saugatuck will never be the same without you.”
A funeral is set for Thursday (December 2, 10 a.m., Assumption Church). The family will receive friends in the Harding Funeral Home on Wednesday (December 1, 4 to 8 p..). Click here to leave online condolences.
In lieu of flowers, donation can be made to Safer Refuge of Central Texas, where 2 of Joey’s beloved puppies come from.
Joey DeMattio, in the 1977 Staples High School yearbook.
Nicholas T. Saviano Jr. of Westport died quietly at home earlier this month.
After graduating from Staples High School in 1947, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Union College and a master’s from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was inducted into Sigma Xi Honor Society.
Nick was a lifelong Westport resident. He was an avid reader, and enjoyed photography, horseback riding, skiing, wine making, family genealogy, and aviation and navigation.
In his younger years he owned a small private plane with his older brother. He traveled throughout the country and abroad, including Italy and China with family and friends.
For most of his career he worked as an electrical engineer at Sperry Rand/Unisys in New York as the senior research section head, software development, shipboard and ground systems group. Nick also held a number of patents.
He volunteered for many years at the Westport Library and Sons of Italy. He was also an usher at the Assumption Church. He was devoted to his family and friends.
He was predeceased by his elder brother Ralph, his nephew David and his wife Joanne of New Hampshire, and several dear life-long friends. He is survived by his sister Florence of Stratford; brother Thomas of Westport; nieces Dyana and Felica of Monroe; niece Suzanne of New Hampshire; nephew Mark of Colorado; several great-nephews and nieces, great-great nephews and nieces, and 7 godchildren.
A funeral is set for Saturday (December 4, 10 a.m., Assumption Church). Interment will follow in Assumption-Greens Farms Cemetery. A reception immediately following the burial will be held at Christ and Holy Trinity Church. Gifts may be given in Nick’s memory to Union College,
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Staples’ elite Orphenians will sing. Don Memo will provide hot drinks, at 2 locations.
