Monthly Archives: March 2023

Roundup: Linxweiler Trees, Races & Champions, Ukrainian Eggs …

Posted on March 24, 2023 | 9 comments

The Post Road East improvement project has begun.

The first step — long before installing turn lanes, crosswalks, shoulders and sidewalks on the stretch between Volvo of Westport and New Country Toyota — was the removal of a dozen or so trees.

They stood for decades in front of Linxweiler House — the former blacksmith shop between Fresh Market and McDonald’s, now owned and operate by Homes with Hope.

That property looks a lot different today, than it did last weekend:

Linxweiler House, as seen from Crescent Road …

… and looking east, from near Fresh Market. (Photos/Molly Alger)

The good news: The 2 cherry blossom trees in front of Sakura still stand.

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On your mark … get set … and get ready for the 44th annual Minute Man Races

The popular Westport Young Woman’s League — set for Sunday, April 30 at Compo Beach — includes a 10K run, 5K run/walk, and kids’ fun runs (from 50 yards to 1 mile).

For professionals, it’s a USA Track and Field-certified event. For kids, family-friendly activities will take place during and after the races.

As always, there will be music, food trucks and more.

Student and first responder discounts are offered for the adult races. Contact minuteman@wywl.com for a discount code. Click here to register, and for more information. Proceeds benefit local non-profits.

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Registration is open for the 5th annual Day of Champions.

The event — family-friendly fun (and fierce competition) that raises funds for Experience Camps, the Westport-based network of activities for children who have lost parents or siblings — is May 21 (8:30 to 11:30 a.m., PJ Romano Field).

To create or join a team — or donate — click here.

To get psyched for the event, click the video below.

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Ukrainian Easter Sunday is not until April 16.

But Westport artist Mark Yurkiw — who has Ukrainian heritage, and is a member of the group that raised $252,000 for our sister city, Lyman — is celebrating early.

Throughout his career, he’s been decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs. He sent “06880” a sample of his work:

The red egg in front celebrates the birth of Mark Yurkiw’s son Cooper, in 1994.

In 2001, he created this 5-foot “egg” for the White House.

It was signed by 256 members of Congress.

Slava Ukraini!

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More progress on the house at 233 Hillspoint Road. Town officials halted construction there in 2019, after finding violations of the building permit.

Workers yesterday removed several feet from the top of the chimney. It had been built higher than its legal height.

Workers removing the top of the chimney at 233 Hillspoint. Road. (Photo/Matt Murray)

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In 2020, COVID forced Saugatuck Elementary School to cancel “The Little Mermaid” at the final dress rehearsal —  before the opening curtain.

She’s back!

A new cast of 125 students in grades 3-5 act, sing and dance — and run the lights and sound, help construct and decorate sets and props, and operate special effects.

Saugatuck alums from 2020 (and even some of their parents) have helped with the show! Set designer Julie Colotti, costume designer Miriam Young, and prop managers Alexandra Dodwell and Amy Kopisz incorporated many original pieces, along with new additions.

After his daughter Phoebe returned as a student acting coach, John Nunziato jumped in as artistic designer and special effects consultant.

Shows are Friday, March 31 (7 p.m.) and Saturday, April 1 (1 and 6:30 p.m.). Click here for tickets, and more information.

“The Little Mermaid,” at Saugatuck Elementary School. (Photo/Kerry Long)

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You can’t autograph an Mp3 download.

But you sure can sign a vinyl album.

VersoFest’s headliners and guests, including producer Steve Lillywhite, Psychedelic Furs front man Richard Butler, and Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth, will autograph copies of their records, for giveaways and auction items during next weekend’s VersoFest.

Festivalgoers can submit their entries for the giveaway starting with the March 30 kickoff concert featuring rising American rock band Sunflower Bean.

Submissions are open through Sunday, April 2. That final day features a record fair (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.), and a vinyl record panel brunch with WPKN DJ Alec Cumming, producer Dooley-O, Kraftjerkz Records’ Kid Ginseng, WFUV DJ and House of Wax host Eric Holland, New Haven Independent arts reporter Karen Ponzio, and moderated by the Zambonis’ Dave Schneider.

The silent auction (April 1-2) offers a chance to bid on a variety of signed albums associated with the festival’s speakers and guests. All proceeds support future VersoFests.

For more information, including concert tickets and workshops registration, click here.

VersoFest vinyl.

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Speaking of music: The Grammy for Best Children’s Album went to Kaitlin McGaw, and her group Alphabet Rockers. (Sure, it was in February. But I just found out. It’s still worth sharing!)

And it’s “06880”-worthy because she’s the granddaughter of longtime Westporters Ed and Kay See.

Ed — an attorney — was longtime town counsel. He played a key role in Westport’s purchase of Longshore, in 1959.

Kay supported many local causes. She was on the Westport Library board, when the new building was built.

The See family’s stained glass window hangs over the altar of Assumption Church, near the Josê Feliciano window.

Eloise See — Ed and Kay’s daughter — is Kaitlin’s proud mother. Sandy is her equally proud uncle.

The award was even more special, because the presenter was presidential inaugural poet — and Kaitlin’s fellow Harvard graduate — Amanda Gorman.

Alphabet Rockers produces and performs music and dance that promotes racial and gender awareness.

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The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport is a beautiful building.

On April 1 (8 p.m.), its the site too of Damn Tall Buildings.

That’s the hot bluegrass/indie/roots/old-time/vintage swing/Americana band from Brooklyn. The trio will headline the UU’s Voices Café.

There’s table or individual seating. Bring your own beverages and snacks, or buy at the sweet treats table. General admission: $25 per person. A portion of the proceeds support the congregation’s Social Justice Council. Click here for tickets (live and livestream), and more information.

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo proves: There’s nothing like a nice early spring day to put the top down, and enjoy the sun.

(Photo/Matt Murray)

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And finally … on this date in 1721, – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated 6 concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Today we know them as the Brandenburg Concertos.

(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. We’re a non-profit, dedicated to bringing the community together. We rely on your (tax-deductible) contributions. Please click here to help. Thank you!)

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Posted in Entertainment, Environment, Library, Real estate, Transportation

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Houdini: The Great (Westport) Escape

Posted on March 24, 2023 | 4 comments

You’ve probably never seen a movie of Harry Houdini.

You’ve also probably never seen a movie of Longshore, back in the day when it was Frederick E. Lewis’ private estate.

But now — thanks to Facebook — you can see both.

At once.

On the “Westport, Connecticut: Old Photos from the Westport of Our Youth” page, Colabella  — the young Representative Town Meeting member who was not even alive when the Longshore bathhouses were torn down — posted what is said to be the only surviving film of Houdini doing his “overboard box escape.”

The information comes from John Cox’s “Wild About Harry” blog. It covers all things Houdini.

For nearly a century, the date and location of the film — edited by the magician/ stunt performer’s brother Hardeen — has been a mystery.

Now — thanks to a letter at David Copperfield’s International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts — the back story is known.

The escape took pace on June 30, 1917, during a Red Cross And Allied War charities drive at Lewis’s home.

The film shows Houdini being lowered into Long Island Sound, at what is now Longshore.

It purports to show his escape too (though according to a YouTube commenter, that footage was spliced in from Houdini’s film “The Master Mystery”).

But there is no mystery about the gala affair in Westport.

A Bridgeport Times story previewed it 3 days earlier:

Nearly every woman of prominence in the shore colony is busily engaged in the arrangements, which will continue throughout the week. Workmen and architects are transforming the Lewis estate into a veritable fairly land; tents are being put in place for the society circus, side shows, concessions and charity booths, while the boat house will be utilized as a petite theatre … and for moving pictures.

Frederick Lewis’ palatial home. Parts of it are recognizable today, as the Inn at Longshore. (Photo/courtesy of Alden Bryan)

There would be elephants, stage stars — and “one of the really sensational engagements … the wizard Houdini.”

He was expected to “make a new experiment which is filled with excitement and daring. The fearless magician will perform what he calls the ‘submarine submerged box mystery.'”

He would be:

shackeled hand and foot, placed in a packing case which is securely nailed and sealed by a committee and after the box is weighted a huge crane which is being placed on the landing pier of Mr. Lewis’ boathouse will carry the box out over the water and drop it into the Sound.

Houdini wagers that he will appear on the surface two minutes after the case has been submerged. This will be Houdini’s first appearance in the state of Connecticut and his last public appearance in America for some time.

As the film shows, that’s exactly what happened. The “wizard” was shackled, nailed in a packing case, dumped in the water … and then he re-appeared.

How he did it was one mystery.

Where he did it was another one.

Now — thanks, the Facebook post says, to “David Copperfield and the Westport Museum for History & Culture” — that mystery has finally been solved.

(Click here, then scroll down to see the Facebook post.)

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Pic Of The Day #2166

Posted on March 23, 2023 | 1 comment

Saugatuck train station (Photo/Patricia McMahon)

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“Westport Madness”: Quarterfinal Voting Is Live!

Posted on March 23, 2023 | 2 comments

There were several blowouts in Round of 16 voting for “Westport Madness” — the “06880” contest to find the most quintessential element of our town.

Unlike its NCAA counterpart, there were no seedings.

These 8 winners advance to the quarterfinals:

  • Compo Beach over Angelina’s (94.4% to 5.6%)
  • Westport Library over Tennis (89.7 to 10.3)
  • Westport train station over Calise’s (73.8 to 26.2)
  • YMCA downtown over Bedford Middle School (64.5 to 35.5)
  • Remarkable Book Shop over Merritt Parkway (73.8 to 26.2)
  • Grass fields over “New” school start times (79.9 to 20.1)
  • Saugatuck over Greens Farms Academy (84.6 to 15.4)
  • Gold’s over MoCA Westport (73.8 to 26.2).

Quarterfinal voting is underway now. All “06880” readers are eligible. Click here to cast your ballot for the most Westport thing of all.

Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. Friday.

Click on or hover over to enlarge.

(Enjoying this special “06880” feature? Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Totally random, Westport life

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“Private Benjamin”: Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal

Posted on March 23, 2023 | 8 comments

In January, “06880” profiled Ben Pepper.

The longtime (since 1958!) Westporter had kept a low profile. Hardly anyone here knew that he was a World War II paratrooper — let alone that he earned a Purple Heart at the Battle of the Bulge.

He’d never even participated in a Memorial Day parade.

This year, he will.

And he’ll have a special seat of honor. “Private Benjamin” is Westport’s 2023 Memorial Day parade grand marshal.

Ben Pepper: in the Army.

Pepper was born in the Bronx in 1923. He was drafted into the Army on New Year’s Day 1943, and trained as a paratrooper. He would have participated in D-Day, but a broken back suffered in an earlier jump put him in a near-full body cast.

He participated in the Battle of the Bulge though, in that frigid winter of 1945.

Ben Pepper’s Purple Heart, dog tag and other mementoes. (Photo/Dan Woog)

After discharge, he answered an ad to be a photographer. In 1953 he opened his own studio in Stamford. In 1958 he bought property in Westport. Nearly 70 years later, he  lives in the same house off Cross Highway.

In 1960 Pepper and his wife Frances helped build Temple Israel on Coleytown Road. They spent the rest of their married life raising David (a Staples Class of 1966 graduate), traveling (including China before it opened to the West, the USSR, Africa and Asia), and working.

He still has his medals, his dog tag, his photos — and his Army jacket — but he has always been low-key about them.

Ben Pepper (Photo/Dan Woog)

This Memorial Day, Westport honors one of our last living World War II heroes.

The parade — with Ben Pepper as special honoree — begins at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 29. A special ceremony follows immediately, at Veterans Green across from Town Hall.

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Posted in History, religion, Westport life

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Roundup: Patti LuPone, Easter Eggs, Crime …

Posted on March 23, 2023 | 2 comments

Patti LuPone is coming to Westport.

The 3-time Tony Award winner brings her “Don’t Monkey with Broadway” show to the Westport Country Playhouse. The special event is June 15 (8 p.m.).

It’s an appropriate concert for the 91-year-old stage. LuPone explores classic Broadway tunes by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jule Styne, Stephen Schwartz, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin.

In between, she describes her life-long love affair with Broadway, and the unpredictability of the Great White Way.

Tickets are $250, $150 and $75. All audience members are invited to a post-performance party. Click here to purchase.

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After an eggs-ceptional first year, Westport Moms’ 2nd annual Easter egg hunt is back. The magic is set for this Sunday (March 26), at the Long Lots Elementary School playground.

They learned a couple of lessons. They pre-stuffed eggs with toys — not candy — and will offer 2 different hunts. Ages 2-5 begin at 11:30 a.m.; kids 6 and up begin at 12:15 p.m. 

Also on hand: food trucks, sweet treats, entertainment (dance party, sports games, art projects, make your own cookie, balloon twisting, face painting) — and of course the Easter Bunny.

Eggs-tra special: 40 gold eggs with gift cards to the Toy Post.

Westport Moms know that Easter is not until April 9. But with spring sports and the upcoming school break, they’re getting a (bunny-hop) jump on things.

The cost is $20 per family. Click here for tickets.

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Westport Police report 7 custodial arrests between March 15-22

  • Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, illegal carry of a firearm while under the influence, operating a motor vehicle without a license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, misuse of registration marker plate, insufficient motor vehicle insurance (following a traffic stop on Post Road East for registration credentials that did not match the vehicle
  • Forgery (creating and selling fraudulent Texas license plates and paperwork)
  • Larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny (after shoplifting from Ulta Beauty in February, of merchandise with a GPS tracking device)
  • Disorderly conduct (2 people, both for domestic violence incidents)
  • Violation of parole, 2 counts (following a traffic stop)
  • Failure to appear (after a traffic stop).

The police reporting system still does not include citations.

The only legitimate Texas license plates are those issued by the Lone Star State.

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Speaking of crime:

The Westport Library is hosting “United Against Hate: Identifying, Reporting and Preventing Hate Crimes.” The interactive learning program focuses on the difference between a hate incident and a hate crime. Participants will learn who to contact when an incident occurs, and why reporting is important.

The event is set for next Tuesday (March 28; 6 p.m. reception, 6:30 program).  Registration is required; click here.

“United Against Hate” is held in collaboration with the US Attorney’s Office, Westport PRIDE, Westport and Norwalk chiefs of police, and the Connecticut State Police’s Hate Crimes Unit.

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Four years after being halted due to permit violations, construction has begun again at 233 Hillspoint Road.

Scaffolding surrounds the chimney, at the site of what was once Positano restaurant. Since 2019, it’s been a blue-swaddled eyesore near Old Mill Beach.

(Photo/Matt Murray)

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As the Staples High School boys basketball team continues to bask in the glow of the Wreckers’ best season since 1937 — they reached the finals of both the state and FCIAC tournaments — former player Chuck Haberstroh sends along a reminder that the crew was destined for stardom from a young age.

Seven years ago, 6 members of this year’s squad were part of the undefeated Westport PAL Blue team. They were champions of both the Fairfield County Basketball League regular season, and postseason tourney.

The 2016 Westport PAL basketball team (top row, from left): Coach Drew Carothers, Henry Levin. Jack Watkins, Will Holleman, Cameron Lyons, Chris Zajac, Gavin Rothenberg. Bottom: Noah Ambrifi. Cody Sale, Gavin Murphy, Charlie Honig. Ty Levine. Holleman, Zajac, Rothenberg, Sale, Honig and Levine went on to play for Staples.

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The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport hosts 2 great activities this weekend.

Hone your Jeopardy skills at Trivia Night tomorrow (Friday, March 24, 7:30 p.m.). Everyone is welcome (adult-supervised childcare available).

The annual Spring Choral Concert presents “Sondheim” at the church’s Sunday service (March 26, 10 a.m.). The choir will sing several works, offering attendees a look at their own lives and relationships. Chris Beaurline, Mike Costantino and Marcella Calabi are guest singers. The public is invited.

Stephen Sondheim will be at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation on Sunday — well, his songs will be, anyway.

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Y’s Men of Westport and Weston and guests enjoyed a tour of the Housatonic Art Museum this week.

There were a couple of local connections, on the Housatonic Community College campus. The museum’s Burt Chernow Galleries are named for the longtime artist, teacher and founding member of the Westport Arts Center. Chernow also played a key role in establishing the Housatonic collection of modern art.

And included in the permanent collection: 2 pieces by Westport artist, Staples High School graduate and Artists Collective of Westport co-founder Miggs Burroughs.

Y’s Men member and event organizer Jay Dirnberger welcomes the group at the Housatonic Art Museum. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)

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Speaking of art:

MoCA Westport invites anyone interested in learning more about art collecting to a discussion that demystifies buying and collecting.

Panelists include Takako Nagasawa (Phillips Auction House), Diana Mashia (Founder and CEO, Invest In Her Art) and Elizabeth Gorayeb (executive Director, Wildenstein Plattner Institute).

The event is March 30 (6 to 7 p.m.). Participants can explore MoCA’s current exhibition, and buy drinks or cocktails. It’s free for members, $10 for non-members.

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College students are invited to apply for a very cool local internship.

Vanish Media Systems — the Post Road showroom for huge TV screens, which innovatively disappear into custom-built cabinets and other furniture — is looking for 2 talented and energetic interns.

Skills needed are product design and engineering, digital marketing and social media, creativity, website design, e-commerce and easy relationships with people.

To apply, send a resume, plus 5 sentences explaining Vanish Media Systems products, and how you’d market them, to hello@vanishmediasystems.com. To learn more about Mark Motyl’s Westport-based company, click here.

A room with water views on Beachside Avenue becomes a screening center, with a Vanish Media system.

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La Plage — the popular Longshore restaurant — offers a special 3-course prix fixe Easter menu on Sunday, April 9 (noon to 7 p.m.). Click here to see how chef Frederic Kieffer showcases the flavors of spring.

The cost is $85 per person; $45 for children under 12. For reservations, click here for reservations, email laplagewestport.com, or call 203-684-6232.

PS: For information on a variety of Westport restaurants, click on our “Restaurants” at the top of the page (or click here).

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Green’s Farms Church will livestream this Sunday’s 4 p.m. Duruflé Requiem Memorial Concert, honoring the life of longtime organist Rick Tripodi.

Click here to see. The concert will also be recorded, and available at that link.

The restored Green’s Farms Church organ.

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Signs of spring are everywhere. Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo shows a few of them, at Old Mill Beach.

(Photo/June Rose Whittaker)

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And finally … Bobbi Kelly Ercoline — the 20-year-old woman whose photo, wrapped in a blanket with her boyfriend of 2 months (and then, for 54 years, her husband) became a symbol of Woodstock when it became the cover for the album that was the movie soundtrack of the same name — died Sunday.

She was 73 years old. (Click here for a full obituary. Hat tip: Matt Murray)

Bobbi and Nick Ercoline, well more than 10 Years After Woodstock.

(From Westport to Woodstock, “06880” has got you covered. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

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Posted in Police, religion, Westport Country Playhouse

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Large Crowd Hears Staples Book Removal Request

Posted on March 23, 2023 | 59 comments

An overflow crowd filled a small Town Hall meeting room yesterday afternoon.

They were there for a public session of superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice’s ad hoc committee to review a parent’s challenge to 3 books in the Staples High library.

Tara McLaughlin — the mother of 2 Staples students and a kindergartener — sought the removal of “Gender Queer,” “This Book is Gay” and “Flamer.” Her initial complaint included other books, but she is focusing now on those 3.

The 3 challenged books.

McLaughlin — a 15-year Westport resident who moved here in large part, she said, because of the town’s excellent schools — had an hour to present her case before the special committee. It includes assistant superintendent Dr. Anthony Buono; representatives of the teachers’ and administrators’ unions; 3 Staples faculty members; a library media specialist, and 3 community members. The meeting was led by former Board of Education chair Elaine Whitney.

The Westport Public Schools’ Superintendent’s Review Committee begins work.

Referencing her own middle and high school days, when she sat in homeroom behind 2 boys who repeatedly passed explicit material back and forth, McLaughlin said her goal was to prevent other students from undergoing a similar experience.

She said, “I can control what my children see. I’m their guide, to launch them into society to the best of my ability. My job is to protect them. I expect the school system to do the same, to the same standards. I’m here for every child.”

McLaughlin — who said “It sucks to be here, but I really believe in this” — spent much of her time reading from the 3 books. She cited “vulgarity” and “pornography”; questioned the books’ educational value, and asked how the books fit with the school district’s “acceptable use” policy for written materials and electronic devices.

Tara McLaughlin

“I 100 percent support the LGBTQ+ community,” McLaughlin said. “But there are a lot of conservative Christians, conservative Jewish people and Muslims here (in Westport) who have expectations for what kids will see in the Staples library.”

McLaughlin noted that she did not object to the books being part of the Westport Library collection.

Calling one of the books “a road map to meet a pedophile,” she said that it “perpetuates stereotypes of all gay men as promiscuous.”

Each member of the committee had copies of the 3 books. They followed along, as McLaughlin read aloud a number of “vulgar” and “pornographic” passages.

Staples principal Stafford Thomas then described the school’s book selection process. He noted regional differences: In Florida and Texas, 1,400 titles are banned from school libraries. In California and New York, the numbers are 12 and 22 respectively. No books have been banned from school libraries in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Staples High School principal Stafford Thomas.

Referencing a Supreme Court decision, Thomas said, “Students don’t shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door.”

He added that the display that triggered McLaughlin’s complaint was a 17-year tradition at Staples. No one in the building, he said, objected to this year’s books.

(“Banned books” is a misnomer. The display actually shows the previous year’s “most challenged” books, as compiled by the American Library Association.)

Staples library media specialists Jen Cirino and Nicole Moeller provided background on how books are selected for inclusion on the shelves, and in the display.

All 3 earned very positive reviews in educational and library journals, they said, including a Nutmeg Award from the Connecticut Library Association and Connecticut Association of School Librarians.

Staples High School library media specialists Nicole Moeller (left) and Jen Cirino. (All photos/Dan Woog)

The final 20 minutes of the nearly 2-hour meeting included questions from committee members.

Staples English teacher Ann Neary asked McLaughlin how she defined “safe space.”

“I was harassed from 7th to 12th grade,” she responded. “I still carry that. Harassment would not be allowed in the workplace, and it should not be allowed in a school.”

Community member Sivan Hong wondered why McLaughlin had taken other books off her list of those she wants removed.

“I was looking for low-hanging fruit,” she said. “These 3 have to go. They’re horrendous. But the rest should go too.

“I’m doing this out of service to the children in our schools. I wish someone had done that for me.”

Buono asked why McLaughlin would not object to the 3 books being in the Westport Library.

“They’re different standards,” she replied. “There are kids as young as 13 at Staples. Any book there is an explicit endorsement of it.”

McLaughlin concluded with an analogy she’d used earlier. “Even if the rest of ‘Finding Nemo’ is great, but there’s a sex scene in the middle, we don’t show it to 1st graders. If the whole book isn’t good, don’t use it.”

The ad hoc committee will continue its work. Two more meetings will be scheduled, at which the public can speak,

(“06880” is your hyper-local blog. Reader contributions help us deliver news each day. Please click here to help. Thank you!)

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Pic Of The Day #2165

Posted on March 22, 2023 | 2 comments

Compo Beach, very early spring (Photo/Laurie Sorensen)

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Unsung Hero #279

Posted on March 22, 2023 | 13 comments

In October 2015, the Staples High School boys soccer team I was coaching played Stamford.

At halftime — as usual — Wrecker fans came down off the hill, and kicked around in front of the goal.

Suddenly there was a commotion. Andrew Ingber — a Staples student — had suffered cardiac arrest.

Mark Gudis — father of a player — saw what happened. He raced to his car; an AED was always in the trunk.

Someone alerted Staples’ athletic trainer, who was at a field hockey game on the adjacent field.

AEDs — with clear instructions on how to use them — save lives.

She raced over, and used the AED. The “automated external defibrillator” is an easy-to-use device that analyzes a heart’s rhythm and, if needed, delivers an electric shock that jump starts it.

It worked. Andrew — who had no pulse — came back to life. Today he is fine, and thriving.

But it was one of the scariest events I’ve ever seen.

In the aftermath of that near-tragedy, Gudis and his wife MaryGrace donated 100 AED boxes. Working with Norwalk Hospital, they’re now installed at athletic fields, gyms and other facilities throughout the area the hospital serves. There are 20 in Westport.

In addition, the Adam Greenlee Foundation provided another 75 AEDs for Westport. Adam’s life was saved at Bedford Middle School by an AED, and the quick action of staff members.

Over time, those AED boxes have shown wear and tear. The other day, “06880” posted a photo of one at Winslow Park.

The AED was removed from its box during the cold winter months. It had become an unofficial lost-and-found items.

Lost and found at Winslow Park … (Photo/Dick Truitt)

Now they look great.

Judy Panzer spent the past few weeks working her way around town, cleaning up all the boxes.

It’s a labor of love.

Her son is Andrew Ingber — the teenagers who, had it not been for the quick thinking of Mark Gudis, and the AED in his car might not be here today.

So to Judy Panzer, Mark and MaryGrace Gudis, and the Adam Greenlee Foundation: Thank you! You’re all our Unsung Heroes.

PS: Extra thanks go to Norwalk Hospital Emergency Medical Services. They’re exploring a phone app that will alert users to the location of the nearest AED – and enable them to provide feedback on the condition of the devices they see.

Clean AED at Winslow Park. Sometimes, when they are locked, the code is actually 911 — try that before the time-consuming step of calling 911 to find the code.

(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email nominations to 06880blog@gmail.com).

(Be a hero! Please click here to contribute to “06880.” Thank you!)

 

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Roundup: Beach Dogs, Longshore Golf, Wakeman Stuff …

Posted on March 22, 2023 | Comments Off on Roundup: Beach Dogs, Longshore Golf, Wakeman Stuff …

The Parks & Recreation Department is not fooling around.

As of April 1, no animals are allowed at Compo, Old Mill or Burying Hill beaches — in or out of vehicles. They’ll be allowed back October 1.

In addition, stickers are required to park at town beaches beginning May 1.

For detailed information regarding Parks & Rec policies, click here.

Sorry, guys. Your beach days are numbered. (Photo/Nicola Sharian)

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Looking to play a round?

The Longshore golf course opens next Tuesday (March 28) — weather permitting.

Head pro Jon Janik and course superintendent Brad Brown have worked hard to make sure everything is ready.

For golf course information, including advanced and same day tee time bookings, click here. Contact the Pro Shop at 203-221-0900 or 203-226-9785.

Westport residents can purchase or renew handpasses by clicking here, or in person weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Parks & Recreation office, near the first tee.

The Longshore golf course reopens next week.

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Upcoming Wakeman Town Farm events include:

Photos with Farm Animals (April 16 and 24): WTF has teamed up with photographer Ilona Musial for 2 days of outdoor photo shoots with chicks and bunnies. A portion of the proceeds go toward farm educational initiatives and scholarships for underserved populations. For more information and prices, email imusialphotography@gmail.com.

Designing a Native Landscape in Deer Country (April 17, 7 p.m.; $10): Everyone welcome nature. But deer can go overboard in our gardens. Veteran landscape designer Brid Craddock discusses deer-proof plants, and techniques she uses to keep Bambi away from native plants. Click here to register.

Learn About Canning from a Preserving Pro (June 4, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; $125): Can you can? Whether you need a refresher or want to experiment with new flavor trends and foods safely, join master preserver Pam Lillis. Just before summer, she’ll share tips. Take home a berry jam and a stone fruit jam too. Click here to register.

Kids’ Cooking Camp (Ages 7-10; July 10-13, 9 a.m. to noon): The day begins picking organic ingredients. Students explore simple Italian cooking, Asian street food, tapas and more. Class size is limited for best experience. Click here for more information, and to register.

At Wakeman Town Farm, learn to avoid this scene. Photo/Dick Truitt)

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Amy Simon Fine Art’s new show debuts at 123 March 25.

Featured artists include Angela Lane, David Skillicorn and Laura Gurton.

It runs through April 29.

“Curves Too” — acrylic on poplar (Angela Lane)

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It’s still early spring. But it won’t be long until the trees are in bloom, the benches are filled, and this “Westport … Naturally” scene looks quite different.

(Photo/Laurie Sorensen)

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And finally … speaking of “playing a round” (see story above):

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