A month after Jen Tooker and Foti Koskinas visited Lyman, Ukraine, the sights, sounds and smells of our sister city remain vivid.
Westport’s 1st selectwoman and police chief’s journey to the Donetsk region — the first trip by Americans to the eastern part of the war-torn nation — was an enormous morale-booster, for regional officials as well as other citizens.
Last week, Tooker and Koskinas recorded a special “06880” podcast at the Westport Library.
They grew emotional as they described the men and women of Lyman wearing their best clothes, thanking representatives of the American town that cared. “You gave me bread!” one woman said.
One purpose of the trip — paid for entirely by private funds — was to ensure that the $252,000 raised by Westporters through Ukraine Aid International is actually helping.
It is. The trash trucks we purchased are in constant use. Apartment blocks have been rebuilt. Communications equipment enables the police force to function.
But Tooker and Koskinas were not prepared for so much else on the journey: the app that warns of incoming missiles. The smell of burning flesh, still lingering around the hundreds of abandoned tanks.
Also unexpected: the one school still open, where despite no electricity or running water, their Lyman hosts offered a meal. And where the Westporters delivered over 200 cards and letters, created by Bedford Middle and Kings Highway Elementary School students.
Last month, Tooker and Koskinas solidified Westport’s bonds with our sister city. Click below to hear what that relationship means now — and in the future.
The annual PAL fireworks display is set for this Thursday (June 29; rain date, Friday).That means tons of traffic,
Compo Beach closes at 4 p.m. Only vehicles with fireworks passes hanging on their rearview mirrors are allowed to remain. All others will be ticketed or towed.
The beach usually reopens to ticket holders by 5 p.m.
Access to the fireworks is through South Compo Road only. Hillspoint Road south of Greens Farms Road is open only to residents south of that intersection.
Fireworks attendees should hang their ticket on their rearview mirror. A few tickets ($50 per car) are still available at the Westport Police station (50 Jesup Road) and Parks & Recreation office (in Longshore Park), during business hours. The event is a fundraiser for the Westport PAL, thanks to sponsorship by Melissa and Doug Bernstein.
Vehicles without tickets will not be permitted beyond the Minute Man monument.
People arriving by Uber, Lyft, or taxi will be directed straight past the Minuteman on Compo Road South. They can walk from Soundview Drive to the beach.
NOTE: Return service by those methods will not be available until after 11 p.m., due to 1-way traffic exiting the beach.
Just prior to the conclusion of the fireworks, 2-way traffic will be suspended on Compo Beach Road and South Compo Road to the intersection of Greens Farms Road. There will be two lanes of northbound traffic on these streets until the beach is cleared.
Residents of this area will encounter delays getting to their homes for about one hour, or until traffic has cleared from the beach.
Residents who will pick up family members in the beach area should also plan for delays.
Don’t worry. The traffic is worth it. Enjoy the show — and thanks, PAL and Melissa and Doug!
In the wake of last week’s implosion of the Titan — the submersible that brought adventure-seekers to the wreck of Titanic — David Pogue offered some of the most respected and insightful views.
Last year, the Westport correspondent/writer/podcaster/tech expert reported on the Titan. As a guest of the submersible’s company, OceanGate, he traveled to the North Atlantic for a “CBS Sunday Morning” report.
Pogue’s own attempts to see Titanic were scrubbed. The closest he got was 37 feet underwater. (Click here to see that video.)
But his questions of CEO Stockton Rush — one of 5 who died — about the safety of the vessel took on new resonance last week.
Yesterday, Pogue was featured in a 10-minute “CBS Sunday Morning” feature, exploring his trip and the aftermath.
The story — which includes interviews with Rush and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French maritime expert and Connecticut resident who also perished — is a clear, compelling, compassionate but honest look at a modern-day Shakespearean story that gripped the world. Click below to see:
It’s a familiar question for mothers moving to Westport with young kids: How do I meet people?
It was particularly tough during the pandemic.
But Carrie Kerner “read the room,” and took action.
Almost literally.
And “literaturely.”
Carrie Kerner
Carrie — who owns her own hospitality PR firm — found herself in that I-need-to-find-other-moms situation shortly after arriving here, and having her second child during COVID.
She was searching too for good books to read.
Bingo!
One Instagram post later, she had 20 interested mothers with young children. Carrie suggested a beach meeting, after sundown.
The first one was last July. It was a success, and word spread.
The next “Books on the Beaeh” sessions drew 60 and 80 women to Old Mill Beach. There are now 150 names on her group chat, and meetings are capped at 100.
That gives the restaurant sponsors a break.
That’s right: Carrie has made “Books on the Beach” a full event, complete with food, cocktails, pop-up shops with discounts, and swag bags.
In just one year, Carrie’s created a popular and very cool new tradition.
Along the way she’s helped dozens of women meet others, form friendships, have fun, get out of the house for a night — and read interesting books.
Also: meet interesting writers. Last year, Carrie invited international best-selling author (who was once a young mom herself here) Jane Green to chat with the group.
A small part of Books on the Beach …
The first Books on the Beach meeting of 2023 is tomorrow (Tuesday — but registration is closed). Local author Avery Carpenter Forrey will speak about her debut novel “Social Engagement.”
Bartaco is sponsoring light bites and cocktails. Sam & Lex will have a pop-up shop, with 10% off all women’s clothing and accessories. Swag bags come courtesy of wellness, beauty and lifestyle partners.
Last year’s sponsors include PopUp Bagels, Stocked by Three Owls and Norwalk Art Space Café.
… and a small part of a Books on the Beach spread.
Carrie did not forget about the children. For Valentine’s Day she hosted “Books on the Beach for Tots” at Child Pose Yoga. The Saturday morning book club and art class was led by Samy Souci of Westport Learning Collaborative.
The kids’ books were about love, kindness and inclusivity. Old Mill Grocery & Deli provided breakfast bites.
Book ideas for the adults, meanwhile, come from group polls. They’re generally romances, mysteries and best-sellers.
“This is such a cozy, inclusive group,” Carrie says. “Everyone’s happy. There are no cliques.”
It’s not all moms with young kids, either. Some women are older. Some are 20something singles. “We just call it ‘moms,'” Carrie notes. “But everyone mixes and mingles.”
No dads, though. “They stay home with the babies!” she laughs.
If you’re not on the list (and a woman), you won’t be at tomorrow’s Books on the Beach. To get on the list for future events, DM @CarrieGeorgette or @Booksonthebeach203 on Instagram. Carrie will add you to the WhatsApp group chat.
(For more information about Books on the Beach, click here for the website; click here for Instagram; click here for the Facebook page.)
Meeting in March.
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Burying Hill is Westport’s often-forgotten beach. Small but significant (near the town’s first settlement), it’s got plenty of devoted followers.
And they know their beach well.
Nearly 2 dozen “06880” readers quickly identified last week’s fairly obscure Photo Challenge — a tree stump “growing” out of concrete — as being located on the left side of the Burying Hill entrance road. (Click here to see.)
Bob Grant, Suzanne Warner Raboy, Michael Calise, Dave Eason, Jonathan McClure, Seth Schachter, Catherine Ryan, Andrew Colabella, Ed Simek, Clyde Wauchope, Ralph Balducci, Martha Witte, Dick Alley, Mary Ann Batsell, Adam Starr and Wynne Bohonnon all knew exactly where it was.
But no one mentioned a word how it got there.
Last week’s Photo Challenge got us in a shoreline mood. If you know where in Westport you’d find this scene , click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Rich Stein)
(If you’re a Photo Challenge fan, please consider a contribution to “06880.” Just click here — and thank you!)
Tickets are going fast for the greatest party in town: the Independence Day fireworks.
They’re early this year: this Thursday (June 29). As always, Compo Beach is the place to be.
The event is sponsored — once again — by longtime Westport residents Melissa and Doug Bernstein. Their generosity allows Westport PAL to benefit from ticket sales — and run programs and offer scholarships impacting thousands of kids.
Tickets ($50 per car) can be bought at the Westport Police station (50 Jesup Road) and Parks & Recreation office (in Longshore Park), during business hours.
They’re first-come, first-served. And no one gets into Compo without one.
Yesterday’s s Great Duck Race was a huge success. Attendees — win or lose — had tons of fun. The Westport Sunrise Rotary Club put on another successful event. And the many non-profits that will benefit from the fundraiser will be thrilled.
But there were smaller moments to celebrate too. Here’s one.
Jo Luciano grew up in Westport. She now lives in Florida, but had a special reason to donate to the Duck fundraiser: Her father — Police Chief Sam Luciano — died suddenly in 1970. The Westport Rotary Club generously paid for her, and her sister Carol’s, college educations.
Jo had trouble making the online donation. She found the address for the Rotary Club — but it was “Westport Rotary,” not the “Sunrise Rotary” that puts on the event.
No problem. Leslie Roberts of Westport Rotary forwarded Jo’s email to the Sunrise club.
Problem solved! Jo bought 3 ducks.
But there’s also this Westport-is-really-just-a-small-town postscript: Sunrise Rotary past president Rick Jaffe told Jo: “I live on the other side of the train station from Luciano Park. I take my grandchildren there whenever they visit.”
That’s right: the small park in Saugatuck is named for Jo’s father, the late police chief.
It’s great that Jo still feels connected to Westport. And that Rick now feels a bit more connected to Luciano Park.
Here’sPolice another Great Duck Race story: At the end of a very busy day, Dave Hoffman of the Makin’ Waves food truck had one coconut shrimp left.
He knew Sunrise Rotarian Sheila Keenan loves it. So he walked it across the street, and presented it to an equally exhausted — but very grateful — Sheila.
Dave Hoffman, Sheila Keenan and the coconut shrimp. (Photo and hat tip/Richard Jaffe)
Meanwhile, this morning — at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. — 21 teenagers and 6 adult leaders left Saugatuck Congregational Church, for their annual youth mission trip.
This year’s destination: Washington state. They’ll help with flood recovery, and work with families in need.
Previous mission trips have included Colorado, Arizona, Maine, Alabama, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.
Saugatuck Church youth group. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
Green’s Farms Congregational Church’s youth group left this weekend too, on their mission.
And finally … on this date in 1876, the 2-day Battle of the Little Bighorn began. It was an overwhelming victory for the combined Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, and a humiliating defeat for the US Army’s 7th Cavalry. Five of their 12 companies were wiped out; General George Armstrong Custer was killed, along with 2 brothers, a nephew and a brother-in-law.
Most of us mourn our losses in private. Sometimes there’s a little burial ceremony, or a poem or story written by a grieving child dealing for the first time ever with death.
Leave it to David Pogue to turn his cat’s demise into a celebration that is warm, witty and wonderful.
But why not? That’s the Westport writer/television correspondent/podcaster/ musician’s brand.
“I’m sad to report that Wilbur the Wackjob Cat has gone to the great laptop keyboard in the sky, just shy of his 23rd birthday,” Pogue emailed friends last weekend.
Wilbur
“He was known to many as the hilarious, inexplicable cat who inserted himself into every TV story and Zoom call.”
Wilbur lived his life on his own terms, for sure. And for nearly a quarter century Pogue documented it all, with a seemingly infinite number of photos and videos.
Then he stitched them all together, in a commemoration of his “fuzzy little screwball.”
There is only 1 discussion item on Monday’s Board of Education agenda (June 26, 5 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria): redistricting.
Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice will present the topic. No materials are yet available on the town website.
The meeting can be viewed on Optimum Channel 78, and by livestream here.
Population shifts have made Long Lots the largest elementary school in town. As work moves forward on renovations or a new school on the site, redistricting may also be on the table.
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Every June, more than 40,000 ham radio operators across the continent set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate science, skill and service.
“Field Day” — an annual event since 1933 — combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach and technical skills.
The Westport Astronomical Society’s Amateur Radio Club K1WAS celebrates Field Day this weekend. They’ll contact as many stations as possible on the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 Meter HF bands today (Saturday, June 24, 2 p.m.) and tomorrow (Sunday, June 25, 5 p.m.) at their ham shack (classroom) at the Observatory on Bayberry Lane.
The Staples High School Class of 1973 is ready for their 50th reunion.
They’ll celebrate Friday, October 6 at 2 familiar spots: the Black Duck and Viva Zapata. Saturday, October 7 includes a golf outing and 1 p.m. party at Compo Beach. On Sunday, October 8 they’ll enjoy a 4 p.m. cocktail party at Bridgeport’s Fayerweather Yacht Club.
Email alisonhealy@yahoo.com, or click here for the Facebook page, for more details,
Staples High School looked like this, back in 1973. (Photo/Fred Cantor)
And finally …. Sheldon Harnick, the lyricist of Broadway smash hits like “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Fiorello!,” died yesterday in Manhattan. He was 99. Click here for a full obituary.
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