Julie Whamond writes:
When my husband Jim and I read on social media that the picnic tables on Parker Harding Plaza along the Saugatuck River were in disrepair, it occurred to us that they were the perfect gift to our town.
I remember when Lee Papageorge, the owner of Oscar’s Deli, placed them there many years ago.
I have been in town for 46 years, and Jim for 20. We raised our children here, and wanted to say thank you.
We contacted Maxx Crowley, executive director of the Westport Downtown Association, and shared our idea.
With the help of SCA and the WDA, we found the right benches. They should last many years.
Thank you to Maxx and his team for assembling the tables, removing the old ones and cleaning up the area.
The new Parker Harding benches. (Photo/Julie Whamond)
We give these tables in honor of those we lost on 9/11. We love driving by and seeing people enjoying their lunch by the river.
Now they can do it without the fear of a massive splinter.
Thank you, Maxx, SCA, the Westport Downtown Association! You are our Unsung Heroes of the week.
PS: We’ll add Julie and Jim to the list too!
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email 06880blog@gmail.com. “06880” is proud to honor them — and tell many other tales of town too. Please click here to help us do that, by supporting this hyper-local blog.)