The renovation of The Inn at Longshore has been good news for brides. The venue is even more picturesque than ever, and the staff goes out of their way to make the Big Day even more special.
It’s good news too for businesses. They’re filling the Inn during the week, with meetings and events.
A third group is former Westporters returning “home.” They come for a variety of reasons — reunions, work, visiting family, nostalgia — but staying at a place they fondly remember is a common thread.
The other day, a pair of 1963 Staples High School graduates — Peter Eckle and John Keate — returned “home.”
They’ve known each other since 3rd grade, in Greens Farms Elementary School. Peter swam, played tennis and sang in the choir. John played football and basketball.
They left Westport long ago, and now call North and South Carolina home. They kept in touch over the years — and Peter’s youngest son and John’s youngest daughter married each other. The old friends are now in-laws, and share 2 grandsons.
Peter Eckle and John Keate.
They remember their growing-up years here fondly — including Longshore summers. John worked maintenance on the golf course; Peter was head life guard at the pool.
Both caddied too, and one of Peter’s first jobs was shagging balls on the driving range.
They were not sure what to expect. But over the course of a couple of days, they reconnected with the town, and each other.
Golf pro Jon Janic hosted Peter and John. In return, Peter — who has an FAA drone license, and has done several golf course flyovers — did one of the Longshore course. He hopes Jon will add it to the Longshore website.
“The course was in great shape, and fun to play,” Peer says. They arrived just after heavy rain, but it stood up well.
With their wives, the 81-year-olds visited their old homes, and the streets where they grew up. Click here or below for Peter’s highlight reel.
They saw the “new” Staples High School — a far cry from the 9 separate buildings on North Avenue they remembered — and admired the pool. It’s a far cry from the cramped one Peter swam in at the old YMCA on Church Lane.
Compo Beach had not changed much (except that Chubby Lane’s, the old wooden concession stand, has been replaced by volleyball courts).
The transition from locally owned shops on Main Street to “the full range of high end retail outlets you can find in most major cities” was remarkable.
Specific landmarks like the Y becoming Anthropologie, the movie theaters now a Barnes & Noble, and the demise of nearby Ship’s Lantern bar brought back many memories. So did the search for restaurants that no longer exist, like the Pepper Mill (now a Goodwill outlet), Clam Box (Pizza Lyfe), the Arrow (Riko’s Pizza), Mario’s (Harvest Wine Bar), Allen’s Clam House (Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve), and Café de la Plage (the unfinished “blue house” on Hillspoint Road).
The renovation of the Inn itself earned raves.
It was a fun, nostalgic trip.
So when will the old friends be back?
“Good question,” Peter says. “Maybe another 10 years?”
A decade from now, much will have changed again.
But it’s a good bet that the Inn at Longshore — and the golf course — will be right where Peter and John left them.
