She was a beloved teacher, a great golfer, and a wonderful friend to all.
After an exhaustive search, Birchwood has found its woman.
After 19 years as the lead assistant at Fenway Golf Club in Scarsdale, New York, Wendy Modic will take over here.
She never expected to make the move. She says:
“The reality is, it’s more challenging to be a female head professional than it is to be a male just because it is what it is. I always thought that I didn’t really want the headache. I love teaching. I love doing what I’m doing. I like being a #2.”
She was already doing many of a head pro’s jobs, and enjoyed them — especially mentoring. But then Wendy went to Kammy’s retirement party, in October.
She was “taken aback and impressed” by the support in the room. She wished she had applied — but the process was already underway.
Wendy Modic
A PGA consultant advised her to send in her resume. Wendy’s accomplishments — including 4-time Metropolitan PGA Women’s Player of the Year and the 2020 Met PGA’s Women’s Championship — were impressive.
So was her inclusion on Golf Digest’s Best Teachers in Every State list.
Wendy looks forward to teaching, owning the golf shop — and more.
Only 2 other women — Angela Aulenti at Sterling Farms in Stamford and Kelley Brooke at Bethpage State Park and Montauk Downs State Park Golf Course on Long Island – are head pros/directors of golf among all tri-state Metropolitan Golf Association clubs.
Those are public courses. Wendy is the only female head pro at a private club.
But that’s nothing new for Birchwood members. As they wish Kammy Maxfeldt well in retirement after more than 2 decades in charge, they welcome Wendy Modic to stay the course.
(For more information from the Metropolitan Golf Association, click here.)
(“06880” covers sports, people, organizations and much more. We are “Where Westport Meets the World.” Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The Western Connecticut Council of Government and South Western Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization have endorsed a state Department of Transportation request for $4.1 million for the right of way and design phase of rehabilitation or renovation of the William F. Cribari Bridge. (Click here to read the draft report.)
Public input is invited in several ways:
A Zoom meeting this Thursday (March 14, noon). The meeting ID is 835 3614 6030.
A meeting this Tuesday (March 12, 7 p.m., Ferguson Library, Stamford).
People wishing to speak at either meeting should email plan@westcog.org. Include your name and the subject you will speak on.
Comments on the bridge project can also be emailed to plan@westcog.org, sent to Western Connecticut Council of Governments, 1 Riverside Road, Sandy Hook, CT 06482, or phoned in to 475-323-2071. The deadline is noon on April 1.
William F. Cribari Bridge (Photo/Fred Cantor)
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MoCA Westport is gearing up for spring and summer.
Among the offerings:
Recess Art Camps (April 15-19, ages 4-7)
Artisan Workshop Series
Paint Nights for Teens (Fridays, 6:30 to 8 p.m.)
Paint Nights for Adults (Thursdays, 5:45 to 7:15 p.m.)
Summer Art Workshops for Kids (ages 8-12)
Camp MoCA
For information on these programs and other MoCA events, click here.
Four Westport artists — all anti-gun violence advocates, and part of the current “In Our Hands: Gun Culture in America” exhibit at Bridgeport’s Metro Studios — will discuss their work this Sunday (March 10, 2 p.m.).
Miggs Burroughs, Darcy Hicks, Daniel Recinos and Tammy Winser share their thoughts, influences and processes.
Admission is free, but donations are accepted to benefit Sandy Hook Promise and Street Safe Bridgeport.
One of the most popular “06880” features is photos of Westporters who think they can park anywhere they want.
But they’re not our only entitled neighbors (or, perhaps, ourselves). Consider this person, who was considerate enough to pick up his pooch’s poop (odds are, someone was watching), yet could not be bothered to dispose of it properly.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will require 12,000 signatures to get on the Connecticut presidential primary ballot, as an independent candidate.
Alert “06880” reader Jan Carpenter knows he is a controversial figure.
But, as volunteers fan out with petitions, she says: “This is democracy in action.”
When volunteers in Westport ask for signatures, she hopes residents will be kind.
“If you don’t approve, they will simply thank you and allow you to get on with your day,” she says. “If you sign, they will thank you as well. If you sign, you are not committing to vote for anyone in particular this fall. You are simply signing to endorse democracy and choice.”
And finally … Steve Lawrence died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 88, and suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
In a long career, including with his wife Eydie Gorme, he “kept pop standards in vogue long past their prime and took America on musical walks down memory lane,” the New York Times says. Click here for a full obituary.
(More meh weekend weather — and another chance to contribute to “06880.” Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Our online art gallery artists know it. Or at least, they’re hopeful too.
Every week, they send colorful work reminding us of the beauty of life’s renewal.
But no matter what your theme, or medium — and whether you’re a first-timer or oldtimer: We welcome your submissions. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage, needlepoint — we want whatever you’ve got.
Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions. Everyone is invited to contribute.
Email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Please include the medium you’re working in — art lovers want to know.
Untitled — Artist Dorothy Robertshaw says, “this encaustic wax painting looks like our sea shore of late … spring is coming!”
“Flowers in Bloom — A Sign of Spring” (Diane Yormark)
“Firenze” (Patricia McMahon)
“Can You Find the Mouse?” — digital illustration (Ken Runkel)
Photographer Jo Ann Miller calls this “a final tribute to Kelley Spearen, with our favorite ‘Marilyn.'”
“1915 Ford Model T” (Peter Barlow)
“School’s Out!” (Ellen Wentworth)
“Untitled” — This work by French artist (and physician) D. Caudron is on view new at Westport River Gallery.
“Aerin’s Copacetic Mountains” — watercolor (Aerin Stein, 12 years old)
“Tree of Peace — pencil and crayon (Steve Stein)
“La Danse” (Lawrence Weisman)
(Entrance is free to our online art gallery. But please consider a donation! Just click here — and thank you!)
Is Staples High School the Jeep capital of the world?
Dave Briggs wanted to find out.
The well-known Westporter — a national broadcaster with CNN, NBC Sports, Fox News and Turner Sports; marketing executive with Cann Social Tonic, the micro-dosed THC and CBD drink; Westport Library board member and, later this month, Fashionably Westport MC — took a tour of the school’s parking areas, including Bedford Middle School where juniors park.
Of 133 cars, he counted 33 Jeeps. That’s almost exactly 25% — 1 in 4.
(Does content like this — and everything else we post — “drive” you to support “06880”? To make a tax-deductible contribution, please click here. Thank you!)
Savvy + Grace owner Annette Norton says, “when I speak to people in my store, most are not aware that redoing the Parker Harding lot will cause us to lose 45 parking spaces, in an already parking supply-challenged area.”
Prior to the Board of Finance meeting this week, at which members approved $630,000 to redesign the Jesup Green and Imperial Avenue parking lots, she emailed members. Annette said:
I am proud to be a Westport resident and business owner. Downtown is one of the jewels of Westport, and should be cherished and not taken for granted.
That said, our downtown is in a precarious position. None of the people behind this request are retailers, and therefore may not truly understand the impact and inner workings of the redevelopment.
Site plan for Jesup Green parking area. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
The parking situation has long been a challenge. With increased population comes space constraints and congestion. Aside from the parking dilemma, downtown brick and mortar retailers face fierce competition from online shopping. These are threatening the viability of downtown businesses.
The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee, with the director of Public Works, agreed to add parking spaces at Jesup and Imperial, after much opposition, in an attempt to make up for the 45 spaces that will be lost with the redesign of Parker Harding parking lot.
I believe caveats should be put in place prior to approval. This ask is only the first phase for what will ultimately be the redesign of the Parker Harding lot, in which 45 parking spaces will be lost.
There should be signs should be placed downtown to inform drivers so they know where additional parking can be found.
There should be signs to indicate fines if drivers exceed the 3-hour minimum.
DPIC plans to put in underground scanners at Parker Harding to fine drivers if they exceed the 3 hour time limit. I believe the funds should be used to invest in technology in the form of a parking app, and eliminate the 3 hours limitation as it will hurt businesses.
As the vice president of the Westport Downtown Association, I support the use of metered parking, and am in favor of the WDA managing it to relieve the burden from the town. Please note that the WDA already manages the refuse program downtown, and funds are used for beautification and downtown events.
The logistics of the metered parking maintenance arrangement between the WDA and town should be discussed. Every major downtown has parking in place using a mobile app: Fairfield, New Canaan, Greenwich, Bronxville and Larchmont to name a few.
Finally, I am not in favor of limiting parking to 3 hours. This is a deterrent for shoppers and diners. Dining in a restaurant takes 2.5 hours. When shopping is factored in, that’s well in excess of 3 hours. It’s unrealistic expectations.
It is important that retailers be engaged in these crucial decisions. Their input is critical to keep businesses from moving away from Westport. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Alert reader, avid sports fan — and 1971 Staples High School graduate Fred Cantor — contributes today’s Friday Flashback:
This month marks the 70th anniversary of the conclusion of one of the most successful seasons in Westport scholastic basketball history.
But that squad did not play at Staples. It was the Bedford Junior High School hoops team (at a time when junior highs fielded formal varsity squads).
The Bedford Junior High School basketball team.
The Bedford Bears went undefeated in 9 games against junior high competition from New Canaan, Darien, Wilton, Weston and Bridgeport. Their closest game: a 10-point win over Saxe JHS of New Canaan, whose best player, Wilky Gilmore, went on to become an area sports legend. He led New Canaan High to consecutive state titles, then starred at Colorado on a Big 8 championship squad.
Bedford’s leading scorer in that game against Saxe was Jack Mitchell, who scored as many points as Gilmore. Mitchell was Bedford’s leading scorer that season. He went on to star as Wesleyan University’s football quarterback, then worked at his parents’ clothing store, Ed Mitchell — and later become CEO and now chairman of Mitchells Stores.
His former Bedford teammate Bob Darnton went on to become a Rhodes Scholar, and an award-winning historian, professor, and director of the Harvard University Library.
He recalls: “When I played on the Bedford Elementary School basketball team against Greens Farms, we said to ourselves, ‘This guy Mitchell is unstoppable,’ or words to that effect. He had a formidable reputation.”
(Yes, Westport elementary schools participated in interscholastic basketball competition as well back then.)
Bedford Junior High athletes, off the court.
Darnton also remembers another teammate, underscoring a different time in Westport: “I always had a fondness for Red Izzo, a fast guard. Back then, I sometimes visited him in his home, where his mother spoke Italian. I learned the language as a grad student, remembering when I first heard the Calabrian variety around spaghetti dishes in my home town. We swore in Italian in elementary school.”
The 6 players who were the mainstays of the team (the “big 6,” according to a local newspaper account) were Mitchell, Darnton, Izzo, Bruce Cummings, John Aulenti and Kenny Linn.
Thanks to the margins of victory, the reserves saw plenty of action during the season.
Bedford’s superb play drew this quote in a local newspaper: “Nick Zeoli, well-known athlete, coach and official, rates the 1954 Bedford Bears as the finest junior high basketball team — the best he has ever seen in action.” Zeoli went on to serve many years as Wilton High School’s athletic director.
Perhaps the Bedford Bears’ greatest success was splitting 2 games against the Staples sophomore squad. They lost once in overtime and won the other, in front of a capacity crowd at a fundraising event for the Wachob Memorial Scholarship.
Cheering on the teams, at the Wachob Memorial Tournament.
The Bedford coach went on to make his mark at Staples, as a beloved history teacher. But in 1954 he taught math at Bedford. While undoubtedly having a terrific influence on the Bedford varsity players that season, his greatest impact might have been on a non-player connected to the team.
That impact was described in a memoir by Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times writer John Darnton — Bob’s brother.
Their father had died as a war correspondent at the beginning of World War II. That tragic event left a gaping hole in their childhood.
John wrote: “It mitigated some of my wild behavior that I was getting good marks at school. I was moved up to a more advanced math class, and the teacher there took an interest in me.
“He was also the coach of varsity basketball….The teacher, Gordon Hall, appointed me as official scorer, presumably to give me a position to buck up my self-esteem. I enjoyed traveling around with the team….
“Before long, the school year ended. I did not want to leave and found it painful to say goodbye to my friends…
“On the next-to-last day, the math teacher offered me a ride home. As we arrived at the house where I was staying, he pulled the car to the shoulder…
“He reached over and patted me on the back, then grasped my hand to shake it and held on to it for what seemed like a long while. Then, his voice breaking, he wished me good luck.
“Two days later, I left Westport.”
(Friday Flashback is a regular feature on “06880.” If you enjoy it — or any other part of the blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
On the exact (to the day) 100th anniversary of their founding, the Westport Rotary Club celebrated with a gala dinner last night, at the Inn at Longshore.
Rotarians from near and far, town officials and friends honored the club’s long and storied history, from the early days (largely, but not always, strait-laced), to the easing of membership rules and the admission of women, to the current strong and generous nature of the club.
(Everyone received a book by Ron Henkoff chronicling Westport Rotary’s first 100 years, too. Click here for details.)
Videos and slides showed the enormous, multi-million dollar impact Westport Rotary has had on Westport, and the world.
As the next 100 years begin, the Westport Rotary Club prepares for its centennial gift: lead sponsor of the renovation of the Compo Beach playground.
Congratulations to all who made last night (and the reason for the celebration) possible. Special shout-outs go to longtime Rotary organizer and advocate Rick Benson, and last night’s MC, former president Jeff Wieser. Well done, all!
Twenty Westport Rotary Club presidents — representing exactly 1/5 of the club’s 100-year history — gathered for a photo at last night’s celebration. The oldest living former president (1968), George Damman, sent video greetings from Florida.
MC (and former president) Jeff Wieser models 100-year glasses. (Photos/John Videler for Videler Photography)
The Long Lots School Building Committee posted this update yesterday:
The deadline for submission of Request for Proposals/Quotes qualification statements from interested construction managers and architects was February 22.
The committee met on March 5 to discuss the submissions. They agreed on which respondents would be invited to submit proposals and be interviewed by the LLSBC.
Each of the selected firms will be contacted this week. The interview process is expected to be completed over the next 2 weeks. The goal is to select a construction manager and architect by the end of the month.
The design phase can then begin.
The Long Lots School Building Committee is moving forward to select a construction manager and architect for the project.
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On Wednesday, Ukraine Aid International — the non-profit founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer, which organizes and delivers aid to residents and first responders — hosted a roundtable for officials and volunteers in Fairfield County towns that have sister city relationships with that war-torn nation.
Westport — whose sister city, Lyman, was UAI’s first such project — was well represented. Police Chief Foti Koskinas described his trip there last year, and emphasized the importance of his ongoing relationships with his counterparts in the Donetsk region.
Just hours earlier, he said, he had been texting with the Lyman police chief. The Ukrainian chief — who says often that Westport’s support inspires everyone in his town — proudly wears with a Westport Police Department patch.
Lyman police chief, with the Westport Police logo.
But the star of the event, held at the Ukrainian-American Club in Southport, was 4-month-old Archie Wauchope.
The son of Staples High School graduate Clyde Wauchope and his wife Katya, UAI’s director of development, he wore a bib that said — in Cyrillic letters — “Slava Ukraini! Slava Archie!”
In other words: “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Archie!”
Archie Wauchope, his bib and his parents.
To learn more about Ukraine Aid International, and donate to Westport’s sister city Lyman, click here.
As the Norwalk Transit District — which oversees the Westport Transit District — “re-envisions” bus service here, they invite Westport residents to a meeting March 12 (7 p.m., Town Hall auditorium).
The charrette-session format will include remarks from Transit District officials, then a chance for attendees to give feedback on improvements they’d like to see.
The unique Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce Saturday night entertainment — dinner at one of 12 downtown restaurants, then a dance party with 8-piece funk and soul band West End Blend at the Westport Library — followed by post-concert happy hour pricing for drinks at any of the 12 participating restaurants (Arezzo, Basso, Capuli, Casa Me, Don Memo, Emmy Squared, Goji, Il Pastaficio, Mexicue, Nômade, Spotted Horse and Walrus Alley.
Tickets ($87) include the concert, dinner, tax and tip (drinks are not included). Tickets for the concert only are $35. Click here to buy, and for more information.
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Aargh!
There was another confusing date in yesterday’s item about beach emblem sales. Here is the re-corrected info. “06880” apologizes for the confusion:
Beach parking emblems go on sale online, and in the Westport Parks & Recreation Department office, at 9 a.m. next Monday (March 11) for Westport and Weston residents. The number of sales to Westport and Weston residents is not limited, and they are not required until May 1.
Sales of emblems to people not living in Westport or Westonbegin online, and in the Parks & Rec office, at 9 a.m. next Wednesday (March 13). A limit of 450 will be sold.
If you have purchased emblems or registered for Parks & Rec programs in prior seasons, you already have an online account established. Click here to log into your account. Then choose memberships; in the search box, type “Resident.” This brings all Westport resident vehicle packages to the top page. Weston residents should type “Weston” in search box.
After verification (Parks & Rec may request a copy of your current registration, or updated proof of residency), online purchases will be mailed to you. It may take 14-21 days.
Longtime Westport resident Phyllis Markoff died Tuesday. From 1982-88, she served proudly as president of Temple Israel.
She is survived by her children John (Laurie), Cathy (Jim Bessent), Janet and Nancy (Jeffrey Burt); grandchildren Alisa (Andy), Bill (Anita), Briana, Lily, Jack (Hanna Wallace), Kane (Lana Holley) and Blaze, and great-grandchildren Aaron, Alec, Sophia, Lydia, Isabella and Axel. She was predeceased by her husband Del.
The family will hold a private memorial service next month.
Today is International Women’s Day. In its honor, Westport-based non-profit Nest Egg Foundation is sponsoring a free online chat about women’s health and reproductive care (including in vitro fertilization).
The event begins at 3 p.m. today (March 8). Click here for the Zoom link.
And finally … in honor of the inaugural boxing exhibition taking place next month at the Westport Country Playhouse (story above):
(“06880” is your one-stop spot for news about beach stickers, buses, boxing, and much much more. Please click here to support this hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
It’s not the oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York.
But Tom Hunter’s club is both permanent and floating (and in Westport). So what if it’s bridge, and not craps?
Instead of betting on the roll of dice, bridge players work in pairs. The card game demands concentration, teamwork, a competitive spirit and, Hunter says, “the ability to count to 13.”
It has a bit of a fusty image. Hunter — a 1971 Staples High School graduate — learned it from his grandmother. (My grandmother taught bridge, too.)
His current game — really, games; he runs 2 a week — attracts mostly people of a certain, though a few younger folks play. (Mostly, he says, that demographic is more into video games.)
But for bridge enthusiasts, there’s nothing like it.
Tom Hunter
“There are game people and puzzle people,” Hunter explains. “Bridge is a game, and each hand is a puzzle.
“It’s like an onion. When you peel back one layer, you always find another one.”
Hunter played bridge (“very badly”) in college. The game took a back seat while he worked on Wall Street. (“Trading took care of the adrenaline rush,” he says.)
About 11 years ago, living in the city, former Staples classmate and longtime friend Jon Diamond asked him to play at the Manhattan Bridge Club. He met a woman who was serious about the game. They’ve been together ever since.
After semi-retiring and moving back here, Hunter looked for a game. Around that time, a man who had run a bridge club in Norwalk closed it down.
Hunter filled the niche. With Rick Berman and Mark Rubenstein, they started their own club, at the Saugatuck Congregational Church. It’s called Come Play Bridge of Westport.
Since 2015 he’s rented space in churches, synagogues and community centers. Right now there are 2 games a week: Friday and Saturday, at 12:30 p.m., back at the Saugatuck Church.
He is in charge of 40 duplicate bridge players. He organizes who sits where, where the boards go and more.
His job, he says, is to make the games “fun and fair.”
COVID took a toll on the bridge club. Before the pandemic, his 4 weekly games included 3,000 tables a year. Now, they’re down to 1,000. They range from avid players to newcomers. (Hunter gives lessons to intermediate players.)
For 3 hours, Hunter says, Come Play Bridge of Westport members see friends. They stimulate their minds. Studies show that playing bridge wards off dementia.
Take that, craps!
(For more information on Come Play Bridge of Westport, text Tom Hunter: 973-232-6030. Hat tip: Toni Simonetti)
(This is the first “06880” story on bridge. But if it happens in Westport, we’ll eventually write about it. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
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As the vice president of the Westport Downtown Association, I support the use of metered parking, and am in favor of the WDA managing it to relieve the burden from the town. Please note that the WDA already manages the refuse program downtown, and funds are used for beautification and downtown events.
