Saugatuck Congregational Church occupies an important place in Westport — not only spiritually, but historically and geographically.
It was where our town began — literally. Meetings to form “Westport” — separate from Norwalk, Wilton, Weston and Fairfield, each of which we were once part of — took place there in the 1830s.
The church was originally located diagonally across the street, where the bank and Shell station are now. It was moved across the Post Road in 1950 (on logs!) in 1950, an event commemorated in Life magazine.
Now, the broad lawn a few yards from Myrtle Avenue and downtown marks it as a quintessential New England church. It’s a perfect spot for things like a healing labyrinth, and the Blessing of the Animals.
It’s also where a pair of angel wings stand. The original idea, Lois Himes notes, was for people to stand in front of the wings for a photo, then “go forth and do God’s work by being an angel.” (Click here to see.)
The wings were the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. Lois identified Nancy Engel’s image correctly. So did Diane Bosch, Susan Iseman, Jenny Rago McCarthy, Janice Strizever, Jalna Jaeger, Karen Kim, Lynn Wilson, Joelle Malec, Susan Miller and (the lone male) Eugene C. Gavin. Congratulations to all!
This week’s Challenge involves Fred Born (who, like everyone who is born, eventually died). Do you know where his plaque is? And if so, can you tell us more about him (beyond his talents as a boater, machinist and storyteller)? Just click “Comments” below.
The other day, David Meth was at the transfer station. He saw a resident take 2 perfectly good children’s bikes from her SUV. He writes:
“I offered to take them to Cycle Dynamics because Charlie, the owner, donates them to churches in Bridgeport. However the attendant, who was very nice and very afraid to get in trouble because there are cameras everywhere, refused to allow me to take them because they were placed on the ground near the attendant’s booth.
“These bikes were in excellent condition. Why allow them to be trashed? Why not have an area to ‘exchange’ items that could sustain a small economy elsewhere, yet are thrown away here without another thought. It is very wrong.
“Cardboard, glass, cans and paper are recycled for future use. Food scraps are recycled. Leaves and brush are recycled. Why not recycle perfectly good, even repairable goods and equipment, to benefit others?
“This is an awful policy in a town that prides itself in helping others. It can be changed, and it should change soon.”
Ann Turner Cook — the original Gerber baby — died Friday. She was 95 years old.
The reason that’s “06880”-worthy is that — nearly 100 years ago — the iconic sketch was “born” here.
In 1927, artist Dorothy Hope Smith made a charcoal drawing of her 4-month-old neighbor, Ann Turner. Ann’s father, Leslie, was an artist too; his comic strip “Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy” ran in 500 newspapers every day.
The original charcoal sketch of Ann Turner, and Ann Turner Cook in 2010.
The next year, Gerber needed a face for its new line of baby foods. Smith entered her simple drawing in the contest. She competed with elaborate oil paintings — but the company loved it. By 1931, Ann Cook was the “official trademark.”
She was on every Gerber ad, and on every package, since.
But no one knew her. In fact — in an effort to appeal to both sexes — for many years Gerber did not even say if the baby was a girl or boy.
As years passed, several women claimed to be the Gerber baby. To end the discussion, Gerber paid Turner — by then married, named Ann Cook –$5,000 in 1951. That’s all she got — no royalties, nothing. (It’s better than Smith, though. She earned just $300 for her efforts.)
The Gerber baby at work — and all grown up, some years ago.
Cook left Westport long ago. She had 4 children, and spent 26 years teaching literature and writing in Tampa. After retiring in 1989, she wrote 2 mystery novels.
But nearly a decade ago, when she was 88, she was rediscovered. Oprah profiled Cook on her “Where Are They Now?” series. Huffington Post picked up the story.
Neither Oprah nor HuffPo mentions Westport. Nor does the official Gerber website. ( For a full obituary, click here. Hat tips: Deej Webb and Jonathan McClure)
The Westport Baseball program for players with disabilities includes an announcer introducing each batter, and calling play-by-play. Dustin Lowman did the honors, and hit it out of the park.
A pizza party ends the day.
Congrats to all who made yesterday possible — and a tip of the baseball hat to all the players!
Yesterday’s 1st-ever Drag Show was anything but a drag.
A sold-out crowd at MoCA Westport — including many families with young kids — enjoyed 4 drag queens who strutted, danced, engaged the audience and even provided a bit of LGBTQ history.
The event was sponsored by Westport Pride. Next up: a townwide Pride Month celebration on Jesup Green, next Sunday (1 to 3 p.m.).
Getting in the swing of things. (Photo/Jerri Graham)
Weston High School senior Zac Mathias served as MC. (Photo/Jerri Graham)
The Westport Book Shop’s guest exhibitor for June is Kerstin Rao.
Known to many for her years as a gifted teacher of gifted students at Bedford Middle School, Rao is displaying 4 prints, plus a QR code through which you can see each piece being created via time-lapse video.
Rao’s work is hyper-local. Her pieces begin at the Westport Farmers’ Market. They’re scanned in Westport, and printed in Norwalk. Her art business, Vivid Cottage, offers luxury stationery and home good based on her original artwork. It’s available online, and at the Westport Book Shop.
Rao majored in fine art at Vassar, and earned a master’s in special education at Bank Street College. She moved from teaching to art during the pandemic. She also volunteers at the Westport Library, facilitating author panels and book talks, helping and helping plan events. She was a founding member of Westport’s Maker Faire.
Kerstin Rao, with her prints at the Westport Book Shop.
Speaking of art: MoCA’s next show — “Women Pulling at the Threads of Social Discourse” — is a collaboration with The Contemporary Art Modern Project (The CAMP Gallery) and the Fiber Artists Miami Association. It explores how female artists, utilizing textiles as their medium, subvert the social expectation of crafting by lambasting this soft medium with political and social awareness.
It opens June 30 with a 6-8 p.m. reception, and runs through September 4.
Several local artists are in the exhibition, including Camille Eskell, Susan Feliciano, Sooo-z Mastropietro and Norma Minkowitz
On a windy, rainy Friday, Westporter Nathalie Jacob was on a boat with a friend. Suddenly — off the Darien shore — she realized her Gill sailing jacket (with iPhone 11max in its pocket) was gone.
She figured a gust of wind blew it into the water. The weight of the phone must have pulled it to the bottom of the Sound.
Her friend tried “Find My Phone.” Nada. Nathalie figured it was gone forever.
But 12 days later, her husband got a call. The caller said he’d spotted the jacket that day, in Westport waters — a mile from shore. He found the phone, took it home, plugged it in — and called the emergency contact number on it.
That’s right: After nearly 2 weeks in salty, wavy water, the iPhone still worked.
The jacket was full of live crabs and seaweed, Nathalie adds. But after 3 washing cycles, it’s usable too. She loves her Gill jacket.
PS: She brought a bottle of whiskey to the man who found it.
To avoid realtors being there when realtors showed potential home-buyers through the house — or, more probably, because who can turn down an invitation from Buckingham Palace? — the international recording star/producer was in London, not Westport, last night.
He had an important gig: performing at Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee coocert.
Just one more day in the life of our soon-to-be-former neighbor.
Nile Rodgers, at the Queen’s Jubilee. (Photo/Ellen Wentworth)
Former Westport Woman’s Club president Natacha “Nat” Sylander died last month. She was 86.
The Auburn, New York native earned her bachelor’s degree in hotel management from Michigan State University. She then moved to Chicago to work at the Palmer House.
In 1960 she married Dick Sylander, and became a mom. In 1967 the family moved to Westport, where they lived for 44 years. She was a teaching assistant at Bedford Elementary School before starting a company with her husband in 1976. R.L. Sylander Associates did custom computer circulation fulfillment. They ran it for 25 years, until they retired.
Nat was active in the community, including president of the Westport Woman’s Club and chair of the Yankee Doodle Fair. She was a member of the St. Luke Church choir for many years. She was a wonderful cook and loved to entertain, with a flair for storytelling.
She is survived by her children, Rick of Milford, Karen of Chicago and Beth of Long Island; as well as a grandson, Owen Hammond, serving overseas in the Army.
A funeral service is set for Saturday, June 11 (11 a.m., St. Luke Church) with a Mass of Christian Burial. A reception follows immediately. Interment will be private. Condolences may be left online. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Westport Woman’s Club Scholarship Program, 44 Imperial Ave, Westport, CT 06880.
Nat Sylander
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This guy crawled onto Molly Alger’s deck, then posed for his “Westport … Naturally” closeup:
Think about the last time you bought a car. How many women were part of the sales team?
What about the time before that — and all the others? If you’re like me, the answer is “zero.”
(A 2012 survey ranked “car salespeople” as the least honest professionals — just below “members of Congress.)
Of course this is a stock photo. No scene like this has ever been seen at a car dealership anywhere, at any time.
Kristen Ledenko is happy to sell you a car. But you don’t have to walk into a male-dominated dealership to find her.
The Westport mom is a “car concierge.” She does all the time-consuming work: sourcing the right vehicle, financing, even delivering it right to your driveway.
And she doesn’t try to upsell rust-proofing, VIN etching for windows, or nitrogen fill for tires.
Growing up in Glen Head on Long Island’s North Shore, Kristen was fascinated by cars. Their luxurious lines, their variety, the way they impacted our lives — to her, a car was and still is “more than a great set of rims, the technology package and ventilated seats.” It’s part of your life, and the world you live in.
So at CW Post College, she majored in … elementary education. Then she added a master’s in literacy.
Kristen Ledenko
Her career as a teacher taught Kristen how to interact with many different personalities: students, colleagues, parents.
Of course, that’s part of a car salesman’s talents too. But in addition to listening to assess what a potential client really needs (and wants) in a vehicle, Kristen is adept at explaining complex information and terms — not obfuscating it.
Her road to becoming a car concierge began 15 years ago. She was introduced to an auto broker. For the first time, instead of visiting multiple dealerships to narrow the search and pricing, she and her husband let Icon Auto Leasing do all the grunt work.
After referring friends, relatives and colleagues to the company, she contacted the CEO. She offered to expand into Connecticut, where she and her husband lived. Kristen Icon Auto was born.
Like every industry, automobile sales have been impacted by COVID. Before the pandemic, she could deliver the car of your choice the next day. Now, the 1,400 microchips that control everything from airbags and tire pressure to digital displays are in short supply.
Kristen is up to the challenge.
“I love researching cars. I love negotiating and searching for the ‘impossible’ one,” she says.
“I take the stress away. I modernize the whole process.”
After determining what a client is looking for — buy or lease, mileage, options, how it will be used — Kristen searches her dealer network. She provides options for payments and terms.
Once a decision is made, she takes care of the credit and delivery — even the lease return. An employee drives the new car to the client’s home or office, where the final paperwork is completed.
Most car sales are completely transactional: You grit your teeth, haggle, get the keys and wonder how badly you’ve been had by some guy you’ll never see again.
Kristen Ledenko wants to drive repeat traffic to her online dealership.
Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center turns a century old this year. Today, they threw a birthday party. And everyone’s invited.
Mystic Bowie played a free concert.
Mystic Bowie, in action. (Photo/Patricia McMahon)
He’s just about finished his set. But vendors selling crafts and (of course) sustainable products, a petting zoo, cornhole, food trucks — and a great, community-wide, fun-in-the-sun vibe — continue on Sylvan Road South until 5 p.m. today (Saturday).
Chilling on Gilbertie’s lawn.
Congratulations, Gilbertie’s. And don’t wait 100 more years for the next one.
Why not celebrate your 101st?
Carrie Gilbertie spent a year planning the 100th anniversary party. Today she relaxed and enjoyed it all.
The cost of a Westport beach sticker for out-of-towners — $775 — has been the subject of heated debate, everywhere from the pages of “06880” to the halls of the State Capitol.
This past wee, radio listeners around the state heard about it.
“Ethan & Lou” discussed it on their i95 show. in typical 2-radio-host-trying-to-engage-listeners style.
The station put a variation of the riff on their website too. In the context of complaints about Connecticut’s “rocky (not sandy)” beaches, they mentioned both the expense of Compo, and the many rules posted on the town website. (Hey, guys: The rules are posted at the beach, too.)
The website complains: “No Alcohol!? Can’t bring my dog? Can’t listen to music? No hooch, no pooch and no Scooch? Sounds un-American.”
Of course, alcohol is permitted on South Beach (unlike most state beaches). The “music” ban refers to “amplified music, including bands and DJs” (though they seem to be okay, upon request to Parks & Rec). As for “Scooch” — well, at least it rhymes.
Click here for the full story — including a link to the “Ethan & Lou” segment.
There are definitely lots of rules at Compo Beach.
“06880” has posted photos previously of 1 or 2 plastic poop bags left in otherwise pristine parks, or on people’s lawns and driveways.
But this image — sent by David Brant, executive director of Aspetuck Land Trust which oversees (among many other properties) Haskins Preserve — seems almost perverse. The sign about dog waste — and that there is no “Poop Fairy” — are literally inches away.
Is it a “Candid Camera” stunt? Part of an elaborate psychology experiment?
Or are Westporters just dumping on us?
Whatever the reason: It’s not funny.
Whoever you are: Shame on you.
And just remember: Whatever goes around, comes around.
The Staples High School baseball team plays in the state “LL” (extra large schools) quarterfinals today (Trumbull High School, 2 p.m.).
But win or lose, they’re already champions.
On Thursday — the day after their 2nd-round upset of higher-ranked Amity-Woodbridge — the Wreckers collected thousands of dollars of cleats, bats and other equipment.
They donated it to Bluefish Travel Baseball, a program in Bridgeport.
The 2022 Staples High School varsity baseball team. (Photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)
But Tom Feeley — who recounted the tale — had misremembered the name of the soldier, whom he met and befriended at VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399.
Tom called him “Mike Brody.” His name was actually Samuel Meyer Brody.
And — because this is “06880,” where “Westport meets the world” — there is another local tie. Sam Brody was longtime resident and RTM member Dick Lowenstein’s 3rd cousin.
Here is a photo of Sam (left) and Dick at the Senior Center. Sam died the next year, at 96. Click here for a full obituary.
Lifelong Westporter and former firefighter Stanley Prackup died on Wednesday. He was 87.
One of 8 children, he graduated from Staples High School in 1953. He played baseball there, and was a sharpshooter in its Rifle Club.
Stanley enlisted in the Navy after high school, and served on the USS Valcour and Intrepid. He was awarded the Navy Good Conduct Medal.
After the navy he attended the University of Connecticut.
He was a postal carrier for several years before joining the Westport Fire Department. He served as a firefighter for 20 years, until 1988. He also owned his own landscaping business.
Stanley and his wife Joan built a home here, and lived in it for over 40 years. Devoted to his religion, he was happiest in his garden, and spending time with family and friends.
He was predeceased by his brothers, Frank, Michael and George, and sisters Rose, Barbara and Alice.
Stanley is survived by his wife of 58 years, Joan Prackup; daughters Brenda Prackup, Linda Prackup-Desautels and Sandra Prackup; grandson Luke Desautels; sister Virginia Fiordelisi, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
A memorial mass will be held Monday (June 6, 10 a.m., St Luke Church), followed by interment at Assumption Cemetery on Greens Farms Road. Click here for a livestream of the service.
David Fiore sends today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, noting: “As seen from our kitchen window at breakfast. A chippy enjoying the view, having his own breakfast on our weeping cherry tree berries.”
Posted onJune 4, 2022|Comments Off on Online Art Gallery #113
A boat, a self-portrait, a flag.
Those are the 3 compelling subjects of today’s online art gallery.
It was a slow week for submissions. Perhaps the holiday took precedence. Maybe the nice weather. Or the demands of daily life.
Whatever the reason: Get back to the drawing board! (Or lens, sculpture studio or wherever.)
We need your submissions — whatever the subject. All readers are encouraged to participate, whatever your age, level of experience (professional or amateur, young or old).
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
“Golden Lion” — acrylic on Masonite. Artist Peter Barlow says this staysail ketch was owned by Westporter Millard Smith in the 1950s.
Each month, a different Westporter gives an invocation before the RTM meeting.
Most are earnest, but unmemorable. (Trust me, I know: I’ve given one myself.)
Last month, Jessica Bram departed from the usual aren’t-we-all-lucky-to-live-in-Westport platitudes. Instead — peaking directly to her colleagues — the RTM member confronted important issues head-on.
I asked Jessica if I could post her words here, so au audience greater than a few dozen legislators and local policy wonks could see — and reflect — on them. Here’s her invocation:
I moved to Westport over 24 years ago. A single mother when I arrived, I didn’t know a soul here. I raised 3 sons who now have successful lives because they went through our extraordinary Westport Public Schools – that school system that we are here to talk about tonight.
Jessica Bram
(Incidentally, I will mention that one of my sons married his Staples High School girlfriend— he went to Bedford, she to Coleytown— and they just had their second child.)
When Coleytown Middle School was shut down, I remember saying – because our school system is so critical in this town—that this was the single worst thing that ever happened to Westport in my 24-year memory.
To lose an entire middle school … to be forced to cram one entire school population in with another! Remember what a crisis that was? The worst that could ever happen.
Then came COVID.
And instead of being upset because our kids were in crowded classrooms after Coleytown moved in with Bedford (remember we were upset because so many had to have lunch so early?), now there was COVID. And now all our kids had to stay home from school.
Our whole town changed. Businesses failed, people lost jobs, restaurants shut down. Perhaps worst of all, we couldn’t be together.
Two years later, here we are, at our RTM meeting, still on Zoom.
Yes, we disagree on so many things. We all have opinions here (as you know I have opinions on everything, you’ve all heard them).
But let’s think about what our differences are about, and the values that they reflect.
We argued about using ARPA funds for beach repair. But wasn’t that about protecting the environment? Being responsible stewards of our shoreline, our town’s greatest asset?
Yes, we fight about gas-powered blowers. But isn’t that because each of us wants to hold so tightly on to the Westport that we all came here for, the homes and lives we built for our families, regardless of whether that’s quiet afternoons or beautiful lawns?
Yes, we have argued for and against offering public transportation. But what a gift we received from that conflict! That gift of having received over 100 heartfelt emails — each one different, each expressive, none of them boiler plate.
I learned so much that I didn’t know about … what it’s like to have an infant at home and only one car… what it’s like to be a worn-out commuter. So because of that conflict we got to know so much about our neighbors’ lives, in personal, truthful ways.
The Wheels2U debate elicited many personal emails and phone calls.
We argue vehemently about P&Z issues such as affordable housing, 8-30g, and the zoning problems that that legislation causes. But although we may vehemently disagree about zoning issues, we do respect our town bodies that allow our disagreements to be spoken aloud and acted on in orderly, non-combative ways.
One thing I do know is that regardless of how we feel about 8-30-g, we all do care about, and have compassion for, families, either struggling or wealthy families, who all want to have safe, affordable homes where we can raise our children.
And don’t we all support our organizations such as Homes with Hope, that are working so hard to end homelessness — whether we offer that support philanthropically, or by cooking and serving lasagna in our newly renovated Gillespie Center?
Let me point out that we are, after all, a town that has a youth center, and homeless shelter, a block away from a Tiffany’s. All of which says something about what we in Westport care about. Not just the homeless shelter. But Tiffany’s too, because it does speak of the lives we unapologetically want for our children.
The Gillespie Center is a few feet away from Tiffany. (Photo/June Rose Whittaker)
Yes, some of us cling furiously to our causes and our pet issues and our political affiliations.
Yes, we may disagree on so many things.
Yes, our RTM meetings can at times stretch agonizingly long into the night.
But let’s remember who we are.
With all our disagreements, in all those exhausting, contentious, boring RTM meetings, we are all doing it just to make things right.
Let’s think about the values and principles that we share at the heart of it all – our families, our first responders, our overworked teachers. And yes, even our noisy neighbors.
Let’s remind ourselves – and applaud ourselves for — living in a town not of things and real estate, but of principles. That what we’re here for – especially those of us on the RTM — are principles of honesty and fairness —and what’s really important in our troubled world.
Because that’s who we are.
And know that in the end, we care for, respect, and yes, even a little bit, love each other.
RTM members march in the 2018 Memorial Day parade.
Recent Friday Flashbacks have featured long-lived and well-loved restaurants: Allen’s Clam House and the Clam Box.
Here’s one that was Italian — not seafood — and that closed more recently than those 2 favorites.
But there are enough newcomers in town who never knew it — and enough time (7 years) has (unfortunately) passed for those who did — for it to be the subject of a fond look back.
So, let’s honor …
Mario’s (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
For the uninitiate, Mario’s was the Railroad Place place. Commuters rolled off the train, and up to its bar. Families went there, to celebrate any occasion worth celebrating.
Servers, busboys, bartenders, cooks — all worked there for decades. And when they stopped working, they came back as customers.
If you never knew Mario’s: You missed a memorable slice of Westport life.
If you did now Mario’s: Click “Comments,” to share your memories.
Dinner was packed, before Mario’s closed.
FUN FACT: Legend has it that the now-famous phrases “March Madness” and “The Road to …” were born at Mario’s.
The story is that CBS had just bought the rights to the NCAA basketball tournament. Announcer — and Weston resident — Brent Musburger and a couple of executives (and Westporters) were sitting at the restaurant, wondering how to market the event.
“This March is going to be madness!” one said. Bingo!
The “road” idea came soon — perhaps one or two drinks later.
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After determining what a client is looking for — buy or lease, mileage, options, how it will be used — Kristen searches her dealer network. She provides options for payments and terms.
Two years later, here we are, at our RTM meeting, still on Zoom.
