Category Archives: Looking back

Muddy Brook Project: A Bridge Too Far?

Posted on July 13, 2022 | 7 comments

More than 4 years ago, I published a story by Wendy Crowther.

The preservation-minded Westporter described the history of 19 Craftsman-style stone bridges, built over Willow, Muddy and Deadman brooks, at the dawn of the automobile age.

The Cross Highway bridge. (Photo/Wendy Crowther)

A century later, 9 remained. They’d survived hurricanes, road reconstruction projects, and collisions with decades of distracted drivers.

Wendy noted:

Today we pass over these bridges daily. Yet few of us notice their rustic presence. Their stone walls (“parapets,” in bridge lingo) were designed to convey the sense of a park-like setting — an aesthetic popular at the time.

Most blend seamlessly into the roadside landscape, often appearing to be mere continuations of Westport’s many fieldstone walls. They are simple, folkloric, and historically important.

And she added: “They are at risk.”

Evergreen Avenue (Photo/Wendy Crowther)

She and fellow Westport Preservation Alliance colleague Morley Boyd were particularly concerned about the Kings Highway North Bridge over Willow Brook.

Its enormous stone foundation perhaps dated back to the original “King’s Highway,” built in 1763 to carry mail between New York and Boston.

Large stones in the abutments beneath the Kings Highway North Bridge: Remnants of a much earlier bridge? (Photo: Wendy Crowther)

Wendy and Morley asked the town’s Historic District Commission to list all 9 remaining bridges on the National Register. She said:

We feel that these very special bridges possess the integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship to qualify for this distinguished honor.

On a more visceral level, the preservation of these bridges will allow us to appreciate the human craftsmanship that went into building them.  By picturing the crew of local men who lifted each stone by hand and mortared them in place, we’ll not just notice these bridges — we will feel them.

Nearly half a decade later, they’re still pushing the HDC to act.

That Kings Highway North stone bridge has already been lost.

The one on Greens Farms Road over Muddy Brook may be next. The Flood & Erosion Control Board voted recently to prioritize its replacement.

The Greens Farms Road bridge over Muddy Brook (Photo/Wendy Crowther)

Its historic past was not part of the discussion.

That’s a shame, Wendy and Morley say.

“Of the few remaining circa 1910 stone bridges still remaining in Westport, this is the most beautiful due to its length, its gentle bend, and its setting,” Morley notes.

“Perhaps if the board members had known this, they might have asked different questions, and perhaps some may have changed the way they voted.”

Wendy adds, “Having advocated for their preservation for years, I know that there are ways to deal with or divert flood waters through adjacent culverts without having to replace the bridge in its entirety.

“There are guidelines and engineering publications on how this can be done without ruining the dimensions and historic integrity of the existing bridge.

“These problems can be mitigated without destroying this beautiful bridge. Let’s please insist on seeking alternate solutions to replacement.”

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Posted in Environment, Looking back, Transportation

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Westport Country Playhouse: 91 Years Young Today

Posted on June 29, 2022 | 6 comments

On June 29, 1931, the curtain rose for the first time at the Westport Country Playhouse.

It ushered in a new chapter in town history — and the theater world nationally.

By 1930, Lawrence Langner and his wife Armina Marshall had achieved remarkable success as theater producers. The Theatre Guild — which Langner co-founded — had become perhaps the most prolific and influential producer on Broadway, and the leading producer of touring productions throughout the country.

Residents of Weston, the Langners wanted to establish a resident acting company, and experiment with new plays and reinterpretations of classics. But it had to be away from the spotlight of New York.

In the winter of 1930 they saw an old barn in an apple orchard near downtown Westport. The town was already popular with Broadway’s theatrical community.

It was exactly what they were looking for. They bought the property, with an assessed value of $14,000.

The 1930 barn.

Cleon Throckmorton — a respected Broadway set designer who had also designed the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts — was hired to transform the 1835 tannery into a theater.

The first production — “The Streets of New York” — opened 91 years ago today.

It was called Woodland Theatre. On opening day, Langner changed the name, to Country Playhouse.

The Westport Playhouse has seen countless highlights since then. Among them:

1933: “Present Laughter” is directed by Antoinette Perry. The Tony Awards are now named for her.

1935: Langner purchases 3.5 more acres, at $2,000 an acre, to expand the facilities. Extensions to the theater and construction of a scene shop and offices cost $25,000; a refreshment stand is $225.

1939: An unknown Gene Kelly dances in a musical revue. with a pair of new composers/performers named Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

1940: “Oklahoma!” was never performed on the Playhouse stage, yet it plays a critical role in its genesis. A 1940 production of Lynn Riggs’ Green Grow the Lilacs incorporates turn-of-the-century folk songs, and a square dance scene. Langner invites Fairfield resident Richard Rodgers to see a performance. Three years later the Theatre Guild produces Oklahoma! on Broadway.

An early audience outside the Playhouse.

1941: Tallulah Bankhead adds drama to Her Cardboard Lover by taking her bows carrying a lion cub in her arms. It’s such a hit, she does it every night.

1941: Lee Strasberg directs Tyrone Power in Liliom, which later becomes Carousel on Broadway. Power is ready to open at the Playhouse when Daryl Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, demands he return to Hollywood to re-shoot movie scenes. Playhouse attorney Kenneth Bradley invokes a 300-year-old Connecticut blue law to keep Power here.

1942-45: For 4 seasons during World War II, when gas rationing prevents audiences from getting to the theater, there are no productions. The next season closure occurs 75 years later, during COVID..

1946: Just before Olivia de Havilland takes the stage on opening night of What Every Woman Knows, she marries novelist and journalist Marcus Goodrich at Langner’s Weston home.

1946: The apprentice system begins. Over the years, summer interns include Stephen Sondheim (1950) and Tammy Grimes (1954). Today the Playhouse hosts the Woodward Internship Program, a national program for emerging theater professionals. It is named for longtime Playhouse supporter Joanne Woodward.

Stephen Sondheim (crouching, top of photo), during his 1950 apprenticeship. The photo was taken at the Jolly Fisherman restaurant. Also in the photo: future film director Frank Perry (front row, left) and Richard Rodgers’ daughter Mary (2nd row, 4th from left).

1949: Helen Hayes performs with her 19-year-old daughter, Mary MacArthur, in Good Housekeeping. Mary becomes ill the day after closing, and dies of polio one week later.

1951: A world premiere comedy by Noël Coward, Island Fling, stars Claudette Colbert. Post-performance visitors to Colbert’s dressing room include Marlene Dietrich, Danny Kaye, Richard Rodgers and Otto Preminger.

 1952: Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, who had achieved great success with Brigadoon and Paint Your Wagon, struggle to create a musical from Shaw’s Pygmalion. Lerner sees it on the Playhouse stage. Four years later My Fair Lady becomes a smash on Broadway.

1954: ApprenticeTammy Grimes is fired from the box office in her first week because she is unable to make correct change. She is transferred backstage, where she irons actor Richard Kiley’s pants.

1954: A restaurant is built adjacent to the Playhouse: Players Tavern.

The iconic red Westport Country Playhouse.

1954: Christopher Plummer makes his American stage debut in Home Is the Hero. Years later, he joins the Playhouse board of trustees.

1955: The Empress includes apprentice Sally Jessy. She later earns fame as talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael.

1956: The big concern every day is how much ice to order. The theater is cooled by fans blowing over ice. Vintage posters in the lobby boast, “Air-cooled.”

Westport Country Playhouse in 1960 (Photo courtesy of Paul Ehrismann)

1957: Eartha Kitt stars in Mrs. Patterson, a Tony-nominated role she originated on Broadway. Fifty years later, now a Weston resident, she returns to the Playhouse stage in All About Us, a new musical by Kander and Ebb opening the 2007 season.

1958: Hugh O’Brian, popular star of television’s “Wyatt Earp,” causes a box office frenzy as the leading man in Picnic. It is a vivid illustration of the new power of television.

1958: Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy star in Triple Play.

1960: With a film career still in the future, Jane Fonda, age 23, stars in No Concern of Mine. Her father, Henry, had appeared in The Virginian at the Playhouse in 1937, the year his daughter was born.

1964: 18-year-old Liza Minnelli receives her Equity card, appearing with Elliott Gould in The Fantasticks. On opening night, according to a Playhouse brochure, “the rather gawky teenager…received a standing ovation.”

1969: Butterflies Are Free premieres with Blythe Danner and Keir Dullea. The comedy transfers to Broadway where it runs over 3 years, earning Danner a Tony Award. The  play — one of 36 that made the leap from Westport to Broadway — is reprised as a reading for the Playhouse’s 80th anniversary in 2010, with its original stars –Danner as the mother, Dullea as the evening’s host.

1973: The Connecticut Theatre Foundation is created to operate the Playhouse as a not-for-profit.

1974: In his playbill letter for Hair, Jim McKenzie, executive producer, says, “Open your mind, open your heart and prepare for the theatrical experience of a lifetime.”

1977: Absent Friends, a Playhouse co-production plan with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, opens in Washington, following its Westport run. On the same evening, The Master Builder opens in Westport, following its engagement in DC.

1978: A fall and winter film and play series begins with the movie Gone with the Wind, plus a big barbecue hosted by Colonel Sanders himself.

1981: Eva Le Gallienne makes her last appearance at the Playhouse 45 seasons after her first, with many roles in between. Today, the Playhouse’s Green Room is named in her honor, and contains memorabilia from her career.

The green room. Think of all the legendary names that have passed through there.

1985: Philip Langner, son of founders Lawrence Langner and Armine Marshall, receives an offer of $1.2 million for the Playhouse property from Playhouse Square, the adjacent shopping center. The Connecticut Theatre Foundation, current lessee, has a right to match the offer. The Playhouse Limited Partnership, a group of 27 ardent theater supporters, is formed to purchase the property.

1985: A fall season includes A Bill of Divorcement starring Christopher Walken and Katharine Houghton, who recreates the role in which her aunt, Katharine Hepburn, made her film debut in 1932. Hepburn is in the audience.

1987: The Playhouse makes a major change: from producing 12 plays in 12 weeks to producing 6 in 12. Subscriptions spike. Seeing a show every other week is more convenient to many than committing to a weekly schedule.

1989: With the Playhouse in arrears on its mortgage and taxes, and facing major expenses to meet fire and safety codes, it asks local developer Ceruzzi Mack Properties to make good the debt, assume the mortgage, and renovate and lease back the theater for $1 a year, in return for property ownership and construction of commercial rental space on the Playhouse campus. The Planning & Zoning Commission turns down the application.

1990: The Playhouse is entered on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places.

1991: 30-year-old Aaron Sorkin visits the Playhouse to see a production of his play A Few Good Men.

1999: Groucho: A Life in Revue is taped at the Playhouse for PBS.

2000: A campaign begins to renovate the Playhouse, and transition from summer stock to a year-round theater. Connecticut Theatre Foundation becomes owner of the Playhouse and adjacent restaurant. Contributions, bolstered by a $5 million state grant from the State of Connecticut, help reach the $30.6 million goal by the end of 2005.

The Westport Country Playhouse teoday.

2000: A 2-week run of Ancestral Voices by A. R. Gurney features a different stellar cast each week. Among them: Jane Curtin, Neil Patrick Harris, Joanne Woodward, Paul Newman, Paul Rudd, Swoosie Kurtz, James Naughton.

2001: Joanne Woodward is named artistic director. She directs 3 plays and appears in several productions, including Love Letters with Paul Newman, and a Script in Hand reading of Arsenic and Old Lace with Christopher Walken. Newman also appears in Ancestral Voices, Trumbo, and a revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, which transfers to Broadway.

2002: Gene Wilder stars in Don’t Make Me Laugh. It’s his 4th appearance at the Playhouse, but first in a feature role. He performed here with Walter Pidgeon, Helen Hayes, and Carol Channing, “but nobody knew who I was then.”

2002: The Playhouse’s 2002 production of Our Town transfers to Broadway for a limited run, playing to full houses. The play airs on Showtime and PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre.” Newman receives Tony and Emmy Award nominations for his performance as Stage Manager.

Local residents Jim Naughton, Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, at the Westport Country Playhouse in 2002.

2003: During a regional power outage, the Playhouse is in the middle of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons with Richard Dreyfuss and Jill Clayburgh. Most actors live in New York and cannot travel to Westport. The performance is canceled.  However, Dreyfuss is in Westport. He drives to the theater and shakes hands with whoever arrives.

2003 and 2004: Fundraising galas support the Playhouse’s planned renovation with performances by Carole King, Robin Williams, Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Harry Connick, Jr. hosted by Brian Williams.

2005: May 23, 2005 marks the re-opening of Westport Country Playhouse and its 75th anniversary season, following a major multi-million dollar renovation.

2005: The Lucille Lortel Foundation awards a $2 million grant to establish The Lucille Lortel White Barn Center at the Playhouse.

2006: Paul Newman and Chef Michel Nischan open the Dressing Room restaurant next door.

2006: Stephen Sondheim returns to the Playhouse for the first time since his 1950 apprenticeship. He is saluted on the Playhouse stage with performances by Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Barbara Cook, and Patti LuPone.

2006: James Earl Jones appears as Thurgood Marshall in the world premiere of Thurgood. He later joins the Playhouse board of trustees. 

2008: The popular Script in Hand play reading series begins.

2009: Stephen Sondheim presents a tribute to Mary Rodgers Guettel at the annual gala, An Enchanted Evening: The Music of Richard Rodgers. Sondheim and Rodgers Guettel are former Playhouse apprentices.

2021: During its 90th anniversary — and the pandemic, the Playhouse pivots to an all-virtual season. It’s available on-demand, with captions in Spanish.

After 91 years, the view has changed little. (Photo/Robert Benson)

(Like the Westport Country Playhouse, “06880” relies on contributions for support. Please click here to help.)

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Posted in Arts, Entertainment, History, Looking back, Westport Country Playhouse

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“Gloria”: Singer’s Ode To An Oyster Boat

Posted on June 24, 2022 | 10 comments

Chris Bousquet is a singer-songwriter. He led High Lonesome Plains, and has performed with Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Asleep at the Wheel, the Nields, the Turtles and J. Geils.

A decade or so ago, he read about Westport oysterman Alan Sterling, and his boat Gloria (named for an old girlfriend). Bousquet calls it “a profoundly moving story of grief, continual struggle, and the simple triumph of carrying on.”

Gloria (Photo/Bruce McFadden)

Having grown up in Clinton, Connecticut, Bousquet always found the sea to be “ethereal and transcendent.” Staring out at the water, he believes in the interconnectedness of all things. So when Sterling noted in the story that a gull might be Gloria watching over him, Bousquet understood.

The sea can be warm and caressing, but also brutal. “Alan was well aware of the cold and raw, but it didn’t blind him to the beauty,” Bousquet says. Inspired, he reworked an old song into a new one: “Gloria.”

Bousquet never met Sterling in person. He thought about sharing the song with him, but felt it was presumptuous. Sterling died on July 4, 2014. Bousquet wishes he had told the oysterman what an inspiration he’d been.

“He made me appreciate my life — and my wife! — even more,” Bousquet says. “I don’t mean to sound trite. But he reminded me to head out on my proverbial boat, and sail on each day.”

Bousquet calls the song “my plywood skiff version of Alan’s oyster boat.”

Alan Sterling culling his oysters.

Gloria remained in Gray’s Creek after her owner’s death. For years it served as a memorial to Westporters: of a rugged individual, a centuries-old tradition, and our ties to the sea.

But over the past year, Gloria deteriorated. The old oyster boat is near collapse.

“Gloria, ” this spring. (Photo/Bruce McFadden)

Yet she — and Alan Sterling –live on.

Connecticut Public Television and PBS have produced a documentary called “Oyster Heaven.” It documents the history of oystering in our state’s waters, from Native American times through the industry’s collapse, and on to its current renaissance.

Screenshot from “Oyster Heaven.”

Much of the documentary focuses on Norm Bloom, and his Norwalk-based Copps Island Oysters.

The song “Gloria,” though, serves as the film’s theme. It’s the perfect choice.

Chris says, “I give this song with love and gratitude to the people of Westport — and Alan and Gloria.”

(To view “Oyster Heaven” — and hear “Gloria” — click here.) 

(Like PBS, “06880” relies on support from the public. Please click here to contribute whatever you can.)

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Posted in Arts, Environment, Looking back, Media

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Roundup: Staples Lacrosse, Levitt Kids, Rev. Hezekiah Ripley …

Posted on June 13, 2022 | 10 comments

In a seismic performance that rocked the state, the Staples boys lacrosse team stunned perennial powerhouse Darien 12-3 yesterday. It was the Wreckers’ first-ever state L (large schools) championship.

The game, played before a large crowd at Sacred Heart University, was even more one-sided than that. Staples led 9-1 at halftime, and never looked back.

Though the Westporters were seeded #2, and the Blue Wave #1, the only people not surprised by the overpowering win were the winners themselves.

Coach Will Koshansky and his staff prepared their squad well. The game plan — hold on to the ball on each possession, frustrating Darien’s offense and defense — worked to perfection.

Staples was led by Mason Schaefer (first goal, 1:23 into the game), Gavin Rothenberg (4 goals), Charlie Howard (3 goals, adding to his career-record total), Derek Sale (2 goals, 1 assist), Ryan Thompson (3 assists), and faceoff specialist Henry Dodge, who took away one of the Wavers’ most potent weapons.

Darien came back from a 9-7 deficit to win the regular season game, 15-10. There was no comeback yesterday — only an ever-lengthening Wrecker lead, and soon the state crown.

Congratulations to Coach Koshansky, his staff, and the entire Staples boys lacrosse program!

The state champion Staples High School boys lacrosse team.

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The Levitt Pavilion’s popular Children’s Series returns next week. It begins June 22, and runs every Wednesday at 7 p.m. through August 24. All 10 shows are free, with a ticket. Member online access began yesterday; public access begins today (Monday) at noon. Click here to reserve a ticket.

The Children’s Series kicks off with Josh Lovelace, whose new release is a modern pop-infused take on his trademark family-style Americana music.

Other performers include:

  • June 29: Falu (2022 Grammy Award-winner, Best Children’s Album)
  • July 6: Joanie Leeds (2021 Grammy winner, Best Children’s Music Album)
  • July 13: The Hall Family (beloved annual tradition)
  • July 20: Brady Rymer & the Little Band That Could (3 Grammy nominations)
  • July 27: Smity + Yarn (reggae funk, folk, country and roots)
  • August 3: Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats (2 Grammy nominations)
  • August 10: Elena Moon Park & Friends (folk and children’s songs from Asia)
  • August 17: Divinity Roxx (Grammy nominated)
  • August 24: Tim Kubart & the Space Cadets (2016 Grammy winner, Best Children’s album).

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Speaking of the Levitt: Fleetwood Mac tribute band Tusk entertained a large crowd there last night. The summer has begun!

(Photo/Lauri Weiser)

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Yesterday’s rededication of the newly restored Green’s Farms Church included the usual: speeches, a ribbon-cutting, refreshments.

It also included the unusual: a visit from Rev. Hezekiah Ripley, one of the most noted pastors in the 311-year-old church’s history. He served from 1762 to 1821; Martha Washington honored him with a gift of pewter.

Rev. Hezekiah Ripley in the Green’s Farms Church cemetery,, yesterday. (Photo/Tom Lowrie)

Green’s Farms Church began in 1711 as the parish’s religious, educational and social center, at what is now the corner of the I-95 Exit 18 parking lot, near the Sherwood Island Connector and Greens Farms Road.

It moved to its current Hillandale Road location in 1789. The current building dates to 1853. Click here for more details of this remarkable institution.

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Robert Braczyk sends a photo …

… and writes:

“We discovered this pattern in our Cross Highway back yard a week ago. It is 3 28-inch singed squares of grass in a roughly equilateral triangle, approximately 13 feet on each side.

“We have owned our house since 1968, and know there is nothing under the ground in that area.

“We consulted our lawn service, pool service and an arborist, who had been over the area 2 months earlier. We’ve asked our adjoining neighbors to look at it.

“People have suggested it could be grubs, a hot barbecue grill on the grass, spilled weed killer, a prank, and a couple of others ideas. None of those explanations are possible. We were at home throughout the time that it developed. I wonder if anyone else in Westport has seen anything like this.”

So, “06880” readers: What’s up (or down)? If you have an idea, click “Comments” below.

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“Westport … Naturally” kicks off the week with a beautiful photo.

(Photo … Elisabeth Lewey)

Beautiful, that is, unless she’s in your garden, or leaping in front of your car.

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And finally … in honor of the Staples boys lacrosse team’s huge state championship win yesterday: Sure, it’s a trite musical selection. But this song says it all.

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Posted in Children, Entertainment, Environment, Looking back, religion, Sports, Staples HS, Teenagers

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Green’s Farms Church Ready For Renovation Reveal

Posted on June 7, 2022 | 3 comments

Every homeowner knows the drill.

The refrigerator needs replacing. Then you add the cabinets next to it.

Soon you decide to redo the full kitchen. When you’re finally done, you’ve renovated the entire first floor.

Green’s Farms Church is a lot older than most Westport homes. Founded more than 3 centuries ago, and occupying the same storied spot on Hillandale Road since 1789, it has a remarkable history.

Green’s Farms Congregational Church

The church was formed when area residents grew tired of traveling by horse and cart to Fairfield every Sunday for services. The meetinghouse served as the site for important religious, political, educational and social meetings. It was rebuilt when the British burned it. After moving from what is now the southern side of the Exit 18 commuter parking lot, it endured more fires, hurricanes, and everything else that happens in 311 years.

One of Green’s Farms Church’s most cherished items is a pitcher donated by Martha Washington. It honors Rev. Hezekiah Ripley, who served from 1762 to 1821.

Parishioners first gathered on June 12, 1711. This Sunday — June 12, 2022 — Green’s Farms Church celebrates its most recent renovation.

It is thorough. It is handsome. It is in keeping with the understated Congregational tradition. But it brings Westport’s first religious institution firmly into the 21st century.

Yet much of it would not have happened without our 21st-century curse: COVID.

Several years ago, it was time to replace the organ. First installed in 1964, it had outlived its life span.

Soon, church leaders decided to also address structural issues like drainage and leaks at the same time. When they looked around the building — and saw that rooms like the social and banquet halls needed modernizing to better serve smaller gatherings like youth and bible study groups, and 12-step programs — they developed an integrated plan.

In 2019, architect Steve Orban and interior designer Betsy Cameron — both Green’s Farms members — began their designs. The next important step — fundraising — started too.

A few months later, the pandemic slammed the door on all in-person worship and meetings. Services went virtual — and contractor Rick Benson (also a parishioner) went to work.

The organ was removed. Contractors dug right to the foundation. They were surprised to find not boulders, but stacks of small rocks, supporting the structure.

Much of the work — steel, HVAC, drainage, fire suppression and more — will never be seen by congregants.

But what they see is quite impressive.

Beams from the original 1853 building — constructed after a fire destroyed the 1789 structure — were uncovered. Quickly, they were incorporated into the vestibule design.

One of 2 original beams, now in the narthex. They extend up to the 2nd floor.

The handsome narthex leads to a large area that can be used as an art gallery. It opens this Friday (June 10, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.), with an exhibit of paintings by Rebecca Swanson called — appropriately — “Emerging.”

Artwork will be hung this week in the new gallery.

At the rear of the gallery is a full kitchen. Among its uses: cooking meals for Westport’s Gillespie Center.

Two new classrooms bring the nursery school total to 6.

A handsome table upstairs was donated in memory of Stan Atwood. The Atwood family lived near the church.

The meetinghouse itself feels the same. But it’s deeper than before. The stained glass is much brighter (and built into a cabinet, with LED lights). The balcony has been brought forward too.

(From left): Diane Parrish, Peter Jennings and Claire England, iin the sanctuary.

A view from the rear shows newly restored stained glass.

As for the Aeolian-Skinner organ — the genesis of the ambitious project — it’s fully restored. But, in a nod to history, music director Rick Tripodi named several stops after choir members. He won’t be there to use the new instrument, unfortunately; he died just before the renovation was completed.

The restored church organ.

Green’s Farms parish was the original heart of what is now Westport. Over 300 years later, “we want to be more engaged and enmeshed in the community,” says Diane Parrish, co-chair of the capital campaign and renovation project.

“This is such a wonderful place for events and gatherings. We hope everyone will use it as much as possible.”

Several civic organizations are doing that. The Rotary Club and Sunrise Rotary are meeting weekly at Green’s Farms Church; the Chamber of Commerce will meet monthly. The Greens Farms Garden Club, Greens Farms Association and New Neighbors all use the space.

So will church-sponsored Scout troops. Four 12-step groups, and another one focused on mental health, have all been added.

A redesigned youth group room is also used for 12-step meetings.

“We owed the people who came before us the responsibility of caring for this building,” Parrish adds. “We owe it to the people here now — everyone in Westport — to be the best community members we can be.

“And we owe it to the people who come after us to make sure this is a building that lasts.”

If it lasts as long as the current one, Green’s Farms Church will be still serve Westporters in the year 2191.

(The rededication ceremony this Sunday, June 12, begins with a 9 a.m. ribbon cutting by 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker. Services at 10 a.m. led by Rev. Jeff Rider feature music performed on the restored pipe organ. A festival at 11 a.m. includes food, games, ice cream and cake. The public is invited to all activities.

(In between the June 10 gallery opening and the June 12 ceremony is this: At 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, the Remarkable Theatre screens “The Bad News Bears.” Green’s Farms faith formation minister David Stambaugh played Toby Whitewood in the classic film. Click here for tickets.)

(“06880” relies entirely on contributions from readers. Please click here to donate.)

A new curved wall in front of Green’s Farms Church has proved to be a popular spot to meet and relax. (All photos/Dan Woog)

 

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Roundup: Grace Salmon Park, Garbage, Gerber Baby …

Posted on June 5, 2022 | 21 comments

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.”

Sign at the transfer station.

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Speaking of trash:

A reader who loves Grace Salmon Park — but thinks it needs a bit of care — sent several photos of benches overgrown with weeds. Here are 2:

He adds: “Want a seat by the river? Bring your Claritin.”

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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 today.

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 today.

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)

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“Challenger Recognition Day” is always fun.

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!

Jonah Atienza and his dad. (Photo.Beth Cody)

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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)

Ambrosia Black (Photo/Jerri Graham)

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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.

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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

For more information, email liz@mocawestport.org or call 203-222-7070.

“Red, White, and Pink: The Colors of Politics” (Laetitia Adam-Rabel). Thread, yarn, ink, acrylic on canvas.

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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.

Nathalie Jacob …

… and her Gill jacket and iPhone.

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Staples High School’s senior prom — the first “normal” one after 2 COVID years — was held last night at the Greenwich Hyatt.

Most attendees were too busy having fun to take photos. But “06880”s great senior intern, Lyah Muktavaram, sent this photo along.

I’ve heard from 3 students who were there that it was a great one. I’m sure when they wake up — late this afternoon? — they’ll enjoy this image.

(Photo/Lyah Muktavaram)

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Nile Rodgers’ home here is still on the market.

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)

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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:

(Photo/Molly Alger)

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And finally … one famous “baby” deserves another:

 

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Roundup: Bill Cribari, Harry Breitman, Mark LeMoult …

Posted on May 30, 2022 | 1 comment

Everyone knows — or should know — that the William F. Cribari Bridge honors the long-time traffic officer who, with flair, dramatic moves and plenty of smarts directed traffic from and over the Saugatuck River span that now bears his name.

But only folks with long memories remember that Bill Cribari was also a high-strutting major with Nash Engineering’s crack drum and bugle corps.

He was at his finest every Memorial Day.

Here — decades later, thanks to his daughter, Sharon Saccary — is a wonderful shot of Bill Cribari: man, major, myth.

NOTE: I’m not sure what year this was from. I never recall the Memorial Day parade route going this direction past what is now Patagonia.

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When the Westport Police Department saw a couple of kids had set up a lemonade stand on South Compo Road, and traffic was pulling over, they …

… pulled over too.

They learned the youngsters were raisin money for the Connecticut Humane Society. So the WPD posted a photo on social media, urging everyone to stop by.

We saw this too late to help. But it’s never too late to thank young Westporters like these 2 — or our always helpful, very caring Westport Police.

Cops and kids, on South Compo.

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Many of the thousands of visitors to the 49th annual Westport Fine Arts Festival agreed: This was the best ever.

The (almost the entire time) great weather, the holiday weekend, the dozens of excellent artists, and the back-together-again vibe all contributed to the success of the weekend.

So did the great organizational skills and promotion of the Westport Downtown Association.

Congrats to all. And of course to the Best in Show artist: Dean DiMarzo.

2022 WEstport Fine Arts Festival Best in Show: Dean DieMarzo. (Photo/Tom Lowrie)

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Dick Lowenstein was intrigued by yesterday’s lead story. Tom Feeley honored a Westport VFW friend, whose life was saved in World War II by a guard in a German prisoner of war camp. The man — an American, who had been conscripted by the Nazis — altered Tom’s friend’s dog tags, erasing a reference to the soldier’s Jewish faith. That saved him from execution the following day.

Dick writes:

My uncle Donahl Breitman (born Heschel, later known as Harry) was a Brooklyn Jew who served in the 743rd Tank Battalion. They landed in Europe during the D-Day invasion.

His dog tag lacked the “H” for Hebrew. (The religion indicator was apparently optional. “C” for Catholic and “P” for Protestant were  the other choices.)

Because he spoke Yiddish and understood German, he was tasked with interrogating German prisoners. With the war near an end, my uncle was asked to accompany his commanding  officer to meet a Russian unit approaching from the east. My uncle and the Russian noncom communicated in Yiddish.

His older Russian-born cousin, Marine Capt. David Kipness, fought in World War I, and was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in the Battle of Belleau Wood.

Dick Lowenstein’s uncle’s dog tag — without the religious indicator.

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Mark LeMoult, was killed last week, in an automobile accident on Saugatuck Avenue, while driving his cherished 1968 Pontiac Catalina  He was 58, and lived in Norwalk.

Born in Bronxville, New York, he was raised here and was  a lifelong area resident. He attended Staples High School and graduated from The Culinary Institute of America.

Mark was a highly esteemed chef. His culinary career began at age 13, squeezing limes at Viva Zapata. Mark worked at Café Christina in Westport, the Hudson River Club and Rainbow Room in New York, and Tamarack Country Club in Greenwich. He had been the executive chef at the Field Club of Greenwich for the past 14 years. He met his fiancée Elizabeth 21 years ago, while working at Stamford’s Beacon Restaurant.

One of the highlights of Mark’s career was serving as the president of the Club Chefs of Connecticut from 2006-2010.

Mark enjoyed camping, river rafting and spending as much quality time with his sons as possible. Many “Tuesday Dad Days” were spent barbecuing and cheering on the New York Yankees.

His favorite places to visit were Lake George and Cape Cod with family. He loved to get his hands dirty planting in his garden. He cherished his dogs Leo  and Teddy, and loved mornings at the dog park and walks through the neighborhood.

He was a cigar aficionado, and relished his relaxing evening. Mark and Elizabeth enjoyed entertaining in the backyard with friends and family around the firepit, concerts at the Levitt Pavilion, and experiencing wonderful meals at local restaurants.

His family says, “All those who knew him will always remember his roaring laugh, unyielding hugs, and his gentle heart and soul.”

Mark is survived by his sons Scott of Stamford and Eric of Fairfield; fiancée Elizabeth Kenny of Norwalk; brothers, Michael (Mary) LeMoult of Trumbull, Chris (Carole) of Trumbull, and Kevin of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina; the mother of his children, Ellen LeMoult of Fairfield; stepfather, Bert Furgess of Murrells Inlet, SC, and several nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his sister Kelly.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated June 1 (10 a.m., Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Fairfield). Interment will follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery.

Friends may greet the family Tuesday, May 31 (4 to 8 p.m., Spear-Miller Funeral Home, Fairfield). Cheerful attire is encouraged to honor the vivacious life that Mark lived.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mark’s memory to the Culinary Institute of America’s scholarship fund: www.ciachef.edu/give. For information or to offer an online condolence, click here.

Mark LeMoult

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Everyone is at today’s Memorial Day parade — except these guys. They’re cooped up at Wakeman Town Farm. But they do make a nice, tight “Westport … Naturally” shot.

(Photo/Lauri Weiser)

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And finally …. today is Memorial Day. As we enjoy our holiday — at the beach, at backyard barbecues, with friends and family — let us not forget what this day is rally about.

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Art And History On Morningside Drive

Posted on May 16, 2022 | 10 comments

Right now, a Guggenheim Museum exhibit features the works of Vasily Kandinsky.

For years though, a Westport estate has had a connection to both the Guggenheim and Kandinsky.

It can be yours for just $4.995 million.

Main house at 77 Morningside Drive South.

The 77 Morningside Drive South property includes a guest house and barn. All told, there are 19 rooms, 8 bedrooms, 8 full baths, and 2 half-baths.

Plus a pool and tennis court.

Sure, you say, I’d love to buy it. But what if the neighbors suddenly cut down trees, or build an ugly McMansion next door?

No worries! The 3 acres of land is surrounded by a 7-acres preserve, owned by Aspetuck Land Trust. You pay for 3 acres, but really get 10.

Aerial view of 77 Morningside Drive South.

The history is as interesting as the property itself. Dating to 1870, and called the Sherwood-Grout house, the original home was bought by Hilla Von Rebay.

Born in Alsace in 1890, her father was a Prussian general. She attended private school in Paris, then dove into the bohemian lifestyles of Munich, Berlin and Paris, before spending time with the Dadaists in Zurich. She had numerous affairs, including one with Hans Arp.

Hilla von Rebay, around 1915.

In 1926, she came to the US. She was soon known as one of the most powerful but also most eccentric women in the art world.

She met Solomon Guggenheim, who was 30 years older and one of America’s wealthiest men. She inspired his interest in art, and advised him on what became his noted and extensive collection,

The pair — with Guggenheim’s wife — traveled throughout Europe. They met Marc Chagall, Paul Klee and Piet Mondrian, and bought hundreds of pieces of art.

Guggenheim and von Rebay rented an apartment at New York’s Plaza Hotel, and put on art exhibits there. They formed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in 1939, and planned a new building on Central Park.

The baroness was influential in selecting Frank Lloyd Wright (who called her a “superwoman”) to design what became the Guggenheim Museum. It took nearly 2 decades to complete, due to problems with finding a proper site, revisions of plans, and material and labor shortages during and after World War II.

Hilla von Rebay with a model of the proposed Guggenheim Museum, 1946.

Von Rebay — who had a 1-bedroom studio at Carnegie Hall — bought the Greens Farms property. She named it Franton Court, in honor of her parents, Franz and Toni. Every year, tulips were shipped from the Netherlands.

She replaced a living room wall with plate glass, offering a full view of the gardens she had created. She hung paintings by famed artists throughout the house, as well as a Calder mobile.

Von Rebay converted the barn into an enormous studio. Her artist friends — Chagall, Kandinsky, Leger and others — came to work there.

Hilla von Rebay in Westport in the 1940s, with Rudolf Bauer, Fernand Legerand and others.

Five years before she died, Von Rebay made plans for a foundation. She recommended that her house be maintained as an art gallery and research facility, so her collection, library and other modern art material could be available to visitors. She also wanted her then-14-acres of land to become a wildlife sanctuary.

The town nixed the museum. So the Guggenheim Museum now owns her paintings — some of which are shown in the current Kandinsky exhibit — along with 10,000 letters.

But the preserve remains.

Unlike some older properties, Von Rebay’s home has been well cared for. With 10-foot ceilings and large rooms, the flow feels very modern.

Kandinskys, Chagalls and Klees no longer hang on the walls. But 77 Morningside Drive South has just about everything else you could want.

Including one of the most fascinating, and little-known, histories in town.

(For more information on 77 Morningside Drive South, click here.) 

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High Point For The Senior Center

Posted on May 15, 2022 | 9 comments

I’ve written before of my gratefulness for growing up on High Point Road.

At a mile, Westport’s longest cul-de-sac — and where my parents moved in 1956, when the (then-few) mailboxes were clustered together at Long Lots Road, and their address was not a street number but “Lot 12 East” — was its own true neighborhood.

Dozens of post-war baby boomers rode our bikes up and down High Point. We played games at the “turnaround,” wandered into and out of each other’s houses (and got fed by whoever’s mother happened to be in the kitchen), and gathered in large groups at bus stops (for Burr Farms Elementary School) or to walk (to Long Lots Junior High).

In this 1965 aerial view, Staples High School is on the left. An arrow points to High Point Road — and the house I grew up in.

We had block parties — first on empty lots near where Angora Lane is now, then on the Staples High athletic fields directly behind the homes on the road’s west side.

There was Christmas caroling (with Jewish families joining in), and all-road Halloween events.

Rod Serling and his family celebrating Christmas, at their High Point Road home.

Parents had their own adult-only parties. My mother and many other women formed a garden club, and planted pachysandra up and down the road. A monthly newsletter introduced newcomers to their neighbors, and vice versa.

Like many neighborhoods, the ages of families waxed and waned. Some decades rocked with lots of elementary kids; others were quieter, with far fewer. Eventually younger families moved in, and the cycle continued.

A map of residents through the years. “1954” refers to the first residents.

High Point is still a fantastic neighborhood (even if it’s more difficult for kids to cut through back yards now to get to Staples). But the High Point Road Association — a half-century-old tradition — faded away a few years ago.

There was not enough time (or interest?) among most new families to keep it going. The 2010s and ’20s are not the 1950s and ’60s.

There was just one issue: What to do about the $1,000 that remained in the bank account. It had sat there for years, untouched.

Ulla Atweh — the organization’s last president — had an idea. To honor of some of the older residents — men and women like Peg Nesbitt, Paul Heilman, Walter Eads and my own parents, who had kept the Association going, and the few remaining residents like Judy Weinstock and Estelle Kesselman who are the last links to the past — she gave the money to the Senior Center.

High Point Road continues to evolve. New homes are being built (including where I grew up, which long ago changed from “Lot 12 East” to “#34). New families are moving in.

Times change.

Maybe one day they’ll start a new High Point Association. For right now though, the Senior Center is richer, thanks to the generosity of this remarkable road.

Happy, friendly High Point Road residents, in 2019.

 

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Posted in Looking back, Real estate, Westport life

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Historic Homeowner Says: “Please Return Our Fixtures And Furniture!”

Posted on May 7, 2022 | 2 comments

For a while, it looked like the South Morningside home owned for decades by  noted artists Walter and Naiad Einsel — and before that, Charles B. Sherwood (of Sherwood Island fame) — would be demolished.

A developer bought the property, and — despite its history, and its location on wetlands — tried to take advantage of the state 8-30g statute. It takes precedence over historic districts and flooding issues.

Three years ago, the developer and town reached a settlement. The handsome structures were saved.

The Morningside Drive South home of Walter and Naiad Einsel.

Since the beginning of this year, Lillie Fortino Tsahirides and here husband have been renovating the Victorian home. Their goal is to reuse and rehabilitate as many of the original fixtures and elements possible.

On  Thursday they learned that 2 to 3 people entered the property during working hours — while contractors were there — and helped themselves to light fixtures, furniture, and other elements.

“I guess they assumed it was trash,” Lillie writes on the Facebook Front Porch page.

One of the “missing” light fixtures.

She adds: “While it’s upsetting to know that individuals thought it alright to enter our private property, I’m really devastated over the loss of irreplaceable original fixtures. Someone went so far as to help themselves to our dog’s poop scoop.”

She’s taking the high road: “If you were one of those who mistakenly thought these items were up for grabs/intended for trash, please, PLEASE, return them.

“It’s hard to imagine several people would blatantly rob us in broad daylight, so I’m hoping this is all a big misunderstanding.

“If you know of someone who was involved, please ask them to return the poperty, no questions asked.”

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