Category Archives: Photo Challenge

Photo Challenge #527

Posted on February 2, 2025 | 19 comments

It would be easy to overlook the small stone pillar that says “Rest Enjoy Protect,” at the entrance to one of Westport’s oldest cemeteries.

It would be easy, that is, except for its location.

Standing a few feet off Kings Highway North, not far from its intersection with Wilton Road, it’s a spot that hundreds of drivers — waiting in traffic for the interminable traffic light to change — stare at every day.

The small cemetery has a long history (click here for details). It’s also been the subject of several “06880” stories over the year, for its deteriorating condition.

It sure is visible. Two dozen readers quickly identified last week’s Photo Challenge: Ed Simek, Ann Bacharach, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Andrew Colabella, Jane McCaffrey, Mickey Herbst, Robert Mitchell, Jane Nordli, Seth Schachter, John Nevin, Karen Como, Janice Strizever, Leslie Aronson, Karen de Mille, Morley Boyd, Stacy Prince, Paul Cahill, Micheal Simso, Joan Lipson, Wendy Schaefer, Amy Schneider, Ali Godfrey Woods and Dan Ashley.

(To see the photo — and read some of the interesting comments made about the cemetery and the sign — click here.)

This week’s Photo Challenge dates back to colonial days too.

Well, sort of. Check out the quote from Ben Franklin (1706-1790).

If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Mary Lou Roels)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

 

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Photo Challenge #526

Posted on January 26, 2025 | 30 comments

The lobby of the Westport Weston Family YMCA is a busy place.

A constant stream of members check in, leave, and ask questions at the front desk.

People sit in the comfortable chairs. They use laptops, read newspapers, feed their little kids.

It’s easy to overlook the grandfather clock, sitting quietly (except for noon, when it gongs) in the corner to the right of the front doors.

But Lynn Wilson, Richard Hyman, Andrew Colabella, Lois Himes, Matt McGrath and Jalna Jaeger all know exactly where the tall clock is. And they all chimed in, to identify it as the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.)

Here’s this week’s image. If you know where in Westport you’d see it, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Seth Braunstein)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!

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Posted in Photo Challenge, YMCA

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Photo Challenge #525

Posted on January 19, 2025 | 10 comments

Last week’s Photo Challenge was as basic as it gets: a simple black rotary phone.

But the story behind it more than makes up for the plainness.

Bob Weingarten’s image shows a “wind phone.” Dedicated to Lynda Bluestein — and championed by her, before her death early last year — it’s disconnected.

People can use them to stay connected to loved ones who have died. (Click here for more details. Click here for the photo.)

Though the wind phone sits unobtrusively amid the “Library of Things,” near the first floor conference rooms and restrooms, more than a dozen readers knew what and where it was.

Ed Simek, Susan Nolte, Michael Szeto, Joelle Berger, Richard Hyman, Karen Kim, Amy Schneider, Fred Levine, Andrew Colabella, Jennifer Zorek-Pressman, Marla Kerwin, Robert Frank and John Lisée all answered correctly.

Fred Levine added, “I have used it. A very moving experience.”

The weather is cold, so we’ll stay indoors with this week’s Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Jay Dirnberger)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!

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Photo Challenge #524

Posted on January 12, 2025 | 22 comments

We eased into 2025 with one of our easiest Photo Challenges ever.

Nearly 3 dozen readers quickly spotted last week’s image as the sign hanging over the front door of the Saugatuck Rowing Club.

Apart from a couple of random guesses (Longshore, Fairfield County Hunt Club), nearly everyone knew the iconic Riverside Avenue spot. (Click here to see.)

Congratulations to Andrew Colabella, Joelle Berger, Barbara Mathias, Martin W. Gitlin, “TonyT@duck.com,” Janice Strizever, Vanessa Bradford, Robert Mitchell, Ed Simek, Linda Velez, Rachel Halperin, Micheal Simso, Will Gibson, Werner Liepolt, Seth Schachter, Harry Brady, Seth Braunstein, Michael Szeto, Sal Liccione, Tom Green, Michael Laux, Amy Schneider, Heidi McGee, John Lisée, Michelle Garvey, Mousumi Ghosh, Ivy Gosseen, Howard Potter and Colleen Williams.

Don’t rest on your laurels, though. This week’s is much tougher.

If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Bob Weingarten)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

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Posted in Photo Challenge, Sports

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Photo Challenge #523

Posted on January 5, 2025 | 32 comments

Duck!

That — well, the Black Duck, anyway — was the site of last week’s Photo Challenge.

The cropped photo, showing only the door and a crooked window (click here to see) threw off our readers. Most guessed Wakeman Town Farm.

Lee Scharfstein and Jennifer Piseck had their ducks in a row. Well done!

Meanwhile, f you know where today’s Photo Challenge is, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Bob Weingarten)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

32 Comments

Posted in Photo Challenge, Restaurants, Saugatuck

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Photo Challenge #522

Posted on December 29, 2024 | 8 comments

Last Sunday, I gave “06880” readers an early holiday gift.

Our Photo Challenge was both gorgeous, and easy to recognize: the Greens Farms post office lobby.

It was decorated beautifully, lovingly, and cleverly. (Click here to see.)

That homey touch is just one of the reasons Westporters — those who live in the neighborhood, and those who don’t but fortunately are in the know — love it.

And patronize it.

It’s one of Westport’s best-kept secrets (though, as Dave Eason commented, after the Photo Challenge publicity, it may no longer be too secret).

Besides Dave, 2 dozen readers took time out from their shopping to check in with the right answer. (A few others misidentified it as the Westport Museum for History & Culture.)

Congratulations to Jen Dennison, Ed Simek, Matt Murray, Jacque O’Brien, Seth Schachter, Kevin O’Connor, Lee Bollert, Bob Schroeder, Kate Caputo Squyres, Michael Szeto, Seth Braunstein, Clark Thiemann, Elisabeth Boas, Rob Hauck, Marianne Harrison, Sal Liccione, Jonathan McClure, Matt McGrath, Rob Henkin, Cheryl Petrone, Lynn Untermeyer Williams, Colleen Williams and Paul Cahill.

You all got that “post” right!

How many readers will get this one?

If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Lou Weinberg)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

 

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Photo Challenge #521

Posted on December 22, 2024 | 31 comments

Most Photo Challenges show a closely cropped version of a larger image. It’s usually an exterior shot from somewhere in Westport — the cupola of a school building, for example, or a garden most of us pass every day without really “seeing.”

Last week’s Photo Challenge was very different.

At first glance it looked like an aerial photograph of hundreds of people, arranged on a white surface — snow or ice? — to form the visage of Madonna. (The singer — not, despite the proximity to Christmas, the mother of Jesus. Click here to see.)

But there was far more there than met the casual eye.

The Photo Challenge showed Lynn Untermeyer Miller’s shot of a piece of art that hangs in Clarendon Fine Art, the exciting Main Street gallery.

It’s by contemporary artist Craig Alan. Like much of his work, the “people” forming Madonna (and other subjects, like Nelson Mandela and Ruth Bader Ginsburg) are actually intricately drawn characters.

All are unique. But together, they form a meaningful whole.

Mary Sikorski, Andrew Colabella, Arthur Hayes, John McKinney and Marcia Brooks all knew their art — or at least, their Westport art gallery.

This week’s Photo Challenge is also a bit out of the ordinary. It’s a cleverly designed Christmas scene. But where in Westport is it?

If you know, click “Comments” below.

And whether you know exactly where, think maybe you do, or have absolutely no clue: Happy Holidays, from all the photographers at “06880” to you.

(Photo/Jonathan Alloy)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

31 Comments

Posted in Arts, Local business, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #520

Posted on December 15, 2024 | 11 comments

“Buy local” is a national movement.

In Westport, there is no bigger proponent than Savvy + Grace.

The gifts/souvenirs/cool one-of-a-kind Main Street shop, underneath Nômade and next to Brandy Melville, epitomizes the uniqueness and importance of patronizing our neighbors’ stores.

(And true to its roots, its trove of Westport-themed items is unmatched anywhere.)

Last week’s Photo Challenge showed the cute “Thank You for Shopping Local” sign outside owner Annette Norton’s shop. (Click here to see.)

The message has clearly gotten through. A dozen readers — Kristin Schneeman, Lee Bollert, Seth Schachter, Molly Alger, Lynn Untermeyer Miller, Andrew Colabella, Dave Eason, Li-Er Fradella, Sal Luccione, Micheal Simso, Amy Schneider and Wendy Schaefer — quickly nailed the answer.

There are 9 shopping days until Christmas. You know the assignment.

Today’s Photo Challenge is a bit unusual. But Lynn Untermeyer Miller snapped this image somewhere in town. If you know where, click “Comments” below.

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

11 Comments

Posted in Local business, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #519

Posted on December 8, 2024 | 13 comments

Westport has its share of cupolas.

The one at Kings Highway Elementary School is one of the most distinctive. That made it easy for so many readers to nail it, as the site of last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.)

Victor Belyaev, Andrew Colabella, Amy Schneider, Ann Bacharach, Fred Rubin, Jodie Aujla, Seth Schachter, Peter Barlow, Beth Berkowitz, Jill Turner Odice and Edward Karazin all recognized the distinctive crown feature.

Several readers added the back story: The school opened in 1926 — nearly 100 years ago — as Bedford Junior High. It lay across the field from what was then Staples High School (now Saugatuck Elementary).

In 1958 — when Staples moved to North Avenue — the Riverside Avenue building became Bedford Junior High. The old Bedford was, in turn, Westport’s newest elementary school. (Burr Farms and Hillspoint followed quickly, in those post-war baby boom years. Coleytown El was built just 5 years previously.)

Today’s seasonally appropriate Photo Challenge is below. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Dan Woog)

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

13 Comments

Posted in Education, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #518

Posted on December 1, 2024 | 15 comments

Westporters driving along Riverside Avenue often whiz past the Sylvan Lane corner.

But if you ever stop — perhaps for a row of ducks crossing the street — there, by the gas station, you’ll see a garden.

Nestled among the plants and planters sits a ceramic frog. (Or toad? I’m not sure of the difference.)

It probably comes from Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, around the corner. It would fit in well there.

That was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.) 

Matt Dombrow and (of course) Andrew Colabella were the only 2 readers to answer correctly.

Now, of course, everyone will slow down to check the garden out, when they’re in the area. Well, maybe one or two will.

Hopefully, this is a more recognizable sight. If you know where in Westport you’d see this click “Comments” below.

(Every Sunday, “06880” hosts this Photo Challenge. We challenge you too to support your hyper-local blog. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)

15 Comments

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