It’s mid-winter. But golfers will swing their clubs next month, right here in Westport.
Nearby, batters will swing, hoopsters will shoot, and dart players will toss.
It’s all simulated, of course. But 5 state-of-the-art golf and multi-sport simulators are ready to go at The Clubhouse — Westport’s new, intriguing event space.
The long-awaited facility opens February 5 at 1620 Post Road East, site of the former Pane e Bene restaurant. Permitting and construction has been underway since mid-2023.
The Clubhouse opens February 5.
It will be worth the wait. In addition to the simulators — featuring some of the world’s greatest golf courses, and other sports ranging from football to Zombie dodgeball — The Clubhouse includes 2 private karaoke rooms, plus a bar serving a full range of pub bites and classics (smash burgers, wedge salad, rigatoni, Farmers’ Market crudité, homemade chips and dip), with signature cocktails, local beers and premium bourbon.
A “good ol’ root beer float” is on the menu too.
The simulator bays are versatile. They’re also available to watch sports — football, March Madness, the US Tennis Open, the Masters — for small groups.
One of the 5 simulators.
Larger groups can book part or all of The Clubhouse too, for birthdays, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs, corporate outings, reunions, even fantasy football draft parties.
If you’re a University of Michigan fan, you’re in special luck. Emily and Tim Zobl — the Westport couple who conceived of and developed The Clubhouse — are alums. They call their place “an official University of Michigan alumni bar.” (Emily — a 2012 Staples High School graduate — played varsity field hockey for the Wolverines.)
Tim and Emily Zobl.
For the Zobls, there is no limit to what The Clubhouse can do or be. They envision Trivia Nights, sports leagues — whatever type of entertainment Westporters want, they’ll provide.
It’s taken a while to fulfill their elevated activity space dream. With backgrounds in hospitality, food service, technology, events planning and real estate — they understood the opportunities, challenges and risks.
Karaoke …
Westport has never had a facility like The Clubhouse.
However, decades ago — on the property next door, now Lansdowne Condominiums — there was a driving range, miniature golf course, trampoline center and skating rink. (The rink — which briefly became a discotheque — is now the Westport Tennis Club.)
… and darts. All scoring is done electronically.
Come to think of it, our town golf course does not even have a clubhouse.
It’s in the long-range Longshore renovation plans.
Whenever — actually, if — it ever gets built, it won’t be nearly as versatile and cool, or enjoyed by as many people, as The Clubhouse.
(To learn more, and to book an activity space at The Clubhouse, click here. Their Instagram is @theclubhousewestport).
(“06880” regularly covers sports, local businesses and real estate — and, like today, sometimes they all intersect. If you enjoy our hyper-local coverage, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
NOTE: This story was published erroneously Sunday, 2 days earlier than scheduled. It is reposted now.
Staples Players made a life-changing impact on Gina Rattan.
After performing in shows like “Guys and Dolls,” “The Music Man” and “City of Angels,” the 2004 graduate studied directing at the University of Michigan.
She’s worked at the Royal Albert Hall and Guthrie Theater; assisted the lead producer at Disney Theatrical, and served as associate director for 7 Broadway shows, and the national tour of “Cinderella.”
Gina now coaches actors for theater, film and TV, plus corporate executives. She focuses on helping people communicate, in any area of life.
Gina Rattan
For the past 10 years, Gina has mentored directors in Staples’ One-Act Festival. She helps teenagers bring their vision to the Black Box stage.
But — realizing the impact of her Staples experience 2 decades ago — she wanted to do more.
“Players is an environment where excellence was expected of me. People believed I could do something challenging and great — and that when I screwed up, we could solve problems together,” Gina says.
“I wanted to pass that along to the next generation of kids.”
She talked with David Roth — her Players’ director in the early 2000s, and still in that role — about another project that could empower teenagers.
The result — “A Wrinkle in Time” — can be seen February 7 (sold out) and February 8 (5 and 7 p.m.) at Toquet Hall.
The adaptation of the beloved science fantasy novel, in a non-traditional performing space, excites Gina.
“It’s very different for the actors than being in the light, with the audience in the dark,” says Gina. “It adds excitement. No one can hide.”
The set is minimal, but the spectacle is great, she notes.
She and her actors use the rehearsal process as a “creative laboratory.” Gina, the actors, stage managers and production assistants are all co-creators in the final product.
Together, they “create the mood, and structure the world, in a very exciting way.”
“I could do it all on my own,” Gina notes. “But it’s much more empowering this way. There is a lot of experimentation, collaboration, and opportunities to try, fail, and build resilience.”
Her teenage students realize that there is not just one answer to how to stage a scene, or interpret a character. They do not follow Gina’s commands. Instead, they create a work together.
Gina Rattan (seated on floor) with her young actors. (Photo/Kerry Long)
That’s not easy, the director says. “Self-empowerment is grueling. It takes a lot of energy.
“But the process of discovery is just as important as the result. That’s a hard sell in our culture today. In an educational context, it’s so important.”
Gina enjoys working with the young cast and crew — and not just for their talent, eagerness and willingness to collaborate.
“I didn’t want to direcct kids pretending to be adults, which is what most high school shows have to be. It’s nice to have a show where they can just been teenagers, and relate to their own experiences.”
“At the same time, there’s a fantasy/science fiction element to it. They’re interpreting it all at a sophisticated level.”
Rehearsing at Staples High School, before moving to Toquet Hall. (Photo/Kerry Long)
The audience for “A Wrinkle in Time” is broad, Gina says.
“If you loved the book, you’ll love the show. If you’re a teenager, or a teenager’s parent, you’ll connect with it. And for anyone who’s a fan of science fiction and fantasy, it’s a home run.”
Gina loves this project because the cast and crew “never stop learning.” That’s one of the most important lessons she learned in Players, and throughout her years in the Westport schools: “Learning is fun. Learning is great.”
The teenagers are “developing skills at a formative time in their lives. They’ll have the benefit of those skills for the rest of their lives. I feel very honored to be a part of that.”
(Click here to purchase tickets for “A Wrinkle in Time,” and for more information.
(Staples Players’ spring season continues with “The 25th annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” The mainstage show runs one weekend only: March 7-9.)
(From Staples Players to the Westport Country Playhouse — and to local stars on Broadway, TV and the movies — “06880” covers our town’s vibrant arts scene. Please click here to support us. Thanks!)
The good news: The Westport Library reopens today at its normal Sunday time: 1 p.m. It was closed Friday and Saturday, due to a burst pipe.
The equally good news: The cold weather has ended. Today’s high is predicted to be 41 degrees. On Wednesday, they could climb to near 50.
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Brava for Liana Sonenclar!
The 2014 Staples High School graduate is a New York playwright. Her latest work, “Before This New Year” begins previews at the Duke on 42nd Street off-Broadway theater on March 19. Opening night is April 4.
The play follows a high school track star, who is forced to confront old feelings and life-changing decisions when she reconnects with a former teammate after her first semester of college.
Press materials say, “sharp, funny, and poignant, ‘Before This New Year’ is a powerful exploration of love, loss, identity, and coming-of-age in today’s relentlessly high-pressured world.”
It’s also the name of an initiative that inspires people to commit to supporting each other through small acts that have big impacts. Put simply: “‘being there’ is as simple as a hand on a shoulder.”
It’s as simple as reaching out, checking in and making contact.
On February 1 (6 p.m., Milford Ice Pavilion), Staples High School’s Stormac co-op boys hockey team will play Wilton in a “Shoulder Check Game.”
The goal is to raise awareness of mental health issues.
Former Staples High School athlete Jason Stever died peacefully earlier this month in Seneca, South Carolina, with his wife and daughter by his side. He was 50 years old.
A member of the Class of 1993, Jason captained both the soccer and lacrosse teams. He won the soccer Alumni Award for his dedication to the program, and was noted for his intelligence, athleticism and leadership. As a senior, the Wrecker lacrosse team qualified for its first state tournament ever.
At Clemson University Jason was president of the Pi Kappa Psi fraternity, and became passionate about the Tigers football team.
A skilled handyman, he often helped friends and family. His smile and generous spirit lifted all those around him.
Jason is survived by his parents, Jacqueline and Jay Stever; his wife, Tracy Stever; daughter Addison Stever and stepson, TJ Barranger; sister Jennifer Vaughn (Craig Vaughn); brother-in-lawMarty Duncan (Diana), and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and lifelong friends.
A celebration of Jason’s life will be held in Hilton Head, South Carolina at a date to be determined.
Jason Stever, in the 1993 Staples yearbook.
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As ice melts at the Sherwood Island State Park beach, it looks almost like mid-summer foam.
Pamela Docters captured the scene, for our daily “Westport … Naturally” feature.
And finally … on this date in 1863, Massachusetts Governor John Andrew received permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia for men of African descent.
The 1989 film “Glory” depicts the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Infanatry Regiment, from their formation to their heroism at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner.
(From the Library and Old Mill Grocery, to off-Broadway and beyond, “06880” brings you hyper-local news and information, 24/7/365. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Few things in Hunter Peterson’s life are more satisfying than shellfishing.
The Westport native began at any early age. “It’s so rewarding being outdoors, harvesting things with your own hands,” he says.
“You feel self-reliant, cooking what you caught for yourself and people you love.”
Those sound like the words of a weathered oldtimer. But Hunter is in his mid-20s. He graduated from Staples High School in 2017.
Since then he’s been a volunteer firefighter here, and in New Hampshire. He’s worked as a deckhand on fishing boats, and in oyster farms.
Hunter Peterson
All along, he fished and crabbed.
Now Hunter has taken his passion to a new level. Last year he began meeting groups at Compo Beach, Canal Beach and the Saugatuck River. He shows them how to stand on shore or wade into the water, and harvest oysters, clams and blue crabs.
Wielding rakes for quahogs, traps for blue crabs and bare hands for picking oysters off rocks, he passes on his knowledge and excitement.
One of Hunter Peterson’s crabs …
His eager students are all ages.
“It’s a great family activity — especially with blue crabs, which you can catch completely from shore,” Hunter notes. “You don’t need to go into chest-deep water, with waders.”
Some people in his groups have fished for a long time. Others never did, but are intrigued by the time-honored New England activity.
There is an even mix between males and females.
… and a clam.
Hunter’s shell-fishing interest has taken him beyond the water. Last month he joined Westport’s Shellfish Commission. Members monitor water quality, look out for the town’s natural shellfish beds, and protect our important resources.
This year, he has a booth at the Westport Winter Farmers’ market. In addition to selling shellfish, he enjoys educating people about the bounty.
Hunter Peterson’s booth, at the Indoor Westport Farmers’ Market.
Hunter’s future plans include possible raw bar catering, and spring trout fishing trips on the Aspetuck River.
Meanwhile, he hopes to start a shellfish farm. He is taking a state course, while exploring a 10-acre lease in Long Island Sound
(For more information, text Hunter Peterson at 203-803-5006, or follow him on Instagram: @saugatuck_oyster_company)
(“06880” covers the Westport waterfront — literally, and figuratively. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
On Monday night, Meloday James saw “King in the Wilderness.”
It was Martin Luther King Day, and the Westport Country Playhouse showed the documentary produced by Westport author/playwright/professor Trey Ellis.
The film portrayed a side of the civil rights icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner seldom discussed today: a conflicted leader, who at the time of his death was assailed by critics on both the left and right.
Melody — a 1964 Staples High School graduate — was deeply moved.
It resonated personally: She saw footage of the violent 1966 demonstrations in Chicago and Cicero, Illinois, for fair housing.
Melody arrived to start as a community organizer for JOIN Community Union in Uptown that same day.
“Some of us went to the demo,” she recalls.
“They threw cherry bombs at us. There were screaming, violent white people –much as we witnessed in Washington on January 6, 2021 — full of hatred. It was terrifying!”
That reminded her, in turn, of earlier activism, when she was still a Staples student. Her class raised funds for the World Health Organization.
At the UN (from left): Pete Seidman, Carole Seligman, Joy Wassell, Deb Begley, the head of the WHO, Tim Honey, Tom Dublin, Melody James, Katie Burnham, Dick Sugarman.
A few hours before watching “King in the Wilderness,” President Trump was inaugurated.
One of his first acts was to begin the process to withdraw the United States from the WHO.
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)
Staples High School Class of 2021 graduate Jamie Mann makes his Great White Way debut this spring in the new show “Stranger Things: The First Shadow.”
The prequel to the popular Netflix show is set 24 years before the TV show’s first season. Jamie plays the teenage version of Ted Wheeler, Mike Wheeler’s jock dad, and understudies James Hopper, Jr.
Alison Jay plays Joyce Maldonado (the Winona Ryder character). She and Jamie became friends in 2022, while working on the workshop for the play at Netflix in Los Angeles.
Jamie had been on the Netflix set before. He starred as Brody in “Country Comfort,”during part of his junior and senior year at Staples High School.
Westporters know Jamie from his roles with Staples Players, and as a longtime student of Cynthia Gibb’s Triple Threat Academy. (Jamie now teaches dance classes and offers private dance and acting coaching).
During Bedford Middle School, Jamie played Billy Elliot in theaters throughout the East Coast. He will graduate remotely, with a BFA from the University of Michigan’s musical theater program this spring.
“Stranger Things” opens on April 22. Previews begin March 28. For tickets and more information, click here.
Jamie Mann (Photo/Michael Kushner)
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Speaking of theater: “Broadway’s Bad Boys” opened at the Westport Country Playhouse last night. The 4-night run ends Sunday.
Performed by 3 Broadway actors — Sam Gravitte (“Wicked”), Kevin Massey (“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”) and Julius Thomas III (“Hamilton”) — who played villains in musicals, the production includes “Phantom of the Opera,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and Professor Harold Hill of “Music Man.”
Curtain call at the Westport Country Playhouse last night. (Hat tip and photo/Dave Matlow)
Speaking still of entertainment: It’s only January, but the Levitt Pavilion has announced its first acts of the season.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and The Infamous Stringdusters — those are bands — will be joined by New York’s Melt, on June 1.
The funk/bluegrass/indie soul tour will play just 5 venues across the Northeast. Ours is one of them.
It won’t be the Levitt’s opener, though. The 2025 season runs from may through October, with a combination of paid-ticket shows and 50 free dates. More shows will be announced soon.
Tickets go on sale today (Friday), at 10 a.m. Click here to purchase, and for informatio on the “enchanced concert experience” package.
A capacity crowd filled the Westport Library’s Trefz Forum last on Sunday, for our town’s 19th annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.
The event included a wide-ranging discussion with noted producer Shonda Rhimes, and novelist/playwright/professor Trey Ellis. Both are Westport residents.
If you missed it — or if you were there, and want to see it again (along with a pair of great performances by gospel singer Christian Servance) — click below:
We followed up by noting that a third wind phone — a disconnected rotary telephone, through which users can stay connected with loved ones who have died — was just installed at Greenfield Congregational Church.
Now there’s more news about Lynda, a longtime Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport member and staunch advocate for medical aid in dying legislation.
This is a story about choice, not death.
Lynda Bluestein would not take ‘no’ for an answer. Because Medical Aid in Dying is not legal in Connecticut, Lynda is forced to find another way to die peacefully.
This is an intimate and gripping look into what it takes to legally die on one’s own terms in the United States. Other Side delves into the systemic, familial and emotional complexities of navigating an untrodden medical landscape while terminally ill.
A 90-minute documentary about her life and death — “Other Side” — has just been accepted by South by Southwest.
Its world premiere is scheduled for the prestigious film festival in March.
Yesterday, Westport Police received a report from a friend that William Hill has not been seen since Monday.
He is homeless, avoiding shelters, but visits friends at Sasco Creek Village daily. Given the extreme cold this past week, friends and the Police are extremely concerned for his welfare.
Hill is 62, between 5-7 and 5-11 tall, medium build, with salt and pepper hair, and a moustache. He was last seen wearing a black jacket and pushing a gray Trek bicycle with a rack, carrying bags and a knapsack on his back.
Anyone with information that can help locate William Hill should call the Police Department: 203-341-6000.
Her third novella in the “Abbey Lane” fiction series, “Deadly Donations,” has just been published.
Here, the former investigative reporter turned private detective encounters the effect of huge donations by foreign countries to American universities.
The Network Contagion Research Institute reports that over $47 billion has been donated, much of it not reported, and coming from authoritarian Middle East countries.
Meanwhile, hate crimes and antisemitic acts increased over 200% on campuses. When Abbey’s activist client is murdered, she delves into those corrupt donations. Click here to purchase on Amazon.
And finally … Never heard of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong — the band that will headline the June 1 Levitt Pavilion concert (story above)?
Click below!
(Every day, the Roundup highlights future events, recaps past ones, and covers everything else in between. If you enjoy our hyper-local coverage, please click here to support our work. Thannk you!)
Chris O’Dell is a 1995 graduate of Staples High School. He is also head of operations for The O’Dell Group, a design builder of environmentally friendly homes.
And he is the longtime freshman boys soccer coach at Staples. Last week, he learned that his contract would not be renewed. Chris writes:
I have been a part of the Staples boys soccer program for over 30 years. I was a player and captain in the early ’90s for head coach Jeff Lea. I have coached in the program since 2005, first under head coach Dan Woog, most recently under head coach Russell Oost-Lievense.
My business has built many homes, kickboards for the soccer team, sets for Bedford Middle School plays, and sponsored local PAL basketball teams. Dozens of Staples students have interned for me.
Chris O’Dell built this, at Loeffler Field.
My brother, his family and my mother all live in town.
My best friends from high school are still here. They coach youth sports, they are PTA presidents, they open up local restaurants and other businesses, all to make Westport a better place.
I have been to weddings of former players, seen the birth of their children, written job references, and worked in their homes and the homes of their parents.
I was one of the Staples coaches whose contract was non-renewed. I was told the reason was because I was a witness to an event, and did not report it.
The facts and back story of this “incident” are concerning for coaches, but I think it is unproductive for me to discuss them here. I will state with 100% certainty that there was no physical contact. It was over quickly, and resolved.
As a coach (and a parent), I have always preached one main guiding principle that is more important than anything else. When things go wrong, your energy needs to be spent fixing it, not placing blame or focusing on what went wrong.
Chris O’Dell
I tell my players there is one guarantee when they step on the field. Referees are going to make bad calls, teammates and coaches are going to mess up, and bad luck will find you.
I then point out that their reaction will go a long way towards determining their success as a team.
If they spend time yelling at the refs, blaming teammates or sulking about the bad luck that befell them, that means they are not spending time correcting the problem.
In soccer, where one goal is all it takes to decide a game, that decision could be the difference between winning and losing.
I take a similar approach to my business and life. I tell the people I work with, the one thing we know is that things will go wrong. Our first reaction needs to be, how do we work together to fix it, and then learn from that mistake.
It has been disheartening to see this situation evolve with the Staples soccer program that I have loved so much, and given so much to.
It has been painful to watch lines drawn in the sand, and hurtful misinformation lobbed so freely.
Chris O’Dell urges his players on. (Photo/Frances Rowland)
I was at the Board of Education meeting last week, and listened to the player’s speech. I have never coached the player, but I have gotten to know him.
We hung out at the retreat. I encouraged him to bring the team together at his house during the season. He was on the phone with me 4 nights before the anonymous call was made, as he came to me for help navigating his place on the team.
This is a young man filled with the emotions of being a teenager. Those same emotions caused me to make a lot of mistakes when I was his age.
But I don’t think it’s productive to talk here about his role. I think we, as adults, need to discuss our roles and our reactions.
I feel for the player, as I believe it is true that the actions (or more accurately inactions) of the administration have led to much needless suffering for all of us caught in the middle of this. I don’t think any of us want to add to that suffering.
But, and this is important, I also do not want to focus my blame on the administration.
It has been easy for community members to state that a lack of investigation with blurry communication of the results is the problem.
But it’s not so easy to admit that the results of the investigation were not going to solve the underlying problems which led us here.
Those underlying problems derive from the modern structure of youth sports. Our antiquated policies and procedures do not properly address them.
The 2024 Staples boys soccer program: freshman team (front), junior varsity (middle), varsity (rear). (Photo/Mike Beebe)
I think there are some good people involved in the administration who are trying to navigate some difficult situations as best as they can. I think it is important that as we talk about and comment on these issues, we focus on the work that needs to be done.
That is why I think we all need to focus on fixing the problem.
All of our children are watching this situation. We have an opportunity to teach them one of the greatest lessons: conflict resolution.
It is a lesson that is desperately needed for the next generation, to hopefully be able to improve upon our generation’s seeming inability to properly navigate our differences.
I have sat in meetings with some concerned community members who are trying to drive all of us towards creating some processes and policies which will assist our administrators, coaches, parents and players in improving our approach to the current environment for youth sports.
The pursuit of happiness can only be achieved if we are all allowed to make mistakes, and then learn from them.
In this case it is obvious that we, as a community, have not provided enough safeguards for our players or coaches. We need to take this opportunity to be the leading, inspiring town that we always have been.
This story has become a Martin Luther King Day tradition on “06880.” At this point in our nation’s history, today — more than ever — we should think about the history of our nation before Dr. King was born.
And where we are, nearly 6 decades after his death.
Today is Martin Luther King Day. Westporters will celebrate with a day off from school or work. Some will sleep in; others will shop, or go for a walk. Few will give any thought to Martin Luther King.
Twice, though, his life intersected this town in important ways.
The first was Friday night, May 22, 1964. According to Woody Klein’s book Westport, Connecticut, King had been invited to speak at Temple Israel by synagogue member Jerry Kaiser.
King arrived in the afternoon. Kaiser and his wife Roslyn sat on their porch that afternoon, and talked with King and 2 of his aides. She was impressed with his “sincerity, warmth, intelligence and genuine concern for those about him — our children, for instance. He seemed very young to bear such a burden of leadership.”
Martin Luther King, with Sarah and Tema Kaiser at their home on Brooklawn Drive, before his Temple Israel appearance. Their brother Michael had a cold, and was not allowed near Dr. King.
King’s sermon — to a packed audience — was titled “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.” He analogized his America to the time of Rip Van Winkle — who also “slept through a revolution. The greatest liability of history is that people fail to see a revolution taking place in our world today. We must support the social movement of the Negro.”
Westport artist Roe Halper presented King with 3 woodcarvings, representing the civil rights struggle. He hung them proudly in the front hallway of his Atlanta home.
Artist Roe Halper (left) presents Coretta Scott King with civil rights-themed wood carvings.
Within a month Temple Israel’s rabbi, Byron Rubenstein, traveled south to take place in a nonviolent march. He was arrested — along with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
In jail, the rabbi said, “I came to know the greatness of Dr. King. I never heard a word of hate or bitterness from that man, only worship of faith, joy and determination.”
King touched Westport again less than 4 years later. On April 5, 1968 — the day after the civil rights leader’s assassination in Memphis — 600 Staples students gathered for a lunchtime vigil in the courtyard. Nearby, the flag flew at half-staff.
A small portion of the large crowd listens to Fermino Spencer.
Vice principal Fermino Spencer addressed the crowd. Movingly, he spoke about his own experience as an African American. Hearing the words “my people” made a deep impression on the almost all-white audience. For many, it was the 1st time they had heard a black perspective on white America.
No one knew what lay ahead for their country. But student Jim Sadler spoke for many when he said: “I’m really frightened. Something is going to happen.”
Dr. Martin Luther King
Something did — and it was good. A few hundred students soon met in the cafeteria. Urged by a minister and several anti-poverty workers to help bridge the chasm between Westport and nearby cities, Staples teachers and students vowed to create a camp.
Within 2 months, it was a reality. That summer 120 elementary and junior high youngsters from Westport, Weston, Norwalk and Bridgeport participated in the Intercommunity Camp. Led by over 100 Staples students and many teachers, they enjoyed swimming, gymnastics, dance, sports, field trips, overnight camping, creative writing, filmmaking, photography, art and reading.
It wasn’t easy — some in Westport opposed bringing underprivileged children to their town — but for over a decade the Intercommunity Camp flourished.
Eventually, enthusiasm for and interest in the camp waned. Fewer Staples students and staff members wanted to devote their summer to such a project. The number of Westporters willing to donate their pools dwindled. Today the Intercommunity Camp is a long-forgotten memory.
Sort of like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Even on his birthday.
Martin Luther King Day bonus feature:In the late 1950s, Westporter Tracy Sugarman took his son Dickie, and Dickie’s friend Miggs Burroughs, to a picnic in Stamford.
Rev. Martin Luther King was there, at the invitation of the host: Jackie Robinson.
Sugarman — a noted illustrator – was also a civil rights activist.
Miggs — a junior high student — took the Minox “spy” camera he’d bought earlier that summer.
He still has those photos. Here are the 2 pioneering Black Americans: Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Board of Education chair Lee Goldstein will offer their “State of the Town” thoughts on Sunday, February 2 (2 p.m., Westport Library).
The leaders will review town and school accomplishments during the past year, and preview some upcoming initiatives and challenges. A question-and-answer session will follow.
The annual event is sponsored by Westport Sunrise Rotary and the Westport Rotary Club.
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Board of Education chair Lee Goldstein.
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The Board of Education agenda for its meeting this Thursday (January 23, 7 p.m., Staples High School cafeteria), includes
Staples auditorium sound system
Transportation efficiencies study
2025-26 proposed budget
First reading of Board of Education policies: Creation of a policiy on civility; amendment of student discipline policy
Second reading of Board of Education polices: Amendment of admission to public schools at or before age 5; amendment of policy on attendance, truancy and chronic absenteeism; proposed repeal of policy on attendance excuses and chronic absenteeism.
The Board of Education will also hold a Zoom meeting that morning (January 23, 9 a.m., Zoom; meeting ID 857 3959 1723; passcoade 405790) to discuss procedures for conducting non-renewal hearings of employees.
Among the agenda items for Thursday’s Board of Education meeting: transportation efficiencies. (Photo/Amy Schneider)
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On Friday, Sam Clachko scored his 1,000th point as a Staples High School basketball player.
And he’s only a junior! (Click here for the full story.)
Ryan Allen — Staples’ superb photographer/videographer — was there to record the milestone.
Sam has a great future ahead, on the court. Ryan’s future is equally bright — behind the lens.
Jeff Matlow was one of many Los Angeles residents affected by the recent fires.
The 1985 Staples High School graduate reports: “The Palisades fire started on the hill behind the school where my wife works, and our daughter is in 6th grade.
“They were the first people to evacuate, even before there was an official evacuation notice.
“At least half of the school is in ruins, if not more. The library is gone (along with all the books). All of the admin buildings, the preschool, kindergarten and elementary school are all gone.
“We are still not allowed in Pacific Palisades to see everything. But we know it will be a long rebuilding process.
The school just launched a fundraising campaign. “06880” readers can click here to read more, and contribute to help a fellow Westporter reconstruct his daughter and wife’s school community.
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Westport’s representatives in Hartford — State Senator Ceci Maher, and Representatives Jonathan Steinberg and Dominique Johnson — invites residents to Mrs. London’s Bakery on January 30 (5:30 p.m.).
They’ll discuss issues impacting Connecticut residents, review goals and priorities for the legislative session, and answer questions.
From left: State Senator Ceci Mahr; Representatives Jonathan Steinberg and Dominique Johnson.
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Speaking of politics: Tomorrow is Inauguration Day.
The next full production at the Westport Country Playhouse is less than a month away.
The curtain rises for “Season of Laughter” on February 18.
The Playhouse says: “When expecting parents move next door to longtime suburbanites, a dispute over their yard’s property line spirals into an epic, flower-flinging war over taste, class, personal identity — and gardening. Can these couples ever learn to love their neighbor and mend the fences that separate them?!
The show runs through March 8. Click here for tickets, and more information.
The Brian Torff Group headline the next Voices Café show at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport, on February 1 (8 p.m).
They’re “a band driven by a desire to capture the complexity of the American story ‘through American roots music with an updated twist.’”
The concert will blend Torff’s Southern music and race research with original songs, and new interpretations of artists like Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Mose Allison and Elvis Presley.
Torff — a professor of music at Fairfield University since 1993 — says, “we’ll honor Black History Month by taking a close look at the profound contributions of African Americans to our nation’s music culture.”
Suznne (Suzy) Fiore — a Westport residence since 1951 — died peacefully at home on January 13. She was 86.
In 1972 Suzy began teaching at the Green’s Farms Preschool, became the director in 2001 and retired in 2009. She cared deeply for the children, their families, and teachers she taught and worked with over the years.
Suzy was a long-time member of Green’s Farms Congregational Church and the Westport Women’s Club. Since 1978 she was very active member in the PEO, Chapter B in Westport, serving as chapter president and holding several other officer positions.
She enjoyed traveling, caring for plants, being the family historian, and watching birds.
Suzy was predeceased by her husband Anthony Fiore Jr, daughter Cynthia Ann Watson, step-son Michael Fiore, and brother Charles Kline, Jr.
She is survived by her sons John Watson III (Deborah) of Summerville, South Carolina, Charles Watson of Westport, and William Craig Watson (Shery) of Redding; step-son Paul Fiore of Fruita, Colorado; nephew Charles Kline III (Christy); grandchildren Lynsay D’Aiuto, Jennie Moon (Josh), Rebecca Watson, John Watson IV (Molly), Charles Watson, Sadie Watson and Chase Alexander Watson, and 5 great-grandchildren
A memorial service will be held February 10 (1 p.m., Green’s Farms Church).
And finally … on this date in 1901, Queen Victoria was stricken with paralysis. She died 3 days later, at 81.
(Jen Tooker discusses the state of the town next month. But here at “06880,” we do that every day. If you enjoy our coverage, please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
The Staples High School gym rocked last night, as the basketball quad-captain scored the 1,000th point of his career.
And he’s only a junior.
Clachko’s milestone came on a twisting layup, early in the 4th quarter of the Wreckers’ 85-53 demolition of Darien.
Sam Clachko scores hsi 1,000th point.
After a slow first quarter start — which began with him 31 points away from 1,000 — Clachko caught fire. Teammates set him up, knowing the next 2 games will be away. A raucous student section — letting loose after the last day of final exams — urged him on.
But Clachko was unselfish. Several times he fed teammates, rather than taking a shot.
The last previous boys basketball player to reach 1,000 points was John Baumann, in 2004. Arianna Gerig is the most recent Wrecker, on the girls’ side.
When Clachko scored his 1,000th (and 1,001st) points, his teammates mobbed him. He received the game ball, as a momento. Coach Dave Goldshore gave him the rest of the night off.
Staples is now 9-0. Another goal lies ahead: the FCIAC and state tournaments.
Sam Clachko, with coach Dave Goldshore after the game. (Photos courtesy of StaplesBasketball.com)
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