Westport’s winter fund drive for Lyman — our Ukrainian sister city — continues to pay dividends.
Part of the $252,000 raised paid for bulletproof vests and helmets for utility workers near the front lines. They worked in very dangerous areas — and have restored electricity to 30,000 people.
Contributions are still welcome, via Ukraine Aid International (co-founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer). Click here; then select “Lyman” from the drop-down “Designation” menu.
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The Westport Weston Family YMCA is celebrating its 100th anniversary in (almost) 100 ways.
One involves lifelong Westport resident/award-winning artist/Y member since childhood Miggs Burroughs.
Members — and everyone else — is invited to submit a self-portrait, for the “100 Faces of Our Y” art project. Any medium is fine; just use this template (or pick one up at the front desk).
The first 100 submissions will be featured in and around the Y.
Not an artist? There are many other ways to get involved:
Share Your Stories: Members and the community can submit Y stories, memories and photos, to be featured on the anniversary webpage.
Help Make an Impact: Become a corporate sponsor. Donate items, experiences or gift certificates for the live-and silent auctions at the October 6 Anniversary Gala.
Healthy Kids Day (April 29): A national initiative to help inspire healthy habits in kids and families. The free event includes fun activities, healthy snack demos, food trucks, sports lessons, games, art, and free t-shirts for the first 200 children.
100 for 100 Yoga Event May 11): Instructor Greg Barringer leads a high-quality yoga experience at the Mahackeno Outdoor Center. Proceeds support the Y’s Financial Assistance Program.
7th Annual Golf Tournament (May 22, Aspetuck Valley Country Club): Another fundraiser for the Financial Assistance
100-Year Anniversary Gala (October 6, Mahackeno Outdoor Center): Donations, contributions and sponsorships fund financial assistance to under-resourced families, and those in need. Last year the Y awarded $746,000 to over 400 families in need: $446,000 in financial assistance, and $300,000 in education- related grants.
I had a great meal the other day at Casa Me. It’s a welcome addition to Westport’s dining scene. (They’ve done a fantastic job with the interior, too.)
But this is not a plug for the Sconset Square spot. (Well, not really.)
It’s about what I learned from my server: Restaurants lose a lot when diners ask to split the check.
Credit card companies charge a fee for every swipe. So if 2 — or, 3, 4 or more — people at one table all offer credit cards, the restaurant gets socked for each one.
The solution? Use one credit card, then square up with the person paying by giving him or her cash.
Or — better yet — pay for the entire meal using actual money.
It was a big week for the Staples High School Counseling Department.
Their “Spark Your Future” program — highlighting the cool, creative work done by graduates, including the ups, downs and detours their career paths took — was named the Connecticut School Counselor Association’s Outstanding Student/Family Program of the Year. It was masterminded by Sandra Zeigler, the department’s College and Career Center coordinator
In addition, the organization chose Fran Geraci as Administrative Assistant of the Year. Anyone who deals with Staples’ counseling department knows how much she does every day, for every staff member and student.
The department will be honored April 26, at the University of Hartford.
The original goal was to bring education (and a loving community) to orphans in Tanzania. It branched out to tackle women’s health issues, provide scholarships for higher education, create jobs for tribal women and artisans, offer micro-finance loans, and run a host of other initiatives for marginalized women and youth. (Click here for that 2018 story.)
In 2021 she started a food program. They offer fair market prices for crops, and hermetically sealed bags so farmers do not have use chemicals or fumigants to preserve what they grow.
They’re transporting maize, rice and beans all the way across the country, working with women at a food processing plant, and helping 77 students learn about sales, marketing and finance.
Now — in Unite’s first big event since COVID — Anne will talk about all that she’s done, and wants to do, at a “Cocktails & Conversation” fundraiser. It’s set (appropriately) at Wakeman Town Farm (March 31, 6 to 8 p.m.).
An African drummer will perform, and Tanzanian partners will give updates.
Tickets must be purchased in advance; click here. For further information on Unite the World with Africa Foundation, click here. For Anne’s blog post about her most recent trip to Tanzania, click here.
Anne’s foundation has many Westport connections. Among them: board members Nicole Gerber, Dr. Nikki Gorman and Tanya Murphy.
Anne Wells in Tanzania, at the graduation of several scholars supported by the Unite foundation.
Today’s rant comes from a woman who asks for anonymity. She growls:
I’m a dogless, taxpaying Westporter who enjoys the beauty of our shoreline. I go to the beach year-round, including the winter to take peace in the soft gray tones of the horizon.
One of my favorite things about Compo Beach in winter is parking my car next to the cannons, facing the water, and watching dogs — unbound by seasonal restrictions — play and pounce to their hearts’ unleashed content.
I appreciate how it becomes an unofficial dog park. Owners stand around cross making awkward, forced conversation while watching their dogs sniff each others’ butts. I love how doggies dive fearlessly into the icy waters in pursuit of a tennis ball.
Alas, for all its wintertime canine fun, Compo Beach is not a dog park.
It is a public beach.
I heard two guys yelling at each other, over dog poop. One of them yelled “It’s a dog park!” — seeming to validate his inability or indifference to pick up his dog’s droppings.
Of course, that’s not the way a dog park operates.
When Jim Nantz signs off after the NCAA men’s basketball championship on April 3, he will have called 354 tournament games — including 64 semifinals and 32 championships.
This will be the final Final 4 for the longtime (though now former) Westport resident.
He’ll still do the NFL, at least through 2033 — the final year of CBS’ contract with the league — and the Masters. Nantz hopes his final assignment will be that golf tournament’s 100th anniversary: April 13, 2036.
For a full Greenwich Time story on Nantz, click here. (Hat tip: Bill Mitchell)
In 2015, Jim Nantz helped aspiring Staples High School broadcaster Eric Gallanty.
Representative Town Meeting member Harris Falk was at Sakura yesterday, hoping to save the 2 weeping cherry trees which may be cut down as part of the state Department of Transportation Post Road improvement project.
His hopeful shot of a crocus epitomizes “Westport … Naturally.”
And finally … Jerry Samuels died last week in Pennsylvania, from complications of dementia and Parkinson’s. He was 84. (Click here for a full obituary.)
His name is unfamiliar to nearly everyone. But in 1966 — as “Napoleon XIV” — he recorded a novelty song. “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haa!” zoomed to the top of the charts.
Just as quickly, it dropped off. Record stations stopped playing it, after a barrage of complaints that it mocked mental illness.
You be the judge:
(“They’re Coming to Take Me Away” may not be your cup of tea. But hopefully, “06880” is. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Westport’s 2 budgets — $136,287,710 for the Board of Education (plus $7.7 million in debt service), and $81,932,340 for other town operations — were approved unanimously last night by the Board of Finance.
They now head to the Representative Town Meeting for final approval.
For a detailed look at the 2023-24 budget numbers approved by the Board of Finance on Thursday, click here and here.
Where our money goes …
… and the town operations (non-education) portion of it.
One team’s fans will drive 2 miles. The other will drive 80.
But Staples High School’s boys basketball supporters will be out in force Sunday, when the Wreckers take on St. Bernard’s-Uncasville at the Mohegan Sun arena, in the state Division II basketball championship game.
Tipoff is 6:15 p.m. (March 19). The game can be heard on WWPT-FM (90.3) and wwptfm.org. You can watch it on the proprietary Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) website, but must subscribe ($11.99 a month; cancel anytime) — click here for details.
Staples is going for their first Connecticut boys hoops crown since 1937. No wonder plenty of Westporters will make the trip to the casino/arena.
And … if you missed Wednesday night’s astonishing comeback — down by 18 points in the 4th quarter, they beat Fairfield Warde in overtime — no problem. Click below for the entire, did-they-just-do-that?! game.
Last night marked the official launch for Startup Westport.
Tech and other entrepreneurs gathered at the Westport Library, to discuss ways of making Westport a “special, suburban center of an ecosystem of tech people and investors.”
Click here for details of this public/private partnership.
Leading the way at last night’s Startup Westport kickoff (from left): Matt Gorin, Sam Hendel, Jay Norris, 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Stefano Pacifico, Peter Propp.
Staples High School junior Tucker Peters (right) was at the Startup Westport event, to soak up ideas. He met Jay Norris, a co-founder and Westport Library trustee.
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Also last night:
The actual porch at The Porch at Christie’s rocked, as owners Bill and Andrea Pecoriello hosted over 100 Club 203 members for a St. Patrick’s Day Eve bash.
The event included Irish dancing, bagpiping, green-themed food and desserts, a “lucky rock project” from MoCA Westport, and boundless energy from many volunteers.
Club 203 is the local organization for adults with disabilities. Click here for their website.
Club 203’s St. Patrick’s Day party, at The Porch. (Photo courtesy of Stacie Curran)
And one more from last night. Doris Ghitelman writes:
Yesterday around 6:18 p.m., a SpaceX Falcon 9 streaked across Westport. The mission was Stronger Together, for Capella Space. They sent 2 satellites into low earth orbit (Leo).
She sent this photo …
(Photo/Doris Ghitelman)
… and says: “The white streak is the contrail. If you expand the image you will actually see the black SpaceX rocket.”
Did you miss Wednesday’s State Legislature hearing on HB 6890 — the “Live Work Ride: An Act Concerning Qualifying Transit-Oriented Communities” bill that proposes withholding, withdrawing, and possibly clawing back discretionary state infrastructure funding from communities that fail to adopt regulations permitting greater density, with limited parking and a prescribed affordability component, around transit?
No problem! Just click below.
Be sure to allow some time, though. The hearing was 6 hours long.
Kids love the Grinch, Horton, Cat-in-the-Hat. Dr. Seuss had it right: Let kids be kids.
Which is one reason Bedford Acting Group director Ryan Smith chose “Seussical Jr.” as this spring’s 6th grade production.
He’s created a safe, inclusive environment, helping young performers find and nurture skills.
It’s a BMS community effort. Parents are designing fish, while each ensemble member crafts their own props, to suit their personality.
The set was designed by Joe DeTullio — who does that stuff professionally for “Saturday Night Live.”
“Seussical Jr.” will be performed March 24 (7 p.m.), March 25 (3 and 7 p.m.), and March 26 (3 p.m.).
Families with young kids can purchase an add-on ticket to enjoy a Saturday matinee pre-show soirée (March 25, 2 p.m.), with a character meet-and-greet, crafts, sweets and more.
Yesterday was an important one for caregivers — and the kids they care for.
Cultural Care au pairs visited Westport Fire Department headquarters. The fire marshal’s office taught them how to keep their host children safe — and gave them fire safety takeaways, to bring home and share with their families.
Westport Fire Department officials, with au pairs and their children.
There’s nothing better for a sweet tooth than Rice Krispies treats.
Unless they’re topped with candy.
Westport moms Melissa Rutstein and Rachel Dymond combined their passions for food, entertainment and fun. The result is SugarKrisp: a “sushi-themed candy company.”
SugarKrisp treats
Both women moved to Westport in 2020. A mutual friend got them together. The rest is confectionary history.
SugarKrisp has quickly become a local favorite. They’ve also partnered with a number of non-profits and schools, offering auction items to raise money. Sweet!
Follow them on Instagram @SugarKrispco.
SugarKrisp founders Melissa Rutstein and Rachel Dymond.
Weston EMS celebrates their 60th anniversary on March 25, at Rolling Hills Country Club. The event includes 2 auctions: silent and live.
And the silent auction is already, well, live.
There are items from Don Memo, Earth Animal, NEST, Gabriele’s Italian Steakhouse, Nômade, Bridgewater Chocolate, Bartlett Tree Experts and Karen Callan Jewelry, along with golf at top-ranked clubs and more.
Over 70 prizes Fairfield County artists, rounds of golf at top-ranked golf clubs, local Fairfield County retail favorites and many great lifestyle items.
Click here to bid on silent auction items (and buy raffle tickets). Both are open through March 25.
Click here for tickets to the gala. Questions? Email gala@westonems.com.
Westport Animal Control officer Peter Reid joined Westport Animal Control “guest” Parker in matching green plaid sweatshirts on a day when everyone – including canines– is Irish.
Parker is just one of several dogs available for adoption. Click here to learn more.
Lynda Bluestein is a longtime and very active member of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport.
She has terminal fallopian tube cancer. At 75 years old, time is short. But on Tuesday she received peace-of-mind news.
She reached a settlement with the state of Vermont. She will be the first non-resident to take advantage of a law that allows people with terminal illnesses to end their own lives.
Ten states allow medically assisted suicide. Until now though, only Oregon permitted non-residents to do it. Click here to read about Lynda’s successful legal battle, and what it means for her and others.
Lynda Bluestein and her husband Paul. (Photo courtesy of NBC Connecticut)
The Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand series of play readings is enormously popular.
A new spinoff — the “Mic in Hand” music series — should be too.
The first event is Ari Axelrod’s “A Place for Us: A Celebration of Jewish Broadway.”
The award-winning show honors the songs and stories of Jewish composers, and their contributions to the American musical.
The Playhouse says: “Beloved melodies and lyrics by the likes of Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Schwartz and Carole King will transport you to the streets of the theater district, your bubbie’s Shabbos table, or your corner of the sky.”
The kickoff is May 15 (7 p.m.). All tickets are $25. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
Irving Berlin: One of Broadway’s greatest Jewish composer.
Rick Tripodi was the beloved music director and organist at Green’s Farms Congregational Church.
That organ was close to Rick’s heart. As a teenager in 1965, he attended its dedication.
Classically trained, with a master’s degree in organ performance from Juilliard, Rick designed the refurbishment of the Peragallo/Walker organ during the church’s recent renovation project.
Sadly, he died just 2 days before the instrument was reinstalled.
A memorial concert on Sunday, March 26 (4 p.m.) features David Enlow on the organ, and a 16-voice professional choir. They’ll perform Duruflé’s Requiem — a piece Rick requested a few days before he died.
The concert will be livestreamed, then uploaded to the church’s YouTube channel.
Click below to see the organ’s dedication. The video begins at the 9:00 mark.
Leave the car at home
Leave the driving all to us
Door to door service
How’s that for a haiku? (It’s by Diane Lowman, Westport’s first poet laureate.)
Wheels2U Westport — the Westport Transit District’s on-demand, group ride, door to train platform shuttle service — is launching its 2nd annual poetry contest. The goal is to promote its Wheels2U commuter shuttle.
This year’s contest features haiku (last year’s was limericks).
The form originated in Japan. They’re unrhymed poems consisting of 17 syllables, in 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.
Gift certificates to Westport restaurants of their choice will be given to the top 7 entries. First prize is $100 gift certificate; 2 second prizes winners are $50 each; 4 third prize winners receive $25 gift certificates.
Wheels2U for you
We ferry you to the train
Worries left behind (Diane Lowman)
Westport residents and commuters to here can use the Wheels2U Westport app to request a pickup between 5:45 and 10 a.m., and 4 and 9:30 p.m. They’ll be taken to or from the Saugatuck or Greens Farms train platform and their front door, anywhere in Westport.
Pickups should be requested 20 minutes before you would normally leave to drive to the station. The fare is $2 when paid with the Wheels2U app.
The bus to the train
Take Wheels2U for the ride
Easy, no hassle.
For more information about Wheels2U, click here. For more information about the Westport Transit District’s services for the elderly and people with disabilities, click here.
The haiku contest deadline is March 27. Entries (as many as you like) should be sent to pgold@westportct.gov, and must include your name and address. Click here for the official rules.
Staples High School’s March Students of the Month are seniors Matthew Saw and Shanti Wimmer, juniors Juan Nieves and Isabella Rivel, sophomores Lily Hultgren and Aidan Zer, and freshmen Peter Cordts and Charlie Curran.
The program recognizes “students who help make Staples a welcoming place for peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students who keep the high school together.” Nominations come from teachers.
March Students of the Month (from left): Lily Hultgren, Isabella Rivel, Matthew Saw, Charlie Curran, Peter Cordts. Missing: Shanti Wimmer and Aiden Zer
Last weekend, the Westport Weston Family YMCA 4th grade boys travel finished 2nd in the 15th annual Connecticut Hoopfest tournament (Platinum Division) in Milford. Congrats to the young stars!
Westport Weston Family YMCA 4th grade travel basketball team.
VersoFest 2023 is a music festival — and much more.
All day long on the weekend of April 1-2, experts and educators will offer 1-hour-workshops for creative and curious attendees.
They include:
TeachRock, Wall of Sound class(April 1, 11 a.m.): The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound was the first large-scale line array used in modern sound reinforcement systems. TeachRock’s Bill Carbone and Gina Machado explore: What is a PA system? How does it work? And why should we thank the tinkering scientists of the Dead entourage for much of how we experience live music today?
The workshop will use Anthony Coscia’s scale model replica of the “Wall of Sound” that will be on display (and cranking tunes) throughout VersoFest.
Master class workshop & Rock Photography panel (April 1, 11:30 a.m.): Katie Settel is known for her evocative performance images as the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater’s photographer. Settel takes workshop participants through her journey, influences, and techniques.
Screenwriting master class (April 1, 2 p.m.): An overview of screenplay structure, focusing on the 90-page feature film script.
Songwriting Master Class
Songwriting master class (April 1, 3 p.m.): Whether you are a performing songwriter or just want to learn how to start a song, you can find your voice and turn your story into a musical moment. TV/Media Production Master Class
TV/Media Production master class (April 2, 11 a.m.): Producer/director Annette Jolles teach this master class, with Verso Studios crew call members. She has earned 17 Emmy Awards, and was the first female director for “Live from Lincoln Center.”
Click here, then scroll down for full details, including more events and registration information.
“A Toast to the Trees” (Arbor Day weekend: April 29). Both beer tasting and kids’ activities! “Tasting on the Trails” offers staggered entry (no snarky joke, sorry) between 4 and 5:30 p.m; the beer garden and food trucks are available from 4 to 7 p.m. Also included: lawn games, a campfire and s’mores. Tickets are $35 for adults, $15 for those under 21. Click here to purchase.
A “Cocktails & Clams” sunset evening on the Sound fundraiser for Harbor Watch — an Earthplace program — is set for Saturday, June 10 (5 to 7 p.m.). It’s dockside at Copps Island Oyster on Norwalk Harbor, with an unlimited raw bar, hors d’oeuvres, open bar, live band and silent auction. Tickets will be available next month.
Westport Police made 3 custodial arrests between March 8 and 15.
One was for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and failure to drive in the proper lane, following an investigation into an accident on December 18 on Riverside Avenue.
A second was for larceny of food and gift cards, by an employee of Fresh Market.
The third was for failure to respond to an infraction (issued in Derby), following a motor vehicle stop.
The department did not release details of any citations issued.
The store pressed charges following an employee theft.
And finally … as noted in the story above, Irving Berlin is one of America’s most famous Jewish composers. He’s known and loved for songs like this:
(From the serious to the sublime to the silly, “06880”‘s daily Roundup brings you news and information you can use. Or skip over. But hey, we’re always available. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
As reported last July on “06880,” Sweetgreen will be opening in Westport.
The salad-and-bowl fast casual restaurant — with over 150 outlets in more than a dozen states — will replace Organic Krush.
Although Sweetgreen representatives went before the Architectural Review Board with plans for their new restaurant in July, Organic Krush protested vociferously that they were not leaving.
After 100 years, the Westport Weston Family YMCA knows plenty of folks have lots of memories. And memorabilia.
As part of their century celebration they ask members, former members and everyone else to haul out their photo albums, think back on the past, and share what they find. Click here to submit.
All year long, the Y will feature those photos and stories on their lobby monitor, website and social media, and in email newsletters.
Click here for the dedicated web page. Click below for a sample submission.
The media celebrity (Fox News, NBC Sports, CNN) is hosting “March Madness Fast Break” for Turner Sports. It’s noon to midnight, Thursday through Sunday on MarchMadness.com and the March Madness Live app.
Dave calls it “Red Zone for college basketball with the best live action, analysis and social media reaction.” He partners with a pair of legends: Kentucky’s Tony Delk and Wake Forest’s Randolph Childress.
The Levitt Pavilion season is still 3 months away. But — to help raise funds for over 50 nights of free entertainment — the riverside outdoor venue has just announced 2 special ticketed events.
Samara Joy — 2023 Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album — takes the stage June 3. Triple Grammy winner Bruce Hornsby follows with the Noisemakers on July 1. Both Saturday shows begin at 7:30 p.m.
Member pre-sales start today (Wednesday, March 15) at 10 a.m. Public sales start Friday (March 17, 10 a.m.).
Tickets are already on sale for the June 24 show: Michael Franti & Spearhead Big Big Love Tour, with Phillip Phillips.
Representative Town Meeting member Matthew Mandell joins other elected officials this morning (Wednesday, March 15, 10 a.m.; Zoom).
They’ll speak prior to the state General Assembly Planning & Development Committee’s public hearing on HB 6890, the “Live Work Ride” bill that proposes withholding, withdrawing and perhaps clawing back state infrastructure funding from communities that fail to adopt regulations permitting greater density, with limited parking and a prescribed affordability component, around transit areas.
Mandell and his colleagues are part of “CT169Strong.” It’s a statewide non-partisan group “dedicated to local control and oversight, and protecting the unique qualities of Connecticut’s 169 towns.
Click here for a link to Mandell’s meeting. The ID is 455 019 2513; the passcode is 6C436A.
Love the Westport Library? Want to help make it even better?
The Library and Representative Town Meeting are seeking candidates to fill vacancies on the Library board of trustees.
Trustees work closely with the executive director, in areas like funding, policies and planning. They develop long-range plans, monitor the budget and help oversee fundraising. The board meets monthly; there are also committee meetings.
Trustees must be Westport residents. There are 20 members. Half are appointed by the RTM, half by the Library board itself.
More information about the role of trustees is available here.
Applicants should email a resume and letter of interest to rpowell@westportlibrary,org. by April 17, with information on how past work and experience qualify them for consideration as a trustee.
How can parents and caregivers support healthy identity development in young children?
Many ways. And you can learn about them at “Supporting Healthy Identity Development in Young Children: Race, Culture and Beyond.” The Westport Library keynote (April 4, 7 to 8:30 p.m.) is led by Takiema Bunche Smith, founder and CEO of Anahsa Consulting and a noted executive leader, advisor, coach and educator.
The session will explore “how adults socialize young children into racial, cultural and other social identities, and what that means in the context of an inequitable US society.”
Click here for more information. The event is sponsored by TEAM Westport.
In 1864, Edward T. Bedford was 15 years old. He stood outside the Westport Hotel — a wooden building on the corner of State Street (the Post Road) and Main Street — watching men play pool. He could not go inside, “on account of the saloon.”
Edward T. Bedford.
Decades later, Bedford was a wealthy man. He had become a broker of lubricating oils for railroads, and helped chemist Robert Chesebrough sell his new product, Vaseline. He was a director of Standard Oil, and associated with many other very successful companies.
He still lived in Greens Farms, where he was born. Recalling his years outside the Westport Hotel — and knowing the town needed “some place for boys and young men to congregate” — he announced in 1919 plans for a Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
He had a perfect place, too: The Westport Hotel. It was the same spot, in the heart of town, where half a century earlier he’d been denied entrance.
Bedford spent $150,000 on the Tudor-style building. It would be a place to exercise one’s body, and mind. It included reading and writing rooms, bowling alleys, a gymnasium — and of course, pool tables. (Bedford also financed a new firehouse next door on Church Lane, designed in the same Tudor style.)
The Westport YMCA.
The Westporter-Herald called the YMCA dedication on September 5, 1923 “second to none in the history of the town. Not since the day of the official opening of Westport’s new bridge over the Saugatuck River has there been anywhere near as great a gathering as notables, both local and out of town.”
The Bedford building lobby.
Connecticut Governor Charles E. Templeton was there. He pointed to Bedford, noting that while he did not have “the opportunities the young men of today … he didn’t smoke or wile his hours away; he didn’t stay up until midnight, not at all, but instead went to bed early and then was fresh for the tasks of the day to follow.”
Much has happened in the 100 years since. Several years after it opened, Bedford donated a pool. During World War II, boys walked the short distance from Staples High School on Riverside Avenue (now Saugatuck Elementary School) to learn how to jump off flaming ships into the sea.
An early YMCA youth basketball team.
In 1944, Y leaders searching for space for a day camp for boys found 30 acres of woods and fields along the Saugatuck River, near the new Merritt Parkway’s Exit 41.
Frederick T. Bedford — Edward’s son — said that his Bedford Fund would pay half the purchase price, if the town raised the other half. Within a few weeks Y leaders had collected $10,000. The Bedford Fund matched it.
Camp Bedford opened. At Frederick Bedford’s request in 1946, the name was changed to Mahackeno.
In 1953, Westport artist Stevan Dohanos used Camp Mahackeno for this Saturday Evening Post cover.
As Westport grew in the post-war years, so did the YMCA. The downtown building became an unofficial teen center, hosting everything from the Downshifters hot rod club to Mrs. Comer’s ballroom dance classes. (Y membership was eventually open to girls, too — as well as families, and senior citizens.)
In the 1970s and ’80s the Y added a new pool. Lucie Bedford Cunningham Warren and Ruth Bedford — granddaughters of the founder — provided $200,000 through the Bedford Fund to acquire the fire station, and convert it into a 2-story fitness center. (The brass pole stayed.)
There were squash courts, and other games upstairs. (Paul Newman was an avid badminton player.)
But the downtown quarters grew cramped. Y directors looked for new space, in places like the Baron’s South property. A protracted battle — legal, political, even involving the character of downtown and the Y’s responsibility to it — eventually ended.
The YMCA built a 54,000-square foot full-service facility — “The Bedford Family Center” — on a portion of its Mahackeno property. It opened in 2014, thanks in part to financial support from Lucie McKinney and Briggs Cunningham III — Edward T. Bedford’s great-grandchildren.
The Bedford Family Center, 2014.
Helping guide the construction process as members of the Y’s governing boards were 2 of Lucie’s children, John McKinney and Libby McKinney Tritschler. They’re the 5th generation Bedford’s involved with the organization.
Since then, the Y has added a gymnastics center, and more fitness rooms. They’ve upgraded nearby Camp Mahackeno. And they were stunned to receive a $40 million endowment from the estate of Ruth Bedford.
The Westport Weston Family YMCA — today’s official name — used a portion of the bequest to establish the Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund, to continue developing youth, promoting healthy living and fostering social responsibility.
All of which is a long way of saying: Happy 100th anniversary, Westport Y!
Officials have planned a year of celebrations. Highlights include:
Share Your Stories: Members and the community are invited to share Y stories, memories and photos. They’ll be featured on the anniversary web page.
“100 Faces of My Y”: a project for youth to create self-portraits in the medium of their choice, for display in and around the facilities.
Healthy Kids Day (April 29): a free initiative celebrated at Ys across the country. with fun activities, healthy snack demos, food trucks, sports lessons, games, art, and free t-shirts for the first 200 children.
The 7th Annual Golf Tournament (May 22, Aspetuck Valley Country Club, Weston): A fundraiser for the Y’s financial assistance program.
100-Year Anniversary Gala (“Sneaker Ball,” October 6, Mahackeno Outdoor Center): Donations and sponsors will fund financial assistance to under-resourced families and those in need. In 2022, $746,000 was awarded to over 400 families.
The Westport Weston Family YMCA is no longer limited to young Christian men.
The world has changed since Edward T. Bedford stood outside a hotel — and then bought it, to build both a building and a legacy.
If the next 100 years are anything like the last, our Y will continue to grow, evolve — and impact countless lives.
A relic from the Y’s downtown days. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
Westport was not represented on the field, at last night’s Super Bowl.
But our neighbor Christian Siriano was part of the action. At least, part of one of the multimillion-dollar ads.
The fashion designer — whose Collective West store is a popular Post Road East destination — was there in the front row, in a “Clueless”-themed Rakuten advertisement with Alicia Silverstone.
(Screenshot and hat tip/Dave Briggs)
There must have been other “06880”/Super Bowl connections. If you know of any, click “Comments” below.
Speaking of the Super Bowl: On Saturday residents flocked to Stop & Shop, stocking up for the big game.
Many paused at both entrances. Members of the Sunrise Rotary Club, Westport Police Department, Westport Police Athletic League and Representative Town Meeting were there to collect non-perishable items.
From a couple of cans to a few full shopping carts, generous Westporters reaped rewards for 2 great causes: Homes with Hope, and our Department of Human Services food pantries. (Hat tip: Andrew Colabella)
Westport Police Department officials and others, with food at the Gillespie Center. Rear, from left: Officers Sean Doyle and David Lovallo, Chief Foti Koskinas, RTM member Andrew Colabella, Officers Scott Thompson and Dominique Carr. Front: unidentified, and Anna Rycenga of the Westport PAL.
Not everyone who wanted to, could make it to the coat-and-more collection drive for Ukraine, at the last 2 Westport Farmers’ Markets.
Organizer Mark Yurkiw said he’d accept donations at his home.
Yesterday, he welcomed a big one. Several Rowayton residents showed up in 5 cars. All were completely filled with clothes and other gear — including fur coats. It took an oversized van to truck it all to Redding, where it will be crated and shipped overseas.
The Rowayton folks said they felt powerless to help — until they heard of the coat drive. They asked what else they could bring, and do.
Mark continues to accept donations. Email mark.think3d@gmail.com for details.
From Rowayton to Ukraine, with live. Artist Mark Yurkiw created the Ukrainian symbol on his garage door.
The Westport Astronomical Society’s 25 Obsession telescope has been a workhorse for over 30 years.
But it’s a beast — and very difficult to set up and take on the road. With great attendance at their public nights, the WAS needs another instrument.
It’s got to be powerful — but light enough to pack it up and set it outside, for sidewalk astronomy.
They’ve got their eyes set (ho ho) on a New Moon Telescope — 20″, with an f3.5 mirror and some cool add-ons.
For nearly a decade, they’ve fundraised on Fairfield County’s Community Foundation Giving Day. They’ll do it again on February 23. Their goal is $10,000.
The 24-hour online drive is a local competition. All tax-deductible contributions could help WAS win major prizes. Mark your calendar for February 23 — and bookmark your calendar here.
It’s hard to know who had a better time Saturday night, at the Westport Weston Family YMCA’s first-ever Winter Ball: the young girls, or their dads (or other loved ones) who escorted them.
A crowd of over 100 danced to a DJ, enjoyed refreshments, and visited a photo booth and nail painter.
Attendees also brought food items, and made other donations to Homes with Hope.
Jay and Sophia Skye Norris visit the photo booth, at the Y’s first Winter Ball.
The other day, 12 Coleytown Middle School students participated in the Southwestern Connecticut “Mathcounts” competitions. Adan Wang, Adrianna Gavriloiu, Ayush Rudra and Owen Wood finished second. All 4 mathletes will represent the school at the state competition next month.
Ayush, Owen and Adan finished #1, 7 and 11 respectively in the individual competition.
Other Coleytown competitors included Adrianna Gavriloiu, Akil Arvind, Anit Arvind, Zylan Wang, Luke Cooper, Ulysses Nixon, Alex Liakh, Justin Jendrock and Luci Trinchi.
Congratulations to all!
Joining the competition host and Coleytown Middle School Math Club coach Archi Rudra are (from left) Adan Wang, Ayush Rudra, Owen Wood and Adrianna Gavriloiu.
Marcello Deaguero is a noted local DJ for schools, charities, parties, bar and bat mitzvahs — and the instructor for the popular “Dance with Marcello.”
He recently relocated his class to a new studio. It’s in the back of the Dance Collective building (222 Post Road West).
Marcello is celebrating the move with free classes throughout the month. Everyone — from people who know him through his DJ work, to newcomers looking for a good dance or fitness class — is welcome for free, all month long.
Today is the 47th anniversary of Dorothy Hamill’s near-perfect, gold medal-winning, ice skating performance at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
The Greenwich native became an international superstar. In 1993, an AP poll ranked her and Mary Lou Retton as the most popular athletes in America, far ahead of people like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Troy Aikman, Dan Marino, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana and Nolan Ryan.
Today, Greenwich’s town-owned rink is named for Dorothy Hamill.
But in 1976, Westport took pride in her accomplishments too. As a youngster, she frequently skated on Round Pond, off Compo Road South — just opposite the entrance to Longshore, where her relatives lived.
Click here for more on Dorothy Hamill, thanks to “Today in Connecticut History.”
Last week John Hamilton and Fiona Wilkes of Liberation Programs — a Bridgeport-based nonprofit that provides support to people with substance use disorders — addressed the Westport Rotary Club.
Liberation president and CEO Hamilton noted that fentanyl has surpassed heroin and other opiates as a leading cause of drug overdoses. With 100,000 overdoses per year nationally, the need for recovery programs has increased dramatically. But only 1 out of 10 people who qualify for treatment reaches out and accepts it.
Wilkes — the director of development and communications — said that all households should have the opiate overdose treatment Narcan in their medicine cabinets.
John Hamilton of Liberation Programs, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)
Today’s “What’s Next in Weston” podcast features 1st Selectwoman Sam Nestor’s interview with the town’s public safety communications director, Larry Roberts.
It’s the first in a 2-part discussion of the Connecticut Land Mobile Radio Network, the statewide emergency communications system that will provide important coverage for area towns.
Click below to listen. The podcast is a service of the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston.
The Monkees’ keyboardist and bass guitarist grew up in northeastern Connecticut; his father was an economics professor at the University of Connecticut. He was a member of the first-ever graduating class at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs.
Tork — whose real last name was Thorkelson — had cousins who attended school in Westport.
He died in Mansfield, Connecticut in 2019, 10 years after being diagnosed with cancer.
(“06880” is your hyper-local blog — and a non-profit. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Nearly every day, life-saving supplies are delivered to Lyman.
The latest shipment to our sister city in Ukraine: room furnaces.
Room heater in Lyman. (Photo/LIz Olegov)
They are sorely needed. Much of the town is without heat, following 5 months of Russian occupation.
“They heat rooms so quickly, they are run only a couple of hours a day,” reports Liz Olegov, of Westport’s on-the-ground partners Ukraine Aid International and Alex 21.
That’s great news. Electricity is still spotty in Lyman.
The heaters are part of the $252,000 Westport raised for our new sister city.
Officials there have plenty to do. When the Russians fled, they left chaos and carnage behind.
But leaders took time out to thank Westport, and our leaders.
This proclamation to 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker is on its way to Town Hall:
The next phase of our sister city partnership will involve students. Groups at Staples High School, and Bedford and Coleytown Middle Schools, are preparing projects involving Lyman students.
Other opportunities for Westporters will be announced soon.
After sold-out performances in January, Play With Your Food returns February 14-16.
Audiences will be treated to star power. Theater, film and TV actors Patricia Kalember and Daniel Gerroll take on Tom Stoppard as they perform a scene from his Tony Award-winning masterpiece, “The Real Thing.”
Also on the menu: Tony Award winner John Patrick Shanley’s “The Red Coat” and Craig Pospisil’s “Dissonance.” In honor of Valentine’s Week, the 3 plays tackle the complexities of love new, old and somewhere in the middle.
Tickets are nearly sold out for the February 14 performance at MoCA Westport, but are available for February 15 (Pequot Library, Southport) and 16 (Greenwich Art Council). All begin at noon, and are followed by a talkback with the cast and director. Audiences can stay for fresh boxed lunches.
Tickets are $60 each. For more information and tickets, click here or call 203-293-8729.
The Westport Weston Family YMCA is seeking candidates for 2 junior board of director positions.
Junior board directors enjoy full voting rights and participate actively in the governance process. They have the chance to share ideas, learn from older directors who provide insight and perspective into non-profit management, and become aligned with the Y’s mission to strengthen community.
Candidates must be rising high school juniors with a minimum 3.5 GPA (unweighted), active Westport Y members, able to attend monthly board meetings, and commit to a 2-year term, starting this June.
Current junior board members Ava DeDomenico and Riley Twiss will graduate this year from Staples High School. Ava has been involved with the gymnastics program, while Riley is a competitive swimmer on the WRAT team.
Click here for the application. The deadline is February 27.
Riley Twiss and Eva DeDomenico.
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The Denver Broncos are not in the Super Bowl.
But because Walrus Alley does not have a cocktail named for a Chief or Eagle, they’re offering this recipe for one their most-loved drinks: The White Bronco.
Owners Joseph and Angela Farrell suggest it for your Super Bowl party (which they could also cater). The recipe below creates 20 drinks.
1 L your favorite silver tequila
375mL Chinola passionfruit liquor
500mL fresh lime juice
250mL rresh orange juice
100mL agave
50mL Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub
Combine all ingredients. Shake and serve 4 ounces onto rocks, garnishing with a lime wheel.
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The Westport Weston Family YMCA — today’s official name — used a portion of the bequest to establish the Bedford Family Social Responsibility Fund, to continue developing youth, promoting healthy living and fostering social responsibility.
