On Thursday night, Alex Hyman dined out at Rive Bistro.
Jean Wells was there too. It was a special occasion: her 102nd birthday.
Jean moved to Westport around 1930. She’s shown here with her caregiver, Simone Neri.
(Photo/Alex Hyman)
Both look great. Alex notes, “Jean is as sharp and vibrant as any of us.”
Here’s to your health and happiness, Jean!
It’s not easy for an organization to last 70 years.
It’s even tougher when your membership turns over every few years.
But Westport’s Scout Troop 36 has done just that.
70th anniversary patch, designed by troop member Oliver Saitz.
Organized in 1949 by Saugatuck Congregational Church, the troop has helped thousands of boys learn life skills, become leaders, and form lasting friendships.
It’s weathered the ups and downs of Scouting nationally. Boy Scouts of America is now called “Scouts BSA.” In addition to offering programs for girls, Scouts now accept gay and transgender members.
Numbers have waxed and waned over the years. In 2015, there were only 9 Scouts. Today, 28 boys are members of Troop 36.
They meet every Monday night in Hoskins Hall, and hold one outing a month. Last year they went cold-weather camping in the Berkshires, spent a weekend exploring Philadelphia, backpacked up Mount Greylock, took their annual trip to Block Island and went whitewater rafting, among other adventures.
Service work includes support of the Westport Maker Faire, participating in a coastal cleanup at Sherwood Island State Park, assisting with worship and grounds cleanup at Saugatuck Church, and cleaning drainage areas at Camp Sequassen.
Every 2 years for many years, they attended the Scottish Jamboree in Edinburgh.
This July, 5 Scouts will participate in the 24th World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia. They’ll join 45,000 others from over 165 countries.
In 2006, newly installed Eagle Scouts gathered with Scoutmaster Jack Berry.
No Eagle Scout records exist prior to 1961. But from that year through 2017, 123 boys earned the prestigious Eagle Scout rank.
The troop’s history includes longtime scoutmaster Jack Berry. Last June — 4 years after his death — he was honored with a plaque, at the Saugatuck Church.
Jack was one of many adult leaders and young Scouts who helped Troop 36 for 70 years. Congratulations to all — and good luck for the next 70!
Posted in Organizations, Teenagers
Tagged Boy Scout Troop 36, Jack Berry, Saugatuck Congregational Church
There’s plenty of life in Willowbrook Cemetery. Officials there proudly announce 2 new additions.
(Photo/Danny Amoruccio)
Born Wednesday in Section 11, the twins and their mother are healthy and roaming the grounds.
But it wasn’t easy. Cemetery manager Danny Amoruccio reports that as workers dug a grave for the burial, the mother walked over — and gave birth right there to 2 fawns.
But she got scared and fled — leaving one behind. After nearly falling into the grave, it became attached to Danny. It followed him everywhere.
Willowbrook officials called Animal Control. They quickly came, wrapped the newborn deer up, and walked it to the woods. The mother appeared immediately, and hustled it away.
The family has grown to 16. They now reside — happily and together — in undeveloped sections of the cemetery.
There’s a new 8-30g application coming down the pike Post Road.
From all indications though, this one will face smooth sailing.
On Thursday (June 6, 7 p.m., Town Hall), an entity called 1480 PRE Associates goes before the Planning & Zoning Commission. They’ll ask for a special permit and site plan approval to build 32 housing units at 148o Post Road East.
They’ll be 1- and 2-bedrooms. Thirty percent will be affordable housing, as defined by Connecticut’s 8-30g statute.
The property — between the Rio Bravo/Julian’s Pizza strip mall, and a gas station — is a throwback to the days before the Post Road was greened and cleaned. Roger’s was there for decades; before that, it was Bob’s Welding.
There’s a little bit of music history too: Donna Summer shot an early music video there.
Roger’s Septic Tanks. The flowers in the foreground belonged to the gas station next door.
Several years ago, a private agreement was reached between the owner of the commercial site and homeowners on Cottage Lane — which runs behind — stipulating that no housing could be built on the property. The agreement did not involve the town.
However, word on the street Post Road is that homeowners have been consulted, and are on board with this project.
Something will eventually go in there. Sounds like neighbors are happier to have residents nearby, rather than another retail or office complex.
Less far along the P&Z pipeline — but perhaps more intriguing — is a pre-application that will also be heard on Thursday.
The agenda item reads:
To discuss amending the RORD #1 to allow Hotel Use for future redevelopment of 1 Burr Rd from Westport Rehabilitation Complex to “The Westport Hotel,” presented by Leonard M. Braman.
Will the Mediplex nursing home on Post Road West — next to Kings Highway Elementary School — be transformed into a hotel?
Stay tuned.
Westport Rehabilitation Complex’s Burr Street entrance.
Posted in Local business, Real estate
Alert “06880” reader/amateur historian Fred Cantor has a knack for finding obscure but fascinating Westport vignettes in newspaper and magazine archives.
This week’s gem is a New York Times story from September 9, 1956. Headlined “Westport Reviews New Home Numbers,” it says that — “prodded by irate residents who are loathe [sic] to adopt an urban street numbering system” — the Representative Town Meeting voted to “reconsider the $4,500 building address program recently adopted by town officials.”
Seems like Westporters “vociferously” objected to a plan to number (or re-number — it’s not clear from the story) houses on streets. Residents clearly did not want “any change in their rural flavor to something resembling urban impersonality.”
Postal officials had contended that “the lack of proper street numbers and mix-ups resulting from similar names and inaccurate numbering were making efficient deliveries increasingly difficult.”
That’s all we know from the Times story. Whatever street numbers we had — and have now — apparently work fine.
I had no way to illustrate that story. Fred helpfully sent along a Saturday Evening Post cover from May 1944. Westport artist Stevan Dohanos used a local model — and local scenes — for his illustration.
But Fred was not done. He went hunting in the Westport Library for old town directories.
The Price & Lee 1957 edition showed that homes and businesses on at least some major streets had assigned numbers. Streets like High Point — just being developed at that point — did not.*
What was more remarkable to Fred was the personal information included in the directories. They included professions of the income earners, spouses’ names, and those of older children. Presidents of companies, domestic employees — they were all there.
In 2019, the notion of privacy is all over the news (including the New York Times). We call this the “Information Age.” But more than 60 years ago, there was plenty of personal information available to all.
Just very few street numbers.
*My parents moved there in 1956. Their mailing address at that point was “Lot 12 East, High Point Road.”
There’s always something going on at Wakeman Town Farm.
Last night, for example, Tim’s Kitchen was the site of an intimate chefs’ dinner.
Brian Lewis — chef/owner of the wildly popular Cottage and OKO — hosted the event, as part of a sold-out series.
What the guests didn’t know is that one of the dishes on the menu — English pea sachetti with robiola cheese, lemon brown butter and sage crumbs — was the same one Lewis had cooked when he taped “Beat Bobby Flay.”
Brian Lewis, cooking last night at Wakeman Town Farm …
And the episode aired that very night.
So as guests enjoyed their great meal, the rest of America was watching Chef Lewis go head to head with Bobby Flay.
Dessert included viewing the competition on TV.
The icing on the cake: Lewis won!
… and on TV.
“06880” is pleased to pass on this very tasty tidbit.
(Hat tip: Christy Colasurdo)
Posted in Media, Organizations, People, Restaurants
Tagged Beat Bobby Flay, Brian Lewis, OKO restaurant, The Cottage restaurant, Wakeman Town Farm
Just about the only thing better than an Irish brogue is hearin’ it spoken — and seein’ the smiles on the faces — of the owners of Peggy’s Cottage.
That’s the all-Irish, all-the-time shop that opened a wee bit ago across from Stop & Shop.
Irish candy, chips, drinks, flour, clothes, books, scented candles, gifts — they’re all there, in a Westfair Shopping Center store that looks like a cottage from the old country. Irish music plays in the background.
Brian Ellard and Meg Kirby, in Peggy’s Cottage. Which, of course, looks like an Irish cottage.
Brian Ellard and Meg Kirby are the owners. The Irish are known for their storytelling, and the couple’s tale is a grand one.
They’re both from Tipperary. He worked in a bakery, she at the local factory. In 1994 they decided to “chase the American dream.”
Meg’s uncle — Jim Fahey — had done the same thing, from the same county, in the 1960s. He had nothing when he arrived, but found work in construction. He helped build the first World Trade Center. After relocating to Westport he started a moving company, and built it into a big, successful business.
Brian worked for him for a while, then founded his own firm: Arra Carpentry. After 15 years, he and Meg embarked on a new adventure.
Peggy’s Cottage is exactly what Irish expats — and those from the rest of the UK too — have been looking for.
Some of the treats at Peggy’s Cottage.
There are lots of them, too. Fairfield’s Gaelic-American Club is thriving. The area is filled with folks from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Throw in those who trace their ancestry there, those who have visited and love it, and those who are just curious, and the customer base is huge.
But the appeal is extra special for lads and lasses with brogues.
It wasn’t two minutes that I was talking with Brian and Meg when a young, red-headed guy walked in. He headed strait for the Alpen muesli.
Real Irish muesli is hard to find. In the States, anyway.
“I’ve been looking for this for years!” he said. He’d found something similar in a couple of stores, but it didn’t taste the way he remembered it.
“Sugar is different in Ireland,” Brian explains. “It comes from sugar beets. That’s why the flavors are different — cereal, candy, all of it.”
Cows are fed differently too. The food he and Meg sell is the real Irish deal. They carry what they like.
And when customers ask for something — like Scottish potato bread — they add it to the shelves.
Gifts galore at Peggy’s Cottage.
Customers tend to linger — and talk.
“Irish people like to socialize,” Brian says. “You know ‘the craic’ — that’s news, gossip, fun, entertainment, enjoyable conversation.” There’s plenty of the craic at Peggy’s Cottage.
And you know “the luck of the Irish”?
Westport is lucky too — to have Peggy’s Cottage right here in town.
Brian and Meg invite customers to put a pin in this map, to show where they’re from. The owners are happy to order anything direct from any county.
Posted in Local business, People
Tagged Brian Ellard, Ireland, Meg Kirby, Peggy's Cottage
Remarkable Bookcycle, at Compo Beach (Photo/Amy Schneider)
In the vast constellation of stars that make Westport shine, it’s tough picking 2 of the brightest.
But the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce has done a stellar job. Lori Cochran-Dougall and Ken Bernhard will be honored Wednesday, June 12 (6:30 p.m., Westport Inn) at the organization’s First Citizen Award dinner.
The duo will be joined by 4 “Young Entrepreneur” honorees, from Staples and Weston High Schools: Ryan Felner, Lilly Garone, Garrett Meyerson and Brianna Zeiberg. Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz is the keynote speaker. Each year the Chamber honors one Westporter from the non-profit world, and one from the business sector.
Lori Cochran-Dougall
Cochran-Dougall is well known — and beloved — as executive director of the Westport Farmers’ Market. She’s made it not just a place to purchase great, fresh produce and organic goods, but a true community gathering spot, with entertainment and education too. Every Thursday from May through November, the Imperial Avenue lot pulses with life and good vibes.
Cochran-Dougall grew up in Roanoke, Virginia — home of the oldest continually operating farmers’ market in the country. Before coming to Westport, she chaired the Jackson Hole, Wyoming Farmers’ Market board of directors.
Her achievements here include gaining 501(c)(3) status for the market (a rarity); implementing a winter’s market; working with area chefs and farmers to find solutions to food distribution issues, and advocating for agri-tourism.
Bernhard — the other honoree — is a principal in Cohen and Wolf’s municipal, business and corporate, real estate, family law and appellate groups.
He spent 8 years representing Westport in the General Assembly, rising to assistant minority leader. He was 3rd selectman from 1987-89, after which he was elected to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Ken Bernhard
He is or has been a member of many boards, including the Westport Library, Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County, Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, Norwalk Human Services Council, Earthplace, Westport Historical Society, Levitt Pavilion, Aspetuck Land Trust, Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, and Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.
Bernhard helped found the Syria Fund, which provides support and education to refugees in Jordan. He’s deeply involved with the Tree of Life Orphanage in Haiti, which educates and feeds over 200 children, while creating jobs for adults.
He organizes shoe collection drives for Soles4Souls, shipping thousands of shoes to children around the world. He and his wife Alice have also raised 7 guide dogs.
If you want something done, the saying goes, ask a busy person.
On June 12, Lori Cochran-Dougall and Ken Bernhard will slow down long enough to be honored. “06880” joins the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce in saluting these 2 superbly deserving First Citizens.
(For more information and tickets to the First Citizen Award event, click here.)
Comments Off on Ken Bernhard, Lori Cochran-Dougall: First Citizens Of Westport
Posted in Organizations, People
Tagged Ken Bernhard, Lori Cochran-Dougall, Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce
Earlier today, the town sent out a terse email. Headlined “Local Housing Authorities Are Now Accepting Pre-Applications for Affordable Housing,” it read:
Preliminary applications will be accepted beginning on 06/03/2019 AND END with a postmark date of 06/28/2019. Pre-applications received after the end date as postmarked will be automatically rejected.
Please click on the following link for income-eligibility requirements and a download of the pre-applications: https://millennium-realty.com
It sounded a bit cryptic. Pre-applications for what affordable housing, exactly?
And who is Millennium Realty?
I clicked the link.
The Millennium Group — headquartered in New Britain — has a handsome website. At the top are photos of 4 beautiful residences. Two are homes that would not look out of place in Westport; 2 are gleaming new apartment buildings.
Turns out Millennium Realty (aka The Millennium Group) manages a wide array of properties — including 4 affordable housing facilities in Westport. They are:
That’s 200 units of affordable housing.
Canal Park offers affordable housing for seniors, near downtown.
But why “pre-applications”?
Turns out they occasionally open up wait lists, to fill when vacancies occur. “Pre-applications” are used to screen for initial program eligibility.
So for anyone interested in being screened for a possible eventual spot on a wait list for affordable Westport housing: Click on the link above. You can also pick up a copy at the Westport Housing Authority (5 Canal Street), or call 203-227-4672.
Hales Court also offers affordable housing in Westport.
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