At the beginning of last night’s Staples High School Pops Concert at the Levitt Pavilion, emcee David Pogue made a joke about the number of times the concert has been moved inside due to rain and wildfire smoke — or canceled, because of COVID.
This time the skies were clear, the temperature perfect.
Suddenly — just a few minutes into the show — a fierce wind blew in.
Music sheets scattered. Banners flapped. It looked like an unexpected weather event would ruin the evening.
Suddenly, all was calm again. The “wind ensemble” left. The show went on … beautifully.
The Staples music department’s gift to the town showed off all the performing groups: the Symphonic Band and Orchestra, Choralaires, Orphenians, Jazz Ensemble, and several small ensembles.
The program ranged from Blood Sweat & Tears to Glen Campbell; Björk to the Beatles; Simon & Garfunkel to Freddie Mercury and Queen.
In less than a decade, the Pops Concert has become a cherished Westport tradition. It is entertaining, fun — and very, very professional.
Our Staples instructors and musicians are outstanding. The standing ovations they got were well-deserved.
And the rainbow over the stage made the night even more perfect.
Rainbow over the Levitt Pavilion. (Photo/Harris Falk)
Three groups performed before the show. Seamus Brannigan plays drums on “Ventura Highway.”
The Choralaires sing the national anthem. This is Lauren Pine’s first Pops Concert, as Staples’ new choral director.
The final performance for Phil Giampietro (left), Staples’ highly regarded band and jazz ensemble director. He’s leaving for Hall High-West Hartford, closer to his home in Cheshire and where he will remake their program. Gregg Winters (right) teaches band at Bedford Middle School, and jazz workshop at Staples.
Andrew Maskoff (keyboard) and Rohan Wadhwani (vocals) lead the Jazz Ensemble in “Spinning Wheel.”
Musicians look to the sky, as strong winds blow in.
Curtis Sullivan, Ethan Walmark, Henry Carson and Rohan Wadhwani harmonize on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
Eva Slossberg (2nd from left) wowed the crowed with her vocals on “Would That I.” She was accompanied by (from left) pianist Andrew Maskoff, and cellists Ellia Tobben and Kai Seo. Missing is cellist Shivali Kanthan. (Contributed photo)
The full Symphonic Orchestra, Band and Choralaires close the show with a rousing “Bohemian Rhapsody.” (All photos/Dan Woog unless otherwise noted)
On Monday, Staples High School holds its 137th graduation ceremony.
Over 415 young men and women will receive diplomas, leave the Class of 2024 behind, and head out to a dangerous, unpredictable world.
More than 80 years ago, the world was even more dangerous and unpredictable.
In the 1942-43 school year, the school paper Inklings reported, wartime shortages made “the candy table supply look quite pathetic.” Mounds, Hershey Bars, O. Henry, Baby Ruth all disappeared.
Students with last period study hall were allowed to leave school early. Some worked for local industries manufacturing items needed for the war effort.
Others harvested crops on local farms, replacing older men who had been called up to serve.
The Junior Red Cross organized a scrap and tin drive. Art classes made booklets for men in Army hospitals, and contributed posters to local bond drives.
William Torno’s shop classes built 4 wood rifle racks, each holding 32 guns, for the Westport Defense Training Unit. He added an oxyacetylene course too, in the newly important skill of welding.
Bill Torno (rear) supervises a 1940s Staples High School shop class.
Miss Ossi’s home economics classes made nearly 100 cotton hospital bags. The Navy came to Staples, and gave exams for the V-12 College Training program.
A Commando Course, combining gymnastics and swimming, was held every Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the downtown YMCA (now Anthropologie), not far from the Riverside Avenue school (now Saugatuck Elementary). Instruction included diving from the side of a burning ship, and swimming under water while oil burned on the surface.
On other days boys wrestled, boxed and marched. The Commando and intensive gym courses were mandatory for all high school boys.
In perhaps the most chilling reminder of the war’s effect, 10 of the 100 graduates of the Class of 1943 – exactly 10 percent – did not attend commencement ceremonies. The stars next to their names meant they had already left school, to serve in the armed forces. The Staples High School yearbook was dedicated to them.
The “new” Staples High School opened on Riverside Avenue in 1937. When the Class of 1943 graduated, it was just 7 years old.
The next year, the 88-member Class of 1944 included 7 more service members.
At an assembly 6 months earlier, principal Douglas Young set a minimum but difficult goal of $25,000 for the 4th nationwide War Bond Drive. Six months later, the results were announced: Staples students had raised a whopping $39,500. That made graduation night special.
So did the sudden appearance, in full uniform, of Airman Sebastian (Sebby) Lauterbach. He joined the class in time to march to the stage for the ceremony.
The memory became even more poignant a few months later, when he was one of two members of the class killed in combat.
(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!)
Lyman — Westport’s Ukrainian sister city — was struck by Russian missiles recently.
A video from Ukraine Aid International — the non-profit formed by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer, which has delivered over $300,000 donated by Westporters to our friends in that town — shows some of the horrific destruction. Click here to see.
To donate to Ukraine Aid International by credit card, click here; click the “I want to support” box; then select “Westport — Lyman Sister City.” Scroll down on the Donate page for other options: mail, wire transfer and Venmo.
A resident of Lyman — Westport’s sister city — after a Russian air strike.
Meanwhile, Lyman’s police chief asked his counterpart, Westport Chief Foti Koskinas, for help. The town needs 2 EcoFlow batteries to power up their charging stations for the Starlink (provided by Westport), their computers and other important devices.
Ukraine Aid International is providing the funds, using money from last summer’s LymanAID fundraiser.
Wednesday’s Roundup included an email from a reader who slammed me for reckless driving on Thomas Road, in “my” BMW with “06880” plates.
I noted that I don’t have a BMW, and that just because I publish “06880,” it doesn’t mean that’s my license plate.
Yesterday, I heard from Gary Shelton, who has some skin in this game. He wrote:
“I’m the driver of the blue BMW ‘06880,’ and a very aware and careful driver.
“The man who wrote you should learn how to properly walk a dog between himself and the side of the road. He had the dog on a long leash between himself and the middle of the road on a blind corner.
“The ‘heads up display’ in my car says the speed limit on Thomas is 25. I was going 20 mph up the hill approaching that blind curve. He gave me a choice of slamming on my brakes and hitting his dog, or accelerating and going quickly around him.
“Fortunately I have extensive evasive maneuver driver training. I would much rather have hit the other car than his dog. He should have been appreciative of that, but clearly is not a good dog parent.
“The other car simply went on the small shoulder as I was around him and back in my lane before he was at any impact point. Cars can be fixed; lives cannot.
“I hope you add this to your blog as a response. I have been a longtime Westporter, and that has been a longstanding family license plate.”
The Staples High School baseball team plays for the state “LL” (extra large schools) state championship tomorrow (Saturday, June 8, 12 p.m., Palmer Field, Middletown).
The #19th-ranked Wreckers face #4 Amity.
Fans are invited to gather at the Staples fieldhouse at 9:15 a.m., to give them a great send-off.
Tickets must be purchased through GoFan. The game will be live-streamed here on game day.
Club 203 celebrated the end of another great year on Wednesday.
Westport’s social club for adults with disabilities hosted a party at Ned Dimes Marina. It was their biggest turnout ever: 175 guests.
The Super Duper Weenie truck served delicious treats, with kind service. Guests enjoyed games, MoCA art projects like message-in-a-bottle and decorate-your-own kites, and cookies from Big G.
Club 203 volunteers were joined by others from the Westport Rotary Club. Special thanks go to the town’s Department of Human Services and the Commission on People with Disabilities. Selectwomen Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore stopped by to enjoy the event.
Staples High School students respect and admire Cathy Dancz Schager.
Now the Contemporary World Studies teacher has been recognized as a “US Presidential Scholars Most Influential Teacher,” and through the University of Connecticut Office of Early College Experience Teacher Appreciation Campaign.
Leigh Foran, a senior — also the Class of 2024 valedictorian and a US Presidential Scholar honoree — chose Schager as the teacher who inspired her, and contributed the most to her success as part of the Scholar process.
“I’m so thankful to have had a teacher like Ms. Schager who teaches her students to apply what we learn in the classroom to the real world,” Foran says. “She’s truly encouraged us to become global citizens, which I deeply admire.”
In addition, students participating in UConn’s ECE program nominated Schager for her dedication, passion and commitment to supporting students and creating an incredible UConn course experience.
Cathy Schager
=================================================
As the LGBTQ community celebrates Pride Month, many look back at a time when they were less certain of their place in the world.
On June 27 (6:30 p.m., Westport Library), Dr. Alan Downs discusses his book “The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Men’s World.”
Downs is a clinical psychologist. The vent is sponsored by Westport Pride.
He sends this photo, from Kings Highway North between Main Street and Canal Street …
(Photo/Michael Lonsdale)
… and writes: “Wiring in Westport is a mess. It depresses me to drive around.
“It’s time for the town to come down on independent vendors who are wiring massive amounts of cable with no protocol. Ridiculous. It is out of control!”
He’s right. Wires are always added — never subtracted.
There’s no incentive for cable or utility companies to remove unused or obsolete wires. It’s easier for them to leave it in place, and move on to the next job.
Of course, they have to return when it all comes tumbling down. But hey …
Nearly every Westporter of a certain age has a story about Paul Newman, and his Volvos.
(Mine: He picked me up hitchhiking a few times. “Hop in, son!” he’d say.)
“06880” reader Todd Suchotliff sends along a link to a car website called The Autopian.
The story is about the legendary actor and his souped-up Volvo wagons.
It’s an insanely long story, of interest to auto enthusiasts — but also anyone who knows Ian Warburg and the late Michael Brockman, 2 Westporters who feature prominently in the piece.
The article also mentions a “missing” Volvo wagon, of which Suchotliff says, “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen bit before around town, and parked at a house on Compo Road South close to Soundview. It’s a Volvo wagon, with an ‘RR’ emblem on its grille.”
If you’ve ever had an experience where you found yourself coming together with others whose mindsets, approaches, and/or backgrounds were completely different from your own — yet ended up with surprising or inspiring results — you’ll know what this Sunday will be like at the Westport Library.
In “Unexpected Human Pollination” (June 9, 2 to 4 p.m.), artists will share art and true stories about those times. The storytelling ends with a community conversation on the subject.
It’s the first public event of The Hive — the new project of Frederic Chiu and Jeanine Esposito. The mission is to create opportunities to engage, discover connections and build understanding fueled by the arts, dialogue, ideas and transformation.
The HIVE partners delivers programs in “cross-pollinating community gatherings, arts immersions, and transformation workshops.”
=================================================
Art is soothing. So is a sound bath.
On June 20 (6:30 to 8 p.m.), Sorelle Gallery hosts a “Sound Bath Meditation” evening.
The evening begins with a look at Sorelle’s coastal exhibit, Summer Crush. Attendees will then relax on yoga mats for a soothing session led by Hummingbird healing Center founder Lisa Pak.
Tickets are $25 each. There is room for 20 guests. Click here to register, and for more details.
Johanna Keyser Rossi reports that a pair has been hanging around the high tower behind by the police station for a few weeks. Their most recent activity: building a nest.
Posted onJune 7, 2024|Comments Off on Garden Tour: An Intriguing Prospect
Every day — but particularly in springtime — Westporters drive past Prospect Gardens, and marvel at its beauty.
The property, on Prospect Road in Greens Farms, includes nearly 9 acres of flowers, shrubs, lawns, walking paths, meadows, orchards, trees and more.
For over 20 years John and Melissa Ceriale bought adjacent land. Working with the very talented garden designer Cindy Shumate, they created a magical oasis, stretching far and wide.
Looking northeast, on the Ceriales’ property.
Usually, that street view is all that most people see.
But this Saturday (June 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Prospect Gardens is open to the public.
It’s part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program.
Mature deciduous and evergreen trees create a sweeping canvas, providing a sense of scale, shape and texture.
Key features include a Mediterranean graveled entry garden, 2 orchards, a stone-tiered vegetable garden, blueberry and raspberry houses, beehives, a sunny perennial garden, shady perennial woodland walk, conifer collection, flowering shrub and grass borders, a Japanese-inspired meditation garden and maple collection, 2 pools, containers featuring citrus and cacti, a glasshouse, an internationally renowned sculpture, and a 1-acre perennial/native wildflower meadow.
The most recent addition is a 4-tiered amphitheater, with a stone-medallioned stage.
Pyramid grasses on Prospect Road.
Shumate will be on site all day, explaining the wonders of the land, answering questions and describing Prospect Gardens’ evolution, from just 1 acre in 1996 to today.
She’ll be joined by Judy Gardner of Gardener’s Touch. The perennials expert created 3 specialty gardens plus the containers.
Gabriele Kallenborn will talk about the reproductive cycle of bees, and their importance.
Paul Sztremer of Wildflower Grounds Management will discuss how he and his crew keep the place pruned, planted, fed and weed-free.
Click here for tickets ($10 each), and more information.
One more view of Prospect Gardens.
(“06880” offers a window into Westport’s environmental life — and so much more. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Comments Off on Garden Tour: An Intriguing Prospect
Pippa Bell Ader is one of Westport’s most ardent environmentalists.
She saw yesterday’s “06880” story on Main Street stores whose wide-open, come-on-in doors spew air conditioning onto the sidewalk all day, every day.
All is not lost, she says.
She told “06880”: “L’Occitane, a B Corps company (as is Patagonia), wouldn’t be caught dead with the doors open! Look what they have, right on their front door on Main Street:
(Photo/Pippa Bell Ader)
Pippa adds: “The argument that businesses will suffer if the doors remain closed (which is interpreted as unwelcoming) is absurd. Who will they be welcoming in 20 years?!”
The Westport Country Playhouse has just added another popular singer to its Barnstormer Series.
And this one won’t have far to travel at all.
Sophie B. Hawkins sings selections from her new musical “Birds of New York,” and tells stories about it, on June 25 (7 p.m.).
She’ll be joined by a cast of Broadway performers, as she tells stories from the tale of a daughter who comes home at Thanksgiving to heal, but has no idea what she’s in for.
Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday, June 7) at 1 p.m. Click here to purchase, and for more information.
Mike Barbiglia entertained his second straight sold-out audience last night, at the Westport Country Playhouse.
The comedian/writer/director/actor concludes his 3-run show tomorrow night.
Mike Barbiglia, at the Playhouse. (Photo/Susan Garment)
=================================================
Congratulations to Ithaca College rising senior Cam Manna.
The Staples High School graduate has just earned honorable mention at the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America Jim Nantz Award and All-America program.
“06880” has been a follower and fan of Cam since his WWPT-FM days at Staples High School.
Of course, this award has another connection to our town . Nantz — the legendary CBS sportscaster for whom it’s named — is a former Westporter.
A reader writes: “Our Compo Beach neighborhood is one of the noisiest in town.
“The houses are close together, so at any moment you can hear someone, or several people, blowing their lawns with one or more gas-powered leaf blowers (not to mention the amount of construction that goes on around here).
“When the town ordinance passed limiting gas-powered leaf blowers, I was thrilled. I know it was designed to address air pollution, not noise levels. But I also know that battery-powered leaf blowers are much quieter than the gas powered ones.
“But no one uses battery powered leaf blowers. It’s like the ordinance never happened.
“I asked a landscaper nearby why they didn’t use them. He said, ‘too expensive; they’re $800.’
“I told him we got ours at Harbor Freight: a whole package — leaf blower, hedge trimmer with lots of attachments, big battery, plus a backup battery — so when our crew is here they use one and have a backup. All for $200-300.
“Maybe this will inspire other homeowners to take the initiative to use battery- powered blowers, and/or provide them to their crews. I don’t think the landscapers will willingly make the switch, especially since there’s no real way to enforce the ordinance.”
Electric leaf blower
=================================================
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 399 quartermaster, Phil Delgado was in command Tuesday, as the guest speaker at Westport Rotary Club’s weekly meeting.
He highlighted the vital role the VFW plays in serving veterans throughout Fairfield County. He described programs and initiatives that support veterans, emphasizing the importance of community involvement and support.
One-third of the members are disabled. Many suffer from PTSD. In addition to community and VFW events, including the weekly Jazz at the Post Night, support and assistance are also offered for mental and physical issues.
Philip Delgado addresses the Rotary Club. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
================================================
Yesterday’s Roundup item about the drive to collect new underwear for Norwalk’s Open Doors Shelter neglected to mention 2 important facts: when and where.
It’s this Saturday (June 8, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Imperial Avenue parking lot).
Any type of new underwear for women and children is great. The shelter requests boxer briefs for men.
Can’t make it Saturday? Lisa will pick items up, or accept them at her Town Hall office. You can also send them to her via Amazon. For details, email lsmarriott@gmail.com.
=================================================
Westport Police made 2 custodial arrests between May 29 and June 5.
A 34-year-old Milford man was arrested for interfering with an officer and misuse of 911, after police responded to a 1:22 a.m. call at Nômade restaurant.
The suspect was on the sidewalk, arguing with the manager, who said the man was intoxicated, and disruptive when asked to leave. When officers told him he had to go home, he stated that the bar had been serving minors.
The claim was not substantiated, and the suspect was told to call police when he observed such activity. He said he would call 911 right then, and was advised if he did so, he would be arrested. He allegedly dialed 911, and was arrested.
A 28-year-old Hartford man was arrested for interfering with an officer. At 5:35 a.m., police were on routine patrol in the Wilton Road/Partrick Road area, while other officers investigated an attempted motor vehicle theft from Wilton Terrace.
Officers on Partrick Road were alerted to a suspicious person on surveillance cameras walking through back yards, and attempting to enter a vehicle. When a man emerged from a driveway and saw police, he ran into the woods. Police gave chase on foot, then apprehended and arrested him.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Traveling unreasonably fast: 9 citations
Failure to comply with state traffic commission regulations: 6
Operating a motor vehicle without a license: 5
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 4
Failure to renew registration: 3
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 2
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 2
Speeding over 70 mph: 1
Failure to yield to a pedestrian: 1
Failure to obey stop sign: 1
Following too closely: 1
Failure to drive right: 1
Unsafe backing: 1
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 1
As the anniversary of D-Day approached, Westporters Jeffrey Mayer and Nancy Diamond visited France.
It was much more than an ordinary journey. They write:
Eighty years to the day have passed since Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, launching a 2 1/2-month operation to liberate France from 5 years of Nazi occupation.
American soldiers move through the ruins of Marigny, 1944.
For Marigny-le-Luzon the “débarquement” (as the French call the landing), remains fresh, in part because of a remarkable bond of friendship with the town of Westport.
Devastated in World War II, this would become Place de Westport.
Two years after the war, Staples High School French teacher Charlotte MacLear visited this small town of 2,700, and asked what she could do.
Staples French teacher Charlotte MacLear, with her Sorbonne diploma.
Over the next 15 years, Westporters helped Marigny rebuild. They funded construction of the school cafeteria, destroyed in the fighting. They restored the stained glass windows of the Gothic church.
Ruins of Marigny’s Sainte-Pierre Church.
They sent Christmas presents to the town’s children, every year for 15 years.
A few of those children met us this week in the Place de Westport, Marigny’s main square. They took us to the Mairie, the town hall, where the council chamber is named for Charlotte MacLear.
The walls of the chamber have only two decorations: a portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron, and Charlotte MacLear’s signature.
In the corner, a glass case contains some of the gifts sent by Westporters: a doll carriage, ruler, board game, and a small horse received by one of our hosts.
The room with Charlotte MacLear’s signature, and a display case of Westport memorabilia.
The gratitude of the citizens of Marigny is on display everywhere. Throughout town, the American flag flies.
In the town library, a thick binder contains the history of our relationship. It includes pictures of Charlotte MacLear, and of children receiving gifts from the mayor at the time, plus lists of the Westport and Marigny exchange students who visited each other over the years.
In the restored church we visited the colorful 18 stained glass windows that were restored “grace à Westport,” as our hosts told us.
Each window contains an inscription in lead: “Don de la ville de Westport, Etats-Unis d’Amérique” (“Given by the town of Westport, United States of America”).
Inscription in the Marigny church.
On the edge of Marigny we found a large stone, dedicated to 3,070 American soldiers temporarily buried in Marigny before being moved to the American cemetery at Omaha Beach.
The monument to 3,070 American soldiers buried in Marigny, before being moved to the American cemetery at Omaha Beach.
Our hosts had prepared a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which we placed at the foot of the monument.
Before leaving Marigny, Nancy and I presented to Deputy Mayor Huguette Masson several books by Dan Woog and Woody Klein about the history of Westport, and one from the Westport Permanent Art Collections; caps and medals from the Westport Police Department courtesy of Chief Foti Koskinas, and Westport memorabilia sent by First Selectwoman Jen Tooker.
Members of the Marigny-Westport Association, wearing their new Westport police caps. From left: Huguette Besson, Marie Charles, Marcelle Bleas-Franke, Cecile Turgid, Bernadette Hommet.
We were given, in turn, a book for the Westport Library written by René Gautier, the town’s passionate historian. We visited him in the France-USA Memorial Hospital in St. Lô, where he has been undergoing medical tests.
Jeff Mayer and Nancy Diamond visited Marigny historian René Gautier at the France-USA Memorial Hospital in St. Lo, where he is having tests. They presented him with gifts from Westport.
We were also presented with caps bearing the names of Westport, Marigny and Lyman, the Ukrainian town that Westport and Marigny have supported since 2022.
As one of our hosts observed, the fight for liberty does not end.
Westport Pharmacie on the Place Westport. Note the street sign on the corner.
Window of the Westport Pharmacie, with a display of memorabilia from World War II and the liberation of Marigny on July 17, 1944. (All photos courtesy of Jeffrey Mayer and Nancy Diamond)
Dozens of readers responded to Sunday’s “Cool Cohl Katz Contest.”
The Westport stylist to the stars offered her talents — a haircut and makeup application for women, a haircut and style for men — to 3 winners of a contest she and I cooked up.
We asked 3 trivia questions about famous current or past Westport or Weston residents. All of them have been (of course!) Cohl’s clients.
Then we put all the correct answers in a (stylish) hat, and drew 3 lucky winners.
Question #1:This former Westporter started out as a stockbroker. But that’s not where they gained the most fame.
This got the most correct responses: 47. The answer is (of course) Martha Stewart. (The most popular incorrect guess: James Comey).
Congratulations to the winner: Anne Leskow.
Martha Stewart and her former husband Andy, outside their Turkey Hill home.
Question #2: To prepare for his role as an emotionally destroyed soldier in a film that won him an Academy Award, this actor ate only bananas, water and rice for a month.
31 readers knew this was Christopher Walken, in “The Deer Hunter.” (Not Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise, also clients of Cohl’s.)
The winner is: Todd Pines.
Christopher Walken in “The Deer Hunter.”
Question #3: This musician has co-written 14 songs on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
Incorrect guesses were led by Nile Rodgers and Ashford & Simpson. The correct answer — known by 32 readers — is Keith Richards.
I thought that was a giveaway, because I mentioned “Rolling Stone” magazine. Oh well …
The winner of that prize is: Stacey Henske.
Keef
Congratulations to all 3. Cohl will be in touch, to arrange your style session.
Didn’t win, but want to feel like a star anyway? Email cohlita@yahoo.com.
(If you enjoyed this fun contest — or anything else, any day, on “06880′ — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here, to help us keep publishing “in style.” Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
GET THE “06880” APP
The “06880” app (search for it on the Apple or Android store) is the easiest way to get “06880.” Choose notifications: whenever a new post is published, or once or twice a day. Click here for details.
