Like many Westporters, Andrew Brennan spent years in Westport without setting foot on Baron’s South.
Or even thinking about it.
But the other day — just before leaving for his junior year at Hamilton College — our “06880” intern headed to the 22-acre town park, between Compo Road South and Imperial Avenue.
He recorded himself walking the trails, climbing the hills, and discovering this hidden gem, a few yards from downtown.
Click below, to join Andrew on his tour:
(Baron’s South is open from sunrise to sunset. Click here for more details from the town website. Click here for “06880” stories, from the archives.)
(“06880” is more than a blog. We cover Westport with words, photos — and video. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Michael James graduated from Staples High School in 1960.
He co-founded and ran Chicago’s Heartland Café for 36 years. He is now working on a book about it: “Hot Grits & Politics.”
Michael has published 3 books of his photos: “Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.” He teaches a course called “Activists and Activism Since 1960″ at DePaul University; hosts the weekly Live from the Heartland Show, is active in politics (past president of Chicago’s 49th Ward Democratic Party), and as a member of SAG/AFTRA is currently on strike. He plans a visit to his beloved hometown of Westport this fall.
He posts and writes about his photos on Instagram (@michaelgaylordjamesphotography). Many of his photos can be seen at michaelgaylordjames.com.
This reminisce is from “Pictures from the Long Haul.”
I’m back home in Connecticut, an original colony—the “Nutmeg State” turned “Constitution State.” I grew up with constant reminders of the Revolutionary War. On Red Coat Road we played “fight the British” near where real Red Coats marched to burn hat factories in Danbury.
Westport is where I learned to love America, where we played in fields, in woods, and on the shores of the Saugatuck River and Long Island Sound. It’s where in the late 1940’s we hiked along the Wilton Road singing “John Brown’s body lies a-moldering in the grave, but his soul goes marching on; glory, glory hallelujah.” And my town really supported the new United Nations.
My teen-dream romance comes rapidly undone one night at the beginning of the summer. That was it; young love, over and done. I spend the summer in pain, a shredded heart — “one mizzable bastard,” to use one of my dad’s favorite expressions.
Life goes on. I have a job at the YMCA’s Camp Mahackeno. It’s where artist Harold Von Schmidt — in full Indian regalia — taught us about the Sioux. The camp’s Rotary Pavilion became the Downshifters Hot Rod Club garage during off camp months, and we were there — and upset — when the Russians and their Sputnik machine beat us into space.
A young trumpeter, I was a Mahackeno bugle boy, blowing reveille in the morning before the Pledge of Allegiance. In the afternoon I blew taps while our beloved flag was lowered. At Camp Mahackeno I suffered major yellow-jacket abuse while trying to save the bees from a clean-up brigade with a forceful hose.
Pledging allegiance, Camp Mahackeno.
There I earned my Minnow, Fish, Flying Fish, Shark and Porpoise badges, and grew up through the ranks: a Papoose, Hiawatha, Brave, Sachem, and CIT (counselor in training).
Camp Mahackeno waterfront. In the distance in the Saugatuck River: the famed “Moby Dick.”
Now I was a counselor and unit leader. We marched our tribe through the woods to my family home on the Wilton Road. My mom Florence fixed lemonade and sandwiches. Mom (Dad didn’t allow me to call her Ma) also gave me an illustrated kid’s book with stories of Bre’r Rabbit and his adventures. I read them to campers during rest periods.
Kids being kids, at Mahackeno.
I loved Uncle Remus, the storyteller. He took a lot of hits for being an “Uncle Tom” during the Black Power years. It’s hard today to find a copy of the Disney film Song of the South. In my mind he was kind and wise, a cool old dude. I am glad I saw that flick. Bre’r Rabbit was definitely cool!
I head to Rhode Island. Not to Charlestown and the drag races of my high school years, but this time to the Newport Jazz Festival. I’m with high school chum Don Law and his dad, a C&W producer with Columbia Records.
We party late into the night with Nigerian drums-of-fire-guy Babatunde Olatunji and jazz great Horace Silver. In 1963 the cultural activities committee at Lake Forest College will bring Olatunji, his drummers, and wild Haitian (and gay) dancers to campus during Africa Week. And Silver’s Sunday school teacher in Norwalk turns out to be the mother of my adopted brother, body builder Jim Arden.
I look forward to heading west and back to school. I do it via a run south to Birmingham with fellow Downshifter John Willoughby. On a late summer night we hit Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee, and I swear the Bristol Stomp was on the radio. The tune is about a dance in another Bristol (Pennsylvania), and was being played nationwide.
The Downsifters were Michael James’ hot rod club. This photo was taken in the back yard of his Wilton Road home.
Willoughby’s mom nourishes me for a day. Then I don my sport jacket and hitchhike, mostly up US 41, back to college. Near Pulaski, Kentucky I get a short ride in a beat up car with a group of juiced up folks, both white and black. They’re having a fun time.
I am crammed into the back seat, surrounded by heat, wind, and people drinking — a scary-reckless-ride. I do accept a hit of whiskey from their pint. A feeling of relief engulfs me when the ride is over and I get to stick out my thumb again.
(To read more of Michael James’ writings, click here.)
On Wednesday, the Board of Finance authorized the addition of 3 officers, to patrol 6 Westport schools.
They will be responsible for security at 2 campuses: one each at Coleytown Middle and Elementary Schools; Kings Highway and Saugatuck Elementary, and Long Lots/Greens Farms Elementary.
They will remain outside, unless called to an emergency inside.
The cost for a full year is $576,084. The request must now be approved by the Representative Town Meeting.
A second security item — a fob on all Staples High School staff members’ identification lanyard, which can summon help in a 500,000 square foot building and sprawling outdoor athletic facilities that does not have full cellphone service, or access to emergency phones everywhere — was withdrawn before the meeting.
One Westport police officer will be assigned to Coleytown Elementary School (foreground) Coleytown Middle (rear).
Before the start of last night’s Levitt Pavilion benefit concert with Daryl Hall and Todd Rundrgren, disgruntled patrons emailed “06880.”
“There is a tent blocking the view for a good portion of the patrons’ section,” one person wrote.
One view of the obstructed view …
“The sound board obstructs the view for most patrons,” someone else said.
… and another.
Carleigh Welsh — the Levitt’s director of development and marketing — responded to an “06880” email, as soon as the complaints were forwarded to her.
She wrote: “We have been moving people into non-obstructed seats. It would help greatly if they could email the box office right now if they are still in a legitimately blocked seat and we can relocate them. Some people we have approached have opted to stay put.
“Happy to share more about the rain tent covering the console in an email after show, but right now helping ushers fix any issues.”
Meanwhile — despite rain — the show went on. Todd Rundgren and Daryl Hall are pros.
And the audience raised funds to help the Levitt provide another 60 or so free concerts next year.
Which means everyone who graduated in June from Staples is now off to college, working, in the military, taking a gap year, or otherwise amusing themselves.
Which also means: Isn’t it time you took down your “Home of a 2023 Staples High School graduate” sign?
We get it. You were proud. Congratulations!
Now let’s move on …
Graduation is over! (Photo/Dan Woog)
=================================================
MDSolarSciences — the Westport-based sunscreen company — spent a day last week on a “sun safety tour.”
They handed out products to grateful — and now-protected — police, firefighters, EMTs, and Longshore employees.
MDSolarSciences representatives, and Westport firefighters.
Braiden Sunshine — who recently open for Leann Rimes, and mesmerized the audience — stars at the next First Folk Sunday (September 3, VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399, 12:30 p.m.; $10).
In 2015 — just 15 years old — he reached the semifinals of “The Voice.”
Click here for tickets. For more information, email info@firstfolksunday.com, or call 203-222-1441.
================================================
Ellie Hamby and Dr. Sandy Hazelip — 81-year-old friends — got plenty of attention last year, when they circled the globe in 80 days. They traveled to 18 countries, and visited all 7 continents.
At the Yale Club on Wednesday, Howard Matson — a Westporter, and past international president of the Circumnavigators Club — honored the women with honorary memberships in the 121-year-old organization.
Howard Matson, with octogenarian circumnavigators.
And finally … in honor of last night’s Levitt Pavilion benefit concert (story above):
(Another day, another Roundup of all things Westport. If you enjoy this daily feature, please consider supporting our work. Just click here — and thank you!)
The Westport Public Schools employ nearly 1,000 people.
And every one — teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, nurses, psychologists, social workers, cafeteria workers, custodians, secretaries, security guards — impacts every one of its 5,300-plus students.
Every adult impacts every other one, too.
That was superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice’s message yesterday, at the opening convocation of the 2023-24 year.
The high-energy event in the Staples High auditorium marked the only time all year the entire staff gathers together.
They heard the 4th-year superintendent speak in intensely personal terms about his family, his life, and his vision for the district.
It’s ranked 17th nationally, out of all 13,452 school districts, by Niche.
Superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice, at yesterday’s district-wide convocation.
“I dismiss the value of rankings, and their methodology,” Scarice said. “But they mean something to a community.”
More important than rankings, he noted, is that the school experience be valuable and meaningful to every single student.
For that to happen, Scarice said, every staff member, at every level and position in the district, must understand that every interaction with every student matters.
He illustrated his point by mentioning 2 recent graduates. Both had uneven paths during school; both are now successful and happy.
Scarice asked anyone in the auditorium who ever had any interaction with those students — no matter how small — to stand.
Dozens did.
Scarice expanded on that idea by describing his family’s summer trip to the Grand Canyon. As majestic as it is, it was formed very slowly — changing only the depth of a single piece of paper, a year at a time.
“Everyone should see the Grand Canyon,” superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice said, to appreciate both its grandeur and the importance of change.
“Change is inevitable,” he said. “But it’s important that as we change, we also progress.”
Scarice quoted Jacob Riis: “Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps 100 times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it will split in 2, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”
He related that quote to his own family — particularly the experiences of his father, who grew up in a New Haven divided strictly by race and ethnicity.
It was big news when Scarice was 9, and a Black family moved next door in their suburban neighborhood.
His father’s relationship with Calvin — the man next door — grew slowly over the years. When Calvin died of cancer in 2003, Tom’s family attended the evangelical church service.
Scarice will never forget his father’s words about Calvin: “He was a good man. He was one of the best friends I ever had.”
That was only the third time in his life that Scarice saw his father cry.
“That is how we change over time,” he said, tying the story back to his earlier comments.
Scarice challenged every district employee to change and grow. The way to do that, he added, is to listen to every student and colleague’s stories.
Every day, he said, “is an opportunity to strike at that stonecutter’s stone.” Every interaction — no matter how seemingly small or unseen — matters.
Soon, the convocation was over. The nearly 1,000 attendees headed back to meetings, planning and preparation.
A new school year — filled, as always, with excitement, anticipation, and countless chances for growth — begins Tuesday.
(The opening convocation also included the announcement of Westport’s Teacher of the Year: Bedford Middle School social studies instructor and team leader Lou DeFichy. A full story will appear later on “06880.”)
(Education is important to “06880” — this blog, and this community. Please click here to help us continue covering all our schools. Thank you!)
The famed Westporter and Pinkalicious author will read from her book “Pink or Treat” on Sunday, October 22 (10 a.m.).
The headline event is part of the kids’ component of StoryFest 2023. It also includes a “Pink or Treat” Halloween book reading and parade; a Pinkalicious Halloween parade with fun giveaways; a picture book reading on the Library steps with picture book authors, and a Monster Lab where kids can make their own 3D Monster Figurine or a Halloween mask.
The event is free with registration. There is an option to buy a signed copy of “Pink or Treat” for $15, and many other Kann favorites.
The 6th edition of StoryFest — the largest literary festival in Connecticut — runs October 20-22, with writers of all forms and from all genres.
Best-seller Neil Gaiman kicks off StoryFest 2023 on Friday evening, October 20, in conversation with Stephen Graham Jones. Saturday features author conversations and panel discussions, closing with a staged reading of Eric LaRocca’s new play, “Gentle Hacksaw.” Additional events are set for Sunday.
A reader wonders about Judy O’Meara’s now-closed TBI Apple-authorized shop, located first on Post Road West, then a mile down Route 1 in Norwalk.
She bought 2 iMacs there. Then the shop disappeared.
“Judy and the shop are irreplaceable,” the reader writes. “I’ve spent almost 11 months trying to find her.
The reader contacted the owner of the building and the Better Business Bureau. No one knows what happened, or where Judy is.
Readers with information on TBI and/or Judy: Please click “Comments” below.
Judy O’Meara
================================================
Donations of new and gently used clothing and accessories are welcome now, for the Westport Woman’s Club annual clothing tag sale.
The event runs October 20-22, at the WWC clubhouse. On sale: a wide array of suits, dresses, pants, blouses, gowns, coats, scarves, shoes, jewelry, handbags and hats.
Funds raised help support the Westport food closet, charities throughout Fairfield County, and student scholarships.
Donations can be dropped off weekdays (9 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m.) at the WWC (44 Imperial Avenue).
Laszlo Birinyi, a noted investment adviser who analyzed money flows to determine stock moves died Monday. He was 79.
The native of Hungary founded Birinyi Associates. Its office is still in a modest building on Wilton Road.
He was inducted into PBS’s “Wall Street Week Hall of Fame” in 1999. after success as the show’s top-ranked Dow Jones forecaster for most of the decade. (Hat tip: Johanna Rossi)
================================================
This glorious arrangement at Stephanie Mastocciolo’s Warnock Drive home provides today’s “Westport … Naturally” color:
The Staples High School junior’s parents were born and raised there. He and his family travel often, to visit family. Sam has dual citizenship, and speaks fluent Portuguese.
He’s an active and involved teenager. He plays varsity soccer; helped collect thousands of dollars for Westport’s sister city of Lyman, Ukraine; is vice president of Enable (a club that prints 3D hands for people who cannot afford prostheses); is a member of the National Math and Science Honor Societies, and takes flying lessons at Danbury Airport.
Sam also co-founded Staples’ chapter of Associaçáo Médico do Floresta. The Brazilian non-profit helps indigenous and underserved populations in remote areas, providing services like dental care, eyeglasses and surgeries.
Fundraising is important. But this summer Sam went the extra mile — literally.
He spent a week in the Amazon with the Ribeirinhos. The traditional population relies on fishing, and growing bananas and macachera; they receive very little help from the government.
Sam traveled with about 20 others — all Brazilian, primarily doctors, and a Globo filmmaker — to provide help.
He was the youngest volunteer. The next oldest was in his 30s.
Sam Rossoni, in an Amazonian village.
Sam traveled by himself, from Sao Paulo to Manaus. He joined the group there, for a 10-hour boat trip up the Rio Negro, to a village called Tapiíra.
From that base, they worked. Eye doctors performed tests; dentists and gynecologists provided their services.
Sam helped register patients. He worked on the database. And he helped the dentists, teaching villagers proper brushing techniques.
Sam Rossoni teaches toothbrushing techniques.
The volunteers traveled beyond Tapiíra, visiting even smaller settlements along the Unini River.
Seeing first hand those lives — without electricity, and water available only by carrying buckets down and up steep hills to a river — made an enormous impact on Sam.
He was immersed in their lives. He slept in a hammock. He saw — and ate — alligators and turtles.
Sam Rossoni and a catfish, on the river.
He spoke with villagers, and learned about their distrust of corrupt, unhelpful governments.
He also enjoyed lighter moments, like swimming with local boys, and scoring the winning goal — barefoot — in a makeshift soccer game.
One day, the Ribeirinhos cooked fish for the volunteers, with lime juice, green onions and peppers. Sam calls it “definitely one of the best meals I’ve ever had.”
Grilled and fried local fish, farinha quebra dente (“teeth-breaking flour”), and a sauce made from lemon juice, pepper and green onion.
“They were so nice, generous and welcoming,” he says of the people he met. “They told me about their daily lives. It’s so drastically different from mine.”
“Before going, I knew the situation was bad,” Sam says. “But now I realize how much I take things like electricity and water for granted.”
Of course, he notes, “I only witnessed it. I didn’t experience it, the reality of it, the way they do, every day.”
Sam Rossoni, with new friends.
Sam is even more inspired now to “find the most efficient and effective ways to help people, in a way they want to be helped.”
He adds, “I knew this trip would be special. But it was so much more than I could have imagined. It was happy, sad — all sorts of emotions, combined into one. It was definitely life-changing.”
He returned home “a new student, a new volunteer, a new person.”
(“06880” often tells stories of young Westporters, doing interesting, challenging and important things. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog. Thank you!)
Stephen Rothenberg reports from the Westport Community Gardens: “Spotted, and smushed.”
The SLF is a sap-feeding plant hopper native to China. It is believed to have entered this country as an egg mass stuck to a shipment of stone sent to Pennsylvania in 2012. Since then, that state’s agriculture, vineyards, forests, nurseries and residential areas have suffered serious damage.
The spotted lanternfly made its way into Connecticut in 2021. The state Agricultural Experiment Station issued a quarantine order. The hope is that the pest will be slowed long enough to find a treatment to control or eradicate it.
The beautiful-looking insect affects fruit trees, grapes, hops and ornamental trees. The nymphs (immature stage of the SLF) and adults feed on sap from trees and vines, causing them to weaken. Excretions from the SLF stick to the leaves; black sooty mold grows, reducing the plant’s ability to photosynthesize properly. This reduce crop yields, and weaken trees and plants further, eventually destroying them.
It can also wreak havoc on lawn furniture, sidewalks, sides of buildings, car tires and everything else outside, making them a sticky mess.
More guest artists have been added to the Westport Country Playhouse’s benefit concert, “An Evening with Justin Paul & Friends, with Kelli O’Hara and James Naughton” (September 9, 8 p.m.).
Joining Tony, Oscar and Grammy Award-winning (and 2003 Staples High School graduate) Justin Paul are friends from his films, stage musicals, and other projects.
Two are from Westport: former Staples Player Jacob Heimer (Broadway’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”), and Stacie Morgain Lewis (“Wicked,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Urinetown,” “Titanic”).
Other guests include Loren Allred (vocalist on “Never Enough” from “The Greatest Showman”), Andrew Barth Feldman (“Dear Evan Hansen”); Grammy nominee Mykal Kilgore (“Motown the Musical,” “Hair,” “The Book of Mormon”); Tony winner Aaron Tveit (“Moulin Rouge! The Musical!”), and Jessica Vosk (“Wicked”).
Headlining with Paul (“La La Land,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “The Greatest Showman”) are Kelli O’Hara (Tony Award for “The King and I”), James Naughton (Tony Award for “City of Angels” and “Chicago”), and Greg Naughton (founding member of folk-rock group The Sweet Remains).
Director Caley Baretta — another former Staples player — is senior manager of creative development at Disney Theatrical Group. Producer Ben Frimmer is well known as Coleytown Middle School’s longtime theater instructor.
“It’s been said boat owners enjoy 2 immeasurable highs: First when they buy it, then when they sell it.
“Dog parents {please don’t call them ‘owners’) achieve nirvana only once. The loss is off the charts on the Richter scale of sadness. No one adopting a pup thinks about the dreaded end. The fact is, our pets just don’t live long enough.
“When word filtered down that we lost our beloved Oskar, we were embraced with tearful hugs from our friends and Oskar’s buddies’ parents. What was especially touching were the kind condolence notes left in our mailbox by our caring Westport neighbors whom we only have a nodding relationship with. Mega-shoutouts are in order to these compassionate folks.
“When things settle down, we’ll look for another dog to join our family. The local rabbits that Oskar chased (and never caught) are probably hoping we move slowly on this. I’m sure they think a little respite is in order.”
Oskar
=================================================
Arthur Lipner & the Caribbean Cruisers put on quite a show last night, at the Levitt Pavilion. Even the lighting was red-hot.
(Photo/Dinkin Fotografix)
Tomorrow night’s show is one of the summer’s big ones: Daryl Hall, with special guest Todd Rundgren.
It sold out quickly. But a few tickets have been returned, by people who now cannot attend.
The gala and cocktail party tickets are for both the pre-concert cocktail party sponsored by Roz and Bud Siegel, at Don Memo and Walrus Alley.
Concert-only tickets are available too for the show made possible by the Arthur & Claudia Cohen Foundation. But everyone can enjoy the Levitt parking lot, as it becomes a plaza with food trucks from the Blind Rhino, Little Pub and College Creamery Ice Cream, plus a full bar operated and sponsored by Rizzuto’s.
Every week, the Westport Rotary Club learns something new.
This week’s subject was Urban Impact of Black Rock.
Executive director Bob Niedermeyer described the organization’s mentorship support for kindergarten through 12th grade students living in Bridgeport’s PT Barnum Public Housing Complex.
100 volunteer mentors form long-term relationships with their students. and become involved in their lives beyond the classroom.
Staples’ Class of 1965 is one of the most legendary in the high school’s 139-year history. (No, I was not a member. But they blazed the way for us youngsters well.)
To prepare for their 60th reunion in 2 years, they’re scouring the globe for classmates.
Click here to add your name to the database. If you’re not on Facebook, or have questions, email Kaempfer@mcarthurglen.com.
Members of Staples’ Class of 1965 remember when the school was 9 separate buildings. (This view is from 1959; an addition was finished in 1964).
================================================
Former Westporter Betty Lu Grune died peacefully last week in Florida, surrounded by her family. She was 93.
Her father was a US Navy chaplain. Betty Lu lived in many US and international locations. She met her husband, George Grune, at Duke University during the first weeks of college.
Betty Lu graduated from Duke in 1951, with a B.A. in English. She married George in 1952. They lived in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania before moving to Westport. They were here for 33 years.
Betty Lu was active in the Newcomers Club, PTA and Westport Garden Club. She also served as chapter president of the PEO philanthropic organization.
In 1988 the Grunes retired to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where they supported local organizations including the Jacksonville Symphony, Cummer Museum, Players by the Sea, and Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Florida.
Betty Lu was a vibrant participant in countless events in support of her husband, the former chairman and CEO of Reader’s Digest Association. She took great pride in her 3 sons.
Betty Lu was predeceased by her husband George, and siblings Virginia May (Achtmeyer) Adams, Fern Marie Atkin and Francis Lee Albert, Jr. She is survived by her sons George Jr. (Judy) of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, and their children Heather, Lindsey and George III; Robert (June) of Ponte Vedra Beach), and their children Alexandra, Robert Jr. and Jordan; and Steven (Nancy) of Darien, and their children Steven Jr, Natalie and Kevin.
A service to celebrate Betty Lu’s life will be held later at the Palms Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Click here to leave an online tribute.
Today’s compelling “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from the Community Gardens.
Photographer Lou Weinberg explains: “Compared to other native North American birds, goldfinches are late breeders.
“They start building nests in late June and early July, when thistle and milkweed are going to seed. Goldfinches like to use the seeds in their nests, and also as food for their young.
“The Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve have ample quantities of thistle and milkweed growing, along with one of their favorites, the sunflower.”
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.
Scarice challenged every district employee to change and grow. The way to do that, he added, is to listen to every student and colleague’s stories.
