Don Bergmann lives off Compo Hill. He’s been active in neighborhood initiatives, from saving Elvira’s (and then converting it to Old Mill Grocery & Deli) to the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve and tidal gates.
Don often walks his dog on Hillspoint Road. Like many Westporters — beach residents, and those who live elsewhere in town — he was disappointed when Hillspoint homeowners (whose deeds include Old Mill Beach property across the street) planted large hedges, growing 8 feet or higher.
Privacy — but no views — on Hillspoint Road …
They provided privacy for the owners, during infrequent times they use their waterfront land. They also prevent the steady stream of walkers and joggers from enjoying the view of Old Mill and Compo Cove, for a significant stretch of Hillspoint sidewalk.
So Don was pleased to see that Stephanie Foster — who lives on Bluewater Hill, but owns shoreline property across Hillspoint — told her landscaper not to let the new privet grow higher than 4 feet.
… and a lower hedge. Users of the private property still enjoy plenty of privacy.(Photos/Dan Woog)
Don calls Stephanie’s decision “a nice gesture to the many who stroll along Hillspoint Road.”
“06880” calls it worthy of this week’s Unsung Hero award!
(To nominate an Unsung Hero, email 06880blog@gmail.com)
(“06880” covers Westport, from the beaches to the woods. Also, downtown, and everywhere else. To support your hyper-local blog, please click here.)
Posted onNovember 16, 2022|Comments Off on Roundup: Candlelight Concert, Mexicue, Poet Laureates …
Don’t say we didn’t tell you.
Staples High School Candlelight Concert tickets go “on sale” to the public — don’t worry, they’re still free! — on December 1.Performances are Friday, December 16 (8 p.m.) and Saturday, December 17 (3 and 8 p.m.).
Spectacular holiday music will be provided by the symphonic orchestra, symphonic band and choral ensembles. The 82-year-old event blends plenty of time-honored traditions, with some 21st-century twists.
If you’ve been to Candlelight, you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never gone — set that alarm for tickets. You don’t need kids in high school to appreciate what these teenagers (and their teachers) do.
One more tradition: the artwork for this year’s concert comes once again from Staples senior Hugh Kennedy. It’s the third year in a row he’s designed the graphics.
Last February, “06880” announced the imminent arrival of Mexicue.
The restaurant — mixing “street food sensibility” with fine dining — was renovating 38 Main Street, the former site of Bobby Q’s and Onion Alley.
The target for opening was May.
Mexicue missed the mark by 6 months. Opening day is today, at 4 p.m.
From all indications, the wait will be worth it. Westporters who have dined at Mexicue in New York City (Chelsea, NoMad, Midtown), Stamford and Washington say “¡muy bueno!”
Westport resident Aye Aye Thant is one of the our town’s biggest boosters of the United Nations.
It’s no wonder. Her father, U Thant, was the third secretary general of the organization. The Burmese leader served from 1961 to 971.
Aye Aye – a longtime Westporter — addressed the Rotary Club yesterday, at Green;s Farms Congregational Church. She reflected on her father’s legacy of diversity and peace, and the role education played in that vision.
U Thant, who died in 1974, was a strong proponent of decolonization and tolerance. His daughter believes he was ahead of his time.
“As a Buddhist, he believed Buddhism was a great religion but he also understood that hundreds of millions disagreed with him,” she said. That realization led her father to espouse a philosophy of peaceful coexistence.
Aye Aye Thant, speaking at yesterday’s Westport Rotary Club meeting. A photo of her father, U Thant, is on the screen behind her. (Photo and hat tip/Dave Matlow)
Sixteen years after headlining the Malloy Lecture in the Arts, former US poet laureate Billy Collins returns to the Westport Library.
He’ll chat with Connecticut poet laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell about his new volume, “Musical Tables.” Those short poems focus on nature, animals, mortality, absurdity and love.
The event is December 9 (7 p.m.). Tickets are $26 (same price for 1 or 2 attendees), and include a signed copy of “Musical Tables.” Click here to purchase and for more information.
Westport’s own poet laureate — Jessica Noyes McEntee — says: “If you know Billy Collins’ work, then I don’t have to encourage you to see him live. If you haven’t explored his oeuvre, this night promises to be delightful. His work has a magical and effortless quality that many of us in the poetry community emulate, and enjoy.”
“Billy Collins is perhaps the most revered poet writing in America today,” says Library executive director Bill Harmer. “Most communities would count themselves fortunate to see him once in a lifetime. To have him back in Westport for a second time is a thrill beyond measure. And to be joined by Antoinette is a true gift.”
The Staples High School boys soccer program has always given back to the community. This year’s initiative: collecting donations for the Cardinal Shehan Center in Bridgeport, and its after-school, vacation and summer camps for low income youth.
All donations will be delivered by players to the Center, in time for their annual holiday party on December 17.
Donations can be made Friday through Sunday, December 2-4, at 1 Baldwin Place (off Bayberry Lane). There will be bins by the garage.
Suggested items include:
Soccer balls, dodgeballs, basketballs
Plastic hockey sticks
Air Hockey Table and supplies
Ping Pong table and supplies
Complete board games with intact boxes and all pieces
Children or family DVDs
Unopened arts & crafts supplies
Unopened toys for holiday gifts
Dolls
Headphones
Gift cards
Hats, scarves and gloves
Swim goggles
Can’t find anything to give? Click here to guy new using the Center’s Amazon Wishlist, and have it delivered directly to the Laskin family, 1 Baldwin Place, Westport, CT 06880.
Can’t drop off during the December 2-4 dates? Email nicolelaskin@icloud.com for alternate arrangements.
Longtime Westporter Ruby Allen died Friday in her sleep. The wife of Winston Allen. she was 87 years old.
Born in Pittsburgh, and one of 8 siblings, she lived here for 48 years.
She graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in finance, and from Baruch College with a master’s in public administration. She also attended Harvard University’ executive program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government..
Ruby served as an assistant vice president of finance for the Health and Hospital Corporation of New York City for 30 years.
She loved traveling the world for pleasure, and as “first lady of the Westport Rotary Foundation,” attending 10 international conferences, She volunteered for humanitarian for months at a time with her husband, in Haiti and South Africa.
In addition to her husband, Ruby is survived by her stepchildren Vaughn and Julie Allen.
Viewing will be at St Paul’s on the Green (60 East Avenue, Norwalk) on Tuesday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. service and then a noon gravesite ceremony at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport. Guests are then welcome at the Allen home (4 Burritts Landing North).
Staples High School’s November Students of the Month are seniors William Lacend Duprey, Marley Brown. Alexander Mussomeli and Jason Capozucca; junior Kimberly Cheng; sophomore Jane Cunningham, and freshmen Sophie Grijns and Gunnar Eklund.
Students of the Month “help make Staples a welcoming place for their peers and teachers alike. They are the ‘glue’ of the school community: the type of kind, cheerful, hard-working, trustworthy students who keep Staples together, making it the special place that it is.”
November Students of the Month (from left): William Lacend Duprey ,Kimberly Cheng, Alexander Mussomeli, Gunnar Eklund, Jason Capozucca, Jane Cunningham, Missing: Marley Brown, Sophie Grijns.
Joe Carpenter offers today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo of his Annabelle hydrangea, and says: “This little girl finally decided she better bloom now before it is too late. Or is she 6 months ahead of everyone else?”
And finally … Dan McCafferty has died, at 76. He suffered from COPD.
You may not know his name. But you know his voice — from, for example, Nazareth’s “Love Hurts.” The New York Times explains:
His rendition — vocally scratchy but belted out behind reverberating guitar lines — became the definitive one. The world-weary lyrics emphasize hard lessons learned from heartbreak, but his passionate delivery made the song sound more like a statement of unvarnished desire.
The song came to seem characteristic of a post-hippie era, when male vitality was at the center of rock but the combativeness of heavy metal and punk had not yet become popular. In the movie “Dazed and Confused” (1993), “Love Hurts” plays at a 1970s junior high party in a neighborhood recreation center, where longhaired teens slow dance and furtively neck.
The lottery she won was Open Choice. That’s the program that allows students from Bridgeport to attend Westport public schools, on a space-available basis.
She entered Long Lots Elementary in 1st grade, continued through Bedford Middle School, and graduated from Staples High in 2011.
“It was a rollercoaster,” Asia says. She had a caring social worker in Julie Horowitz, and a wonderful mentor in Heidi Hammer.
Asia Bravo, in the 2011 Staples yearbook.
But her home life was difficult. She tried to play basketball at Staples, but because of transportation issues, and the need to take care of 2 younger brothers, she could not pursue it.
After graduation Asia took classes at Housatonic Community College, then transferred to Southern Connecticut State University. She worked 3 jobs to afford tuition — while taking a full load of classes — so in January of 2016, after a year at Southern, she enlisted in the Army.
She did boot camp at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, was sent to Fort Gordon in Georgia, then spent more than 5 years in Germany. She worked as a human relations liaison, and with computers in IT.
“I learned how to push through. The Army instilled mental toughness,” Asia says.
“Good leaders helped me. And I figure a lot out on my own.”
Asia enjoyed Europe. She met good people, and traveled often.
In July 2021 she was reassigned to Fort Gordon, teaching trainees.
Asia Bravo, her Open Choice mentor Heidi Hammer and Heidi’s daughter Kate.
The next month, her father passed away. Four months later, an Army friend died by suicide.
A couple of years earlier, Asia had applied to Space Force. The newest branch of the military was created by President Trump, in recognition that space is a national security imperative.
Much of the work involves computers, which Asia enjoys and is good at. This past February, she was selected for Space Force. That’s not easy: It’s the nation’s smallest armed forces branch, with just 8,400 military personnel.
“I’m helping build the foundation for a new organization,” Asia says proudly She can’t provide details about her work, other than to say it’s in cyberspace and computer intelligence, helping defend space. She is stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
“Space Force is an amazing branch, and this is a great opportunity,” Asia says. “I’m really growing, professionally and personally.”
Asia Bravo with B. Chance Saltzman, Space Force director of space operations.
She has a message for Staples students: “Be ready to go after whatever you want in life. Don’t accept limitations. Don’t let anyone tell you ‘can’t.’
“I was told I couldn’t do things. I had a rough background. But I put a lot of hard work into my career. It all paid off. I am greater than I ever presumed I could be.
Yesterday’s Roundup featured a $7.9 million house. It’s being built on one of the most famous spots in Westport: 233 Hillspoint Road, site of the former Positano restaurant.
Diagonally across the street, at 246 Hillspoint, there’s another well-known home. Built in 1930, it’s the last remaining bungalow on the increasingly modern (and pricey) stretch of water-view road.
Of course you know it:
At 695 square feet, with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom on a 3,049-square foot lot, it could have been yours — for a mere $2 million.
But you had to act fast. Offers were due by Sunday
I don’t know a lot about real estate. But I’m guessing the buyer does not plan to live there as is.
So that $2 million is just a starting point. (Hat tip: John Richers)
David Winther graduated from Staples High School in 2006. He went on to a career as a talent agent (focusing on music and arena touring. He works now in Los Angeles at Elite World Group as a director of global partnerships. He also owns Winther Agency, which strikes brand and licensing deals for content creators.
The other day, he was interviewed by ShoutOut LA. Asked who deserved credit for his success, he gave shout-outs to 2 people from his Westport past: his mother Lynn, and his mentor Jack Klinge.
David said:
My 2 sisters and I got to grow up in Westport, CT, an affluent town with great education systems that push kids academically, athletically etc. to excel. She worked 2 fulltime jobs to get us a “slot” in that town. Ma missed a lot of soccer games, football games, lacrosse games, band recitals to afford that town. I think there was a certain teenage angst I had where I didn’t understand it and actually grew distant from her for a while. Now, in my mid-30s I see what she did and what she keeps doing and how much she gave for her kids. I know she would do it again in a second.
Second, Jack Klinge. I didn’t have a father figure at all my entire life. The town of Westport has a great program that mentors kids who may not have the “typical” nuclear family… In my case I was a latchkey kid in a rich town. Jack and I met when I was in 2nd grade and we started off our first day by going outside and playing soccer against each other. The relationship was great. He became more like a grandfather figure who would give me sage advice and be at my games. He would be proud. I know he is proud, even though I thoroughly believe he still doesn’t understand what I do, haha!
Thank you Mom. Thank you Jack.
In a follow-up conversation, David told “06880”:
I owe everything I am as a person and a professional to my upbringing and my roots. My roots will always be with Westport. Without the strong leaders like Cathy Schager, Jack Klinge, John Dodig, David Roth and many many more, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
To any parent reading this: Please trust in Westport. There is a special love and care for its community to succeed in whatever they want to do in life.
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.
The organ will be re-dedicated this Sunday (November 20, 4 p.m.). Justin Bischof — known internationally for his improvisations — will play. His program will include themes submitted by the audience.
Pianist Brian Marsella returns to “Jazz at the Post” this Thursday (November 17; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner from 6:30 p.m.; VFW Post 399, 465 Riverside Avenue).
He’s joined by bassist Reid Taylor, drummer Brian Floody and the “Jazz Rabbi,” saxophonist Greg Wall.
The cover charge is $15. Reservations are highly recommended: JazzatthePost@gmail.com.
The woman caring for an affluent family’s children had just had a baby of her own. Health issues followed.
“We need you back now,” her employers said. “If you can’t come, we’ll find someone else.”
She faced a choice: Stay with her child, without pay. Or return to work, and pay someone to take care of her own baby.
That’s a common dilemma for low-wage women in America. It’s a situation people in places like Westport seldom think about.
Ir’s also one that’s rarely explored. Most studies of working women focus on professionals — how they balance office work and family life, for example.
Amanda Freeman knows all about the women who take care of children, serve our Starbucks and ship our Amazon packages.
Dr. Amanda Freeman
An assistant professor of sociology at the University of Hartford — and a Westport mother, with an undergraduate degree from Brown, an MFA from Columbia and a doctorate from Boston College — she has just published her first book.
“Getting Me Cheap: How Low-Wage Work Traps Women and Girls in Poverty” is the result of more than a decade of interviews with women balancing motherhood and difficult, low-paying jobs — without public aid.
And how that struggle perpetuates itself, generation after generation.
Freeman has written about the subject for years, in academic journals and publications like the Atlantic, Parenting and the Washington Post Magazine.
The book, she hopes, will draw more attention to an issue fundamental to not only the women trapped in the spiral of low-wage work, but the families that employ them and benefit them, in places like Westport.
Freeman and co-author Lisa Dodson — her grad school professor at Boston College — spoke to 200 women across the country. They worked in childcare and eldercare; at Stop & Shop and ShopRite, McDonald’s and Panera, and Amazon warehouses. Many were people of color; they’re over-represented in that sector.
The authors also interviewed women — including working mothers, stay-at-home moms, and those active in labor movements — in well-off neighborhoods.
That was for ‘so what?’ — the policy part, the ‘what can and should we do?’ part,” Freeman says.
“We wanted to see what responsibility moms like me have. I know mothers here who are very interested in these issues. They do think about what do you do with someone you employ in your home?”
Freeman says that, unlike women with means, low-wage workers do not often talk about “work/life balance.” They see their lives as “impossible demands.”
She explains: “Motherhood is the most important thing to them. They want to be present for their kids’ educations and lives. But they have to be employed — and they want to work.” Many are also taking courses to try to improve their job prospects.
They are well aware, however, that society may stigmatize, stereotype or misunderstand them.
Low prestige and childcare issues are just some of the problems faced by workers in low wage jobs.
While women in white-collar jobs may have difficulty balancing work and parenting, Freeman says, most employers understand at some level that they’re taking care of children (and/or their own parents).
Employers of low-wage workers tend not to be understanding at all. “There’s a constant churn of losing or changing jobs” because of those issues, Freeman says.
She notes too that 2/3 of the women she spoke to were single parents.
That leads to situations where, for example, a woman may have no choice but to bring her child to work. That’s often frowned upon — or not allowed.
When childcare fell through, a Shoprite baker tried to hide her 5-year-old. She was fired.
“Westport mothers tend to obsess over the health and safety of their kids,” says Freeman. “But these women have real, immediate health and safety concerns.’
“They’re proud of their kids,” Freeman says of the workers she interviewed. “But sometimes they won’t talk about them. They don’t want to be seen as mothers.”
When someone saw photos of one woman’s youngsters, she said they were her sister’s.
Another difference: Many companies offer paid maternity leave to salaried and professional workers. But it’s seldom provided to hourly workers.
“Ask about your company’s policy,” Freeman advises readers. “And be aware of what you can do to change it.”
Freeman and her husband — award-winning novelist, Emmy and Peabody-honored filmmaker, playwright and professor of screenwriting in the Graduate School at Columbia University Trey Ellis — have the luxury of arranging their teaching schedules so they don’t need a lot of childcare.
From left: Maia, Pamela and Amanda Freeman; Chet, Trey and Ava Ellis. Front: a friend.
But during COVID, she ordered much more from Amazon. She thought about those workers, some of whom she had already interviewed for her book. They were working harder and longer than ever.
“They were risking their lives for people like me,” Freeman says. “And for very little pay.”
On November 29 (7 p.m.), the Westport Library hosts Amanda Freeman. She’ll talk about the sometimes invisible, often overlooked women whose work makes our own lives here possible.
It should be an eye-opening and educational evening. Book your babysitter now. (For more information and to register, click here.)
(“06880” highlights many aspects of life in Westport — some visible, some under the surface. Please click here to support your hyper-local blog, and keep stories like these coming.)
The very active, 400-plus member social-and-more club recently inaugurated a bi-weekly podcast with Westport 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker.
Now they’ve expanded north.
Under the direction of Dick Kalt, “What’s Next in Weston” features 1st Selectwoman Sam Nestor. Every 2 weeks, she’ll discuss projects, programs and activities in her town.
In the first episode, she talks about Weston’s return to normalcy from COVID, including 3 new sidewalks, the Town Green, pickleball courts and Lechat Town Farm.
So does Maxx Crowley. But his means more than most: He’s president of the Westport Downtown Association.
Just 30 years old — and a native Westporter, from a noted local family — he plays a key role in the retail, restaurant and entertainment life of this town.
The other day, we chatted on the Westport Library’s Trefz Forum stage for the latest “06880” podcast. Click here for our wide-ranging (and very upbeat) conversation.
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Freeman and co-author Lisa Dodson — her grad school professor at Boston College — spoke to 200 women across the country. They worked in childcare and eldercare; at Stop & Shop and ShopRite, McDonald’s and Panera, and Amazon warehouses. Many were people of color; they’re over-represented in that sector.
