Posted onMay 7, 2022|Comments Off on Online Art Gallery — Week #109
With one (notable) exception, today’s online gallery is all about flowers.
With good reason: Tomorrow is Mothers Day.
But even the one outlier still shows nature, in all its wonder.
We appreciate everyone’s submissions. This feature is open to all readers. Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old. In every medium. On every topic (not just Mother’s Day).
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world!
For a while, it looked like the South Morningside home owned for decades by noted artists Walter and Naiad Einsel — and before that, Charles B. Sherwood (of Sherwood Island fame) — would be demolished.
A developer bought the property, and — despite its history, and its location on wetlands — tried to take advantage of the state 8-30g statute. It takes precedence over historic districts and flooding issues.
Three years ago, the developer and town reached a settlement. The handsome structures were saved.
The Morningside Drive South home of Walter and Naiad Einsel.
Since the beginning of this year, Lillie Fortino Tsahirides and here husband have been renovating the Victorian home. Their goal is to reuse and rehabilitate as many of the original fixtures and elements possible.
On Thursday they learned that 2 to 3 people entered the property during working hours — while contractors were there — and helped themselves to light fixtures, furniture, and other elements.
“I guess they assumed it was trash,” Lillie writes on the Facebook Front Porch page.
One of the “missing” light fixtures.
She adds: “While it’s upsetting to know that individuals thought it alright to enter our private property, I’m really devastated over the loss of irreplaceable original fixtures. Someone went so far as to help themselves to our dog’s poop scoop.”
She’s taking the high road: “If you were one of those who mistakenly thought these items were up for grabs/intended for trash, please, PLEASE, return them.
“It’s hard to imagine several people would blatantly rob us in broad daylight, so I’m hoping this is all a big misunderstanding.
“If you know of someone who was involved, please ask them to return the poperty, no questions asked.”
Tonight’s “Supper & Soul” dinner and concert has been postponed, due to a COVID outbreak in the Cris Jacobs band.
Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce director Matthew Mandell call it “quite the bummer. We were all set to go. This was supposed to be the back-from-COVID show. It just proves this virus has not gone anywhere.”
The last live Supper & Soul show was held in February 2020. The Chamber offered streaming shows and drive-in concerts during the pandemic.
The Chamber is looking at options to ensure all ticketholders either see the rescheduled show or receive a refund. Detailsl will be announced soon.
Ticketholders who will want to eat at their chosen venue should call and secure a table. This is independent of the Chamber; meals would be at diners’ expense. All restaurants have already been informed of this situation and would still like to be your host.
Saul Pollack — remembered by many Staples High School graduates as a very successful wrestling and football coach, and popular physical education teacher, and many other residents as the longtime owner of Harry’s Wine & Liquor Store in Fairfield — died last week, at Regional Hospice in Danbury. He was 85 years old.
The Bridgeport native was the only son of Harry and Betty Pollack. He grew up in Fairfield, graduated from Roger Ludlowe High School, and worked as a lifeguard and swim instructor. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Springfield College in 1960, and a master’s from the University of Bridgeport a year later.
Saul was hired to teach in Westport. At the same time, he joined the Army Reserves.
Saul Pollack
As head of the Staples wrestling team, he built a program that won several FCIAC and state championships. He was also an assistant football coach.
While teaching in Westport, Saul met 1st grade teacher Anne Gardner. They married in 1965. The couple moved to Wilton and had 3 children.
In 1978 Saul left teaching and took over the package store his father had opened in 1941. Over the next 33 years he expanded the business enormously.
After retiring in 2011 Saul enjoyed playing golf, vacationing on Cape Cod and Sanibel Island, and visiting with his children and grandchildren.
Saul is survived by his wife Anne; his sons, Scott (Millie) of Fairfield and David (Alex) of Fishers Island, New York; daughter Kira (Douglas) Friedman of New York City, and grandchildren Mia, Anthony, Arlo and Izzy Pollack, and Edie Friedman.
Funeral arrangements will be announced by Kane Funeral Home of Ridgefield. Memorial contributions may be made to Regional Hospice or The Wilton Singers.
Jud Aley is a longtime Westporter. He graduated from Staples High in the 1970s, and has a thriving career as a building contractor.
The other day a plumber he works with sent Jud a photo, from a house on Evergreen Avenue.
The men who proudly signed their names over a century ago were well known in town.
In the early 1900s, William L. Lehn’s family operated a popular Main Street bakery. The name lives on here today — in Lehn Farm Road off Roseville, and Kathy and Peggy Lehn, an American Airlines pilot.
Keene Brothers built a number of houses. They may be related to the developers of Keene Road off North Morningside, which when built in the 1950s was called Keene Estates.
You never know what you’ll find in a basement. The story of Westport can be plastered — quite literally — all over town.
Three years after Brown vs. Board of Education, public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, were still segregated.
But on September 25, 1957, US Army soldiers escorted 9 black teenagers into Central High School. 14-year-old Carlotta Walls LaNier was the youngest
On May 24, 2022 (7 p.m.), Carlotta — now in her 70s, and the last survivor of that courageous group of 9 — will join her friend, Westporter Steve Parrish, “In Conversation” at the Westport Library.
Carlotta will describe what it was like to be escorted by armed soldiers through an angry mob, and what happened to her and her family in the months and years after. She’ll reflect on her journey — and ours, as a country and a society.
Staples High School’s Independent Learning Experience allows to move beyond the classroom setting, tackling projects or courses not otherwise offered there. Through an Independent Learning Experience, students spend a semester or full
Several students have produced films (giving new meaning to the phrase “indie movies”). They’ll be screened on Tuesday (May 10, 6:30 p.m., Staples auditorium). Each is about 10 minutes long.
Themes and filmmakers include:
An ex-criminal turned interdimensional defense officer investigates a lead on a former partner (Jacob Friedman)
Co-dependency and instability challenge 2 teens as they deal with daily life (Leah Chapman and Tate Mullineaux)
A high school girl struggles with mental illness (Elen Macaluso)
A couple preys on victims in a twisted game of betrayal, manipulation and psychosis (Ben Seideman).
A question-and-answer session and small reception follow. The public is invited.
I don’t have any young kids. Nor do I have much hair. So I would not know about what I’m told are lice outbreaks at some Westport schools (and pre-schools).
But Liz Solovay is on the case.
The Westport resident owns Lice Treatment Center. She’s been helping local families with in-home and treatment center services for over 15 years.
As if you don’t need more reasons to call Liz: This is Small Business Week. So while you’re taking care of some “small business” of your own, you’re also helping one.
Lynsey Addario has taken some haunting, harrowing photos of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
But one that the 1991 Staples High School graduate (and Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist) published in yesterday’s New York Times may be among her most sorrowful.
Nothing illustrates the depravity of the Russian invasion — and its toll on innocent people — more than this simple shot.
Aleksandr, a resident of Kramatorsk, sat in a room of his destroyed apartment after it was hit by a Russian airstrike yesterday. (Photo/Lynsey Addario for the New York Times)
Thank you to Lynsey, fellow Staples grad and Times photographer Tyler Hicks, and all others in the war zone, for showing the world what is going on half a world away.
To learn more about the history, geography and culture of Ukraine, listen to Professor Walter Zaryckyj at the Westport Library on Monday (May 9, 7 p.m., in-person and Zoom). He’ll speak on “Understanding Ukraine: Past, Present and Future.” Click here to register.
“06880” is a proud co-sponsor of this important educational event.
The Westport Weston Family YMCA will offer 15 needs-based lifeguard certification scholarships this summer.
Applicants must be 15 to 23 years old, with strong swimming skills. There are 2-day courses May 7-8 and 14-15, and June 4-5 and 11-12. Click here for the application, and more information.
And finally … on this date in 1940, John Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath. It was a novel — but it cut very, very close to the truth.
Back in the day, an out-of-the-way section of Staples High School was devoted to “shops”: automotive, electrical, metal, wood. Students — well, male students — learned practical skills there. Some learned trades.
Over time — following a national trend — enrollment decreased. Counselors steered students to more “academic” pursuits. The shops were converted to other uses. One remained; it was devoted to boat-building.
In the 17 years since Mike Sansur arrived at Staples from Ansonia High, he’s revamped the curriculum. With help from counselors and former principal John Dodig, he created courses that teach hands-on skills, while integrating STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) into his projects.
And it’s not just boys who flock to Sansur’s classes. His room is filled with girls. (A few doors down, the culinary kitchens — formerly “home ec” — attract plenty of guys. That’s another story.)
Junior Parker Pretty, in the tech ed. classroom.
Sansur’s goal in revamping the program (now known as “tech ed.”) was to encourage students to unearth talents, learn lifelong skills, and discover further courses of study or career paths.
One example: a mock-up of home electrical wiring. Students create and test AC/DC circuits, learn how circuit breakers work, and apply their knowledge to special projects.
Shane Lozyniak created especially complex circuitry — and earned a full scholarship for electrician training. He and a classmate wo worked with him are both now employed in a field they love.
In bridge engineering, students compete to research, design and construct a bridge that will hold the greatest amount of weight using the least amount of materials. Results are often “amazing,” Sansur says. Students will email him over the weekend with ideas. A number go on to engineering careers.
For those who are interested in architecture or construction management, Sansur offers this option: design and build a model house.
Architecture and construction management skills are part of the tech ed. curriculum.
Another favorite activity involves small engines. Students learn automotive technology — including the use of appropriate tools — by dismantling an engine, identifying every part and each function, rebuilding it and mounting it on a test stand. And, of course, getting it to work again.
Former students often tell Sansur how much tech ed. has meant. They ask to be guest speakers, describing their career paths. This month Hunter Duffy — about to graduate from college with an engineering degree — will visit.
Working collaboratively to solve tech ed. problems.
Yet whatever goes around, comes around. In the same room that was once the auto shop, Sansur is designing a unit covering basic automotive skills: jump starting a car, changing a flat tire, checking vital fluids, interpreting dashboard signs, and other important life skills.
But he’ll add lessons on the transformation underway in the automative industry, from fossil fuels toward electric cars.
That’s tech ed., 2022-style. For all his male — and female — students.
Freshman Isabella Baltierra gets in on the tech ed. ground floor. (Photos/Mike Sansur)
News of a draft of the Supreme Court’s decision in an important abortion case has sparked nationwide protests.
There’s one planned for 4 p.m. this Sunday — Mother’s Day — on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge downtown. Organizers (DefenDemocracy of CT) expect a large turnout.
Want to give Mom something different for Mothers Day weekend? (Psssst…it’s Sunday!)
Take her to join Anthony Zemba at Earthplace on Saturday (May 7, 8 to 10 a.m.). The avid birder/environmental analyst/soil scientist/certified ecologist will lead a group along the trails of the nature and wildlife sanctuary.
Anthony recently joined LandTech, the civil engineering and environmental science firm that’s underwriting the bird walk.
Among the probable wildlife: scarlet tanagers; wood thrush; pileated, red- bellied, hairy and downy woodpeckers; indigo buntings, goldfinch and orioles.
Spots are limited. Click here to register, and for more information.
Calling all bird watchers: See the pileated woodpecker!
Staples was ranked #5 nationally (large schools division), in this year’s 100 Best Wise (Working In Support of Education) High Schools Teaching Personal Finance. It was the top finish for any Connecticut school.
The list and ceremony honor excellence in personal finance education. Congratulations to teachers Lenny Klein and Sarah White — and of course their very “wise” students.
Westporters know that the Memorial Day parade is one of the best community events of the year. Those who stay afterward, for the ceremony on Veterans Green across from Town Hall, know that it is a moving and important way to honor those who gave their lives for our country.
That is the idea of the holiday, after all.
There’s another chance to pay tribute too. That morning (May 30, 7:45 a.m.), the Fire Department honors all who died in service to our nation, and the Westport firefighters who died in the line of duty.
All are welcome at fire headquarters on the Post Road.
Former Westporter Diane (Prezkop) Reed died in November, after a brief illness. She was 71.
Diane graduated from Staples High School in 1968. She participated in intermural sports, and wrote for the school newspaper Inklings and yearbook. She graduated from the University of Connecticut with a BA in English and a master’s in Counseling and Higher Education.
In 1972, Diane married Steven Reed. She began a career at UConn as a research associate, then became assistant director of research and data acquisition for the Institute of Social Inquiry at Storrs.
The couple’s careers took them to Ohio, where Diane worked as an analyst, project director, manager of research operations and operations manager. A final move took them to Michigan, where she worked as marketing group director and director of teleservices. She loved being a mentor and coach to her staff, and enjoyed social and golf activities at Indianwood Golf Club.
After her divorce= Diane created a consulting practice, developing and editing training curricula and coaching management teams. In 2005 Diane returned to Westport to enjoy her family, and pursue her writing.
Friends and family describe Diane as “sweet, witty, compassionate, generous and kind.” She loved literature, science, spectator sports, music and humanity as a whole. She was an avid collector and supporter of local artisans and craftsmen. She was passionate about her family, lifelong learning, and creative writing.
Diane’s siblings were Edward of Seattle, Raymond of Westport, Carole Prescott of Madison, and the late Thomas Prezkop of Newburyport, Massachusetts. She is survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces and great-nephews.
A memorial service to celebrate the lives of Diane and her brother Thomas Prezkop will be held June 29 at Waters Edge in Westbrook. Donations in her name may be made to the Westport Library.
Former Westporter Thomas Prezkop, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, died earlier this year, after a battle with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. He was 73.
Tom was raised, and taught himself to sail, here. That started a lifelong love for all things aquatic. He graduated from Staples High School in 1966.
In early 1971 he headed to St. Maarten. There he co-owned and restored a 108-foot ketch, which he chartered. He also managed restaurants, started an omelet café, and captained other boats.
In 1978, Tom settled in Massachusetts. He married his first wife, Linn Anderson, and had a son, Andrew
Tom’s second career was in mechanical design engineering. He worked for medical device companies before founding Andover Medical Development Group, to do component manufacturing. He operated AMDG for 35 years, fulfilling contracts with NASA, Boston Scientific and others.
Tom was a passionate sailor. He was an expert angler, certified scuba diver, licensed pilot and professional cook. He also enjoyed snow skiing, surfing, water skiing barefoot, and golf. He could build and fix anything
Tom passed his patience, creativity and playfulness on to Andrew, in whom he fostered lifelong passions as a musician, athlete, craftsman, outdoorsman, adventurer and father. He was overjoyed to be a grandfather to Avery and Luke.
In 1995, Tom and a friend rescued a fellow boater who had fallen overboard in Gloucester and been seriously injured by the propeller. Tom received a congressional commendation.
In addition to his wife, son, daughter-in-law Geneva Brion and grandchildren, he is survived by his sister Carole Prescott of Madison, and brothers Edward of Seattle and Raymond of Westport, as well as nieces, nephews and cousins. He was pre-deceased by his sister Diane Reed of Westport.
There will be a celebration of life at Water’s Edge in Westbrook on June 29.
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.
