For years, one of the highlights of the holiday season has been the beautiful fir tree at 58 North Avenue.
Just a few yards south of Staples High School, it was a lit lovingly every year by the homeowners, the Hardin family. In its high visibility location, it brought joy to everyone who drove by.
But the gorgeous tree was in bad shape. The owners had to remove it.
Jodi Christensen-Hardin carefully cut off branches. She collected more fallen branches at Winslow Park, along with large vines that were killing trees there.
She created a new structure — and hung lights all around. It looks intriguing by day …
Jodi Christensen-Hardin with her new creation. (Photo/Jane Green)
… and wonderful at night:
(Photo/Jodi Christensen-Hardin)
Thanks, Jodi and family, for finding a way to keep lighting up our lives!
All across Connecticut, people have been inspired by Charlie Capalbo’s fight against cancer.
The 23-year-old Fairfield resident — grandson of Westport writer Ina Chadwick — had 3 different diagnoses, over the past 4 years. With the help of his younger brother, who donated bone marrow and T and stem cells — plus other family members, friends, teammates and opponents and others in the hockey world, and complete strangers, the former Fairfield Ludlowe High School goalkeeper has beaten the odds 3 times.
On Friday, hundreds of people gathered in Fairfield to welcome Charlie home. He’d spent 322 in a Boston hospital.
The crowd was overwhelming. Charlie and his family were overwhelmed. It’s hard to imagine a greater Christmas gift for anyone.
After 10 years of negotiations and fundraising, Aspetuck Land Trust has closed on the 10-acre Montanaro property in Wilton
It’s in an important spot. It fills a “donut hole” in the Weston Wilton Forest Reserve. If — as proposed — 2 large houses had been built there, cars and trucks would have driven right through one of ALT’s oldest preserves, 119-acre Honey Hill.
That’s the second property in a month acquired by Aspetuck Land Trust. The other is the 85-acre Fromson Strassler property in Weston.
To learn more about this important preservation organization, click here.
And finally … Ralph Tavares died last week, a few days before his 80th birthday.
With his 4 younger brothers, he was part of the group Tavares. They had several hits in the 1970s — including, of course, a classic “Saturday Night Fever” cut.
Click here for a full obituary.(Hat tip: Amy Schneider)
The predicted rain never fell. The temperature was perfect for strolling.
Which is what hundreds of Westporters, plus out-of-town relatives and friends and strangers did last night.
Sam Betit led the Staples Orphenians in a wide range of holiday music.
“06880”‘s first-ever Holiday Stroll featured packed sidewalks, folks wandering in and out of stores for gifts (and freebies), and tons of old-fashioned neighborly fun.
Amy Saperstein (center) and friends Allegra Zemel and Stephanie Tobin strolled Main Street. (Photo/Julian Zemel, age 8)
Staples High School’s Orphenians sang. Santa posed for photos. Staples senior Sophie Alcyone painted kids’ faces.
Samta poses with Zelda and Annabel Cohen.
And Tim Stevenson and Lisa Armstrong won a $50 gift certificate to Savvy + Grace, as Ugly Sweater Contest winners.
Ugly sweater contest winners Lisa Armstrong and Tim Stevenson.
If you were there: Years from now, you can say you were at the first year of this great tradition.
If you missed it: See you in ’22!
Santa poses with the youngest stroller … (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
… and with Staples High School 1966 graduate Pam Pollack. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
Face painter Sophie Alcyone at work …
… and Lila Newman shoes off the finished (cheetah) product. (Photo/Lisa Newman)
One view of the Staples Orphenians …
… and another. (Photo/Danielle Dobin)
Cider at Le Rouge Aarti Chocolatiers was one of many merchant giveaways during the “06880” Holiday Stroll.
Santa poses with artist Rosie Jon and son Leo …
… and (2nd and 3rd from left) 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, Planning & Zoning Commission chair Danielle Dobin, and friends.
Jeffrey Pogue was another contestant in the Ugly Sweater Contest.
And a huge shout-out to all the retailers and restaurants who participated in the “06880” Holiday Stroll:
Love giving gifts? Hate giving gifts that are energy-inefficient, non-recyclable or otherwise wasteful?
Check out Sustainable Westport’s first-ever Gift Guide.
Heavy on products made or sourced locally, and/or sold by area merchants, it’s a much-needed resource.
And, Sustainable Westport adds: “Some of the best (and most meaningful) sustainable gifts are ones that you make yourself (art or pottery, knitting, baking, building) or include giving of your time (attending local theater performances or sporting events with family and friends or giving lessons in one of your particular skill sets).
Local blogger and sustainably-minded mother Julia Dzafic of Lemonstripes created the guide. Click here to see. Let’s hope she sustains it for years to come.
Last year, the Hackett family collected a truck full of new and gently used sports and playground equipment, from generous donors. It was distributed to youngsters who needed it by Leveling the Playing Field, a non-profit organization.
Leveling the Playing Field. The non-profit seemed perfect.
They’re at it again.
Chloe — a Staples High School junior, and an athlete — and her family are at The Granola Bar today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday), from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Cleats, field hockey sticks, lacrosse equipment, bats, hockey skates, footballs, softball gloves — it will all make a difference. Click here for a full list of acceptable and non-acceptable items.
Chloe Hackett (organizer) and Max Levitt (Founder of Leveling the Playjng Field) with last year’s donations.
Speaking of sports: I am very proud of the on-field accomplishments of the Staples High School boys soccer team I coach.
I’m just as proud of what they achieve off it.
For the 19th time in 21 years — and the 16th season in a row — the Wrecker boys soccer team has achieved Academic All-American status. United Soccer Coaches honors go to squads with a team GPA of 3.25 or higher. The 2020 side was just announced. Their team GPA was a mind-boggling 3.57.
The award is given for the previous year’s team. All indications are that the 2021 squad will earn the boys soccer team’s 20th award.
The 2020 Staples boys soccer team: Academic All-Americans. (Photo/Drew Douglas)
The long-running Cavalry Road bridge replacement will take even longer to finish.
The project “has suffered delays related to various aspects of the construction that are beyond the towns’ control,” Westport and Weston officials announce.
“The contractor experienced complications associated with installing the proposed bridge deep foundations. This required additional testing, to ensure the proposed bridge is adequately supported.
“In addition, the process of installing large prefabricated concrete girders has taken longer than expected. The bridge is located on a rural local road and installing the girders with the least amount of impacts to the residents and the regulated waterway is a high priority.”
The current 2-span bridge is being replaced with a single, longer structure. It will provide “more hydraulic conveyance, and reduce future maintenance needs.”
Westport and Weston officials apologized for the delay, and thanked residents for their patience.
Cavalry Road bridge (Photo courtesy of Weston Today)
If there’s an upcoming holiday — and there definitely is right now — then Winslow Park Animal Hospital has it covered.
Check out their decorations, when you’re stuck at the Post Road light between Playhouse Square and North Compo. It will bring a smile to even the Grinchiest face.
The Winslow Park Animal Hospital display. (Photo/Molly Alger)
Avid “06880” reader Jack Backiel enjoyed yesterday’s Friday Flashback: a photo of town directories, the long-ago source for data on all Westport residents and businesses.
And I do mean “all.”
Jack sent along this photo of one page, from the 1950s. Check out the third Taylor from the top. Yes, that’s the actress we know better as “Liz.”
Jack has written in the Comments section of his family’s long history in Westport. He sent along one directory page from the 1920s, and this from the ’50. There sure were a batch of Backiels here then.
Town directories can be found today in the Westport Library.
Nearby resident Anne Reilly provides the back story. She says the box “just showed up on the tree before Christmas last year … hmmm.
“The letters seem to go into the box and then disappear. Children believe they are magically sent directly to Santa in the North Pole.”
She asked 2 children what happens to them. One said: “I think that they get scooped up by your elves, and your elves bring them to the north pole like Bam”
The other added, “The elves come get them every night and give them to the reindeer or the UPS man to take up to Santa.”
Sssshhhhhh….
The Wright Street Santa mailbox.(Photo/Gabriela Bockhaus)
Michael Nesmith — the “quiet, cerebral, sardonic, contemplative” member of that ’60s TV-turned-true band — died yesterday of heart failure. He was 78.
Nesmith was sometimes called the only true musician in the group. He went on to a successful video career after the Monkees’ 2-year TV run ended. Click here for a full obituary. (Hat tip: Amy Schneider)
From soup to … well, not nuts exactly, but other flavorful stuff.
This week’s online art gallery spans the late autumn and early winter/holiday seasons. As usual, works by “06880” readers continue to delight and inspire.
That’s the idea of our this feature. Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old — this feature is open to everyone. In every medium.
All genres and styles are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world.
“Autumn Soup” (Ellen Wentworth)
“Joy” (Ellin Spadone)
“First Light on Wet Sand” (Michael Tomashefsky)
“Big Snow New England” acrylic on canvas (Herm Freeman)
Untitled (Allegra Bockhaus, age 14)
“Aging” (karen Weingarten)
“Setting up Shop for Christmas” (Lawrence Weisman)
The man who became one of America’s most celebrated Broadway composers had not yet started his career; in fact, he was still a student at Williams College. He asked for a few days’ delay before beginning a position that helped inspire him to stardom: summer apprentice.
Sondheim’s letters became legendary. After his death, an entire Instagram account was created about them.
More than half a century after his Playhouse note, Sondheim again wrote about Westport.
In 2003, Staples Players staged “Merrily We Roll Along.” An audience member loved it so much, he suggested that Sondheim himself see it.
He replied quickly and graciously:
That would normally be the end of that.
But — Players being so far beyond an ordinary high school troupe — there’s more to the story.
Had Sondheim seen the show, it would have been his first encounter with Justin Paul. The then-senior played composer Franklin Shepard in the production.
Paul and his composing partner Benj Pasek have gone on to great fame, with projects like “Dear Evan Hansen,” “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman.”
Their success is due in part to Sondheim’s mentorship, and support of their work.
Justin Paul in Staples Players’ “Merrily We Roll Along.” (Photo/Kerry Long)
But that’s not all.
If Sondheim had seen Staples’ “Merrily” — and gone backstage — he would have met Gina Rattan. A junior in 2003, she served as assistant director to David Roth and Kerry Long.
Gina is now Marianne Elliott’s associate director of “Company.” That Sondheim show is currently running on Broadway.
Now — in 2021 — Roth and Long say, “Alas, Mr. Sondheim didn’t make it to the production. But we are grateful for this letter, and love the connections with this show. The theater world really is a small one.”
Perhaps an idea for the next Pasek and Paul musical?
ENCORE! Click here for a link to some video clips of Players’ “Merrily We Roll Along” production, courtesy of Jim Honeycutt.
José Feliciano’s buoyant, jangly tune is 51 years old. Now — just in time for Navidad — a documentary about the life and music of the longtime Weston resident will be screened just a couple of miles away.
The Norwalk Film Festival will screen “Behind This Guitar” on Saturday, December 18 (7:30 p.m.) at the Wall Street Theatre. The movie follows Feliciano’s journey from growing up blind in Puerto Rico, to his 9 Grammy Awards and international acclaim. Click here for details and ticket information.
But several other Westporters were big contributors too. Hats off to Judy and Scott Phares, Eunice and David Bigelow, Kate and Bob Devlin, Joyce Hergenhan, Anna Czekaj-Farber, Mary Ellen and Jim Marpe, Christian J. and Eva Trefz, and Stacy and Howard Bass.
The show will go on — thanks to some very generous neighbors!
(From left): Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, Gavin Creel: stars of “Stars on Stage.”
It’s one of Westport’s most visible: Riverside Avenue, at Treadwell.
The intricate, whimsical fence — designed by Andrew Hamilton Reise — was the subject of an “06880” Photo Challenge in July.
As many readers knew, the owners are Pietro and Janine Scotti. He’s the owner/chef of the former and still beloved Da Pietro’s restaurant, just down Riverside (and across the street) closer to town.
If your property has or is adjacent to wetlands, a watercourse or a pond, all residents and contractors should “call before you dig.” If you’re unsure whether the property contains wetlands, call the Conservation Department: 203-341-1170.
The last year has seen an increase in violations. resulting in unpermitted building, cutting, clearing and filling of wetlands.
Violations cause owners having to cease work, appear at public meetings, pay fines and post bonds. Violations are also part of the public record.
It helps if he or she loves the New York Knicks. But a fan of any team — or any sport — can appreciate the passion of Fred Cantor. The 1971 Staples High School graduate and longtime “06880” contributor recently wrote Fred From Fresh Meadows.
It’s a loving account of the ups and downs of fandom, sure. There’s another reason to buy it though: All proceeds go to the John Starks Foundation. The Stamford-based nonprofit helps high school students afford college.
Click here for more information. Click here for last night’s News12 story on Cantor and the book.
Screenshot from last night’s News12 interview with Fred Cantor.
Angelo “Cookup” Veno — a true son of Saugatuck — died earlier this month, after a long and happy life.
Born in Saugatuck in 1928 to Louis and Mary Veno, he went through the Westport public school system. After school each day, Angelo manually set pins at the bowling alley downtown.
He was a 3-sport athlete at Staples High School, starring in football, basketball and baseball. After graduating in 1946 he played semi-pro football with the Westport Advertisers, and basketball with the Saugatuck Veterans, Westport YMCA and Clam Box 5.
Angelo also took up boxing, and had a 12-2 record as a pro. In 1986 he earned a Sportsman of Westport award.
In 1951 Angelo joined the Navy. He served for 4 years on the USS Howard D. Crow as an engineer. He joined the fleet’s boxing team, and lost only one fight.
Following his service he came back to Westport and helped coach the Westport PAL football team. He and his first wife, Judith Lissberger, had 2 children, Timothy and Belinda. Both remember their trips to New York Giants’ exhibition games in Pittsburgh, then straight to the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy for dinner.
Angelo married Theresa Karutz in 1984, a former Miss Atlantic City winner. He enjoyed spending time with his stepsons Wallace and William Karutz.
Angelo had a long and successful career in the world of construction as president and CEO of his company, AJ Veno Construction. He started the business as a window replacement company, and grew it into a full-fledged construction company. He built corporate buildings and residential homes for many years.
Angelo made friends and made people everywhere, from the local pizza restaurant to nurses caring for him. He loved spending time at Compo Beach, with friends or alone feeding birds.
Angelo is survived by his brother Joe and sister Theresa (Richard Valentine). He was predeceased by his sister Ida Lockwood. He is also survived by his children, Timothy Veno (partner Gwen Purcell) and Belinda (Richard Benincasa); grandchildren Richard (Nora Benincasa), Ryan (Noelle Benincasa) and Morgan Benincasa; many cousins, nieces and nephews, and his recent great-grandchild, Ryan Casey Benincasa.
A funeral is set for Monday (December 13, 10 a.m., Assumption Church) for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment with full military honors will follow in Assumption Cemetery on Greens Farms Road. The family will receive friends in the Harding Funeral Home on Sunday (December 12, 2 to 6 p.m.) Click here to leave online condolences.
The family of Joel Hallas has announced 2 options for donations in his memory. Click here for the Connecticut Food Bank; click here for the American Radio Relay League, for ham radio operators.
It’s already gone. But yesterday morning’s snow provided the perfect subject for today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, from Bob and Karen Weingarten’s lawn:
Here’s a modern-day photo of a now-forgotten publication: town directories.
(Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
Filled with details about residents and businesses — who lived and worked where, and who begat whom — they’re as fascinating today as they were then.
Town directories are found in our very modern Westport Library. Plus old newspapers, phone books, Staples High School yearbooks, photos and much, much more.
After nearly 100 years, their spines may be worn and frayed. But they sure beat microfilm.
And opening them up is a lot more fun than searching online.
Tomorrow’s weather may not be frightful. Maybe just a bit damp.
But that won’t stop the first-ever “06880” Holiday Stroll. We’re on!
Guess who’s coming to Saturday’s Holiday Stroll!
From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, we’ll celebrate the season, Westport-style. Stores and restaurants on Main Street, Church Lane, Jesup Road and the Post Road — including the west bank, over the bridge — have joined together for a special time.
A tent outside Savvy + Grace (opposite Rye Ridge Deli) is where you’ll find Santa Claus and face painting for kids (plus a mailbox for their letters), hot cider from Don Memo, and a chance to enter our ugly sweater contest.
Staples’ elite Orphenians will sing.
Merchants and others will offer special surprises from 4 to 7 p.m. during the Stroll too. Here are a few:
20% off at Allison Daniel Designs (Sconset Square) and WEST.
Free topaz or pyrite crystal at Age of Reason.
Something special from Franny’s Farmacy.
Garlic knots at Joe’s Pizza.
10% of all purchases — plus 10% donated to Westport PAL — at Local to Market.
Silk mask giveaway at Calico.
Spend $150-$250, get 10% off. Spend $250-$500, get 15% off. Spend $500 or more, get 20% off at Kerri Rosenthal.
Sorelle Galleryoffers festive beverages to sip while browsing artwork, plus a giveaway. Sign up for their email list and select a free print, while supplies last.
A free gift to children who stop by The Toy Post between 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday (they close at 6).
Free skincare samples, beverages and a raffle prize (30-minute facial) at Organachs.
Holiday treats and drinks; up to 30% off on select styles at Cotelac.
Buy one, get 1/2 off of Whip Salon brand products
20% off all holiday items at Westport Book Shop.
Adult holiday beverages and 10% off a full-price purchase to anyone mentioning the “06880” blog atNic + Zoe.
Hot chocolate at Le Rouge Chocolates, Rye Ridge Deli and Winfield Street Coffee.
Hot chocolate and holiday treats at The Fred Shop.
1 free health and wellness coaching session from Dark Horse Health and Wellness (Playhouse Square; stop by or call 203-349-5597).
$6 Gluhwein (hot, spiced mulled wine) at Walrus Alley.
So put on that ugly sweater. Grab the kids (and an umbrella or two). See you at Saturday’s Stroll!
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.
