You may not expect to find a deli/market on the long Wilton Road stretch between the Post Road and Route 7.
But there — smack in the middle, between Merritt Parkway Exit 41 and the Wilton town line — is The Country Store.
The name is generic. There must be hundreds of “country stores” across the country. (For decades there were 2 others right here in Westport: Christie’s Country Store on Cross Highway, and the Merritt Country Store next to Coffee An’.)
But the easy-to-overlook spot across from Chabad (formerly the Three Bears restaurant) punches far above its weight.
The Country Store, at the corner of Wilton Road and Newtown Turnpike.
Alert “06880” reader and satisfied customer Russell Sherman writes:
“I’ve always been aware of the Country Store, and have been in there a few times over the years, but I never paid much attention to it.
“Today however, I stopped in when I was nearby. It was brighter than in the past. It was well-stocked with staples, candy and food, and a sandwich board that had more selections than most other places in town. My turkey sub was huge and reasonably priced.
“The owner — an older man working the grill — said it was under new ownership since February. The manager was a nice younger guy.
“People should discover this old piece of Westport history, that appears to have received a shot in the arm.”
You may not think of the folks running a country deli/market as “heroes.” But to persevere in times like these; to provide a service to an entire section of town that needs it — and to do so with care and friendliness — sounds pretty heroic to me.
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email dwoog@optonline.net)
The Staples girls soccer team is one game away from a state championship!
The Wreckers — undefeated in their last 14 matches, and reigning FCIAC champs — powered their way in the semifinals last night. Gaby Gonzalez’s 12th-minute header — and plenty of great defense — made all the difference, in a 1-0 win over Fairfield Warde. The victory avenged Staples’ regular season 3-0 loss to the Mustangs.
The Wreckers — ranked 9th — play their 3rd state final in the past 4 tournaments (COVID canceled last year’s event) on Saturday or Sunday, at Hartford’s Dillon Stadium. They face #10 Wilton — the team they beat 1-0 2 weeks ago for the league crown. The Warriors advanced with a penalty kick win over Fairfield Ludlowe, in an all-FCIAC state semifinal.
Congratulations to Coach Barry Beattie, his high-powered staff, and all the girls!
Gaby Gonzalez does it again off a corner kick, from Annabel Edwards in the 12th minute. Staples 1-0. #ctgsocpic.twitter.com/Gwtc3wxjvQ
Speaking of sports: Last night, former Staples High School track star Creigh Kelley received the MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Lifetime Achievement Award at the Road Race Management race directors’ meeting in Florida.
The 1964 Staples grad — a teammate of current Wrecker coach and local icon Laddie Lawrence — was cited for his long career as a runner, running store owner, race director, agent, official and the voice of thousands of races across the country.
Kelley also founded the Kiptur Primary School Foundation in Kenya, which has built classrooms, a library, kitchen and more. (Hat tip: Peter Gambaccini)
Speaking of Staples: Tonight (Wednesday, November 17, 7 p.m., Staples cafeteria), he National Honor Society hosts a Trivia Night fundraiser. Teams of 2 to 5 people (any age!) compete for prizes. Tickets are just $5 at the door (cash or Venmo).
Westport Country Playhouse’s family fun events are — well, family-filled, and fun.
The “Winter Fun Fest” is Saturday, December 4, From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the courtyard will be the site of a scavenger hunt, games, music, food, crafts, and photos with Santa.
The fundraiser was organized by the Playhouse Youth Council. Admission is just $5. Everyone bringing non-perishable food (for Homes with Hope) or new toys (for Toys with Tots) is eligible to win tickets for any Playhouse show next year.
Yesterday’s Roundup included an incorrect date for the free coffee at Steam on Railroad Place. It’s available to anyone using the Westport Transit District’s Wheels2U app tomorrow and Friday (November 18 and 19), between 6 and 10 a.m.
If it’s November, it must be time for the Giving Assembly.
For several decades, Coleytown Middle School celebrated Thanksgiving with a month-long, school-wide project. Each grade selected one or two organizations or non-profits. Students and parents collected goods or raise money.
Then — on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving — the school gathered together for a Giving Assembly. Recipients described how they’ll use the donations. There was music too, and plenty of good vibes.
The closure of CMS for renovation, and then the pandemic’s prohibition of visitors, put the great tradition on hold.
Thankfully, it’s back.
Newly renovated, Coleytown Middle School returns to an old tradition.
As the school rebuilds a sense of community after a few tumultuous years, enthusiasm for the program is high.
Eighth graders overwhelmingly chose Al’s Angels — the Westport-based charity helping children with serious illnesses — as this year’s recipients. The 2 pods have a “coin war,” to see which collects the most.
Patty Haberstroh
Seventh and 6th graders are raising funds for Westport’s Department of Human Services, and the ALS Therapy Development Institute. They selected both groups to honor Patty Haberstroh, Westport Human Services’ longtime youth director who is battling ALS. For 20 years, she was an instrumental part of Coleytown’s Giving Assembly.
Sixth graders are also collecting donations for Homes with Hope. Executive director Helen McAlinden kicked off the campaign by visiting all 8 classrooms. She described her organization’s efforts to combat homelessness and food insecurity, and inspired the young fundraisers.
PTA volunteers have already delivered some items to the Gillespie Center.
“All year long, we talk about the importance of giving back,” says 6th grade language arts teacher Emily Diggs. “We do a lot of lessons about ‘being your best self.’ This is one more way to do that.”
A large “thermometer” in the hall between the 2 6th grade pods — the Orcas and the Dolphins — is updated every day. Students watch the two groups fight for the top spot.
Last week, the Dolphins held a slim lead.
But, as several wise children told Diggs, “It doesn’t matter who wins. It’s all about giving back.”
Students love to hear stories about their impact at the annual Giving Assembly. COVID means that this year’s version will be virtual — streamed live on Coleytown TV.
That’s a small price to pay, for the return of an important tradition.
Yesterday, a Connecticut Superior Court judge Barbara Bellis ruled in favor of 8 families of children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. They sued conspiracy theorist Alex Jones — who called the massacre a government-led hoax to confiscate firearms, and called the families “actors” — for defamation.
It was a victory for the families — one of whom has had to move 10 times since the shooting, due to harassment from Jones’ followers — and for Josh Koskoff. The Westport-based attorney represented the Sandy Hook families.
After the ruling, he was interviewed by several major media outlets. Click here, then scroll down for the transcript of his appearance on MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes.”
Steam Coffee Tea is new. The Westport Transit District’s Wheels2U service has been around awhile, but they recently added a few upgrades.
This Thursday and Friday (November 18 and 19), they team up to offer riders a freebie. Anyone using Wheels2U those mornings can show proof of their completed ride between 6 and 10 a.m., for a free coffee.
Wheels2U is the WTD’s on-demand group ride door-to -train platform shuttle service. Steam is the recently opened coffee shop on Railroad Place.
Westporters can use the Wheels2U Westport app to request a pickup between 5:45 and 9:45 a.m., and 4 and 8 p.m., to be taken to or from the Saugatuck or Greens Farms train platform and their front door. Pickups should be requested 20 minutes before normally leaving to drive to the station. The fare is $2, paid via the Wheels2U app. A Metro North Uniticket rail/bus pass can also be used.
For more information about Wheels2U, including how to download the Wheels2U app and book a ride, click here. For more information about the Transit District’s services for the elderly and people with disabilities, click here.
Everyone has their own idea of when the holiday season “really” starts.
If yours is the lighting of the Wakeman Town Farm tree, then get ready for Friday, December 3.
Musicians from Staples High, and Long Lots and Greens Farms Elementary School, will play Christmas and Hanukkah favorites at 4:30 p.m. The tree lighting is at 4:45 p.m.
Then comes marshmallows by the bonfire, treats from The Porch and Sweet P Bakery, and hot chocolate from The Granola Bar and Starbucks.
It’s festive and fun. It’s family friendly. And of course, it’s free.
Wakeman Town Farm tree lighting, in 2019. Last year’s event was canceled, due to COVID.
Millie Rae’s is a favorite Westport shopping destination.
Here’s one more reason to love the Post Road East clothing store. Today (Tuesday, November 16), they’re donating 20% of all proceeds to A Better Chance of Westport. That’s the wonderful Westport program — and North Avenue home — that provides educational opportunities at Staples High School for students from underserved communities.
The event goes on all day. From 4 to 6 p.m., you can enjoy champagne and treats will you shop.
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The Greenwich Community Sailing program will not run at Tod’s Point next summer. The vendor — who also owns Longshore Sailing School — did not renew the lease. Construction in the area is forcing relocation.
Longshore Sailing School will operate as usual this summer. Greenwich Community Sailing gift cards will be eligible for use there. A program discount will be extended to Greenwich residents too. (Click here for the full story. Hat tip: Peter Gold)
Westporter Denise Zack is a certified life coach, meditation instructor, yoga teacher and — as founder of Ripple Affect Life Coaching — a wellness-based consultant and educator for individuals and businesses.
Now she’s an author, too.
Zack just published “Ripple Affect: Change Your Mind, Change Your Life.” It offers 8 steps toward “reclaiming your happiness and living a balanced life.” Ripple effects begin within us, she says, and reach out to touch many others. (The books title is spelled with an “a” because an “affect” means touching one’s feelings, or moving emotionally.)
Like many people, Heather Wirkus loves crime shows. And, like many, she dreamed of being an FBI agent.
For a while, she thought she was doing the next best thing: teaching Forensics at Staples High School. She helps students learn criminal investigative procedures and lab techniques. They work on case studies, discuss ethical issues, and listen to guest speakers.
One of those speakers inspired Wirkus to take another step. Now she’s really done the next best thing: She took the intense FBI Citizens Academy course.
She’s eager to spread the word about what’s she learned. And to inspire students to consider some of the many FBI career opportunities.
Heather Wirkus, with her FBI Citizens Academy certificate.
The Citizens Academy course meets every Thursday for 3 hours, at the field office in New Haven. It normally takes 6 weeks.
But after Wirkus’ first class in February 2020, COVID struck. The program was shut down for 18 months. It resumed in September.
Entering the Citizens Academy entailed more background checks and clearances than she needed to get her teaching job, Wirkus says. Because she was entering a secure facility, she could not bring any technology. Her car was checked for bombs — just like in crime shows.
Once inside, Wirkus and her fellow students had many eye-opening experiences.
They learned about human intelligence gathering, domestic terrorism, violent gangs, cybersecurity, crisis negotiations, SWAT teams, public corruption, civil rights, human trafficking and victim assistance programs.
Heather Wirkus and her FBI Citizens Academy classmates.
Wirkus was the only teacher in the group. Her classmates came from all walks of life, and all over Connecticut.
All were there for the same reason: to learn more about the FBI, then build relationships in their communities and workplaces in ways that special agents can’t.
So what did she learn?
“Everything!” Wirkus says.
Her main takeaway, though, is that the general public sees only “the outer shell” of the FBI. “We don’t realize how many layers there are to protecting our nation.”
The FBI offers a high school version of its Citizens Academy: the Future Law Enforcement Youth Academy, for 20 teenagers around the state each year. Wirkus is encouraging her students to apply.
She’ll never be an FBI special agent. For one thing, the maximum age to apply is 36. For another, she loves her job as a Staples Forensics teacher.
But now, as she does it, an FBI Citizens Academy certificate hangs on the wall.
More than 90% of family-owned businesses never make it to the 3rd generation.
Mitchells is headed to its 4th.
That’s no accident. Two of the keys to the steady growth, continued success — and future — of the men’s clothing store founded in 1958 by Ed and Norma Mitchell (which now includes women’s wear, and other locations on both coasts) are the founders’ sons, Bill and Jack Mitchell.
The other day, Bill — a 1962 Staples High School graduate, and still a proud Westporter — sat down for the latest “06880” podcast.
The clothier/civic volunteer/philanthropist/all-around good guy describes the 6-decade back story of Mitchell’s. He talks about Westport, then and now. He looks at the current state of retailing here, and its future.
And he does it all with his typical self-deprecating wit, intriguing stories and great enthusiasm.
Click below to hear the newest “06880” podcast. You’ll learn — and laugh — a lot.
Ann Sharon Weiner died peacefully earlier this month, at 81. She lost a long, courageous battle with pancreatic cancer at her Westport home, with her family by her side. She was a noted artist and, with her late husband Sidney, sponsors of A Better Chance of Westport’s Glendarcy House on North Avenue.
Ann and Sidney’s 50-year marriage was considered the “paragon of devotion” by family and friends.
A New York City native, Ann earned undergraduate and graduate studies in fine arts at Queens College. She pursued careers as a high school art teacher, and the designer/art director for Sportswear by Pronto and Ann W. She received several fashion industry awards before devoting herself full time to a career as an exhibiting artist.
Ann’s most recent exhibit, “When Caged Birds Sing,” reflects her passion as a women’s advocate. It opened in 2017 at Brown University and is now a permanent exhibit at MoCA Westport.
Ann received the Silvermine Living Art Award for her impact on the art community.
Ann was also a philanthropist. In addition to sponsoring A Better Chance’s Glendarcy House with her husband, she worked tirelessly with Amnesty International,
Ann was predeceased by her husband Sidney and their 2 adult children, Darcy and Glenn. She is survived by her children Gregory and Devin Weiner of Norwalk; her long-time loving friend Paul Burger, niece Stacy Waldman Bass and nephew David Waldman, both of Westport ; nephews Jay and Todd Myers, and countless friends whose lives she touched.
American Red Cross is experiencing a blood emergency. To help, Joseph J. Clinton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 399 hosts a blood drive. It’s set for Wednesday (November 17, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 465 Riverside Avenue).
For an appointment, click here (use sponsor code VFWWestport), or call 800-733-2767.
Donors who give blood by November 23 will receive a $10 Amazon gift card via email.
And finally … on this day in 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman began his famous March to the Sea.
Between today — when he captured Atlanta — and December 21, when he took over the port of Savannah — he and his Union troops destroyed military targets, industry, infrastructure, and civilian property, and disrupted the Confederacy’s ransportation networks. It was a major turning point in the war.
Tonight at 7:30, Jen Tooker will be sworn in as Westport’s 1st selectwoman. She was Marpe’s deputy for the past 4 years, but she’ll bring a new style and tone — and perhaps some new policies — to the job.
Yet before Marpe hands over his key (or swipe card, or however else he gets into Town Hall), let’s pause and say “thanks!”
Jim Marpe, at last May’s Memorial Day parade. (Photo/Ted Horowitz)
Thank you, Jim, for coming out of retirement — after a career at Accenture — to bring your managerial and organizational skills to Westport.
Thank you for overseeing every aspect of town — business and residential; police, fire and EMS; transportation; recreation, and so much more — with professionalism and expertise. You always had the best interests of our community at heart.
Thank you for handling too many weather emergencies — blizzards, wind storms, nor’easters, Isaias — with calmness and competence.
Thank you for handling the biggest emergency of all — COVID — well too. We were one of the nation’s first super-spreaders. No leader anywhere knew exactly what to do. An early decision to close the beach created a huge backlash. But the virus never spiraled out of control here. Eighteen months later, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
In early March 2020, 1st Selectman Marpe convened a panel at the Westport Library to discuss the coming threat of COVID. Mask wearing had not yet become mandatory. Four days later, Marpe shut the town down.
Thank you for keeping our mill rate so stable. The state and nation has been whipsawed by economic volatility. But throughout the Marpe administration, our taxes have been remarkably low. (Don’t believe me? Ask friends in neighboring towns — or Westchester or Long Island.)
The first selectman does not have direct control over education. But thank you for your previous service on the Board of Education. Our school district is in great shape. Thank you for all you have done to keep it that way.
Thank you for being always present, all the time. You joked about the oversized scissors you bring to every new store and restaurant ribbon cutting. But your presence touched every part of Westport.
1st Selectman Jim Marpe (2nd from left) proclaims Pizza Month in Westport.
You were there for so many of my own events: our annual “06880” party at Compo, and Staples boys soccer team car washes and banquets (even though it’s across the border, at the Norwalk Inn).
Many other Westporters have been heartened by your presence too, at their concerts, plays, fundraisers, ceremonies, meetings, you name it. Your presence meant a lot, to all of us.
Police Chief Foti Koskinas, First Selectman Jim Marpe and organizer Andy Berman bang out pushups at a charity event.
I did not agree with all of your decisions. No one ever does. (Probably not even your wife and constant supporter, Mary Ellen.)
But you always listened carefully, to all your constituents. You treated us all with respect, no matter what our point of view or political party.
Politicians in Washington and Hartford could learn a lot from what you’ve done in Westport. We are a better town for your service.
I’m glad you’re not going anywhere (other than to spend more time with your grandson). I look forward to seeing you around town — and at the “06880” picnic.
1st Selectman Jim Marpe at the 2018 “06880” party.
PS: It may seem that Jim Marpe never took a vacation. But every once in a while, he snuck away. A couple of years ago, he went on a Tauck Tour to Alaska. Robin Tauck was on the cruise. I thought that would make a great story.
But Jim asked me not to say anything. He didn’t want people to know he was not available here, 24/7/365. Now it can be told.
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