In the middle of some of the darkest days of the year — literally and figuratively — Westport woke up this morning to a wonderful surprise: a light blanket of snow.
It won’t make this Christmas the best ever — especially for those with canceled plans and continued fears of COVID.
But it sure is pretty.
“06880” photographer Patricia McMahon was out early today. Here’s what she found, all around town:
(All photos/Patricia McMahon)
Some Westporters know Terry Brannigan as an Eagle Scout. Others think of him as a former Staples High School wrestling star.
Perhaps one day the rest of the world may celebrate him for his music.
The 2020 Staples grad is now a Wesleyan University sophomore. He’s double majoring in physics and music. He’s minoring in IDEAS (Integrated Design, Engineering and Applied Science). He’s a varsity wrestler (125 pounds).
And he’s just released his first album. Which (of course!) he created entirely himself, in his dorm room.
Terry Brannigan’s “studio.”
He wrote every song. He played live instruments (after teaching himself bass and piano — he already knew guitar). He sang. He mixed, mastered and produced it all (after figuring out how to use the Ableton program).
And — why not? — he designed the album cover too
Terry Brannigan created all the “Gillham” art.
“Gillham” — that’s Terry’s middle name; it’s both the album title and his stage name — traces its roots back to Terry’s first guitar, at 7. He joined School of Rock, but did not take music seriously until the summer after 11th grade
He and a friend formed the band Verbatim (it included his younger brother Eamon). They played a few gigs, at venues from bars to Barnes & Noble.
Terry Brannigan
A turning point for Terry was taking Advanced Placement Music Theory with Luke Rosenberg. The Staples choral director gave Terry “another way to look at and appreciate music,” he says.
Balancing school, music, wrestling and Boy Scouts was not easy. Terry was grateful to have two escapes — arts and sports — from the stresses of teenage life. They use different sides of the brain, he notes, and balance each other out.
Throughout high school, Terry wrote songs. Last year, stuck in his Wesleyan dorm room for long stretches during COVID, he worked in earnest on his music.
“I’d sit in the same chair for 6 or 7 hours — class, homework, music, eating dinner at my desk,” Terry says. “I was having a really weird relationship with time.” He began writing songs with that theme.
At first, Terry admits, it was hard to write about personal feelings. “Is it too much information? Why would anyone care?” he wondered. But, he notes, “it’s easier, and a lot more fun, to write something you care about.”
The hardest part of making an album was not the lyrics or melody. It was production.
“There’s so much to learn,” says Terry. He taught himself Ableton Live — a digital audio workstation. “There’s an infinite number of sounds and instruments. When I figure out how to get something to sound the way I want it to, I’m grateful.”
Terry Brannigan: Westport and Wesleyan’s music man, in Nashville.
He’s produced an impressive debut album. That theme of “time” runs through nearly every track, mutating and reprising often. The more you listen to “GIllham,” the more you appreciate Terry’s insights, subtleties and nuances.
After the next tough part — promotion — Terry will turn to another musical project.
He’ll fit it in along with his very demanding courses at Wesleyan. And his equally tough wrestling schedule.
Terry Brannigan is a many of many talents. And — somehow — he’ll find “time.”
(“Gillham” by Gillham is available on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming platforms.)
If Terry Brannigan is not making music or studying, you’ll find him on the wrestling mat.
Sherwood Island Christmas (Photo/Rick Jaffe)
First Selectwoman Jen Tooker says:
Westport’s COVID-19 Emergency Management Team is tracking and assessing transmission rates in Westport, Connecticut and the nation, specifically as they relate to the COVID-19 Delta and Omicron variants.
After consideration and consultation with health officials and municipal leaders, effective Monday (December 27), all vaccinated or non-vaccinated individuals will be required to wear a mask indoors in town-owned buildings. These include Town Hall, the Senior Center and Westport Library.
In cooperation with town officials, Progressive Diagnostics anticipates opening a COVID testing center at Greens Farms railroad station on or about January 1. Details will be announced soon.
At the Senior Center, there will no indoor programs or congregate lunches the week of December 27. Classes will be held via Zoom. The lunch program will take place as a drive-thru at noon on December 27, 28 and 29. The Senior Center is closed December 30 and 31. In-house programs resume Monday, January 3.
Health officials note that all who are able and eligible should get fully vaccinated. and a booster, as soon as possible. Getting fully vaccinated – including receiving a booster shot, wearing a mask indoors in any public setting and maintaining social distancing. remain the most reliable ways of limiting exposure and transmission.
Even if you are not experiencing symptoms, COVID testing is encouraged to determine if you have the virus, and can take necessary precautions to avoid the spread to family, friends and those who are vulnerable.
Fortunately, although the Omicron variant is highly contagious and transmissible, people who are vaccinated and boosted are experiencing less severe symptoms if they test positive.
Cases have increased rapidly across the Northeast. Westport Weston Health District director Mark Cooper says, “Of the new cases reported in Westport, 37% are in fully vaccinated individuals (those who have received 2 Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, or 1 Johnson & Johnson). Those who have received the booster make up about 2.6% of the new cases.”
Additional information on the virus, testing and boosters is available at www.WWHD.org and https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus
Please remain cautious and safe, especially during this holiday season. If you are not already fully vaccinated, please get a booster. Continue to be proactive, wear a mask indoors in congregant settings, and get tested.
With everyone’s cooperation, we can look forward to having a happy and healthy holiday season and new year in Westport.
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Westporters have been talking this week about trees, and their removal near property lines and roadsides. A Planning & Zoning Commission subcommittee is drafting a regulation to protect mature trees in setbacks, stop clear-cutting, and ensure that when mature trees are removed, new trees are planted.
One of the most recent examples of clear-cutting is on Hideaway Lane. Several days ago the lot that fronts Hillspoint Road — opposite Loretta Lane, on the last gentle hill before Old Mill Beach — was stripped of every tree.
Here’s the before shot …
(Photo courtesy of Google Earth)
… and how it looked yesterday:
(Photo/Dan Woog)
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If your kids can’t wait to see Santa … he makes a special appearance tonight!
From 5:30 to 6 p.m. today (Thursday), the Bearded One will wave to everyone driving past 28 Oak Street. It’s Josh and Rose Philip’s gift to Westport.
And if Santa looks a tiny bit like Josh — well, what a remarkable coincidence!
Santa visits 28 Oak Street tonight.
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A GoFundMe page has been set up for a Westport family.
Marius Sarapinas is a master carpenter, whose work ethic is equaled only by his attention to detail. He is loved by clients and colleagues.
His dedication to his sons, age 13 and 8, is legendary. He suffered a brain aneurysm just before Thanksgiving, and has been in the ICU at Yale New Haven Hospital ever since. He has made some progress, but the road to recovery is long.
The family must pay medical expenses, along with their mortgage, food, utility and Christmas bills.
The fund is halfway to its $25,000 goal. To help, click here. (Hat tip: Danielle Alexander.)
Marius Sarapinas
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Yesterday’s, Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids and Garelick & Herbs provided a holiday lunch for 30 firefighters, at Westport’s main station.
The meal was delicious — and (thankfully) uninterrupted. The department thanks these 2 great local businesses for their generosity.
The Fire Department’s holiday meal.
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Not to be a Debbie Downer as we head into the final, festive week of the year, but I have to repeat this thought, first seen on the WestportMoms Instagram:
Next year is pronounced “2020, too.”
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A ring with the inscription “United States Veteran,” surrounding a green stone (photo below), was found in the Staples High School gym. If it’s yours — or you know whose it is — email klquinn@westportps.org (after the Christmas break).
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Today is one of the busiest days of the year.
To help de-stress, just look at today’s “Westport … Naturally” image.
Relax. Fly above it all. Enjoy the view!
(Photo/Patricia Auber)
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And finally … on this day in 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Imagine” promotional film premiered on American TV. The single and album of the same name was released a year earlier.
Fifty years later, its message still resonates.
Thankfully, fires are few and far between in Westport.
But that does not mean our firefighters sit leisurely in their stations, cooking chili and playing cards while waiting for the rare alarm to ring.
The department responds to medical emergencies and accidents, including on I-95 and the Merritt Parkway. They provide coverage for other towns.
And they conduct inspections.
In fact, that’s a large part of the Westport Fire Department’s work.
The fire marshal’s office looks at plans for new construction and planned renovations of commercial properties. They conduct regular inspection of existing buildings, with eyes toward things like exists, sprinklers and electrical panels.
Less known is the Fire Department’s role in home inspections.
More informal than with buildings — offered on request, as a courtesy, and not as an “enforcement” mechanism — inspectors offer professional expertise to keep owners and their families safe.
Requests come from older residents, and newcomers. The pandemic has brought many first-time homeowners to Westport; thee come from apartments with supers, to large homes with fireplaces and circuit breakers, and they’ve got questions.
Inspector Jon Piper is a veteran of home inspections. He offers these tips to Westporters:
There should be 1 smoke alarm in each bedroom, and 1 more on each floor. Change batteries when you change your clocks to and from Daylight Savings Time — and change the smoke alarms themselves every 10 years. Mark the date the detector goes into service, so it is easily visible.
CO detectors should be installed in any home with an attached garage or fuel-burning appliance. There should be more than one in a large or complex home. The Fire Department will help with optimal placement of CO detectors.
Have your fireplace flue cleaned regularly by a licensed professional. Burn only logs — not other material. Of course, dispose of all ashes safely.
Beautiful. But be sure to know how to use it.
Do not store hazardous materials (like propane tanks and gasoline) in your home.
Fire extinguishers can put out small fires. If you have an extinguisher, know how to use it. There are normally simple instructions on the outside. Do not delay calling 911 while using a fire extinguisher, and exit the building immediately if a fire is beyond the capacity of the extinguisher or the person using it.
There are safety limits to extension cords. Grounded plugs require an extension cord with a ground. A single high-demand electrical appliance like a space heater should be used with a heavy extension cord. Be careful not to overload cords; just because it has another outlet doesn’t mean it can take more load. Do not place cords under rugs, and don’t connect multiple cords together. A licensed electrician can install an additional plug if needed.
Discuss emergency plans with all family members. Establish a meeting place — for example, at the mailbox. Consider having regular fire drills in your home.
Make sure your house number is visible, approaching from either direction of the street. Homes with mailboxes across the street, or group mailboxes, should have markings on the house itself.
“We’re a public safety institution,” Piper says. “Anything that helps the public, we’re for it.”
(Interested in a home fire safety inspection? Call the Westport Fire Department’s non-emergency number: 203-341-5000.)
Levitt Pavilion blues (Photo/Patricia McMahon)
This week’s Unsung Heroes award is simple: Every local merchant.
For nearly 2 years, whether they sell toys, clothes, gifts or liquor — well, okay, maybe not the latter — they’ve had a very tough time.
COVID kept customers home. Some remain hesitant to return. The supply chain broke. So did the supply of willing and able workers.
Everywhere they turned, every store owner who had done all the right things suddenly found it wasn’t enough.
But they adapted. They adopted new methods of sales and delivery. They worked extra hours themselves.
They persevered. They survived. And now — during what is for many the busiest week of the busiest month of the year — they continue to serve us.
Take a bow, Westport merchants. We thank you for your wonderful, way-beyond-what’s-expected service.
Now: Get back to work. There’s a line at the counter, and they need help!
Local to Market patio brings fresh energy — and tons of cool Connecticut products to downtown. It’s one of many mom-and-pop shops that’s making our town alive again.
Posted in Downtown, Local business, Unsung Heroes
Tagged Local businesses, Local to Market
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For months, Greens Farms residents have wondered: What’s going on at Morningside Drive South and Clapboard Hill Road
There’s been activity there, at one of the town’s largest still-undeveloped private tracts of land.
On January 5 (7:30 p.m., Zoom) the Flood & Erosion Control Board will hear an application on behalf of the owner — Kowalsky Family Company LLC — for a 6-lot subdivision. It will be reviewed for drainage and grading recommendations to the Planning & Zoning Commission. To attend the virtual meeting, click here.
Site of the proposed subdivision, at 109 Morningside Drive South. (Photo courtesy of Google Earth)
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The latest COVID casualty: tomorrow’s Orphenians carol sing downtown.
The a cappella singers had invited alumni to join them, for this special event. The surge in local cases means waiting a year.
Orphenians director Luke Rosenberg wishes all Orphenians, past and present — and their countless fans — a happy, healthy holiday.
The Staples Orphenians sang downtown earlier this month, at the 06880″ Holiday Stroll.
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Despite the Orphenians’ cancellation, there’s a great reason to go downtown tomorrow (Thursday).
From 2 to 5 p.m. Staples High School’s OneWestport Club is holding a toy and coat drive, at the Bedford Square traffic circle on Elm Street.
All donations will go to the Person to Person network. They provide a free holiday store, where low-income families can shop for free gifts for their families. There’s been a huge demand this year, so OneWestport is offering a final push.
New and gently used coats (all sizes, but clean!), new board games, stuffed animals and picture books are great.
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Run — don’t walk — into 2022! Registration is open for Fleet Feet’s next training program
Starting Saturday, January 8 (8 a.m.), it’s a 12-week group effort, for runners of all abilities. From non-runners to those training for a big race: All are welcome.
There are Saturday 8 a.m., and Tuesday 5:30 p.m. sessions. Most runs start and end at the Sconset Square store (with an occasional track or trail run).
Fleet Feet offers a changing room/bathroom, secure storage of keys and valuables — and product discounts while enrolled in the program. Click here for more information, and registration.
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There are 3 shopping days left until Christmas.
Then — on Monday, December 27 — you can start again. MoCA Westport will host a pop-up shop event (9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.), in conjunction with the Winter Recess Art Camp at their 19 Newtown Turnpike campus.
The sale features luxury home accents and fashion accessories.
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Thanks to STAR board member Amanda King Heavey, her son Will and his classmates, every child served by the STAR Rubino Family Center’s early intervention pediatric therapy program will receive a handmade card and note, plus a book to enjoy during the holidays.
Entering its 70th year, STAR Lighting the Way creates opportunities for people of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live full, independent lives.
In the photo below, Will Heavey gives Westporter Parker Greenberg a book and card.
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Aitoro Appliance — just over the line in Norwalk — is many Westporters’ go-to for sales and service.
Now they need our help.
On Monday night at 3:30 a.m., 2 men wearing hoodies stole gas grills. The vehicle was a white Ford truck. Security cameras could not catch the license plate. Anyone with information can email info@aitoro.com.
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“Westport … Naturally” loves to show creatures of all kinds playing in Westport.
But no one has had more fun than this guy, spotted by Elisabeth Keane outside her home:
(Photo/Elisabeth Keane)
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And finally … Maurice and Robin Gibb were born on this day in 1949. With their older brother Barry, they formed the Bee Gees — one of the most popular British Invasion (and then disco) groups of all time.
Both died young: Maurice at 53 from a twisted intestine, and Robin at 62 from kidney failure.
Quick: Name Westport’s oldest family-owned business.
It’s Gault, by a long shot. Established in 1863 — midway through the Civil War! — the company has evolved from coal hauling to bioheat and other, more modern energy solutions. But after nearly 160 years, Gaults still run the show.
What’s second? Many Westporters would say Mitchells. Founded in 1958, the mom-and-pop men’s clothing shop has morphed into a bicoastal group of high-end men’s and women’s stores. With the 4th generation poised to take over, it’s a proud, still Westport-based institution.
But Mitchells is not our town’s 2nd-oldest family business.
When the calendar turns to 2022 in a few days, there will be a celebration on Sylvan Road. This coming year, Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center turns 100 years old.
Like Gault and Mitchells, Gilbertie’s changed with the times. Antonio Gilbertie’s original cut flower company now has a tagline: “nurturing the organic gardener.”
But he would be proud to see what his son, grandson and their families have done with the business.
Antonio and his wife arrived from Italy around 1919 “with just the clothes on their back” says Carrie Gilbertie, who married his great-grandson Tom.
In 1922 Antonio sold his first flowers from a greenhouse on Sylvan, near Riverside Avenue. The Saugatuck neighborhood was nearby, and there was plenty of demand for carnations and lilies.
Antonio Gilbertie, and his family.
When Antonio died, his son Salvatore took over. He died young — just 52 — and left the business to his wife “Nana” and children.
Sal Jr. had gone to school for accounting, but came home to run Gilbertie’s.
He was fascinated by herbs, and bought a 36-acre farm in Easton. He earned certification as an organic farmer, and started a microgreens business.
Today, the company supplies customers as far away as Virginia.
Sal Gilbertie, in the field.
“People love Gilbertie’s,” Carrie says. “We’ve stayed true to who we are. We’re all about organic and natural.
“We practice what we preach. We nurture people, and the earth. We’re very involved in the community, and we help them find so many ways to take care of the planet.
“We’re not trying to be something we’re not. People appreciate us.”
The pandemic was, surprisingly, a boon to Gilbertie’s. An “essential business,” they never closed. With Westporters stuck home — and a huge influx of newcomers eager to find backyard projects — the family and their loyal, longtime staff offered tips on what vegetables, flowers and herbs to grow, and how to grow them.
Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
They’ve kept coming back.
New customers come all the time too. Some discover Gilbertie’s by word of mouth. Others are attracted by the Winter Westport Farmers’ Market, held every Thursday from November through March, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in and around their 3 greenhouses.
Everybody loves the Westport Farmers’ Market. (Photo/Lisa Lewin)
A full year of celebration is planned, including gardening and chef demonstrations, giveaways, prizes, a town-wide scavenger hunt, and a party with live music.
“06880” will keep you updated on the all the goings-on.
But first: We’re proud to be the first to wish Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center a happy 100th birthday!
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