Morris Jesup made his fortune selling railroad supplies.
In 1908, he provided land and funds for a building on the corner of State Street (now called the Post Road) and Main Street: the Morris K. Jesup Memorial Library. (The “K” stood for Ketchum, another noted local name.)
Why “Memorial”? He died just 4 months before its dedication,
That ceremony — almost exactly 117 years ago today — elicited excitement, as the postcard below shows:
And why not? The new library was quite handsome. Here’s the front of that postcard, provided by Seth Schachter:
On the right side — across Main Street — is the old Westport Hotel. It was torn down in 1923, and replaced by the YMCA (now Anthropologie).
Here’s another view, from the same era:
The library replaced the building below. The view is toward the Saugatuck River. The structures on the west side of Main Street — to the right of the site of the “proposed $50,000 Library Building” — still stand today. (Check out the trolley tracks and horse watering trough too.)
The Morris K. Jesup Memorial Library became the Westport Public Library. (It has since shed the “Public” part of its name.)
In the 1950s, it expanded into what is now Starbucks.
In 1986, the Library moved across the street, to landfill just beyond Jesup Green.
It’s undergone 2 renovations — one minor, one much more extensive — in the 40 years since.
A plaque honoring the original benefactor hangs in a stairwell of the “new” building. (There once was a plaque on the main floor, too.)
We owe Morris K. Jesup a great debt of thanks.
And huge props too, for that amazing mustache.
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An alert and traffic-conscious “06880” reader emailed us the other day.
He included links to stories about “adaptive traffic signals” — lights that detect real-time traffic conditions and use a fiber-optic network to adjust timing — that have been adopted in Norwalk and Greenwich.
He wondered: Why not in Westport?
Why not indeed?
“06880” reached out to 1st Selectman Kevin Christie. He says:
“Norwalk and Greenwich have implemented adaptive traffic signal technology on signals that they own and operate.
“In Westport, we only have 2 traffic signals that we own and operate: Main Street and Myrtle Avenue, and Main Street and Avery Place. All other signals are under Connecticut Department of Transportation jurisdiction.
“Based on current traffic volumes, those two town-owned signals would not be candidates for this technology at this time.
“The signals that would most likely benefit from this type of technology are along the Route 1 corridor. CTDOT is developing plans to replace traffic signal controllers and install cellular modems at select state-owned traffic signals across several Connecticut towns and cities.
“However, Westport is not included in this initial rollout, as CTDOT is still piloting the technology and evaluating its effectiveness under different state highway conditions before pursuing broader implementation.
“That said, we will continue to advocate for Westport by maintaining strong relationships and ongoing communication with CTDOT.”
Main Street and Myrtle Avenue: 1 of only 2 traffic lights owned and operated by the town.
The commendation cited Emmah for displaying “exceptional situational awareness and keen observation skills (and) swift and decisive action …. (She) acted selflessly and without hesitation. Her calm, courageous response exemplified the highest standards of maritime safety and civic responsibility.”
From left: 1st Selectman Kevin Christie, Police Chief Dave Farrell, Emmah Tait, and her parents Denise and Chris Tait.
Remarkably, this was not the first commendation given to a Tait family member, for a marine rescue.
In November 1970 Doug Tait — Chris’ older brother, and a Long Lots Junior High School 9th grader — rescued 2 men from a boat that caught fire, 2 miles off shore.
A photo of his ceremony mirrors that of Emmah’s, 56 years later.
From left: 1st Selectman John Kemish, Lieutenant Joseph McAleenan, Doug Tait, Doug’s parents Doug Sr. and Elizabeth Tait.
The Staples High School senior has just been named a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar.
If that’s not familiar — well, it used to be called the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. It’s one of the most prestigious student awards in the nation.
Nolan — who has worked at Yale University’s Choate Lab, researching a rare skin condition called ichthyosis that can lead to fatal heart disease, and raised funds for research with a long-distance swim last summer — is the first Staples student to earn the honor from Staples’ new science research program.
Nolan is one of the top 300 competitors in the Regeneron program. He was selected from 2,612 students — the largest and most competitive pool since the 1960s.
Staples will receive $2,000, for use toward STEM-related activities.
Forty finalists will be announced January 21. Each receives $25,000, and be eligible for a first-place prize of $250,000.
If Nolan wins, he would be Staples’ second honoree. In 2001, Mariangela Lisanti won what was then called the Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition (then worth $100,000). She also won the Intel Science Talent Search, earning another $100,000 scholarship.
PS: A bit more about Nolan. He is on Staples’ STEM Journal editorial board, and is vice president of the Science National Honors Society. He’s an AP Scholar with Distinction, founded the current iteration of Staples’ National English Honor Society, has volunteered at Norwalk Hospital’s Catheterization Lab, and was a counselor at Camp Discovery, for children unable to attend mainstream sleepaway camps due to medical conditions.
Nolan also plays violin in the Symphonic Orchestra. He was the first-ever junior captain of the boys swim team. He received the inaugural Junior Leadership Award at the Scholar-Athlete banquet. And he’s been involved with the Westport Weston Family YMCA’s Special Olympics swim program since 2018.
Nolan Francis
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A new year begins, and a new chapter unfolds for Sorelle Gallery.
Reacting to shifting trends in the art world — with clients going online more, for support and purchases — the gallery moves on January 27 from Bedford Square to a smaller, by-appointment space at 25 Sylvan Road South.
Charlie Capalbo — a Fairfield Ludlowe High School graduate and ice hockey player whose battle with 4 separate cancers inspired friends, neighbors, the sports world and countless strangers — died 3 years ago. He was 1 month shy of his 24th birthday.
Charlie’s Westport ties were long and deep. His grandmother is the writer/poet/storyteller Ina Chadwick. Her husband, Richard Epstein (Charlie’s grandfather) is a Westport native; his parents moved here in 1958. Charlie’s mother, Jennifer Wilde Capalbo (Ina’s youngest daughter) is a Staples graduate.
The young athlete’s memory lives on. Next Wednesday (January 14, 5:15 p.m., Sacred Heart University), the Staples-Norwalk-Brien McMahon coop hockey team plays the Fairfield Ludlowe-Warde coop squad.
Fairfield has organized it as “Charlie Capalbo Night,” raising awareness of the National Marrow Donor Program, and raising funds for research.
Fairfield’s head coach is a pediatric leukemia survivor. Parents of current players supported Charlie, when he first got sick. Several years later, they continue to step up, as a community and friends.
Charlie Capalbo (Photo/Dave Gunn)
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Neighbors and Newcomers of Westport is gearing up for an exciting year.
Since 1963, the organization has brought together new arrivals and longtime residents for social events.
On the calendar this month: Couples’ Night Out; a sound bath experience at Hummingbird Healing Center, and book and cooking groups. Click here for more information.
And finally … on this date in 1788, Connecticut became the 5th state to ratify the US constitution.
But that’s not why we are officially “The Constitution State.” That refers to the Fundamental Orders, adopted by the Connecticut Colony in 1639. It is considered by some to be the first written constitution in Western history.
So let’s hear it for us, with our official state song:
(“06880” is where Westport — and Connecticut — meet the world. If you enjoy our hyper-local coverage, connecting our town to our state and beyond, please click here to support our work. Thanks!)
After 16 years, Westport will have a new representative in Hartford.
CT Mirror broke the story yesterday that Jonathan Steinberg — the 1974 Staples High School graduate, who has represented the 136th District for 8 terms — will not seek re-election to the General Assembly’s House of Representatives.
State Representative Jonathan Steinberg
Steinberg said that he told fellow Democrats in Westport of his plans months ago. Until the online service asked though, he said he had “been able to avoid it being broadcast across the globe.”
The news broke when Matthew Mandell — a Representative Town Meeting member, and executive director of the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce — registered to run for the seat on Wednesday.
“It’s been a long time,” Steinberg said. “I think I’ve had a good run … My wife retired in October. She’s happily retired at home. I’ll be 70 in a few weeks. Seems like the right time.”
Steinberg’s current term ends next January.
Mandell told “06880” he will make a formal announcement of his candidacy soon.
TEAM Westport is a town committee. Its mission is to “make the Town of Westport increasingly welcoming with respect to race, ethnicity, religion and LGBTQIA+.” The acronym stands for “Together Effectively Achieving Multiculturalism.”
Last month, Philip Gallo resigned from TEAM Westport. He writes:
We moved here in 2023. We didn’t think being a gay couple, my husband Latino and Native American, would be relevant. It hasn’t been.
Neighbors introduced us to the town’s Republican Party. A life-long Democrat, I strayed from the party’s far-left direction — open borders, anti-police, taxes, identity politics — so we shifted parties.
I heard TEAM Westport was a committee to make the town more welcoming, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and they needed non-Dems, given Connecticut rules.
While “multiculturalism” was in the acronym, and I never thought all cultures are equal, enjoying Western culture (that gave me and my husband the right to marry with a family), I would give it a go.
I came out in the 1980s, the first openly gay attorney at Cleary Gottlieb, an early out employee at Goldman Sachs, benefactor of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
Heck, I rang the NYSE closing bell for Pride month. I thought TEAM would welcome me. I mistakenly believed they’d want people with different viewpoints, welcome discussion about bias, and be even-handed in addressing controversial topics.
No, TEAM expected ideological conformity, a focus on racial essentialism, grievance, and left-wing ideology, cloaked in liberal elitism.
I invited the chair to my home, he couldn’t make it, I never got a reciprocal invite.
I got lectured by affluent white female liberals (AWFLs) about privilege. I witnessed town leaders come to TEAM. Why? It seemed like a Star Chamber, everyone said they were against discrimination, though there seemed little of it.
When the teen book essay contest was discussed, I read many winning contributions. Someone who wasn’t white wrote about how hard it was to be “different,” or was white and how much privilege they had.
TEAM Westport 2025 teen essay winners, with town, school, TEAM and Westport Library officials. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Coming from a blue-collar background, where my father didn’t finish high school and I worked my butt off during college and law school, I saw everyone in Westport as having privilege.
The chair attended an Ivy League school and an elite boarding school. The winners went off to elite colleges.
I said the essay prompt elicited these responses, why did the judges rate them, it seemed hypocritical. We should engender discussion, but also gratitude. How would Bridgeport kids view it?
I asked to be on the essay sub-committee, but was given the cold shoulder. Obviously, giving space for grievance would make the town a better place.
The book club was similar. I suggested reading conservative authors, some black and gay! Books were about the racial wealth gap, focusing on discrimination rather than other causes and failing to compare successful minorities with whites, I mentioned this to angry stares.
We celebrated the Indigenous producer of a “documentary” about Canadian schools, which looked like a hit job on the Catholic church, everyone loved it.
TEAM was asked to support the ADL’s “No Place for Hate” program in schools. I researched it. This wasn’t just about eliminating hate, fine, it was about enforcing ideological conformity.
Groups right of center were “hate groups,” Turning Point USA was “extremist,” it took the Kirk assassination to scrub the list.
Like many gay people, I question gender ideology suggesting you can’t tell boys from girls at birth, supporting gender treatments for minors. The ADL materials indicate these questions were signs of bias and bullying, other materials include the pyramid of privilege, focusing on the oppressed.
We’ve seen the outpouring of this conformist, academic thinking on college campuses post-10/7.
Ironically, I got bullied when I raised my objections, with sneers and snide remarks. I found repugnant the chair sending a letter on behalf of TEAM to the state describing the insidious effects of discrimination here, that he had to send his kids to Exeter and Choate, without noting the elitism, which was rich!
Again, I got lectured by rich white ladies saying TEAM was better before the committee included people like me.
Last month I questioned DEI. I think diversity can be cool, but “equity” got added, everyone was afraid to say it meant reverse and specifically anti-white discrimination, and with inclusion, traditional views weren’t welcome.
Time for a reboot, it’s a broken-down brand, half the country hates it, constitutionally suspect, overly focused on race, divisive, how about MERIT (merit, excellence, respect, innovation, teamwork)?
One regular attendee exclaimed “F… you!” twice, I stood up facing the new selectman to ask the guy be removed, the chair said nothing to him. My views, unwelcome, I guess foul language was.
The committee mandate was to make the town more welcoming regardless of race, ethnicity, sexuality, not DEI? No, “DEI” was its mandate. After the George Floyd killing, many towns approved whatever DEI language was put in front of it. I still believe it is time for a refresh.
I see ridiculous Saturday protests on the bridge, I’m called “fascist” for showing my thumb’s down. These thoughts, unwelcome at TEAM, regardless of my personal story.
Anti-Trump protest on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Also unwelcome, self-reflection on the elitism of the surroundings and the expectation of liberal conformity.
Westport is great, I’m grateful to be here. TEAM, the least welcoming part of Westport.
Rich liberals love it, but it’s a force for ideological divisiveness and bullying. I resigned, I’ll hang out with my neighbors, at least they’re nice.
Respectfully,
Phil Gallo
(“06880” invited TEAM Westport chair Harold Bailey to reply. He declined to comment.)
Folk-rock legend and cultural icon Ani DiFranco kicks off the 4-day weekend. She’ll chat with Lauren Coyle Rosen, co-author of their new book, “The Spirit of Ani: Reflections on Spirituality, Feminism, Music, and Freedom.
Their March 26 conversation (7 p.m.) will focus on DiFranco’s creativity, spirituality, and evolving consciousness.
DiFranco‘s 23 albums cross genres, and address a range of autobiographical, political and social issues.
“Verses” — her collection of poems and paintings — was published in 2007. Her memoir, “No Walls and the Recurring Dream,” was a bestseller. She is the author of the children’s books “The Knowing” and “Show Up and Vote.”
In 2024,\ DiFranco spent 5 months on Broadway, playing Persephone in “Hadestown.”
This year’s VersoFest also includes a February 27 performance by rising rockers The Thing; conversations with performers, actors and authors, plus panel discussions, an interactive art installation, and more. Click here for details.
Ani DiFranco (Photo/Shervin Lainez)
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Westport resident Emily Riley is the founder and CEO of Riley Strategic, a boutique PR and marketing agency.
She’s also the founder of Women in the 1%. That’s a research group exploring the fact that only 5% of the top 1% of all income earners in the US are female.
Riley developed a research project to change that. Her goal is to “provide insight into all of the women who are beating the odds, and inspire more women to do the same.”
The project includes a survey. It’s open to women only — of all income levels.
Fencing is a great sport. It demands creativity, technique and tempo — along with athleticism, balance, problem-solving, and much more.
On the fence about whether to look into it?
Delphine de Vore — a former world champion with the US junior women’s team, alternate for the 2024 Olympic team, Columbia University All-American and coach of the Staples High School fencing team — is opening a pop-up location: the lower level of VFW Post 399.
She offers youth classes for beginners and intermediates, and adult classes for all skills levels. They begin January 14, and run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (6 to 9 p.m.). Click here for details.
Delphine de Vore
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February is African American History Month.
It’s also the opening of MoCA\CT’s next exhibition.
“Art, Jazz & the Blues” — presented from February 26 through June 7, in partnership with the Westport Public Art Collections — highlights the connection between visual art and African American Musical traditions.
The exhibit centers on “Giants of the Blues.” Westport artist Eric von Schmidt’s remarkable portraits of blues and folk legends — currently hanging in the Staples High School auditorium lobby — will be hung, alongside over 50 other works from the WestPAC collections, the Brubeck Collection at Wilton Library, Housatonic Museum of Art, private collections and more.
The show includes live performances, artist talks, film screenings and workshops.
Related events include:
February 26: Opening Reception, 6 to 8 p.m.; live music by Mark Naftalin.
February 28: Film Screening: “Leadbelly” (1976), directed by Gordon Parks, 4 to 7 p.m., followed by Q-and-A with Sheila Curran Bernard, author of “Bring Judgment Day: Reclaiming Lead Belly’s Truths from Jim Crow’s Lies.”
Sixty-six years ago this Tuesday, a terrorist blew up a plane over North Carolina. All 34 on board were killed.
The terrorist was believed to be Julian Frank — a lawyer living in Westport.
The January 6, 1960 National Airlines flight #2511 was bound from Idlewild Airport (now JFK) in New York to Miami. At 2:38 a.m., it crashed near Wilmington, North Carolina.
The remains of one passenger — Frank — were missing from the accident site. His body was finally found, 16 miles away.
Frank’s autopsy showed that he had been killed by a dynamite explosion “originating either in his lap or (more likely) immediately under his seat.”
Investigators believed it to be a murder-suicide. Frank was under investigation for fraud and embezzlement — and had taken out large amounts of life insurance just before boarding the plane.
A number of Westporters were questioned by the FBI, regarding what they knew about Julian Frank. Yet authorities never conclusively proved he was the bomber. No charges were ever brought — and the investigation remains officially open.
On Tuesday, a memorial honoring the 34 victims was unveiled at the Bolivia (North Carolina) Fire Department. Click here for that story.(Hat tip: Steve McCoy)
A National Airlines Douglas DC-6B — the type of plane allegedly blown up by Julian Frank.
Club203 — Westport’s social club for adults with disabilities — kicked off the new year on Tuesday, at the Westport Country Playhouse barn.
Members enjoyed interactive experiences with Sensei Palardy, face painting and mask making with MoCA\CT, and food from Calise’s Catering and Sweet P Bakery.
This month marks the 5th anniversary of the Westport Book Shop’s Short Story Club.
To celebrate for their January 21 (6 p.m.) meeting, they’ll read an assortment of stories about books:
📖 “A General in the Library” by Italo Calvino (1953)
📖 “The Kugelmass Episode” by Woody Allen (1977)
📖 “Exchange” by Ray Bradbury (1996)
📖 “The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species” by Ken Liu (2012)
Registration is required. Call 203-349-5141, or email RSVP@westportbooksaleventures.org.
Westport Police made 1 custodial arrest between December 31 and January 6.
A 49-year-old Philadelphia man was charged with conspiracy to commit larceny and conspiracy to commit identity theft, following an investigation into a 2023 complaint that an IRS estate tax refund check of over $13 million had been intercepted from the mail. The man received a subsequent fraudulent check for $4 million. He was released on $50,000 bond. Additional arrests are expected.
Longtime Westporter Marjorie Dunham, died peacefully in Norwalk Hospital on Friday after a long illness, with family members at her side. She was 89.
After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, After graduating, she married Christopher Dunham and worked at Equitable Life Assurance Society in New York.
In 1962 she and her husband moved to Westport. She was active in Visiting Homemakers and Friends of Sherwood Island State Park, and served as Saugatuck Elementary School PTA president and vice chair of the Westport Recreation Commission.
Marge enjoyed foreign travel, and played tennis, golf and softball until late in life.
She worked as a computer aide at Bedford Junior High School in the late 1970s, introducing students to BASIC programming.
When her children were in college she enrolled in the graduate program at Fairfield University, earning a master’s in computer science in 1983.
Marge then worked for 18 years as a local area network officer at Peoples Bank in Bridgeport. After retirement, she spent several years as a library assistant at Fairfield County schools.
She was predeceased by older sister Sylvia Corliss King. Survivors include her husband; children Douglas, William (Melanie Rogers) and Anne; granddaughter Courtney; brother William Corliss, Jr. (Linda Boothe); a niece, 3 nephews and several grand-nieces and grand0nephews.
A memorial service is set for Saugatuck Congregational Church on Saturday (January 10, 11 a.m.. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Mount Holyoke Fund for general scholarship aid, or to American Cancer Society.
Marge Dunham
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We often see deer in the woods. And crossing roads.
This one — the star of today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature — felt right at home on the front steps of a Saugatuck Island home.
In the nearly 4 years since Russia’s invasion, Mark Yurkiw has worked to help Ukraine.
The Westport artist — whose parents emigrated to the US from there in 1949, and whose first language was Ukrainian — has raised funds; collected medical equipment, generators, tools, other supplies, clothes and toys, and kept the country’s plight front and center.
His newest project is ambitious. And artistic.
A well-known Taiwanese artist wants to help. He understands that Taiwan may be the next Ukraine.
Chuang Chih Hui, whose work is exhibited around the world, donated his $15,000 “Winged” sculpture to help fund shipping a 40-foot container of medical equipment to Kharkiv, Ukraine.
The sculpture will go to the first person to donate $7,500, to cover the cost the shipment.
“Winged” (center), and Chuang Chih Hui’s other works.
“Winged” is on display through January 15 at the Senior Center. After that date, it can be seen by appointment; text 646-873-0050.
Yurkiw hopes to fund a second container of medical equipment too. For that, he is looking for additional donors, of any amount. “Every $10 saves a life,” Yurkiw says.
There’s an incentive to donate. Chuang Chih Hui has 2 other sculptures — “Symbiosis” and “Cycle” — worth $16,000 and $10,000 respectively. Both are shown above.
Yurkiw says, “If we raise enough with small donations to pay the artist full price, I will raffle off one or both. I’m certain he would donate back at least 1/3 of what we collect.”
To purchase “Winged,” or donate a smaller amount for a second shipping container and the raffle, email mark.think3d@gmail.com.
In the wake of an “alarming trend” in stolen vehicles — and attempted thefts — the Westport Police Department strongly urges “situational awareness” by residents and visitors.
Police say:
As has been the case for the last several years, Westport continues to be a persistent target for car thieves.
A trend that began as incidents relegated mostly to perpetrators systematically walking neighborhoods in the overnight hours, where individuals were looking to avoid confrontation and detection by their victims, has evolved into offenders seeking to acquire vehicles through more aggressive and brazen means.
Tactics and timing now include activity at all hours of day and night, and locations both public and private.
These tactics seem to also frequently include the targeting and direct following of specific vehicles and victims.
In multiple recent investigations, victims report encountering suspects in their driveways and inside residential garages at various times of day, immediately or shortly after returning home. In many cases, it is apparent that victims and their vehicles were specifically targeted.
In these instances, victims were very likely followed to their homes after tasks like grocery shopping, or followed to public places like service stations where it is anticipated that the car would be left unoccupied and unattended long for an opportunity to commit the theft.
In a recent incident, a would-be perpetrator entered what he believed was an unoccupied vehicle left in a public parking lot, only to encounter a teenager in the back seat. Fortunately, in this instance, the alarm created by this situation caused the perpetrator to flee.
Vehicle theft continues to be extremely prevalent in Westport and surrounding communities. The common thread is an unlocked or running vehicle with the keys inside, or left within reaching distance of the car.
The Westport Police Department treats these incidents seriously, and has multiple active investigations into suspected perpetrators. Although we continue to use all available means to hold the parties accountable, suspects have also employed various countermeasures to prevent identification and apprehension.
The culprit.
We strongly urge residents and visitors to be mindful of this escalating crime trend. Simple tactics like locking parked vehicles, removing keys and fobs from the passenger compartment when a vehicle is to be left unattended, and locking garages all continue to be strong deterrents.
Situational awareness is now becoming equally critical as well.
It is not difficult to envision the ways that direct encounters with suspects could lead to negative outcomes, so we urge all to be mindful of their surroundings, and maintain a heightened state of vigilance.
If you observe suspicious activity or feel that you are being followed, call 911 and/or drive to the nearest police station immediately.
When returning home, if possible park your vehicle in an enclosed garage and secure the door behind you. If not an option, please do not leave your vehicle doors open, unlocked and accessible for even brief periods of time.
In recent cases, a matter of seconds is all that has been needed to execute these thefts.
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