On any Wednesday, it would be a no-brainer to nominate Bill Mitchell as “06880”‘s Unsung Hero.
For over 60 years — since working in his parents Ed and Norma’s small men’s clothing store, through overseeing its expansion to 9 upscale locations around the country, and now in retirement — he has been much more than a “clothier” (his self-description).
Bill’s generosity, mentorship, friendship, openness and kindness has changed countless lives. His impact on Westport, Fairfield County — and far beyond — is immeasurable.
Bill would not want to be singled out. He would be embarrassed by a longer list here of his good deeds and great works.
Bill Mitchell
But this is my blog, not Bill’s. So I’m proud to pass on the good news about 3 upcoming events at which he will be honored for his leadership, service, and deep commitment to our community.
(That’s Bill: Most people get one function. He gets 3.)
The Pioneer Scholarship Gala (April 26, 6:30 p.m., Sacred Heart University) is the school’s premier fundraiser. Bill is chair for the evening. The guest speaker is his longtime friend: NCAA president and former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker. He’ll be joined by his wife, Staples High School graduate Lauren Schadt Baker.
The evening includes a cocktail hour, dinner, program and dancing. For more information, click here.
The RAM Council is a New Canaan-based non-profit that empowers youth to make healthy, substance-free choices.
Their 9th annual Gala (May 3, 6:30 p.m., Country Club of New Canaan) will fete Bill for his decades of work, helping young people lead lives with purpose and confidence. For more information, click here.
Then on May 22 (7 to 9 a.m., Sacred Heart University), Bill and the Mitchell family will receive the Joe Mulcahy Award for their decades-long dedication to the community, at the Thomas Merton Family Center’s 31st annual Celebrity Breakfast.
Keynote speaker Darryl Strawberry — baseball legend and 4-time World Series champion — will share his inspiring journey of recovery and faith. The fundraiser will help TMFC provide food, housing assistance and stability to thousands across the Bridgeport area. For more information, click here.
Congratulations Bill, on these 3 great honors. They are small thanks indeed, for the large mark you have made on all of us.
(Unsung Hero is a weekly “06880” feature. To nominate a hero, email 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)
The 20-year-0ld Waterbury man arrested after last September’s carjacking of an Aston Martin from a Westport garage pleaded guilty yesterday, in Stamford Superior Court.
Vincys Baez was charged with second-degree robbery (with a carjacking enhancement), first-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, and third-degree assault.
He may be sentenced to up to 8 1/2 years in prison.
A 16-yyear-old and 22-year-old were also charged in the crime. Baez and the 22-year-old also face charges related to a car theft the previous day. They are alleged to have stolen a BMW from Church Lane, when the owner was inside a restaurant picking up an order.
Screenshot from a security camera, during the carjacking. The driver is still in the vehicle, in his garage.
It was the 25th (or so; no one is really sure) annual Mitchells company cookout at Compo Beach last night.
Over 200 employees and family members from the Westport and Greenwich (Richards) stores enjoyed lobster and steak, just a couple of miles from where the original men’s shop opened 66 years ago.
What made it special — and what makes Mitchells the company that it is — is that the grills were manned by the owners.
Mitchells now includes the 4th generation. But Ed and Norma’s 7 grandsons did what the family has always done: led by example.
And the founders’ sons, Jack and Bill — both now in their 80s — were there in their familiar roles: greeting the crowd; making sure everyone felt comfortable; quietly and humbly, giving back in every way they could.
Bill Mitchell, welcoming everyone at Compo Beach. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Speaking of enjoying the outdoors: Blau House & Gardens and the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra present “Music in the Garden” (August 18).
There’s a pre-concert tour of the magnificent property off Bayberry Lane from 4:30 to 5 p.m. The woodwind quintet plays in the gorgeous gardens from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m.
Bring your own picnic, blankets and chairs. There’s a shuttle from Coleytown Elementary School. Tickets are $75. Click here to order.
“Party School” is a coming-of-age teen romance that “reminds us that it doesn’t matter what college you go to, but what you make of the journey.”
Journalist Jon Hart says his debut novel, with a heavy dose of “school shaming,” was inspired by Fairfield County (his parents lived in Fairfield).
Hart grew up in New York, but says, “Westport is all over ‘Party School.’ One of the main characters, the crowd-pleasing ‘Spicoli with heart,’ was inspired by a Westport native.”
And finally … happy 77th birthday to Arlo Guthrie.
Woody Guthrie’s son is best known for “Alice’s Restaurant.” But his 5 decades of work go far beyond that 20-minute Thanksgiving garbage dump talking classic.
I saw him at the Westport Country Playhouse many years ago. He was the consummate performer. And I really loved that great head of white hair.
(You can get anything you want at “06880.” This blog is your blog. But we can’t do it without readers’ support. Please click here to help. Thank you!)
On Monday (7 p.m., Zoom), the Planning & Zoning Commission will review text amendment application #835, for Cottage Cluster Developments. The amendment would create an opportunity for 100% affordable cottage cluster housing on town-owned land.
The targeted beneficiary of this text amendment is 655 Post Road East — Linxweiler House, across Crescent Road from McDonald’s.
The amendment would “promote sustainable development practices through smaller, more efficient housing and effective use of residential land, increase the diversity of housing choices by allowing for a grouping of smaller, single-family dwellings on one lot, and provide additional below market rate housing within Westport, located on lots owned by the Town of Westport.”
The proposed regulations would apply to 63 town-owned properties. However, regulations limits the number of developments in town to 5.
Deputy P&Z director Michelle Perillie says her department “is working to implement the goals of the Town of Westport Affordable Housing Plan, which recommends encouraging sustainably developed modular construction kits and prefabricated cottages to build multifamily and small houses quickly and efficient.”
All application materials may be viewed on the Town’s website. Click here to see all application materials. To see all eligible properties, scroll down to Text Amendment #835: “Cottage Cluster Developments.”
The meeting will be livestreamed on the town website, and aired on Optimum channel 79 and Frontier channel 6020. Comments can be sent prior to the meeting: PandZ@westportct.gov or offered during the meeting. Click here for the Zoom link.
If passed, a text amendment would allow cluster cottage housing at Linxweiler House on the Post Road.
The night before (Monday, October 2, 7 p.m., Town Hall auditorium), the RTM Rules Committee meets.
They’ll address a petition, submitted by 38 electors. It says:
RESOLVED, that the full Westport RTM at its October 3, 2023 meeting affirms that the meaning of the term “Shall” in “Sec. A 162-6. – Agenda” of the “Representative Town Meeting Rules of Procedures” as found in Exhibit A of the “Code of Ordinances of Westport Connecticut” is to be “construed as being mandatory”, per the definition of the word “Shall” in “Sec. 1-2. – Definitions and rules of construction” and that “Sec. A 162-6. -Agenda” compels and requires the Moderator, or in the event of the Moderator’s inability to act, the Deputy Moderator or, in the event of the inability of both, the Town Clerk to place on the RTM meeting agenda such matters as petitioned by at least 20 Westport Electors not less than 14 days prior to a Representative Town Meeting.
The agenda item was submitted by Jeff Wieser. He’s the RTM moderator, and also chair of its Rules Committee.
Bill Mitchell — self-styled “socks salesman” and “doorman,” but actually one of Westport’s most beloved figures, thanks to his generosity, grace, spirit, and senses of humor and fun — will sell his last pair of socks, and open his last door, at Mitchells this Saturday.
He’s been his parents’ employee, then co-owner, and always the public face of the high-end, customer-centered clothing and jewelry store.
He’s retiring now, after 58 years with the family business. His squintillion friends are invited to say thanks and goodbye — or, more realistically, to share stories and laughs — this Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The coffee pot (well, its 2023 equivalent) will be on. There will be plenty to eat (as always).
It’s just another Saturday at Mitchells. But also one for the ages.
Bill Mitchell says goodbye.
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Longtime Westporter Stacie Curran is proud of her town.
So she was very distressed to learn that “the hard-working, super-kind, smart, approachable construction crew” on the Post Road renovation project at Roseville/Hillspoint Roads and Bulkley Avenue “believe we are the most arrogant, horrid town of drivers they have ever worked among — well worse than Greenwich, Darien, Ridgefield (they named a few).”
They cited frequent behaviors: “cursing, speeding, flipping them off, not caring about safety…”
So Stacie did what Stacie does: She brought them homemade chocolate chip cookies, and pounds of donated coffee cake from The Porch at Christie’s and their Sweet P Bakery.
It helped.
Marlin (on the far right in the photo below, holding a tray of cookies and box of coffee crumb cakes) of Guerrera Construction Company said, “Westport, you’re not all that bad.”
But some of us are.
These guys are just doing their job. And their job is to make the Post Road safer, in the long run.
So don’t cruse, speed or flip them off.
Be kind. Smile. Wave.
And if you really care: Be like Stacie. Give them cookies and cakes, not the bird.
Smiles from the Post Road crew. (Photo/Stacie Curran)
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Paul Newman died 15 years ago this week.
But his memory lives on. It’s particularly strong here in Westport, the town he lived in for 50 years, loved — and where he and his wife Joanne Woodward raised their family.
On October 10 (7 p.m., Westport Library), their daughter Melissa will launch her new book: “Head Over Heels: Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman, A Love Affair in Words and Pictures.”
She and her longtime friend — filmmaker/Remarkable Theater co-founder Doug Tirola — will chat, in the Trefz Forum. Melissa will share insights into her affectionately curated and lushly illustrated book, which offers a fresh perspective on her parents.
Newman will sign copies of the book too, which will be available for purchase there.
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Staples Players staged 2 memorable productions of “The Laramie Project” (and one of “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later”).
Now there’s another Players connection with the ground-breaking play about a town’s reaction to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard.
Staples Class of 2011 grad Matt Greenberg is producing a staged reading of “The Laramie Project” — with its originators, the Tectonic Theater Project.
And it will take place at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie.
The event is October 11 — the day before the 25th anniversary of the 21-year-old’s death.
Greenberg — who starred in Players’ “Curtains,” among other shows — is now assistant professor of acting and musical theater at Wyoming.
Westport Police made 2 custodial arrests between September 20 and 27.
A woman was arrested for driving under the influence and failure to drive in the proper lane, following a 1-car accident at 11:30 p.m. on Cross Highway.
A man was arrested on 4 counts of failure to appear.
Police also issued these citations:
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 4 citations
For 24 years, the non-profit Westport-based Oyebog Tennis Academy has supported underserved children in Cameroon, More than 20,000 children have participated in tennis programs starting at age 3. Two OTA students earned full scholarships, and are competing on NCAA Division I college teams.
This year the Staples girls tennis team raised thousands of dollars for OTA. But the need is great, as demand keeps growing.
Gently-used items — racquets, gear, shoes, even household items — will be shipped soon. Donations can be dropped off today through Saturday, September 30 at 104 Long Lots Lane.
OTA will also sponsor a pro-am tennis event at the Country Club of New Canaan on September 30. The Bryan Brothers will compete against local players, and some of the best young players from Cameroon. Click here for tickets, and more information.
First, Make-a-Wish Connecticut announced the stars of their October 3 (6 p.m., Aitoro Appliance, Norwalk) “Taste of Wishes” event. Six boys and girls will have their wishes come true: They’ll cook with the area’s top chefs.
Now Make-a-Wish has announced the menus.
Jes Bengston: Swedish meatballs, pomme puree, apple and kohlrabi relish.
Matt Storch: Ricotta gnocchi “Rolled Live,” tossed with vodka sauce and garlic bread,
Robin Selden: Braised short ribs with shiitake beurre blanc and butternut squash puree, and salted dark chocolate Bridgewater chocolate chip cookies baked to order.
Dan Kardos: coconut mussels with basil and curry butter.
Anthony Kostelis: Tomato risotto with sundried peppers and taleggio.
Christian Petroni: Surprise dish.
Additional food vendors include Sweet Brioche Artisan Pastries, Forever Sweet, Copps Island Oysters, Crust Issues, Amit, Dave & Charlie’s Hometown Deli, Blind Rhino, Bartaco and Candy Connections.
A VIP ticket includes early entrance and a sneak peek, Prosecco, and great swag. Click here for VIP and general admission tickets, and more information.
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Today’s wonderful “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from the wide-ranging and talented Johanna Keyser Rossi:
And finally … Terry Kirkman, who sang, played 2 dozen instruments, wrote music and formed the group the Association, died last weekend in California. He was 83, and suffered from congestive heart failure. Click here for a full obituary.
If you don’t remember their name, you know at least some of their songs:
(Every day, we “round up” the most important Westport news. If you appreciate our local journalism, please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Click here — and thank you!)
Bill Mitchell describes himself two ways: “I sell socks.” And “I’m a glorified doorman.”
Sure. Just like Lionel Messi is a guy running around in shorts. And Taylor Swift is a girl with a mic.
Bill Mitchell
Here’s my description of Bill Mitchell: For decades the native Westporter has been the public face, heart and soul of a luxury men’s and women’s store that is so much more than a place to buy suits, dresses and jewelry.
Thanks in large part to Bill — with plenty of help from the ever-increasing Mitchell family — what began as a humble, 800-square foot shop has turned into an 8-store, coast-to-coast, very successful business.
He was there in 1958, when Ed and Norma Mitchell took a leap of faith and opened their first store.
He’s been there full-time since 1965 — during Mitchells’ moves first to Colonial Green, then to even larger digs much further down the Post Road.
He’s been there through boom times and recessions; through closing their boys’ department, and adding women’s clothes and jewelry. He was there, most recently, through COVID — when the bottom fell out, but Mitchells kept everyone on their payroll.
But this month, Bill Mitchell will sell his last pair of socks. He’ll stand at the front door one lsat time.
After nearly 60 years of being synonymous with Mitchells of Westport, the 80-year-old icon is retiring.
But don’t worry. His broad smile, exuberant personality and help-anyone-at-anytime spirit are not going anywhere.
“Westport is my only home,” says Bill, who — though born in a Brooklyn hospital — came here when he was 4 days old.
Echoing his friend and fellow philanthropist Paul Newman, he says, “Where else would I go?”
Bill’s Westport roots are as deep as the Gault and Tauck families — our town’s 2 other families, who founded and nurtured flourishing multi-generational businesses.
Bill Mitchell (right) and his older brother Jack.
The lessons taught by his parents Ed and Norma still guide him today.
Bill’s father opened a small men’s store in a former heating contractor’s office (today, M&T Bank’s Westport office) in 1958. He had only a desire to leave the New York advertising rat race, and the handshake promise of a loan from Westport Bank & Trust president Einar Anderson.
Ed and Norma brought their coffee pot from home every morning. Ed’s mother did the tailoring, at her Weston Road home.
The original Ed Mitchell’s, at the corner of the Post Road and Compo Road North.
At the same time, Ed gave back to the town. He chaired the Board of Finance — and helped engineer the purchase of Longshore, saving a failing private club from a developer who planned to build 180 homes there.
Bill played football, basketball and tennis at Staples. One day Albie Loeffler, his basketball coach, made him take responsibility for a transgression.
Bill never forgot that lesson, or the importance of educators. To this day he has been one of Staples High School’s biggest and most vocal boosters. He writes checks for every athletic, artistic and academic cause.
Less visible — but just as crucial — is his behind-the-scenes help. Whether an athlete needs a jacket for a banquet, an Orphenian needs a dress for a concert, a staff member needs encouragement or a student needs help with sobriety, Bill is there.
Bill Mitchell’s generosity extends far beyond Westport. He’s been a longtime benefactor of Bridgeport’s Kolbe Cathedral High School. In 2003, he posed with graduate Marques Brown.
But he never planned to be (as he calls himself) “a clothier.”
His goal was to become a sportscaster. A throat accident ended that dream.
In a way though, he never gave it up. His many good friends — and loyal customers — have included legendary broadcasters and local residents like Jim McKay, Brent Musburger, Jim Nantz and Mike Greenberg.
Bill Mitchell’s love of sports — and contacts in the sports world — are legendary. A few days ago, he arranged for his friend Carole Orland to throw out the first pitch at her beloved Fenway Park. They posed on the diamond, before the game.
Right out of college in 1965, Ed asked Bill to join the store. Reluctantly, he said he’d give it a year.
He never left.
Bill (left) and Jack Mitchell on the floor, many holiday seasons back.
“I’ve had the best seat in the house — or on the floor,” Bill says. “I’ve made and met so many friends. I’ll miss that. I love people.”
That’s an understatement too. It’s like Messi saying he loves soccer, or Taylor Swift saying she loves performing. “Love” is not a strong enough word to describe their passions.
Bill Mitchell has friends everywhere. This photo — with Westport police officer Ned Batlin — was taken at a Mitchells benefit for first responders.
It’s all about people. Bill has helped his business succeed because it’s more than just a great store.
“People don’t remember the clothes they buy,” he says. “They remember the way they were treated.”
Bill began by treating customers as friends. Today he treats their children — and grandchildren — the same way.
Those customer/friends include some of the most high-powered people in the world. Once, he and head tailor Dominick Condoleo brought new suits to Jack Welch in his Fairfield office.
“How does this look?” the GE CEO asked.
It was “99% perfect,” Bill says. “I like it,” he told Welch.
But, Condoleo told him, “There’s just a hint of ripple in the shoulder.”
Welch turned on Bill. “Don’t you ever lie to me again!” he said.
He never did.
Bill Mitchell made friends everywhere. He posed here with longtime Westport teacher (and former employee) Walt Melillo.
But boldface names are not the only customers Bill remembers.
One Christmas Eve he finally got home, exhausted after a hectic holiday season. The light on his answering machine was blinking.
A customer had forgotten to pick up a package she needed that night. She was leaving early the next morning for Vermont. Could he deliver it?
Bill did — to her home in Brookfield.
She never said thanks. But, Bill says, “I honored my parents’ legacy. They always said, ‘Say yes. Then make it happen.’ And they made it happen even when they couldn’t afford to.”
His parents’ legacy is carried on by his brother Jack; Jack’s 4 sons, and Bill’s 3. The fourth generation is now joining the business. Nothing makes Bill and Jack prouder.
Two generations of the Mitchell family. Bill is at the far right; his brother Jack is 2nd from left.
Long ago, former Board of Education chair and neighbor Leonard Rovins advised Bill to get involved in community organizations like the Library, YMCA and Playhouse.
He heeded that advice. These days, his primary board work is with Sacred Heart University. He’s immensely proud of the great strides the school has taken.
He’s proud too of his work with a variety of religious groups and figures. His parents were members of Saugatuck Congregational Church. When he was roasted at the Friars Club for his 70th birthday, an honored guest was Cardinal Dolan.
And, Bill says, The Conservative Synagogue rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn “made me an honorary Jew.”
Their friendship — which began when Mitchells lent its parking lot for overflow High Holiday parking — is real, and strong. Next month, Mitchell will join the rabbi on a trip to Israel.
Bill Mitchell with his sons (from left) Chris, Tyler and Scott.
In retirement Bill will continue his work with recovery programs like the Lighthouse in Darien, and Shatterproof. He has been sober since 1991, and speaks openly about his one-day-at-a-time journey.
Very quietly but quite effectively, Bill has sponsored many people in their own recovery work.
He also looks forward to taking one-on-one trips with his 7 grandchildren. “I’ll even be able to go at Christmas!” he says with wonder, thinking back to his busiest time of year, ever since Ed Mitchell’s opened.
Beginning next month, Mitchells of Westport will look different. Bill won’t be there at the door. He won’t be asking if you want coffee, a bagel, maybe some socks to go with that purchase.
But he’ll do the same thing his father always did: “wake up with a purpose in life.”
And he’ll be doing it for quite a while.
Ed Mitchell died 40 years after — late in life — he founded that first small store. He was 3 weeks shy of his 99th birthday.
Bill Mitchell’s many friends join me in wishing him many more years of good health and great fun — right here in the town he has always loved.
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.
In 1958, Ed Mitchell quit his job in New York. He and his wife Norma opened a small clothing store on the Post Road (State Street), near North Compo. (Today’s it’s a People’s Bank branch.)
The original Ed Mitchell’s.
It was a huge risk — and a true family venture.
Ed’s mother was the tailor. Norma brewed the coffee.
Just before the new store opened Ed, his sons Jack and Bill, and their AFS student Per Haarr headed to the train station early in the morning.
They bought up the concessionaire’s New York Times supply, and plenty of coffee. Then they stapled this flyer with a catchy poem to the papers, and handed them to commuters waiting for the train:
It worked. Ed Mitchell’s flourished.
Today it’s called Mitchells of Westport. The family — soon to be on their 4th generation, with Jack and Bill’s grandchildren ready to move up — owns 8 stores, on the East and West Coasts.
And — including free coffee — the Mitchells’ customer service is as special and strong as it was 62 years ago.
It might sound strange to call Bill Mitchell an Unsung Hero.
The public face of Mitchells of Westport — son of founders Ed and Norma, brother of Jack, father and uncle of the 3rd generation to lead 8 upscale men’s and women’s stores, on the East and West Coasts — his generosity is boundless.
He and the entire Mitchell family open their stores, their checkbooks and their hearts to a breathtaking variety of organizations and causes. Very quietly too, they help countless individuals, in any kind of need.
They’ve been honored often (though not enough) for all they do. But this Saturday (January 25, 6:30 p.m.), a special event will be particularly meaningful.
The Conservative Synagogue of Westport holds a “funraiser” — and Bill Mitchell is the guest of honor.
Bill Mitchell
The reason dates back 25 years. Founders were trying to get permission to build a synagogue on Hillspoint Road. Though near the Post Road, the zoning was residential. Some neighbors opposed the plan.
Unsolicited, Bill stood up at several meetings. He’s not Jewish — his family has long been associated with the Saugatuck Congregational Church, and he’s a longtime supporter of various Catholic charities — but he talked about the importance of the synagogue.
After he spoke, the Planning & Zoning Commission passed the proposal. Unanimously.
Bill’s support of The Conservative Synagogue did not stop there. On the High Holidays, he opens Mitchells’ parking lot to congregants.
He and Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn have become great friends. It’s a good bet that when the rabbi offers “mazel tov” on Saturday, Bill will not be at a loss for words.
If you live in this town long enough, you hear everything.
But it’s taken me my entire life to learn about Westport’s boxing club, Kid Gloves. And one of the men who trained there: Floyd Patterson, heavyweight champion of the world.
The story comes thanks to alert “06880” reader Franklin Mason. A 1960 Staples High School graduate who earned a Ph.D. in chemistry, taught college for 10 years and then became a technical writer in Silicon Valley, he emailed me recently with this fascinating tale.
Franklin Mason: 1960 and 2010.
Mason sent news clippings and photos too. There is no hook or angle to this; no upcoming title fight, demolition of the boxing club building or anything else. It’s simply a fascinating tale, about a long-buried part of Westport’s past.
In 1958, a few prominent Westporters started an after-school gym. The focus was on boxing and body-building. (There were also “figure control classes” for ladies.)
Seven years earlier, the group had helped start Westport Little League. Now they were doing something else for boys in town.
Kid Gloves was located in Nash’s Barn, at the head of Nash’s Pond on Kings Highway North. Built before the Revolutionary War, in the early 1940s it had been converted into a theater. Then it was a dance studio, with a hardwood floor.
Nash’s Barn, 1952.
The building no longer exists. It’s been replaced by a handsome private home — the one owned by singer Michael Bolton.
But in 1958 it hummed with activity. Jim Freeman — a boxer in the 1928 Olympics, World War II pilot and boxing referee, manager and promoter — served as Kid Gloves’ director and “heart,” Mason says.
He should know. Though just 16, scrawny and out of shape, his neighbor Virginia Mercier — Kid Gloves’ office manager — hired him as an instructor.
Freeman taught Mason how to teach the boys how to work out — including 14-year-old Westporter Michael Douglas. One day, his father — Kirk — came to visit. He strapped on gloves, and sparred with his son.
The actor knew what he was doing: In 1949 he’d starred in “Champion,” a boxing movie (based on a short story by Weston’s Ring Lardner).
Other young boxers at Kid Gloves included Daniel, Max and Peter Shulman. Their father, Max Shulman, wrote “Rally Round the Flag, Boys!” about the Westport Nike missile site. In 1958 it was made into a film starring Paul Newman. Soon he and his wife, Joanne Woodward, moved here.
Westport Town Crier ad, October 16, 1958.
In 1959, Floyd Patterson needed a spot to train for his rematch against Ingemar Johansson — the man who had recently taken the world heavyweight title from him.
He wanted a place with “peace and quiet.” A special, regulation-sized ring was ordered. Patterson’s smaller-than-usual speed bag was sent too.
Patterson arrived with his manager Cus D’Amato, and sparring partner Tommy “Hurricane” Jackson. Jackson spent several nights at Mason’s home.
Floyd Patterson, on the speed bag.
Ed Mitchell’s oldest son, Jack, was a football player at Wesleyan University. That summer, to get in shape for the upcoming season, he ran around the track at the old Staples High School on Riverside Avenue (now Saugatuck Elementary School). His younger brother Bill was with him.
D’Amato saw Jack, and asked if he wanted to work out at the gym. He brought the Mitchells across the Post Road. There was Floyd Patterson. They did some pullups and other exercises together.
Patterson asked Mitchell if he’d run on the track with him. “I was never a runner. He wasn’t either,” Mitchell recalls. “But we ran together.”
The brothers were told not to tell anyone that Patterson was there. They kept quiet.
But word got out. When it did, the Westport Town Crier ran this headline: “Boxing Gangsters Invade Westport.”
That was a reference to D’Amato’s alleged association with organized crime. When Patterson saw the headline, he left for another training facility, in Newtown.
Lou Dorsey and Franklin Mason, 1954
Freeman soon left also. But Kid Gloves added staff members. Lou Dorsey — a popular Saugatuck Elementary School phys. ed. instructor — took over as boxing coach. Derek Shelton taught dance to all ages; Edwardo Enrich was a judo instructor for boys and adults.
One of the dance students was Amy Vanderbilt — the famous etiquette expert. One day, waiting for a friend outside the building, Mason honked his horn. She rushed out, and reprimanded him. Sixty years later, he says, he still remembers — and has never done that again.
But Freeman’s departure was crucial. In January of 1960, Kid Gloves was sold. New owner Anthony Iannone of Stratford renamed it “Anthony’s Health Center & Gym.”
By that time Freeman could easily do sit-ups and chin-ups. He was adept on the free rings and trapeze.
Bridgeport Post ad, January 3, 1960.
In June of that year, Floyd Patterson knocked out Ingemar Johansson. For the first time ever, a boxer had regained the world heavyweight title.
Four months later, Anthony’s went out of business.
Alert “06880” reader — and longtime Westporter — Fred Cantor hears frequent laments about the changes in town since “whatever decade people grew up here in.” Of course, he admits, thingsare different.
But, Fred notes, the small-town feel that existed when his family moved here in 1963 is still alive and well. As proof, he offers a series of events that occurred recently, in just one 24-hour period.
Bruce Davidson, from his Staples High School yearbook.
It started with a visit to a local periodontist which, believe it or not, proved enjoyable overall. That’s because he’s Dr. Bruce Davidson, Staples High School Class of 1965, a family friend from back in the day and a former soccer teammate of my brother Marc. Bruce has practiced for decades at the same location on the Post Road, near Sylvan Avenue.
After a thorough exam and patient clarification of potential issues raised by X-rays taken in California, there was time to catch up and hear, among other things, about the status of a documentary film by Bruce’s brother, Doc (Staples ‘70).
After my appointment I drove to Cohen’s Fashion Opticals to pick up new glasses, which were almost ready. No problem: It was close to lunchtime, so I headed a few doors down to Gold’s. Owner Jim greeted me warmly.
I had a delicious turkey salad sandwich. The food at Gold’s is every bit as good today as when my parents first took me there in the 1960s — and the setting seems exactly as it did back then.
Jim Eckl and his wife Nancy have owned Gold’s since 2003.
Later in the day, I enjoyed a timeless outdoor Westport scene: a large crowd gathered on the hill to watch a Staples soccer game, on a beautiful Friday afternoon.
I had not arranged to meet anyone there. That didn’t matter. I sat with Bill Mitchell (Staples ’61) and former soccer coach Jeff Lea. We shared a few laughs and some entertaining stories. Dave Wilson (a Staples captain in 1974) was there too.
The ageless Laddie Lawrence (Staples ’64) also joined us for a while; so did former Westport Late Knights soccer teammate, Alex Anvari. Somehow Alex’s little boy Emerson has grown up — he’s 6-1 now!—to be a Staples senior who, to my delight, is on the varsity team.
Enjoying Staples soccer on the Loeffler Field hill (from left):L Fred Cantor, Jeff Lea, Bill Mitchell, Laddie Lawrence.
It was the last weekend of summer, with near-perfect temperatures, so after the game my wife Debbie and I headed to Compo to enjoy the sunset. As often happens, we ran into a couple of longtime Westporters.
I also had a nice chat with Joey Romeo, the owner of Joey’s By the Shore. He is every bit as friendly as any Main Street storeowner was in the 1960s.
Compo Beach sunset. (Photo/Fred Cantor)
The next morning I was walking on Bridge Street toward the train station. A car pulled over. The driver was Staples alum Mike Elliot; he offered me a ride. I explained that walking is my regular exercise these days.
As I neared the station, another car stopped. Staples classmate Bob Uly wanted to know how I was doing health-wise.
It was just 24 hours. Nothing truly out of the ordinary happened.
But those little slice-of-life occurrences demonstrate, at least for me, that certain “Our Town”-like qualities still very much exist here.
Westport is filled with men and women who give and give, then give some more. When there’s a job to be done or an organization to help, they’re the first to volunteer.
But it’s hard to imagine any 2 people who do more, in more ways, than Bill Mitchell and Gerry Kuroghlian.
Bill Mitchell
Bill — a 1961 graduate of Staples High School — remains connected to his alma mater through Staples Tuition Grants, Players and sports. He’s been president of Rotary, deacon at Saugatuck Congregational Church, honorary chair of Homes With Hope, and a board member of the Levitt Pavilion, YMCA, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Sacred Heart University and the Jewish Home for the Elderly. He’s offered his store — Mitchells — to help raise millions of dollars for groups like Near and Far, and the Inner City Foundation.
Gerry — a Fairfield native with a Ph.D., who spent nearly 40 years as a Staples English teacher, where he influenced thousands of students and colleagues — now serves as an ESL instructor at Mercy Learning Center, and a master’s degree student teacher at Sacred Heart.
But both men have found some of their most meaningful volunteer opportunities at Kolbe Cathedral High School.
The Bridgeport private school — 80% of whose students need financial assistance — has a proud record. Last year, every graduating senior was accepted to college. Together, they earned $15.2 million in scholarships and aid.
Bill and Gerry’s contributions to their successes are profound.
In 1999, Bill joined Kolbe’s Shepherds program. He sponsored and mentored freshman named Marques Brown, providing one-on-one support (and cheering at his basketball games). They became lifelong friends. In 2010, Marques — now a successful adult — established the William E. Mitchell Humanitarian Award, for a Kolbe graduate with “concern for others, compassion, a positive attitude and a big heart.”
Bill continues to aid Kolbe by securing speakers for fundraisers, sharing networking contacts with students and staff, and providing leadership opportunities for all.
Dr. Gerry Kuroghlian
Gerry’s volunteer work includes national education organizations, cancer and diabetes groups, Westport Library and United Church of Christ.
But Gerry spends nearly every afternoon at Kolbe. He’s a tutor, SAT and ACT advisor, and college application essay guide. He has arranged for 1,000 books to be donated to the library.
Gerry also organizes cultural field trips to Fairfield University and New York City. He attends sports events, chaperones the prom, and continually shares his philosophy that it is the responsibility of each individual to make a difference.
Now Kolbe Cathedral is giving something back to these 2 very giving men. On Sunday, May 1, the school’s annual “Making a Difference Celebration” celebrates Bill Mitchell and Gerry Kuroghlian.
It’s a fundraiser, enabling Kolbe to continue making a difference in the lives of teenagers.
They — and their school — are just a few miles from Westport. It’s a journey Bill Mitchell and Gerry Kuroghlian take often.
What a difference it makes.
(Kolbe Cathedral’s Making a Difference Celebration begins at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, May 1 with a mass at St. Mary’s Parish in Greenwich. Dinner at Gabriele’s Steakhouse in Greenwich follows at 6:30 p.m. For more information, or to make a donation in honor of Bill Mitchell or Gerry Kuroghlian, call J0-Anne Jakab at 203-368-2648 or email jjakab@kolbecaths.org.)
Bill Mitchell with Marques Brown (Kolbe Cathedral ’03).
Gerry Kuroghlian and Bryan Tacuri. The Kolbe Cathedral senior has been accepted at 7 colleges, including Fairfield, Sacred Heart and the University of Connecticut.
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