A reminder: For Thanksgiving, “06880” wants to share some of the things you — our readers — are thankful for.
Please email 06880blog@gmail.com today. Let us know what you’re thankful for this year. (NOTE: Do not post your thanks in the Comments section; just email them to us.)
Big or small; concrete or abstract; individually or as a family; here in town or anywhere else — we want to hear from you. And please let us know whether we can use your name, or if you prefer anonymity.
We’ll post your thankful responses — with our thanks — soon.
A 1941 Saturday Evening Post cover, by Westport artist Stevan Dohanos — 83 years ago.
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A relatively new, but very fun tradition, continues: The Wakeman Town Farm holiday tree lighting takes place December 6 (4:30 p.m.).
The family event includes cookies, treats and hot chocolate courtesy of The Porch and Sweet P Bakery, and a bonfire.
The tree will be lit by 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker and Bill Constantino, a Wakeman family member.
The tree lighting is also a chance to give back. WTF will collect “pre-loved” Legos, as a part of Sustainable Westport’s project.
There”s a collection too of unwrapped toys for the annual Al’s Angels drive. And members of Staples’ AWARE organization are raising money for women and teens in need, through a bake sale.
But 159 Main — the successor to Rye Ridge Deli, which took over from Oscar’s — posted a note on its door saying, “We are closing for a few days to carry out necessary upgrades.
“It is our priority to continue to serve you in the best possible way during this time. We will be reachable through our platforms.”
A QR code brought up a form to submit an email address. A phone number was also listed, but a call to it went unanswered.
Eric Bosch writes: “If you walk along the cement sidewalk toward the canons on Compo’s South Beach, you can now see the remnants of a very old groin/jetty coming up out of the sand.
“These are easily seen at Burying Hill Beach, where there are 3 or 4 rows of them (they stick 4-8 inches above the sand there). Beach groins help deposit sands onto the beach, preventing erosion.
“The one in this photo clearly did its job for years, as it was completely covered up until recently. My guess is that the 8.8-foot exceptionally high tides that we just experienced with the full moon exposed this when the waters receded.”
Newly exposed groin/jetty at Compo Beach. (Photo/Eric Bosch)
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Another new appearance: this rock, painted recently on Easton Road between Coleytown Road and North Avenue.
(Photo/Sandy Rothenberg)
If you know the back story, click “Comments” below. If you dont: It will remain just another Westport mystery.
Westporter Joanie Gottlieb builds, redesigns and customizes dollhouses.
Joanie Gottlieb with her farmhouse dollhouse …
… and the interior.
And similar structures.
Right now, she’s working on a commission from a Manhattan client. He wanted a townhouse — not a dollhouse — complete with a rooftop bar and lounge, oirginal paintings, and a music room with a keyboard, guitar, amps and drums.
The music room, in Joanie Gottlieb’s “townhouse.”
Each one takes 2 months to complete. For more information, email joaniegottlieb52@gmail.com. (Hat tip: Toni Simonetti)
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Longtime Westport resident Mary Becker died last Wednesday, at home. She was 95.
The New York City native attended Sarah Lawrence College. She met her future husband Lester at a resort hotel in the Catskills. They married in 1951, and moved to Westport in 1963.
After raising 2 children, Mary turned her passion for global travel into a career. She spent many years as a travel agent.
Mary was an avid and skilled knitter, creating works and gifts that were treasured by family and friends. She also had a deep love for her garden, and for music, theatre and reading. She also doted on a long line of dogs and cats, the last of which, Archie, stayed curled up on her bed through her final days.
Mary was deeply involved in her children’s lives. She was well known and loved by the many classmates and friends who came through their home over the years, and she maintained close relationships with many throughout her life.
She is survived by her husband of almost 73 years; daughter Ann Moore of New York City; son Michael (Christine) of Los Angeles; sister Eve Lubin of Los Angeles and grandson Ellis Becker of Madison, Wisconsin.
Her family says, “Mary’s life was marked by courage and compassion, and in both life and death, she faced each moment with grace and supreme bravery. Her infectious energy, positivity and joy were an inspiration to all who knew her.”
A gathering for family and friends will be held at a date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary’s honor to either rhe Westport Country Playhouse or the Pet Animal Welfare Society.
Mary Becker
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As birds fly south for the winter, we see empty nests all around town.
Wasps don’t migrate. But they too leave empty nests.
Johanna Keyser Rossi spotted this one — today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature — at the YMCA.
And finally … “Alice’s Restaurant” — Arlo Guthrie’s meandering, absurd — and pretty much true — song about littering, the police and the military draft has been a Thanksgiving staple since its release in 1967.
That’s because the events happened — the true ones, anyone — at a Thanksgiving dinner attended by (among others) Guthrie, a student at the Stockbridge School (and son of Woody), where Alice Brock was a librarian.
Alice — who also owned a restaurant (called not Alice’s, but the Back Room (along with a deconsecrated church) — died last Thursday, in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.
Fittingly, it was a week before Thanksgiving. She was 83, and suffered from chronic pulmonary obstructive disease. Click here for a full obituary.
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