Longtime Westporter — and even longer outdoor enthusiast — Scott Smith has a knack for seeing what most of us miss, all around us right here in our home town.
From time to time, Scott shares his observations with “06880.” Today he writes:
My regular walks along Hillspoint Road, between Sherwood Mill Pond and Compo Beach, always get more interesting this time of year. I see splats of the big fat lime-green fruit that falls along the bend in the road.
The funky roadkill is from the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera), a tree native to the Red River Valley of southern Arkansas, southern Oklahoma and northeast Texas. Known for its thorny branches, grapefruit-size fruits and decay-resistant wood, it was widely planted as a living fence by homesteaders, a practice that allowed its spread across much of the country.
Before the invention of barbed wire in the 1880s, thousands of miles of hedge were constructed by planting Osage orange trees closely together in a line. “Horse-high, bull-strong, and pig-tight,” is how the sodbusters described it.
They also gave it a lot of names: monkey ball, mock orange, horse apple, hedge apple, hedge ball, pap, monkey brains, and yellow-wood, our Wiki friends tell us.
Hillspoint Road hedge apple …
After barbed wire made such hedge fences obsolete, the trees found use as a source of rot-resistant fence posts and an effective windbreak. I figure that is how 2 of the trees found their way a long time ago to Compo Cove.
The fruit is inedible to humans. But I’ve read that squirrels will tear them open to get to the seeds and pulp inside, and other foraging animals will consume the seeds.
My son and I brought some home over the years. The overstuffed deer and squirrels in our yard never touch them.
I’m more intrigued by the theory that this strange fruit is a leftover from the Ice Age, when megafauna like 10-foot-tall ground sloths, mammoths and mastodons roamed the land.
The Osage orange, the thinking goes, developed super-sized fruit for these prehistoric beasts, which then dispersed the partially digested seeds they ate.
… and tree …
With the extinction of the great mammals by Pleistocene hunters, the Osage orange became an “anachronism”—a species whose adaptations no longer have a co-evolved partner in the modern ecosystem.
I suppose you could also argue that this relic of a tree also had a role in its own demise. Its branches were prized by the Osage Native Americans for the construction of strong yet limber bows (another name for the tree is “Bodark,” an altered version of “bois d’arc” or “bow wood,” coined by early French explorers).
I imagine the Osage were not the first indigenous people to weaponize this stout wood.
In any event, I thank the homeowner — and Westport’s Public Works Department — for putting up with the seasonal mess all these years.
And I applaud these plucky survivors for finding such a scenic and lasting home here in Westport.
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… and a quished monkey ball. (All photos/Scott Smith)
The Compo Beach playground rebuild begins Monday. It continues through next weekend.
Volunteers are still needed. Spots are available for skilled and unskilled workers, and kids’ zone helpers. Click here for more information, and to pick your slot.
This was the scene during the 1989 Compo Beach playground construction. Will you be there in 2025?
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Sure, the Post Road construction project won’t be done until 2049.
But new traffic lights — shrouded in black for months — are new operational.
Check out these at Hillspoint Road:
(Photo/Matt Murray)
Will they help as we navigate past all those barrels, in seemingly randomly striped lanes?
We would ask someone working on the project. But they haven’t been seen since 1978.
Speaking of Hillspoint: That road, between Soundview Drive and Old Mill, may be the most popular walking route in Westport.
The sidewalk gets plenty of use. It’s also exposed to salt air, and pounded by occasional rough waves, so it’s gotten pretty beat up.
Repair work is being done now. It will be ready soon, for many more years of scenic strolling.
(Photo/Tammy Barry)
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VersoFest is over.
But the music continues at the Westport Library.
Gang of Four vocalist/founding member Jon King took to the Trefz Forum stage yesterday. He talked about his new memoir, “To Hell with Poverty! A Class Act: Inside the Gang of Four” with Chris Frantz, drummer for Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club.
Jon King and Chris Frantz, in conversation.
After a break, Gang of Four kicked off their farewell tour with a special concert.
Another Big Name is coming to the Westport Country Playhouse.
And it’s almost sold out.
Humorist David Sedaris shares a slew of clever, compelling stories — about, perhaps, his Greek heritage, homosexuality, jobs, education, drug use, obsessive behaviors, and his life in North Carolina, New York, England and France — on May 19 (7 p.m.). Click here for tickets, and more information.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport has a new music director.
Whether leading youth choirs or directing adult ensembles, Micah Krajca’s goal is to make music accessible, engaging, and rewarding for all singers. He plans to open up his adult and youth choirs to community members.
He says, “Whether you’re a seasoned singer or just looking to try something new, you’re welcome to join us. Our choirs are fun, supportive groups. The singers love performing diverse and engaging repertoire.”
Along with his new position, Micah directs the Greenwich A Cappella High School Ensemble, and is a baritone with the Empire City Men’s Chorus and Choral Chameleon Ensemble.
To learn more about the Unitarian Universalist Congregation or its music program, click here or email micah@uuwestport.org.
Micah Krajca
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Alice Crowther died peacefully on March 18, after a long and graceful life. She was 97, and lived in Westport for 33 before moving to Fairfield.
The Queens native graduated from Green Mountain Junior College in Vermont. After attending secretarial school, she met her future husband, Bill Crowther.
They married in 1948. Both commuted from Port Washington into Manhattan to work in advertising.
After 6 years in Young & Rubicam’s TV/film department, she took time off to raise 3 daughters.
Soon after moving to Westport in 1971, Alice began volunteering at Connecticut Renaissance, a local drug treatment, prevention and education program based in town. Based on her skills and organizational abilities, she was hired as office manager. She stepped down in 1978, but continued to advise on special projects.
In 1982 Alice turned her love of dancing into her next part-time career. She was certified as an aerobic dance instructor at the Westport YMCA. For 8 years she taught classes to older adults. In 1990 she remained with the Fun Fitness Company when they opened their own facility.
In later decades Alice returned to volunteer work. Organizations included Save Our Strays, Fairfield’s Grasmere adult day care, and Trinity Episcopal Church in Southport.
Her family says, “as the matriarch of her extended family, her stories were cherished by all. Her sense of humor was often unexpected, disarming and adorable. Even the caregivers who helped Alice in the last few years of her life fell in love with her resilience, acceptance, willingness to always try her best, and her gentle, sweet nature.”
Alice is survived by her daughters Wendy Crowther (Teri), Tracey Maya (Christopher), Kim Manning (Jim), and grandchildren Hadley, Alison, James and Spencer. She was predeceased by her husband, Bill, in 2018, a few months shy of their 70th anniversary.
A memorial service is set for Trinity Episcopal Church in Southport on April 26 (11 a.m).
Today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature goes indoors. But the “natural” theme includes Laureen Haynes’ Easter egg designs.
One is a hive with bees and a daisy. The other shows a butterfly and bunny. “A pollinator path of chocolate?” she asks.
Laureen — the owner of Chocalatieree downtown — sold out of them yesterday. Hey: There’s always next year!
(Photo/Laureen Haynes)
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And finally … Nino Tempo — the saxophonist/singer whose career included big band jazz, rock and funk (and collaborations with Benny Goodman, Bobby Darin and Frank Sinatra) — died April 10 in West Hollywood. He was 90.
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Longtime Westporter Scott Smith is a trenchant observer of local life. He writes:
I’m all for the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, among other personal freedoms afforded to us Americans.
That said, when it comes to the privilege of owning private property, I also think there should be some measure of public accountability and social responsibility that go along with those enshrined rights.
I say this to ask: What reason would someone who owns a strip of roadside land along Long Island Sound have to install dense landscaping that blocks the rest of us from enjoying these beautiful coastal views? Aesthetics? Erosion control? Security?
I speak of a stretch along Beachside Avenue that has been planted chock-a-block with arbor vitae and other shrubbery.
New plantings on Beachside Avenue. (Photo/Scott Smith)
But I don’t mean to single out a few property owners on this public road, as I see examples of such “privacy screens’ along other scenic Soundside drives, all of which make Westport a wonderful place to live and visit.
Hillspoint Road, between Compo and Old Mill Beaches.
I would add that this stretch of Westport’s fabled Gold Coast is adjacent to the former home of the Bedford family, which bestowed upon our community several school buildings, a firehouse, the original Y, and Camp Mahackeno, among other lasting civic gifts. (I’ve heard they also opened the private gardens of their Gilded Age estate to townspeople on occasion.)
Why rob us of such a precious public view, and why now and for many years to come? It may not be against the law, but it strikes me as against the common good.
Just asking, and saying.
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