On this Saturday — Online Art Gallery Day — a pair of artists remind “06880” readers of the importance of ballots.
Other contributors remind readers of the beauty that surrounds us — and the people, food and whimsy.
This is your feature. All readers are invited to contribute. Age, level of experience, subject matter — there are no restrictions.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, collages, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and (yes) needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to 06880blog@gmail.com. Share your work with the world!
“Vote” (Amy Schneider)
Untitled (Lawrence Weisman)
Untitled (Jerry Kuyper)
“Fall” (Mark Yurkiw)
“Happy Schooner and Dad Enjoying a Hike at Lake Mohegan” (Rick Benson)
“Tuscan Delight, Monteverdi” (Ellin Spapdone)
“Are You Sure This is From the New Webb Telescope?” (Steve Stein)
“Balsamic Olive” (Tom Doran)
“Sacred Water on Sacred Wood” (Jonathan Prager)
“Steps” (Karen Weingarten)
Photographer Mike Hibbard jokes, “Meet me at Aster’s for lunch, and Honey, Bee hungry!”
“And So It Begins” (Bonnie Erickson)
Geoffrey Stone’s collage of Stacey Abrams was made with material from the New York Times; altered photographs, acrylic, and pencil on canvas.
(Before — or after — voting, please elect to make a contribution to “06880.” Click here to support your hyper-local blog.)
Most readers agreed with the one quoted. They filled the Comments section with stories of their own, slamming the Compo Beach concessionaire for mediocre food, long wait times, and a lack of planning and care. (A couple of readers disagreed; they love Hook’d).
Much of that falls on the owners’ shoulders. Word on the street is that employees are frustrated and embarrassed — and sometimes bear the brunt of customers’ complaints.
The cooks and counter help are local teenagers. They have no control over whether enough burgers and hot dogs are ordered, the price, or the systems in place to make ordering simple and pick-up fast. They’re at the mercy of their bosses.
Give the kids a break. It’s not an easy situation to be in.
But — as many readers have noted — the owners deserve whatever they get.
Sunday church services began there this morning, near the cannons. They run every week, through the September 4.
It’s a BYOC event (bring your own chair). Parking is free; tell the gate attendant you’re going to the service.
Participating churches include Saugatuck, Greens Farms, Norfield and Wilton Congregational, and United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston. A different minister leads worship each week.
Rev. Heather Sinclair of the United Methodist Church leads this morning’s service. (Photo/Karen Como)
Westport is still buzzing about the fantastic Independence Day fireworks on Thursday.
It couldn’t have happened without the generosity of Melissa & Doug, the locally based, internationally beloved toy company; the hard work of the Westport Police, Fire, EMS, Parks & Recreation and Public Works Departments — and the volunteer efforts of Westport PAL.
The biggest party of the year is a fundraiser for PAL. They could not run their many sports programs for boys and girls, or scholarships for Staples High School students, without that help.
So, whether you bought a ticket or freeloaded, consider a contribution to one of Westport’s most important organizations. Click here to see all they do; then click here to donate.
Kathie Bennewitz — our talented town art curator, who tirelessly finds, documents, preserves and exhibits the Westport Public Arts Collections — has taken on a new challenge: to preserve the legacy of iconic American artist Edward Hopper.
He’s the creator of classic works like the famed diner scene “Nighthawks (1942). She travels nearly every day to Nyack, New York, to steward and shepherd the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center.
The other day, Westport artists Eric Chiang and Mark Yurkiw took up Bennewitz’s offer to visit. Yurkiw reports: “The walkable and vibrant destination, with the Hudson River as a backdrop, makes a fabulous day trip. See the museum, stroll down Hopper Way and around the village of Nyack, with plenty to eat and experience.”
And say hi to Kathie at the museum, before she heads home to us.
(From left): Eric Chiang, Kathie Motes Bennewitz and Mark Yurkiw, outside the Edward Hopper Museum.
“I was at Old Mill Beach with my husband and 3 young boys. We have come at low tide for years, to swim and find hermit crabs. Today, we saw this:
“At first we thought the owners would return to pick up the bags, but there were no dogs or owners around. The tide was coming in, and these bags would have been washed away into the sea. I took them to the trash. It was very disappointing, and obviously disgusting.”
Paul Cohen, formerly of Westport and Fairfield, beloved husband of Barbara R. (Bobbie) Herman, passed away peacefully yesterday in Redding, He was 98 years old.
The New York City native enlisted in the Army Air Corps on his 19th birthday in 1942, the earliest that was permitted at the time. He served in the Galapagos and Central America, commanding a radio operations group to protect the Panama Canal.
After the war he attended Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. then the Sorbonne and La Cinémathèque Française in Paris, where he studied cinematography. He was employed by the March of Time in Paris.
After returning to the US Paul worked at Owen Murphy Productions, a producer of documentaries and commercial films. After several years, he acquired the company. He produced films for clients like IBM, the USIA, Western Electric, the 1960-61 World’s Fair and the States of New York and New Jersey. and won many awards. He traveled with 3 presidents: Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.
He and his wife Helene moved to Westport in 1974, and became involved in town activities. Paul produced bulletins, posters and newsletters for the Westport Arts Center, Y’s Men, Y’s Women, Westport Woman’s Club and Unitarian Church. He won several awards in the Y’s Men annual photo contest.
Helene died in 1993. Paul married Bobbie in 1997. In addition to Helene, he was predeceased by a daughter Susan, a brother and 2 sisters.
Survivors include his son Peter, stepsons Randall Schein (Ann Reingold), Jonathan Schein (Cynthia Hewett), and step-grandaughters Samantha and Lily Jo Schein.
A memorial service will be held in the fall. Donations in his memory may be made to the Unitarian Church in Westport, or a charity of your choice.
Longtime Westporter Stanley Bryk died Wednesday, at Norwalk Hospital. He was 87.
The Bridgeport native lived in Westport for 55 years, before moving to Southport 2 years ago.
Bryk — a Marine Corps veteran — spent 41 years with Sikorsky Aircraft. He was a member of the Frank C. Godfrey American Legion Post, and the VFW. He was also a lifelong New York Giants fan, and an avid traveler.
Survivors include his wife, Laura Renzulli Bryk; daughters Linda (Brent) Norton of Goshen, New York, and Susan (Robert) Tierney of Glastonbury, and grandchildren Taylor, Kelly, Erika, Casey, Rebecca and Kevin. He was predeceased by his brother Frank and one sister Mary Murphy.
AMass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, July 9 (11 a.m., St. Luke Church). Internment with military honors will follow in Willowbrook Cemetery. There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Saint Jude Children’s Hospital for Cancer.
The drumbeat of news from Ukraine is relentless. It’s tragic, horrific, frightening — there really are not enough words to convey how Westporters feel.
Sitting safely thousands of miles away, we wonder what we can do.
Some, like Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn and Buck Rosenfeld, travel overseas to help.
Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn, with supplies.
Others, like Stephan Taranko and Mark Yurkiw — both with Ukrainian heritage — use their words and art to keep the plight of their countrymen in the forefront of our minds.
Mark Yurkiw, with his Ukraine installation on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge.
Still others, like Darcy Hicks and Bean Corcoran, organize rallies.
Miggs Burroughs at last weekend’s rally. The QR code provides quick access to donations through Save the Children Ukraine. (Photos/Rowene Weems Photography)
And many, many more — our neighbors and friends — respond to requests by organizations like Wakeman Town Farm to collect clothes, toys, medical supplies and money.
Those who help are not doing it to be heroic. The true heroes are on the ground, 4,500 miles from Westport.
But many people here do what they can. If you’ve done anything over the past month — organized or attended a rally, donated needed goods or funds, posted information on social media, flew a flag, whatever — thank you.
It’s a small gesture, but it speaks volumes. Mark Mathias has changed his outdoor lights, to show support for the embattled nation of Ukraine. (Photo/Mark Mathias)
For decades, the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge and Jesup Green have been the site of political rallies.
Many are controversial: Vietnam. Iraq. Black Lives Matter.
Today’s drew more than 200 people, in a united show force. Democrats, Republicans, independents; men, women, children; Americans, Ukrainians, and immigrants centuries ago and yesterday from many other lands; a US Senator, a Congressman, and their constituents.
Congressman Jim Himes and Senator Richard Blumenthal, with constituents. One had a very pointed message. (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
All had one message: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is abhorrent.
Holding signs supporting Ukraine, denouncing Vladimir Putin, and bearing QR codes with ways to support the invaded nation, they stood quietly but purposefully.
Listening intently at Jesup Green. (Photo)Susan Woog Wagner)
The past week has shocked the globe. In nearly every nation, people have gathered to express outrage and sorrow, and show solidarity.
Senator Richard Blumenthal met Ukrainian President Valodymyr Zelensky 6 weeks ago. “Putin has badly miscalculated this man,” Blumenthal said.
Senator Richard Blumenthal addresses the crowd. (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
Blumenthal added that he told Zelensky, “Your values are America’s values. And today, we are all Ukrainians.”
Congressman Jim Himes called Russia’s invasion “something we did not think we’d see in this century, or this world. This is not a distant fight. Our parents fought against communism. Our grandparents fought against fascism. It’s time now for us to do our part.”
Many came dressed in Ukrainian colors. (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker said: “Our hearts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their country, their democracy and their lives. Their incredible courage and resolve, and that of President Zelensky and the Ukrainian government, has galvanized and inspired the world – and Westport.”
Other speakers included Westporter Stephan Taranko, who described the terrors his Ukrainian family felt previously at the hands of the Russian government, and Yaroslav Palylyk, president of the Westchester chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
Some attendees noted their Ukrainian roots, or of similar heritage.
Other nations have suffered under Russian rule too. These Georgians showed solidarity on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge. (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
This was not a large demonstration, like Times Square or Berlin. It did not require the bravery of last weekend’s protests in the streets of Moscow.
But it was Westport’s way of showing that we do not live in a bubble. And of doing our part to let the Ukrainian people know that we are one town among many that stands with them.
Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas and his daughters were at today’s rally, with a sunflower. It’s the national flower of Ukraine. (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
(Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
Darcy Hicks (shown here with her husband Josh Koskoff) helped organize today’s rally. Darcy’s brother Tyler Hicks, a Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times photographer, is chronicling the devastation. (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
Miggs Burroughs — who is of Ukrainian descent — holds a sign he designed. The QR code opens a link for donations to help Ukrainian relief organizations. (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
(Photo/Jimmy Izzo)
The crowd on Jesup Green (Photo/Susan Woog Wagner)
(Photo/Ted Horowitz)
Saugatuck Elementary School students joined in too. (Photo/Dan Woog)
Westport artist Mark Yurkiw — whose parents fled the Ukraine in 1949 — decorated the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge with fabric. Blue and yellow are Ukraine’s national colors. (Photo/Dan Woog)
A technical glitch has caused some “06880” readers to fall off the subscriber list. If you’ve been receiving our emails regularly — no problem.
But you may have friends or relatives who are not getting them. So they’re not reading this. You can help.
If you know someone who says “I’m not getting my ‘06880!’,” please have them email 06880blog@gmail.com. I’ll send the info they need to get back on the list!
Today’s rally in support of Ukraine (Saturday, 11 a.m.) will have a special backdrop. Yesterday, the site — the downtown Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge — was decorated with blue and yellow fabric. As the world now knows, those are the colors of the nation now under siege.
Westport artist Mark Yurkiw — whose parents emigrated to the US in 1949 from Ukraine — conceived, designed and created it. He installed it yesterday, with help from Miggs Burroughs and Sal Liccione. Help with funding came from Stephan Taranko, another Westporter with Ukrainian heritage.
Ukrainian colors, on the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
Years ago, Bobbi Essagof attended summer camp. Yesterday, the longtime Westporter received an email from the current owner. He passed along information from a camp family with ties to Ukraine. It offered several ways for Americans to help:
Yesterday’s “06880” story on Westport’s FY 2023 town budget said that the first 2 Board of Finance meetings about it would be held March 8 and 9.
Yesterday, those meetings were canceled. BOF chair Sheri Gordon says the delay to discuss the operating budget is caused because the Board of Education has not yet presented its working capital plan.
A Finance Board discussion will be held as scheduled with the BOE on March 10 (and beyond as needed) to allow the town and Board of Ed to come up with a realistic capital budget. Once that is done, discussions will proceed on the town’s operating and capital budgets.
88 houses closed in Westport over the past 3 months (December through February).
That’s a 40% decrease from the same time a year ago. But it’s still the 2nd-most closings for the period since 2005.
Houses spent 78 days on the market — and buyers on average paid 101.4% of the list price. The average closing price during that 3-month period was $1,952,335, up 9.1% from the previous year.
There were 91 active listings at the end of February. (Hat tip: Roe Colletti, Brown Harris Stevens)
This house at 50 Compo Mill Cove is on the market for $13.5 million.
Good news for fans of The Cottage — particularly those in Greenwich, Stamford and Westchester.
Chef Brian Lewis’ 2nd location opens at 49 Greenwich Avenue (Greenwich) on March 22.
The seasonal menu features classic dishes from The Cottage Westport, including Wagyu beef brisket steam buns, duck fried rice and The Cottage Burger, along with new small plates for sharing, house made pasta, signature items, vegetable-centric dishes and gluten-free options. also heart into every dish and drink that is served to a guest.”
Westport architect Rick Hoag collaborated with Lewis on a modern interpretation of the intimate Westport location. For more information, click here.
Tonight, Westporter Suzanne Tanner promotes world peace and harmony, with a benefit performance of 1970s love songs, Broadway ballads and selections from her original solo musicals. It’s set for 7 p.m. at the JCC in Sherman.
Proceeds will benefit environmental initiatives, and aid to Ukraine.
As the Ukrainian refugee crisis worsens, a long-planned International Women’s Day event seems especially timely.
This Tuesday (March 8, 7 p.m., Westport Library, in-person and Zoom), the United Nations Association Southwest Chapter hosts “The Refugee Experience.” Aid workers will discuss how the process works in Connecticut — specifically, how it affects women. Click here for details.
For the past few days, Westporters have watched citizens around the globe rally in support of Ukraine.
We get our own chance this Saturday.
The Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge — the go-to site for local political activity — is the site March 5, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The theme is “Stand With Ukraine.”
The event’s organizers — DefenDemocracy CT — say: “Represent. Bring signs. Be safe.”
Westport’s Mexican dining scene — already hot, with everything from “mama y papa” (Border Grille, Cuatro Hermanos) and fast-casual (Salsa Fresca) to upscale (Mexica) and of course old standbys (Viva Zapata, Bartaco) — gets another player soon.
Mexicue moves into the 2nd floor of 38 Main Street. The newly designed space was formerly occupied — in a much different configuration — by Bobby Q’s and Onion Alley.
Founder Thomas Kelly — who does not sound as if he’s from south of the border — writes on Mexicue’s website that he began by mixing a street food sensibility with fine dining. His experimenting, mixing and combining has led to Mexicues in New York City (Chelsea, NoMad, Midtown), Stamford and Washington, DC. Besides Westport, another is in the works in Bethesda, Maryland.
Westport artist Mark Yurkiw’s parents emigrated to the US from Ukraine, in 1949. They had spent years in displaced persons’ tent camps.
As a teenager during World War II, Mark’s mother was enslaved .For almost 50 years, the United Nations paid slave labor reparations to her.
Mark was born in New York, but his first language is Ukrainian. He has followed the news from his parents’ homeland closely, and fearfully. He knows its history well.
Mark says: “To get a sense of what Ukraine has endured, watch the film Mr. Jones. It is a true story about a British reporter trying to warn the world about what is now referred to the Holodomor during the early 1930s, when Stalin starved Ukraine and untold millions died.
“The rise and acceptance of the ruling authoritarians around the world is the most frightening aspect of our times. What is happening now in Ukraine will affect the whole world for years to come.”
WestportMoms reports that in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, BevMax has taken Russian vodka off its shelves. Instead, the chain is encouraging customers to buy vodka from Ukraine.
Today’s New York Times features a compelling photo from 1988 Staples High School graduate Tyler Hicks. It shows civilian volunteers sorting empty bottles in a parking lot in Dnipro, Ukraine. They’ll be used for Molotov cocktails.
Following CDC guidelines, superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice announced yesterday that students are no longer required to wear masks on school buses or vans. Anyone wishing to continue wearing them may do so.
Speaking of sports: With spring almost here*, the Joggers Club is warming up some great program.
The Kids Running Camp for kindergarten through 8th grade runs (ho ho) Sundays, April 3 through May 29 (Staples high School track, 2 to 3:15 p.m.). It’s $40 for members, $99 for non-members.
The Minute Man 10K Build-Up Series is Saturdays throughout April (Compo Beach, 8 a.m.); free for members.
Track Night (every Wednesday, Norwalk High School, 6:15 p.m.) and Fun Run (every Saturday, Compo Beach, 8 a.m.)) are both free for members.
Click here for more information, and membership ($50 per year; includes a free Brooks technical running shirt). Instagram: @TheJoggersClub.CT.
“What is a healthy fat?” “Should I do a juice cleanse?” “How can I improve my diet?” “Are all carbs bad”?
Dietician and wellness expert Katie Andrews answers those questions and more tomorrow (March 1, 7 p.m., TAP Strength Lab, 180 Post Road East). She’ll cover the basics of healthy nutrition, from macro and micronutrient needs, to how to manage a healthy diet.
It’s free; please RSVP to nancy@tapstrength.com. The first 30 people to respond get a free ready-to-eat chef-crafter meal from Azuluna.
Because of an online glitch and snow that prevented hand delivery of essays difficult, TEAM Westport has extended the deadline for its Teen Diversity Contest to Wednesday, March 2.
Click here for full details, and an application form.
Fulvio Vladimir Dobrich — a longtime Westporter, and husband of civic volunteer Maggie Mudd — died earlier this month in a sailing accident off the British Virgin Islands. He was 74.
His family writes: “Fulvio was a larger-than-life figure, a successful multi-lingual international financier who was energetic and ever-curious, with a strong grasp of world history and politics.
“He felt most at peace roaming the world on his beloved S/Y Istria.
“Youthful, adventurous and endowed with a passionate and enduring zest for life and risk unusual for a man of his age, he influenced the lives of many, showing them extraordinary generosity, warmth, moral support and always a guiding sense of greater possibility.
“Everybody could count on Fulvio for help. His devoted friends are spread across the globe.
“A teen emigrant who left a poor Istrian village in Croatia with his family to escape Communism, Fulvio became an ardent New Yorker, intensely proud of his public school education in Hell’s Kitchen and at City College, where he was a devoted alumnus.
“He served on the Advisory Council and the Board of Visitors of CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, and was a member of City College’s 21st Century Foundation board.
“He also created the Fulvio V. Dobrich New American Scholarship Fund. He instituted a similar program for first generation students at Wake Forest University.
“An anti-snob, he held an abiding compassion for the many worthy deprived of privilege or opportunity.”
In addition to Maggie Mudd, his wife of 27 years, he is survived by their sons, Jack Dobrich of New York and Andrew Dobrich of Los Angeles, and his daughter from an earlier marriage, Erin Dobrich of Westport.
In addition, a celebration of Fulvio’s life will be held at City College, New York, at a date to be determined.
And finally … yesterday we noted the death of Sally Kellerman, “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the original “MASH” movie.
On this day in 1983, the final TV episode of “M*A*S*H” aired. Almost 106 million viewers tuned in. Nearly 40 years later, that’s still the record for highest viewership of a season finale.
Anyone who saw that emotionally stunning 2-hour show recognizes the key role Mozart’s “Quintet for Clarinet and Strings” played in that memorable broadcast.
And if you haven’t seen it — or want to watch it again — click below. War is indeed hell.
Posted onJanuary 29, 2022|Comments Off on 0*6*Art*Art*0 — Week 95 Gallery
This week, nearly half of our featured artists are new to our online gallery.
Here’s a warm “06880” welcome to Staples High School graduate Dennis Jackson; Jason Osterhout, a 1991 Staples grad now living in Burlington, Vermont, whose works were recently shown at Steam by the train station; Loren Rubino, a teacher at One River and an art therapist at Sasco River Center; and Carl Schumann.
This gallery is open to all readers. Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old. In every medium.
All genres are encouraged. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage and needlepoint — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world!
“Beaver Dam Road” — acrylic (Carl Schumann)
“What Now” (Mark Yurkiw)
“Caribbean Dreamin'” (Amy Schneider)
“Nature’s Artistic Design” (Larry Untermeyer)
Untitled (Loren Rubino)
“It’s All in the Mind: The Psychiatrist” (Brian Whelan)
“My Wife Maureen, Through a Glass Lightly” (Dennis Jackson)
“Philadelphia Rowhouse Where I Grew Up” (Lawrence Weisman)
Our first work this week is a photo, bringing us back to September 11, 2001. The second is a collagraph, focusing on our 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Those two submissions sum up the breadth and depth of “06880”‘s online gallery. Every week, we highlight the work of local artists in all mediums, and an enormous range of themes.
Whatever your age and level of experience — professional or amateur, young or old — this feature is open to everyone.
All genres and styles are encouraged too. Watercolors, oils, charcoal, pen-and-ink, acrylics, lithographs, macramé, jewelry, sculpture, decoupage (and now needlepoint) — whatever you’ve got, email it to dwoog@optonline.net. Share your work with the world!
At the end of an unfathomable year, art continues to amaze, inspire, provoke, entertain and soothe.
Keep sending your work. We’ll keep featuring it. Whatever form suits your mood — we want it. You don’t have to be a pro, or even experienced. Send it all!
Art should be inspired by, relevant to, or somehow, in some way, connected to our current lives. Student submissions of all ages are especially welcome. So are artists who have not submitted before.
Email dwoog@optonline.net, to share your work with the world.
Untitled (Mark Yurkiw)
“Alexa’s Flame” (Larry Gordon)
“Bill Harley, Staples High School Class of 1972” (Eric Bosch)
Last week it was Halloween. This week it’s Election Day.
But there’s always autumn. At least, for a week or two more.
Our Saturday gallery welcomes submissions from all artists. NOTE: Works should be inspired by, relevant to, or somehow, in some way, connected to our current lives. Student art of all ages is especially welcome.
Email dwoog@optonline.net, to share your work with the world.
“VOTE” (Amy Schneider)
“Someday, Somehow” (Ellin Spadone)
“A Fish Out of Water” — Sherwood Island (Photo/Karen Weingarten)
“They Don’t Build Churches Like This Anymore” (Lawrence Weisman)
“Happy Tuesday” (Mark Yurkiw)
“Fall Colors, Southport” (Eric Cole)
“Where There are Differences, There are Also Similarities” (Lou Rolla)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
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