The sign says: “Dog Owners, you are required to clean up after your dog.”
Judging by the mess left by humans yesterday at Old Mill Beach — the first really nice spring day since the coronavirus struck — we’re right back to our old habits.
(Photo/Richard Webb)
PS: The part that says “No animals beyond this point”? That doesn’t mean you can act like animals in front of it either.
As the weather turns — in fits and starts — toward spring, outdoor recreation may be just the thing to cure cabin fever.
Town officials hope to open both the Longshore golf course and Compo Beach parking lots on May 15.
Golfers will face tight restrictions. For example, carts will not be permitted. The driving range, pro shop and halfway house will remain closed. Porta-potties will be on site.
This may be more than a pretty sight soon. It will once again be an open golf course — with restrictions. (Photo/Tom Cook)
Parking at Compo and Burying Hill beaches will be limited to 50% capacity. Emblems will be available for Westport and Weston residents only. No daily parking will be available.
The Soundview and Compo Beach lots will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Boat slip and dry stall holders must have a special parking pass, along with their emblem, but will not count toward the 50% capacity. Restrooms will remain closed, but porta-potties will be available.
Grills and tables will not be available.
A familiar scene may return — in limited form — soon. (Photos/Larry Untermeyer)
Parking at Burying Hill is anticipated to open Memorial Day weekend, and will also require a valid 2020 Westport or Weston beach emblem.
Beach emblem parking restrictions and regulations at Longshore Club Park will take effect May 15. The Old Mill lot remains open for residents of Old Mill and Compo Mill Cove only.
The Parks and Recreation office remains closed to the public. All beach emblems must be purchased online (click here). For more information, call 203-341-5152.
Parks & Recreation Department director Jennifer Fava noted that all opening dates and details may be modified, if circumstances to change.
If guidelines are not followed, officials “may make changes as appropriate, such as in capacity or whether to keep facilities open altogether.”
First Selectman Jim Marpe adds, “Compo Beach and Longshore are clearly Westport’s most popular outdoor destinations. We are doing everything we can to safely open them for at least limited use.
“We will continue to work toward opening other sports and recreation facilities, but will do so cautiously so as not to undo our efforts to combat the virus.
“We understand the desire for our residents to get back to some normalcy, especially as the weather gets warmer. In order to relax our restrictions, we need the cooperation of everyone to adhere to the guidelines so that we can keep facilities open.”
Burying Hill Beach opens Memorial Day weekend. (Photo/Yvonne O’Kane)
As the sun rose this morning, Westporters celebrated Easter in the new COVID-19 world. Church doors were closed — but the spirit was strong, here and across the globe.
Saugatuck Congregational Church services were canceled. But Rev. Alison Patton was live on Facebook, as morning broke at Compo Beach. The beach and full service are both available at http://www.facebook.com/saugatuckchurch. (Photo/Craig D.B. Patton)
Totney Benson spent a quiet moment at home on Compo Hill, overlooking Old Mill. (Photo/Rick Benson)
Meanwhile, at the bottom of Compo Hill, Joey’s by the Shore — featuring Elvira Mae’s coffee bar, whose opening has been delayed by the virus — offered this welcome message to all. (Photo/Matt Murray)
Not far away, another view. (Photo/Karen Como)
Bedford Middle School special education teacher Marianne Santiago was a college art major. Every year she decorates Easter eggs. This year, there’s a special theme. (Photo/Jim Honeycutt)
Comments Off on Happy Easter!
Posted in Beach, Environment, Local business, religion
Tagged Compo Beach, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Easter 2020, Old Mill Beach
Jack Washburn turns 90 years old today. Family had planned to come from around the country to celebrate.
Now of course, they can’t. That’s just one of countless small side effects of the coronavirus.
But Jack’s milestone will not go unnoticed. Just before noon, he and his wife got a joyful surprise.
His Arlen Road neighbors — adults and kids — gathered on the front lawn. Spaced appropriately apart, they sang “Happy Birthday.”
The provided lunch and cake (and wine).
Then they strung a line on the porch, where they hung birthday cards they’d all made. That way he could look at them, without touching.
Speaking of touching: This is Westport at its best!
Many Westporters have offered to donate items during the coronavirus crisis.
Town officials say, “The unique circumstances and complications due to potential virus transmission, including the time needed to quarantine donations and equipment, require detailed coordination. Items that do not assist with the response and recovery cannot be accepted.”
Westport is accepting the following response and recovery donations at your curb by appointment, between 9 a.m. and 12 noon only:
Items that are not pre-packaged cannot be accepted.
Click here to fill out a brief form. You will be contacted to set up a time for curbside pickup.
And, officials emphasize: Do not drop off donations at town buildings!
Old Mill Beach has joined the list of parking lots closed to visitors. Compo Beach and Burying Hill had previously been closed.
Sherwood Island State Park remains open. So do the 44 trailed preserves operated by Aspetuck Land Trust.
(Photo/Molly Alger)
Distance learning has begun. Students are adapting well. Parents — well…
Successful Study Skills for Students — a local organization — is offering a 30-minute interactive seminar: “8 Ways to Keep Your Student Focused, On Track and On Task in the New E-learning Environment.”
Delivered via Zoom, it helps parents learn how to establish and maintain accountability, and help minimize distractions and reduce stress.
Sessions are Tuesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 2 (7 p.m.) and Wednesday, April 1 (10 a.m.).
It’s free, but registration is required. Each seminar is limited to 25 people. Click here to enroll. For more information, call 203-307-5455 or email info@S4StudySkills.com.
Inspired by Wednesday’s “06880 Pic of the Day” showing a heart in a mailbox with the message “Smile!”, the Theisinger family decided to do something similar for the people who help them.
Youngsters Grant and Blair put on gloves, and packed up treat bags. They printed out messages of thanks, and left them for their mail carrier, UPS deliverer and refuse collector.
“Just a small token to show our gratitude!” says their mom, Kristy. “We 💜 Westport!”
When Governor Lamont ordered many businesses shut, driving schools were among those hit.
Now, however, the Department of Motor Vehicles has allowed them to offer something previously prohibited: online classes. (Schools must meet certain guidelines for testing and attendance tracking.)
Westport’s Fresh Green Light begins soon. The schedule will closely mirror the existing one of after-school hours and weekends.
Classes are open to all current students, and new enrollments (16 and older). Click here for details.
So how did Jim and Nancy Eckl celebrate their 37th wedding anniversary?
They donned masks and gloves, and served their loyal, beloved customers at Gold’s.
Finally, today’s Song of the Day comes via the great Suzanne Sherman Propp, and her Sing Daily! project that brightens hundreds of Westporters’ days:
Posted in Beach, Children, Education, Environment, Local business, People
Tagged Arlen Road, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Fresh Green Light, Gold's Delicatessen, Old Mill Beach, S4 Study Skills
This morning’s story about Friday’s Old Mill Beach wedding brought a smile to many readers’ faces.
But Steven Rawlings and Reka Reisinger’s ceremony was not the only marriage people were talking about that day.
The officiant was Justice of the Peace Wally Meyer. He’s a longtime resident of Old Mill.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed Wally’s home. He had lived there for decades with Joan Beauvais. Both moved in next door, with noted artist and Staples High School Class of 1962 graduate Clark Hanford.
Wally Meyer and Joan Beauvais, in the 1990s.
Actually, Wally and Joan were more than friends.
At the end of Friday’s wedding ceremony, Wally added an unexpected twist. He asked — sweetly, emotionally and lovingly — Joan to marry him.
Yesterday, Joan said yes.
Now Isaac and Ellen Sonsino — the neighbors who did an amazing job helping arrange Steven and Reka’s wedding — are doing the same for Wally and Joan.
It’s tentatively planned — very soon — at Old Mill.
The entire “06880” community — online and here in town — congratulates Wally and Joan, and wishes them all the best.
And this is probably as good a place as any to add one final bit of news: Wally is still going strong, as sharp as ever, at 92 years old.
Posted in Beach, Environment, People
Tagged corona virus, COVID-19, Joan Beauvais, Old Mill Beach, Reka Reisinger, Steven Rawlings, Wally Meyer
The weather was not great. The mood of the country was worse.
But love endures.
This past Friday — in the midst of a frightening pandemic — Steven Rawlings and Reka Reisinger got married on Old Mill Beach.
The plan had been to wed on June 27, in upstate New York. But with so much uncertainty about the future, the couple decided to make it official now.
They did not want to get a license at still-crowded City Hall in Manhattan, where they live. Steven is an attorney with the SEC; Reka’s a photographer, and sells and restores pianos in her family business.
So they enlisted the help of their Compo Cove friends Isaac and Ellen Sonsino.
Their daughter Genevieve is a close, longtime friend of Reka’s. Reka’s dad has passed away, so she’d already asked Isaac to walk her down the aisle in June.
Amazingly, the Sonsinos’ next door neighbor at Old Mill Beach — 92-year-old Wally Meyer — is a justice of the peace.
Also amazingly, his housemate Clark Hanford does costume work. He said he’d alter any of 3 gowns. Reka decided to wear a traditional Hungarian dress, but that offer epitomized the amazing spirit of the wedding.
Reka Reisinger in a traditional Hungarian wedding dress, and Steven Rawlings in traditional tails. (Photo/Ellen Sonsino)
Isaac contacted Westport Town Hall. Officials promised to make arrangements online. When the license was completed, Isaac met a woman from the town clerk’s office in the back parking lot. Wearing gloves — and keeping her distance — she placed it on a picnic table, for him to pick up.
On Friday — just 24 hours after planning began — Steven and Reka were wed.
Wally Meyer prepares to marry Steven and Reka. (Photo/Ellen Sonsino)
Fewer than a dozen people were present: Steve’s parents, Robert and Ronnie; Reka’s mother Klara and her partner Rob Botti; the 3 Sonsinos, and 2 close friends of Steve’s rearranged their schedule on a few hours’ notice to attend.
A self-distancing selfie: Steven and friends.
Robin Tauck — an Old Mill neighbor — happened to wander by too. She couldn’t resist!
All kept an appropriate social distance, as Meyer led the vows with grace and joy.
(Photo/Robin Tauck)
There was lovely oboe music, courtesy of Bach and Botti. Amazingly (again!), Reka’s mother’s partner plays with the New York Philharmonic.
The New York Philharmonic played at Steven and Reka’s wedding. (Photo/Ellen Sonsino)
There were Champagne toasts. A cake too, of course. And of course, everyone ate it carefully, one at a time.
Reka’s mother Klara toasts the happy couple. (Photo/Ellen Sonsino)
“It’s a wonderful way to start life,” Steven says. It’s poignant in another way, besides taking place amid a pandemic. Friday marked 6 years to the day that Reka’s father had died.
An elbow bump for the justice of the peace.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds took a walk on the beach. They were heartened to see other people enjoying the water — all at a safe distance from one another.
They’re spending their honeymoon at the Delamar in Southport. Everyone there has been great, Reka says.
And the restaurant is open for takeout.
(Photos/Robin Tauck)
(Photo/Steven Rawlings)
(Video courtesy of Genevieve Sonsino)
Posted in Beach, Environment, People
Tagged Coronavirus, coronavirus wedding, COVID-19, Old Mill Beach
Westport copes with the coronavirus …
Solitude at Grace Salmon Park (Photo/Jo Shields)
Empty parking lots on a weekday downtown … (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
… at the train station, and on I-95 (Drone photo/Patrick Sikes)
The message has gotten through. Teenagers stay in their cars, practicing social distancing — but hang out together at Longshore.
A mid-March late afternoon dip at Old Mill Beach (Photo/Robin Tauck)
Lindsay Blaivas, her daughter Kenzie and dog Ruby went for a neighborhood walk. Along the way, they left some messages. “Getting creative and staying connected!” Lindsay says. Here’s one.
Two weeks ago, you’d say “huh?” Now you say, “Where’d you get it?!” (Photo/Darcy Hicks)
Santa Claus comes early to Stop & Shop (Photo/Chip Stephens)
Posted in Beach, Downtown, Education, Local business, Longshore, Pic of the Day, Saugatuck, Transportation
Tagged Coronavirus, COVID-19, I-95, Old Mill Beach, train station
Beaches and water in winter, by drone — thank you, Brandon Malin!
Cockenoe Island
Compo Beach
Old Mill Beach and Compo Cove
Burying Hill Beach (Drone photos/Brandon Malin)
Posted in Beach, Pic of the Day
Tagged Burying Hill Beach, Cockenoe Island, Compo Beach, Compo Cove, Old Mill Beach
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: “06880” readers are good.
I was sure that last week’s Photo Challenge would stump almost everyone. Susan Ross’ image showed a flip-flop, tea cup, cameo jewelry, and random other, less identifiable objects. (Click here for the photo.)
It was colorful. But how could anyone identify it?
Almost immediately, Seth Schachter did.
He was followed, rapid-fire, by Jennifer Kobetitsch, Betsy Kahn, Sarah Halevi, India Penney, Julie McMahon, Tina Green, Luke Garvey, Michelle Vitulich, Leslie Petersen, Polly Temple, Darcy Sledge and J. Seideman.
All nailed it: The mosaic surrounding one of the parking garages behind the houses on Old Mill Beach. It’s just to the left of the first footbridge heading to Compo Cove.
I know the bridges and walking paths between Sherwood Mill Pond and Long Island Sound are a popular — if hidden — Westport gem.
But the parking garages are off to the side, little noticed, even obscure. And the mosaic is at the end of the lot. Most people’s attention is focused on the water.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Congratulations to our eagle-eyed readers. A special shout-out to Betsy Kahn — a gifted photographer herself — who added this information about the artist, Claudia Schattman:
“She is one of the coolest artists in town. And people can hire her for special mosaics, pottery and photography. She does installations with all mediums and sizes.”
This week’s Photo Challenge is far less colorful. Will it be as easy? If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
(Photo/Mark Mathias)
Posted in Arts, Beach, Photo Challenge
Tagged Claudia Schattman, Compo Cove, Old Mill Beach
Old Mill Beach bench (Photo/Molly Alger)
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!)