Tag Archives: Patagonia

Roundup: Patagonia, Police Scam, Heat Pumps …

One of Westport’s most iconic locations will soon have a new tenant.

A “For Lease” sign on Patagonia leads to this listing for 87 Post Road East — the 1909 Westport Bank & Trust building that’s now home to the clothing chain:

Located at the intersection of Westport’s busiest retail corridor of Main St, Post Rd and Church Lane, this landmark building is a standout location visible from all points that vehicle and pedestrian traffic enter the downtown. Located adjacent to Urban Outfitters and across from Anthropologie and Barnes & Noble. Space consists of 6,200 SF on grade on Post Rd, with and additional 1,650 SF of retail on lower level, accessed internally from selling floor. Historic charm abounds with high ceilings, and 10′ Palladian windows!

It’s a 5-year lease. Rental rate and type are negotiable.

(Photo and hat tip/Eric Grossberg)

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Several residents got phone calls yesterday from 203-341-6000: the Westport Police Department non-emergency number.

Someone claiming to be from the WPD told whoever answered that they were being called on a recorded line, and had missed a court subpoena.  The citizens recognized the calls as scams, and contacted the department.

The Police say, “We believe the end goal of these calls was to have the recipient send money or gift card information as payment for a fine or to avoid arrest. The Westport Police Department does not accept payment for any services, fees, etc. over the phone.

“Residents should hang up and contact our non-emergency number if they ever have a question regarding the legitimacy of a call from someone identifying themselves as a member of the Westport Police Department.”

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Sustainable Westport is launching a 3-part energy learning series. The programs will bring together experts with Westport residents who have upgraded their homes with heat pumps/solar/geothermal.

The sessions (reception at 6:30 p.m.; presentation and Q-and-A, 7 p.m.) include:

  • All About Heat Pumps: October 3 (Click here to register)
  • Everything Solar: November 7
  • Going Geothermal: December 5

 

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A ground-breaking exhibit at United Nations headquarters, featuring Miggs Burroughs’ “Signs of Compassion” — 30 lenticular photos, showing local residents using sign language to recite Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name, and Yurkiw’s accompanying Braille “prayer wheel” mantra, based on those he saw in Bhutan (including a wheelchair-accessible element) — opens next month.

The 2 works will be displayed on and next to a 102-foot curved wall.

Ever since the United Nations moved into its Manhattan headquarters in 1951, the lobby’s rotating art exhibit has been sponsored by member nations. For what is believed to be the first time, the featured works are offered by individual artists.

This is also the first time that Connecticut artists are featured at the UN.

The exhibit was made possible by individual donors. “06880” helped raise $18,000 fpr producing, printing and mounting the 30 large lenticular images; materials for the “prayer wheel” sculpture, and security for the reception (a UN requirement).

It is open to the public from October 10 to November 20, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Miggs Burroughs’ lenticular images on the , and Mark Yurkiw’s Braille wheel (right).

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The other day, the  Greens Farms Garden Club celebrated their third fruitful Growing for Good Project.

Thirteen harvests from Wakeman Town Farm and Prospect Gardens were delivered to Mercy Learning Center. The first was 17 pounds in June; by this month, the harvest was 75 pounds.

Members fought pests, protected their crops, fertilized vegetables, and plowed through the hot summer to produce the produce.

From left: Greens Farm Garden Club  member Chen Yang, president Maybette Waldron, Prospect Gardens landscape designer Cindy Shumate, 1st Selectwoman Jennifer Growing for Good chair Jacque O’Brien.

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This is the 29th year for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Fairfield County.

At least one participant has been involved with every one.

Denise Lucarelli says: “29 years ago, I was assisting at the front desk when the phone rang. The young lady began to explain that she was from the American Cancer Society, and they were sponsoring a new walk in Westport.

“I stopped her and said we would be glad to participate, since we are a radiology practice and early detection does save lives. She was amazed, and thought it would be much harder to convince me.

“We both laughed. Since that cold call, Advanced Radiology’s physicians, staff and family members have attended this vital and awesome walk every year.”

The walk draw approximately 5,000 walkers annually to Sherwood Island State Park in October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month). Participants include healthcare systems, youth organizations, local and national businesses, and community teams (often honoring or memorializing survivors).

This year’s event is on Sunday, October 15 (9 a.m.). Click here to register, and for more information.

The American Cancer Society also sponsors a Men Wear Pink campaign. Participants are asked to raise at least $2,500; wear pink every day in October, and raise awareness through social networks. Click here for more information.

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The Smart Walk for Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities is a family event celebrating the strengths of children with learning and attention differences.

This year’s walk — the 4th annual — will include volunteers tossing colored powder as participants stroll by.

It’s set for October 1 (noon to 3 p.m., Sherwood Island State Park).

Children will also enjoy critters from Stamford Museum & Nature Center, bridge building with 3DuxDesign’s Team STEAM, Sasco River Center sensory stations, glitter tattoos, crafts, photo booth, lawn games, refreshments, ice cream and more.

Parents and caregivers will learn about resources, and experience community.

Children’s author Sivan Hong will read from her “Super Fun Day” books. Also planned: a youth chorus performance and youth speaker.

Participants walk the 2-mile route along Long Island Sound at their own pace. Registration fees are $15; $10 for children ages 6 -12; free for 5 and under. Strollers are welcome. For information and registration, click here

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Westport Tilt Parenting is a support group for parents of neurodivergent children.

They’ve partnered with the Westport Library to host Debbie Reber. The educator, author and advocate for understanding and embracing neurodivergent youngsters will speak at the Library on November 28 (7 p.m.).

Her topic: “Understanding and Embracing Differently Wired Kids.”

Westport Tilt Parenting says that at least 1 in 5 youths are in some way neurodivergent (ADHD, learning disabilities, autism spectrum, gifted, sensory issues, anxiety and more).

However, they are often misunderstood. Current support strategies may be misguided; their strengths and gifts can be overlooked.

All parents of neurodiverse and neurotypical children are invited, as are teachers, administrators and interested others. Click here for more information. To learn more about Westport Tilt Parenting, email  alexandre.acupuncture@gmail.com.

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Comic art, deconstructed case-bound book boards, and visual mixed media all grace the walls of The Westport Library gallery spaces this fall. Local featured artists include Marc Zaref, Niki Ketchman, Rowan MacColl and Connor McCann.

Coinciding with the Neil Gaiman StoryFest keynote conversation (Friday, October 20) is the visual companion in the Sheffer Gallery, “Panels & Gutters: The Comic Art of Rowan MacColl and Connor McCann.”

The exhibition celebrates the form storytelling in comic art featuring MacColl’s and McCann’s illustrations with added panels demonstrating their conceptual and technical process. The graduates of Staples High School and Rhode Island School of Design are navigating the art scene with great success.

The opening reception and artist talk (Thursday, October 19; reception 6 p.m.; artist talk, 7 p.m.) will reunite MacColl and McCann reuniting their former art teacher, Katherine Ross.

“Cascade 2023,” by multidisciplinary artist Zaref, features an installation of recycled, deconstructed case-bound book boards.

The South Gallery hosts Ketchman’s “Resinations,” with mixed media resin visual works.

Rounding out the Library’s art activity is the Westport Artists Collective Affordable Art Trunk Show and Sale. It’s Sunday, October 1 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Library lower parking lot).

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Forty Collective members will display their work out of their car trunks. All art is for sale, at affordable prices. ‘

A new family planning book by Westporter Dr. Mark Leondires goes on sale November 14.

“Building Your Family: The Complete Guide to Donor Conception” covers the complex medical and emotional considerations of becoming a parent, from choices (egg, sperm or embryo donation), through selecting a donor, through dealing with the ethical and practical dilemmas of parenthood.

Leondires is the founder and medical director of Illume Fertility. For more information and to pre-order, click here.

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Butterflies are free.

And at Burying Hill Beach, they don’t have to worry about fences.

Johanna Keyser Rossi spotted this monarch flitting about yesterday. It did not land, but she “captured” it for posterity — or at least, for our daily “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)

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And finally … his name was not well known, but he “entertained” millions of music fans.

Bobby Schiffman, who led Harlem’s Apollo Theater in the 1960s and early ’70s, when it became a storied venue — died last week in Florida. He was 94. Click here for a full (and fascinating) obituary.

And — though after Schiffman’s time — here is Weston’s own Keith Richards, playing at the Apollo too:

(“06880” is truly “Where Westport (and Weston) meet the world.” Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

 

Photo Challenge #420

I could write a column about columns.

There are plenty, all around town. They’re at the old Westport Public Library, on the Post Road/Main Street corner; the old Bedford Elementary School (now Town Hall); the old Staples High School on Riverside Avenue (now Saugatuck Elementary), and the old Town Hall on the Post Road (now Don Memo).

But == despite all those guesses — none of those columns was the subject of last week’s Photo Challenge.

The image taken by Lynn Untermeyer Miller showed an ornate one at … Patagonia. (Click here to see.)

No, the popular clothing retailer has not suddenly gotten 19th-century architecture-conscious.

For decades, the building was home to the Westport Bank & Trust Company.

It was small and local — “a hometown bank in a town of homes,” the tagline went — but like banks everywhere, it portrayed an image of solidness and stability.

Columns helped do that.

Congratulations to Shirlee Gordon — the lone “06880” reader to correctly identify the challenge.

She’s the star of this column.

Today’s Photo Challenge also comes from Lynn Untermeyer Miller. If you know where she shot this bucolic walking path, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

 

Pic Of The Day #1649

Familiar downtown scene

Roundup: Longshore Inn, Outdoor Dining, Ospreys …

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The new operators of the Longshore Inn have big plans.

This afternoon (Wednesday, March 31, 5:30 p.m.), Charles Mallory — CEO of Greenwich Hospitality Group, which runs the very successful Delamar Hotels — joins Dave Briggs on Instagram Live to reveal what’s ahead.

Listen — and respond in real time — via @WestportMagazine. You can send questions on Instagram ahead of time too: @DaveBriggsTV.

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The Westport Transit District recently replaced its previous fixed route system with Wheels2U Westport service, an on-demand, door-to-train station group shuttle service.

As part of the changeover, posters advertising the 50-year-old fixed route service at the Saugatuck train station were replaced with new ones highlighting the advantages of Wheels2U.

The Westport Transit District donated one of those now-historic fixed route posters to the Westport Museum for History & Culture yesterday. for its collection.

With Metro-North ridership beginning to pick up again, Wheels2U provides a convenient, reliable, and inexpensive way to get to and from the Westport and Greens Farms train stations. It serves a larger portion of Westport and meets more trains than the prior fixed route service.

Riders can order a ride using the Wheels2U phone app, be picked up at their door and then dropped off at the station platform at any time between 5:45 and 9:45  a.m., and 4 and 8 p.m. Reverse commuters can take the shuttle from the train station to their jobs almost anywhere in Westport for less than other alternatives.

Future plans for the WTD include getting more employees to their jobs, shoppers to stores, and seniors to the Senior Center.

For Wheels2U Westport’s service area, fares and other information, click here.  For information about Westport Transit’s door-to-door services for the elderly and people with a disability, click here.

Westport Transit District director Peter Gold presents Westport Museum of History & Culture collections director Nicole Carpenter with a now-historic Westport Transit District poster.

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Yesterday, the State Senate unanimously approved legislation to extend outdoor dining in Connecticut through March 31, 2022.

Local zoning or planning officials still have the final power to permit or expand outdoor dining. The law minimizes paperwork like site surveys or traffic studies, in order to expedite the process.

Earlier this month, Westport’s Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to extend outdoor dining here until further notice.

Outdoor dining on Church Lane last year.

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The ospreys are back — and not just at Fresh Market.

Chris Swan spotted one pair of the magnificent raptors at the nesting platform on Sherwood Mill Pond. He saw another on the saltmarsh at the end of Beachside Common, behind the Nature Center at Sherwood Island State Park. Welcome home to those two happy couples!

A Fresh Market — not Sherwood Island — osprey. (Photo.Carolyn Doan)

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Patagonia is holding a food drive for Homes with Hope. Bring non-perishable goods like canned chicken, tuna, salmon and soup, mayonnaise, peanut butter and jelly, cereal and pasta source to the downtown store.

They also sell “Patagonia Provisions” — items that can be bought, then given away. (Hat tip: Sal Liccione)

(Photo/Lauri Weiser)

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Taylor Whiteside (Whitey) Bailey, a Wesport native and member of a prominent Westport family, died March 18 in Escondido, California of natural causes. He was 88 years old.

He was the 5th child of Franklin and Mary Alice Bailey. His mother was well known here as the assistant to Miss Irene Comer at her dancing school, held in the second floor ballroom of the Westport YMCA. His father was the stepson of Arthur Dare Whiteside, a founder and president of Dun & Bradstreet, and one of the early developers of the Sylvan Road and Nash’s Pond areas of Westport.

Bailey’s brother and sisters included Mary Bailey Beck, Ann Bailey Hall, Franklin Bailey, Jr. and Dare Bailey Wells, all deceased. Joan Whiteside was his step-sister.

Bailey attended Bedford Elementary School and Bedford Junior High School, and was a 1950 graduate of Staples High School. He was a competitive swimmer at Longshore Country Club and a lifeguard at Compo Beach.

He joined the U.S. Marines after high school, and served overseas from 1950-53 during the Korean War. While stationed with the Marines at Camp Pendleton, he was chosen to be the jeep driver in the movie “Retreat, Hell.”

Bailey and his first wife, Allison Norris Bailey, moved to California from Westport in the late 1950s. The former sales manager of Pace Arrow motor home company, he spent the last 25 years of his life in Fallbrook, California.

Allison Norris Bailey and Mr. Bailey’s second wife, Jan Bailey, are deceased.
He is survived by twin sons Kim W. Bailey and Timothy Norris Bailey, both of Westport; Will Mason Bailey of Maui, and 3 grandchildren.

Taylor Whiteside Bailey

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Sure, you can have all the apps and video games you want. But there’s nothing like flying a good old-fashioned kite.

The good news: Tomorrow will be windy. The bad news: It may rain.

Amy Schneider spotted this colorful kite yesterday, at Compo Beach:

(Photo/Amy Schneider)

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And finally … happy 336th birthday, to Johann Sebastian Bach!

Roundup: WWII Vet, Patagonia Mural, Oyster Boat, More


Jimmy Izzo never knew his grandfather’s brother. Army Staff Sgt. Louis Doddo was 30 years old when he was killed at Saipan on July 7, 1945 — just 2 months before the Japanese surrendered, to end World War II.

His remains were not identified. “Unknown X-26” was buried in the Philippines in 1950.

But now Izzo — a 1983 Staples High School graduate, longtime RTM member and former owner of Crossroads Ace Hardware store — and his family have closure.

Izzo’s cousin, Kathy Bell Santarella, began searching for his remains 10 years ago. Thanks to her persistence, the work of the American Graves Registration Service, and DNA samples from various aunts and uncles, “Unknown X-26” has been positively identified as Doddo.

The 105th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division soldier will buried in May in his hometown of Norwalk.

His name, meanwhile, is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others still missing. A rosette will be placed next to his name, indicating he has been accounted for.

Click here to read the full story, from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Staff Sgt. Louis S. Doddo


Some cool murals — dating back to its days as Westport Bank & Trust — hang inside Patagonia.

Now there’s a pretty cool one outside too.

Many years ago, the clothing store and Green Village Initiative had a strong relationship. GVI has evolved from a Westport-based, volunteer organization to a Bridgeport urban farming and gardening non-profit. Its mission is to grow food, knowledge, leadership and community, to create a more just food system.

But the connection with Patagonia continues, based on a shared commitment to food justice.

The mural is one example. Painted by Charlyne Alexis and Stephanie Gamrra Cretara, it promotes and supports local farming, and GVI.

Plus, it looks awesome. (Hat tip: Pippa Bell Ader)


Tammy Barry has often wondered about the oyster boat moored often in Long Island Sound.

The other day, through binoculars, she read the name: Catherine M. Wedmore.

(Photo/Tammy Barry)

Intrigued, she googled it. This came up on the Westport Museum of History & Culture page:

“Catherine M. Wedmore is a 56 foot wooden oyster boat built in in West Mystic, Connecticut in 1924. This 96 year old lady still works daily harvesting oysters from Norwalk to Westport for Norm Bloom & Son/Copps Island Oysters.”

Now you know!


Have you started planning for the Parks & Rec Department’s first-ever holiday house decorating contest?

Andrew Colabella spotted this interesting scene, on Dogwood Lane. Click here for contest details.

(Photo/Andrew Colabella)


It’s a dog-eat-dog world. Or, perhaps, a bird-eat-fish world.

Molly Alger spotted this scene recently at Sherwood Island State Park:

(Photo/Molly Alger)


And finally … on this day in 1969, the Rolling Stones were the featured band at the Altamont Free Concert. During “Sympathy for the Devil,” 18-year-old  Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by Hell’s Angels security guards. It was not rock ‘n’ roll’s finest hour.

Pic Of The Day #1217

Downtown Westport (Photo/Lauri Weiser)

Roundup: Olivia de Havilland; Patagonia; More


Olivia de Havilland — who died Saturday at 104 — is best known for her many film roles (including “Gone With the Wind”).

But in 1946 — 5 years before her Broadway debut in “Romeo and Juliet” — the already legendary actress appeared in the Westport Country Playhouse production of “What Every Woman Knows.”

As noted on “06880” last year, on the same day she was set to open the show, she married novelist and journalist Marcus Goodrich. The 12:30 p.m. wedding ceremony took place at the Weston home of Armina and Lawrence Langner, Playhouse founders.

For some reason, the poster that week clarified that the star of the show would appear “in person.” (Hat tip: Joey Kaempfer)


Every year, the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects runs a “Connecticut Treasures” contest. Each county is represented by one building; the public votes on its favorite.

This year’s theme is banks — either still functioning or repurposed.

The Fairfield County representative is the former Westport Bank & Trust, smack (and handsome) in the middle of downtown. Today we know it as Patagonia.

The flatiron-type Charles Cutler building dates to 1924. In 2005 it was restored as mixed-use retail space. David Adam Realty saved and refurbished the original exterior, terrazzo flooring, murals, and 4 of the 5 bank vaults.

To see this and the other 7 county entrants (and vote for your favorite), click here(Hat tip: Jack Franzen)

Patagonia — formerly Westport Bank & Trust.


And finally … we missed Mick Jagger’s 77th birthday yesterday. So here’s belated best wishes. Fun fact: Olivia de Havilland was old enough to be his mother.

Pic Of The Day #1096

Tattered but proud, the flag flies over Patagonia (Photo/Jamie Walsh)

Pic Of The Day #1060

Downtown at dusk (Photo/Katherine Bruan)

Friday Flashback #71

I remember Westport Bank & Trust.

The grand old bank sat at the junction of Church Lane and the Post Road — right between the equally magnificent Tudor-style Westport YMCA , and the very popular Fine Arts Theater.

Today, the Y’s Bedford building is Anthropologie. The Fine Arts is Restoration Hardware.

And Westport Bank & Trust — after crawling through a few incarnations with names like Lafayette and Hudson Banks — has emerged as Patagonia.

(Pink Sumo occupies the lower level, where the safe deposit boxes once stood.)

I even remember many stories about Westport Bank & Trust — including the lengths to which president Einar Andersen would go, making sure that service veterans and other worthy citizens got personal and business loans.

I remember the bank’s tagline: “A hometown bank in a town of homes.”

You can see it (in a slightly briefer version) in Ann Runyon’s photo:

But what I don’t remember is what the image above shows. Apparently, this was a piggy bank.

If you’ve got any Westport Bank & Trust memories, click “Comments” below.