The Levitt Pavilion gets (deserved) headlines, for its 50-plus nights of entertainment each year. (The Disco Biscuits played 2 shows this past weekend. Coming up: Bonnie Raitt, Wynton Marsalis … and a lot more.)
But very quietly — well, not really; the shows are loud — VFW Post 399 has become one more Westport hot spot.
Matt Zako does a great job booking diverse acts.
Matt at the VFW does a great job of getting diverse acts to entertain, helping to keep this institution vibrant.
Saturday night, Black Dog rocked the house.
They’re (duh) a Led Zeppelin tribute band. And, as Lou Weinberg notes, “if you weren’t there, you can say it’s ‘nobody’s fault but mine.'”
Black Dog at the VFW. (Photo/Lou Weinberg)
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This may be the first moth we’ve ever featured in our “Westport … Naturally” series.
It’s a huge one.
Photographer Tracy Porosoff explains, “according to my phone’s AI, it’s a polyphemus moth. The internet says it is common, but hard to see because it’s nocturnal and does not live long.”
And finally … in honor of Black Dog at the VFW Saturday night (item above):
(It’s nobody’s fault but yours if you don’t click here to support this hyper-local blog. But if no one else does, we won’t be here to serve you 24/7/365 any more. Thank you for chipping in.)
One of the hot topics this summer will be synthetic turf fields.
Tonight (Tuesday, 7 p.m., Zoom), 2 Representative Town Meeting committees — Environment, and Health & Human Services — meet jointly, to discuss the topic.
It is the first of at least one or two similar meetings.
Members will not present or vote on an ordinance. The focus tonight will be on artificial turf, but they will also hear from someone with success working with grass fields.
Speaking of sports: The FCIAC (league) champion Staples High School boys lacrosse team is aiming now at a state championship. That double has not been accomplished since Darien did it in 2017. It’s never been done by the Wreckers.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) they take on New Canaan, in the “LL” semifinals. The game begins at 5 p.m., at Fairfield University.
Staples’ opponent is Darien — a team they’ve beaten 3 times already this year, including a nail-biting 10-9 FCIAC championship win.
The Wreckers are ranked 5th in the state tournament. In an odd twist — thanks to power rankings and records — the Rams are 1st.
The Staples game is the first of the double-headed. The 7:30 pits Darien against Fairfield Prep. So no matter who wins either contest, an all-Fairfield County final is assured.
Staples celebrates their FCIAC title. (Photo/Greg Raymond)
From 1947 until fairly recently, the Pepperidge Farm property on the Westport/Norwalk line was a magical place.
Some of America’s best loved treats were made there. And if you drove by at the right time, the smell of fresh-baked bread was intoxicating.
These days, the scene is quite different.
One of the most beautifully maintained and recognizable landscapes in the area has fallen into a state of neglect.
It has not been maintened for months. Trash, debris, weeds and overgrown grass and plants have taken over the lot. A king mattress and box spring sat in the parking lot for months.
Neighbors are concerned about ticks, and rodents burrowing in the tall grass.
One view of the old Pepperidge Farms property …
The Campbell’s Company (formerly Campbell Soup Company) owned the property for over 60 years, after acquiring Pepperidge Farm in 1961.
Last year they sold the property to a New York developer, TVG Partners, through an entity called 595 Westport LLC, for approximately $11 million. The developer has proposed redeveloping the site, while retaining some office space.
Westport Auction leased the front of the property in January 2026. The back of the property remains vacant.
Meanwhile, instead of closing eyes to luxuriate in the aroma of just-baked bread, folks close their eyes to avoid an unsightly mess.
Last night’s Westport Country Playhouse Script in Hand reading of “A Tailor Near Me” featured the popular actor Jimmy Smits.
How popular?
Playhouse and “06880” photographer Dave Matlow reports that after shooting the play’s rehearsal yesterday afternoon, he met twin sisters on the WCP steps.
Sharon Lowe and Norma Leyden are a few days away from their 74th birthday. For years, they have traveled throughout the US — including California, Chicago, Washington and Broadway — to watch Smits perform.
Sharon Lowe (left) and Norma Leyden. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
They live in the Boston area, and were vacationing on Nantucket. That’s where they first met Smits, 20 years ago.
They drove to Westport yesterday, to watch their favorite actor in the script reading. They were there after the show too, waiting for him to leave.
From the reviews we’ve heard, the sisters — and everyone else in the audience — got their money’s worth.
Matlow reports the comedy was completely sold out. It was written by Michael Tucker, best known as an “L.A. Law” actor. He was part of the reading last night, joined by 2 others from that TV show: Smits and Tucker’s wife, Jill Eikenberry.
This was the last Script in Hand production of the spring. The series resumes September 14.
Curtain call (from left): Jimmy Smits, Michael Tucker, Jill Eikenberry. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Two of Westport’s most interesting people are on stage tonight, at the Westport Library.
Journalist Dave Briggs chats with former Navy SEAL commander and White House fellow Mike Hayes. They’ll explore how to navigate life’s transitions with purpose. The starting point is “Mission Driven: The Path to a Life of Purpose,” Hayes’ practical, inspiring guide to building a more meaningful life.
Also today (Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.): The Exchange Project presents a “Swap Day: Summer Edition.” The host is Abby Jaramillo.
The Exchange Project “redefines luxury resale through thoughtful curation, conscious consumption, and timeless style. (They) extend the life of exceptional clothing by editing the best pieces already in circulation—creating a refined, sustainable marketplace where style never comes at the planet’s expense.”
Fresh pieces are updated hourly, including new arrivals from Balenciaga, Zara, Alo, Frame, L’Agence and more. Click here for tickets; address given upon purchase.
The closure from June 18 through August of Cross Highway near the entrance to Wakeman Town Farm — for replacement of the Deadman Brook bridge — has already been announced.
But it will also be closed this Thursday and Friday (June 11 and 12) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., for gas line and utility work. Cross Highway will be open, however, from Bayberry Lane to Wakeman Farm Drive.
To accommodate graduation ceremonies, the road and bridge will be open on June 15 and 16 for events at Staples High School and Bedford Middle School.
Longtime Westport resident Linda Volckmann died peacefully on June 6, surrounded by her family. She was 88.
A native of Yakima, Washington, she earned a bachelor’s in economics and a master’s in teaching, both from Stanford University.
She married Carl Volckmann in 1965. His career with IBM took the family throughout the Northeast. They settled in Westport in 1974.
Here Linda developed a love of sailing alongside her Navy husband, formed lifelong friendships, and devoted countless hours to supporting her children’s athletic, music and academic pursuits.
She attended many swim meets, tennis matches and horseback riding competitions. Later, she was on the sidelines for soccer, lacrosse games and wrestling competitions.
Linda loved to travel, and enjoyed adventures throughout Asia and Africa.
When their children were grown, Linda and Carl found a second home in Stuart, Florida, where many friends from graduate school had settled. For nearly 2 decades they enjoyed life as “snowbirds.”
After selling their Westport home of 43 years, they divided their time between Park City, Utah, and Florida.
Linda is survived by her husband, Carl; daughter Karin Goodman (Nick) and their children Kendall, Hayden and Camden; her aughter Tina Perala (Matthew) and their children Kai and Teo; her son Eric and his children Evelyn and Emmett.
Linda is also survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Lynne Terril, and their children Christopher and Laura; sister, Lila Nielsen and her children Gretchen and Vicki, and nieces Kristen Doerrer, Eryn Cusic and Micheal Cusic .
Her family says, “Linda will be remembered for her intelligence, generosity, quiet strength, and unwavering devotion to family and friends. She had a remarkable gift for making people feel welcome, valued and loved.
A memorial service will take place at the end of the year. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Green’s Farms Congregational Church, CT, Mariner Sands Chapel Benevolence Fund, or Make-A-Wish of Seattle (Alaska & Washington chapter).
Linda Volckmann
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Great light makes today’s “Westport … Naturally” image — showing Sherwood Mill Pond — extra special.
And finally … speaking of the Pepperidge Farm property (story above), this seems like an apt song:
(Whether you remember Pepperidge Farm or not, “06880” is your hyper-local blog — a place to remember history, or learn about it. If you enjoy either activity, please click here to support us. Thanks!)
Regrettably, one that we can’t do is recreate the aroma of Pepperidge Farm.
For decades the company that created and produced Goldfish and Milanos was headquartered a few yards over the Norwalk border, on US 1 (Westport Avenue).
Norwalk entrance, on Westport Avenue.
Founded on a Fairfield farm (named for a pepperidge tree that grew there) in the 1930s by Margaret Rudkin, who learned how to bake nutritious bread for her severely allergic son, it moved into its modern Norwalk facility in 1947.
Six years later, Pepperidge Farm baked and sold 77,000 loaves a week.
The cookies and other snacks came with time. But it was the bread — freshly baked, delicious, insanely aromatic — that made driving past so memorable, for generations of Westporters.
Also memorable: school field trips to the site. Decades of classes toured the factory, learned all about the business — and went home with free loaves and snacks.
Like so many other things — including the aroma of fresh-baked bread — it did not last forever.
New technology sealed the scent inside. Baking eventually moved elsewhere. Campbell Soup — which bought Pepperidge Farm in 1961 — contracted its Norwalk division.
A modern office now occupies part of the old Pepperidge Farm site. A large apartment complex — 597 Westport Avenue — sits next door.
Today’s Friday Flashback tells a bit of history about a once-ubiquitous presence. A number of Pepperidge Farm executives lived in Westport; so did factory employees. Staples High School students worked there after school or during the summer too.
If only a blog post could go beyond words, and recreate the glorious smells, inside the plant and out on the road beyond …
Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin.
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