Last week’s Photo Challenge definitely showed Saugatuck Shores.
But where exactly?
Answers were all over the, um, map.
It was not on Saugatuck Island itself. And definitely not at Cedar Point Yacht Club.
The correct responses were: “The beach on Harbor Road near the wood bridge, looking across the bay to the Saugatuck river, with power stanchions over the train tracks,” and “46-52 Harbor Road.” (Click here to see the photo.)
The good news is: There are lots of little private beaches in the western-most part of Westport that look like this.
And plenty of Westporters are familiar with this otherwise out-of-the-way but very cool slice of our town.
Pat Saviano, Kenny Gilbertie, John Brawley, Rob Jackson, Heidi McGee, Dan Vener, Vanessa Bradford, Glen Cummings, Tom Feeley, Mary Ann Batsell, Andrew Colabella, Jamie Walsh, Jay Tormey and Howard A. Potter all correctly identified exactly what the challenge showed.
Even if they all described it in different ways.
Today’s Photo Challenge is also different. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.
But the distance does not matter to the Westport Downtown Association. The non-profit is collecting donations for Maui United Way, to help support relief efforts from one of the worst wildfires in American history.
Click here to contribute, and for more information.
To show our appreciation for donors, the WDA will randomly select 4 people to receive a pair of tickets to the annual Westoberfest New England Craft Beer and Family Fun event (Saturday, October 14).
In other Maui news, 2 former Westporters have told “06880” that their homes on the island were not affected by the blazes. Both, however, note the immense suffering by their neighbors.
Next Monday (August 21, 7 p.m., Westport Library), the Y’s Men of Westport and Weston host a public meeting on that subject.
They’ve enlisted 2 experts: Broadway actors/local residents/WCP friends James Naughton and Carole Schweid.
They’ll discuss the background of live theater, its current condition, and what lies ahead.
It’s a double feature. Guests will also see a 16-minute fictional drama film, “Not the Same Clarence.” The film features Jim and his son Greg Naughton depicting the realities of caring for a parent with dementia, and its impact on their lives.
And finally … John Gosling, the Kinks’ keyboardist and vocalist from 1970-78, died last week. He was 75.
He joined the band after auditioning on the song “Lola.” Not a shabby start, at all. Click here for his obituary.
(We are lucky to live in a town like Westport. And “06880” is lucky to have readers who support our work. Please click here for a link to contribute. Thank you!)
Scott Smith is one of many Westport gardeners and environmentalists who has observed something troubling outdoors. He writes:
“Where are the bees? The butterflies?
“The sunflowers in my garden are 10 feet tall. The purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, milkweed and other native flowers and bushes are blooming (at least the ones the deer don’t nibble).
“Yet I find our pollinator friends are few and far between. At least in my yard.
“It’s been a good summer for fireflies, the wasps are out and about, and with the recent rains the mosquitoes are ascendant. But where are the pollinators?
“I’ve not sprayed pesticides or any chemicals on my property for years, nor do most of my neighbors. So let me ask my fellow 06880 gardeners and backyard apiarists: Can you send some bees and butterflies my way?”
Scott Smith’s garden is beautiful — but bee- and butterfly-less.
Westport resident Jay Norris and chef/restaurateur/TV personality Marcus Samuelsson are breaking bread together.
The noted entrepreneurs have partnered to offer performance-based leases to minority-owned food businesses.
Norris is CEO of Guesst Software. Crain’s New York Business says the company — which facilitates short-term retail leases in dozens of the country’s leading malls — will now give “artisanal, mom-and-pop restaurants access to ‘A+’ locations–without the upfront cost or standard 15-year lease.”
For example, UrbanSpace — which runs food halls through New York City — will commit 10 spaces at their Bryant Park holiday market to qualified minority-owned businesses who set up leases through Guesst. Norris says that allows them to “explore the world” beyond their own neighborhoods.
Samuelsson told Crain’s that large restaurants like his usually sign 15-year leases. His partnership with Norris allows landlords to be flexible and patient with rents.
Norris plan to launch a “women’s merchant movement” in the fourth quarter. His goal is to “give a voice to voiceless minority business owners,” no matter who or where they are.
To read the full Crain’s story (behind a paywall), click here.
A sobering opinion piece in today’s New York Times, exploring the sad state of public swimming lessons and pools in the United States — leading to 11 drowning deaths a day across the country — does mention several bright spots.
Including Westport.
The final 2 paragraphs of Mara Gay’s piece, “When It Comes to Swimming, ‘Why Have Americans Been Left on Their Own?'” read:
Coral Gables, Fla., has a colossal, stone-ringed public pool known as the Venetian, complete with waterfalls and grottoes. Austin, Texas, boasts a three-acre public pool fed by underground springs. Ann Arbor, Mich., has public pools with giant water slides. In 1960 the elegant Connecticut shore town of Westport bought the deed to a country club. Residents there swim in a public pool that sits beside the shimmering waters of the Long Island Sound.
Every American deserves the chance to swim somewhere just as nice.
And finally … on this date in 1975, Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from the parking lot of a Detroit-area restaurant. He was never seen again.
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But you also live in Greens Farms. Maybe Coleytown. Or Saugatuck.
Those are a few of the neighborhoods that make up our town. Some are long established, predating our founding in 1835. Some are newer, the result of growth or realtors’ whims.
All are part of ‘06880.”
Karen Scott knows Westport neighborhoods as well as anyone. A co-founder of KMS Partners @ Compass, the other day she took me on a (phone) tour of town.
The Mid-Fairfield County Board of Realtors defines 13 distinct Westport neighborhoods. Besides the 3 mentioned above, there are a few everyone recognizes: Old Hill and Compo Beach, for example. Some are less well known, like Red Coat in the far northwest, Long Lots, Roseville/North Avenue and Compo South (see map below).
(Map courtesy of Mid-Fairfield County Board of Realtors)
A couple are new. Hunt Club (from the Fairfield border and Cross Highway west to Bayberry and south to the Post Road) and Compo Commons (the smallest of all, more commonly known as Gault).
But 2 caught my eye. One is In-Town. The area between the Merritt Parkway, Saugatuck River, Post Road and Roseville Road — with, among others, North Compo and all its side streets — has, with the influx of families from Manhattan and Brooklyn, suddenly become very desirable.
They like the proximity to downtown — they can walk there in theory, if not practice. Until recently though, no one lived “In-Town.” They just lived “close to town.”
Washington Avenue, an “In-Town” neighborhood. (Photo/Google Street View)
The other relatively new name is “Saugatuck Island.” When I was a kid, there was just “Saugatuck Shores.” (And houses there were among the cheapest in Westport. Some were not winterized. Who wanted to live way out there, anyway?!)
But a while ago — no one is sure when — some residents living beyond the wooden bridge decided to become even more exclusive than what had then become the already prestigious Saugatuck Shores.
Hence “Saugatuck Island.” One long-time and embarrassed resident cringes every time she hears it. But there it is, complete with a large sign at the entrance. (Fun fact: No other Westport neighborhood has an actual “entrance.”)
(Photo/Gene Borio)
Karen Scott says that neighborhoods are a good way to describe Westport. “Everyone has preferences,” she notes. “Some people want land, not neighbors. Others don’t want a lot of land. Some prefer near the beach, or close to town. Some want to be close to amenities. Some want to be close to the train station, I-95 or the Merritt” — though with COVID, commuting convenience is less of a concern these days.
The hot real estate market has cooled the “neighborhood” concept a bit, she says. “When there aren’t a lot of homes for sale, some people say, ‘I don’t care. I just want to be in Westport.'”
The neighborhood concept itself has evolved (and become more formalized). At one time, Karen says, areas of town were designated by school districts. (That was probably easier when there were 3 junior highs — Bedford [now Saugatuck Elementary School], Coleytown and Long Lots — rather than just 2 middle schools, located a mile from each other.)
The Long Lots neighborhood has been “sub-divided.” It now includes the Hunt Club area.
As a realtor, Karen Scott is used to describing Westport’s 13 “official” neighborhoods, then squiring clients around to those that sound interesting.
Some buy in neighborhoods they took a quick liking to. Others end up in ones they did not originally consider.
But for all its different neighborhoods, Westport is really one big small town. And most people, Karen says, find “joy and happiness” all over, once they’re here.
The Chic front man/3-time Grammy Award-winning/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee/ “We Are Family” songwriter-producer has played at the Levitt Pavilion, helped out the Library, and contributed to the Saugatuck Shores vibe.
But he’s joining Ashford & Simpson, Neil Sedaka and Johnny Winter — among others — on the list of former Westport music royalty.
His Bermuda Lagoon home is on the market for $5.25 million. The price does not include his recording studio.
Nile Rodgers’ house. (Photo/Stephanie Loda for Greenwich Photography)
The Wall Street Journal reports:
The roughly half-acre property has about 90 feet of waterfront on the Bermuda Lagoon off Long Island Sound, Mr. Rodgers said. He bought the house in 1980 for $269,000, he said, because it offered a dock that he could use for boating.
Nile Rodgers’ house features water views from everywhere. (Photo/Stephanie Loda for Greenwich Photography)
Built in 1953, the house has an indoor pool, a library, a dining room and a great room with vaulted ceilings and a fireplace…
The recording studio, where Mr. Rodgers said he has hosted artists including Diana Ross, Slash, Blondie and Mick Jagger, has an outdoor terrace overlooking the lagoon. The studio, which was once an additional bedroom, is outfitted with audio equipment and a vocal recording booth, which isn’t included in the sale. It also has a Sub-Zero refrigerator and wet bar….
Nile Rodgers will be taking his gold and platinum records with him. (Photo/Stephanie Loda for Greenwich Photography)
He said he is selling the property because he plans to spend more time at his home in Turks and Caicos; he also has homes in New York City and Florida. He said he plans to donate proceeds from the sale of the house to his “We Are Family” foundation, which promotes cultural diversity and mentors youth.
Click here for the full story (and some awesome photos). (Hat tip: Jeff Jacobs)
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