Tag Archives: Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve

Roundup: Jaime Bairaktaris, Sherry Jagerson, Saugatuck Church Pride …

Posted on June 17, 2024 | 8 comments

Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service’s new president is a familiar face — but also a young one.

Jaime Bairaktaris has already served as a board member and crew chief. When he succeeds Michael Burns on July 1, the 26-year-old will be the youngest Westport EMS president in history.

He began volunteering in 2013 as a Staples High School freshman. He has logged
nearly 3,000 hours since.

Bairaktaris was named Volunteer of the Year in 2016, and Crew Chief of the
Year in 2022.

EMS is one of his many activities. Bairaktaris works full-time as a support staff member at Redding’s John Read Middle School, and recently finished a term on the Westport Representative Town Meeting for District 4. He also founded and publishes The Westport Local Press.

Bairaktaris hopes to add initiatives for current volunteers, while attracting and growing the next generation of EMTs.

Another goal is to strengthen public education, with new classes focused on mental health.

Current president Burns will transition to serve as vice president, continuing his work on the non-profit’s new endowment goals to allow long-term financial sustainability.

Burns’ leadership was crucial to WVEMS’s growth and stability following the pandemic.

For more information on Westport Volunteer EMS and its service to Westport, click here.

Jaime Bairaktaris

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Sherry Jagerson got the sendoff she deserved on Saturday afternoon.

Friends and admirers packed the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport. They smiled and laughed as family members and colleagues told stories about the longtime Westporter’s many accomplishments, as a sailor, sailmaker and women’s sailing instructor; self-taught home renovator and repairperson; environmental activist and Nash Pond steward; human rights advocate; mother, grandmother, and role model to all.

The next day, 2 dozen family members and friends paid the ultimate tribute to the passionate woman, who died earlier this month at 80.

They gathered at the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve — whose transformation from the former Allen’s Clam House to an idyllic spot for reflection and kayak launching Jagerson spearheaded over a decade ago — to weed, prune and replant the site.

As they worked, the crew told Jagerson’s story to curious passersby and preserve-goers. They included 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, who was there to go kayaking, and volunteered to take a group photo.

Sherry Jagerson’s family and friends, at Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve. (Photo/Jen Tooker)

“It was a fabulous few hours, giving us one more opportunity to show our appreciation and gratitude for our amazing mom,” daughter Stacy Fowle says.

Cleaning up Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve. (Photo/Stacy Fowle)

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Several dozen people enjoyed the warm sun and broad front lawn, at Saugatuck Congregational Church’s first-ever Pride event yesterday.

There was food, camaraderie, a bouncy house for kids, and more.

Including plenty of rainbows.

Saugatuck Church prepares for Pride. (Photo/Richard Fogel)

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Compo Shopping Center has the parking lot Westporters love to hate.

The front is narrow, confusing and dangerous. The rear is spacious, but — in part because it has been potholed and poorly maintained — underutilized.

Part of that problem has been solved. New owners Regency Centers recently repaved part of the back lot.

It’s a great improvement. Now, about rest of the place …

Compo Shopping Center repaving. (Photo/Rob Haroun)

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“Who” stopped by for a Father’s Day “Westport … Naturally” portrait yesterday?

This guy!

(Photo/Barry Kresch)

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And finally … on this date in 1631, Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, spent the next 17 years building her mausoleum. Today it is called the Taj Mahal.

(Welcome to another week of Roundups: your best source each day for whatever has happened, is happening or will happen in the 06880. Please click here to support our hard work. Thank you!)

8 Comments

Posted in Environment, Local business, religion

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Remembering Sherry Jagerson

Posted on May 29, 2024 | 12 comments

Westport resident and wide-ranging civic volunteer Sheryl (“Sherry”) Jagerson died Sunday, after a long illness. She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren, at her longtime Nash Pond home. She was 80 years old.

Her family says, “Sherry led an extraordinary life, filled with adventure, curiosity and a deep love for her family, the environment and her community. Her inquisitive spirit, unflagging positivity and sense of wonder inspired those in her orbit, and leave a lasting legacy.”

Young Sherry Jagerson

Sherry graduated from Long Beach State University, in the city where she was raised.

She grew up body surfing and water skiing, the foundation for her enduring love of the ocean and outdoors.

Sherry married Gordon Todd Jagerson in 1964. They and their 3 children moved to Connecticut in 1972.

Though she and Todd divorced, they remained lifelong friends and co-parents. Over the next 50 years Sherry raised 2 generations. She was a gracious host to many in her unique log cabin, set against the beauty of Nash Pond.

Sherry was a sailor and captain. She worked for many years in the sailing industry, and as an entrepreneur. After an early stint at North Sails and Ockam Instruments, she started Jagerson Sail Loft. She made and repaired sails for 10 years.

Later she created Women’s Sailing Adventures, a business teaching women open-ocean sailing in Maine, the San Juan Islands, the Caribbean and New Zealand.

Sherry Jagerson, at sea.

Sherry was an ocean sailing veteran at a time when it was rare for women to crew ocean races. She competed in several Bermuda Races, a transatlantic race, and survived the harrowing 1979 Fastnet race. She was also a first mate, sailing for Sea Education Association (SEA) out of Woods Hole.

Sherry was an avid hiker too, leading family outings on the Appalachian Trail for many years.

Sherry Jagerson with her daughter, Stacy Fowle.

In her later years Sherry became an activist for many causes, focused on water, nature and her community.

She was a steward for Nash Pond. She helped create the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve, on the site of the former Allen’s Clam House.

Sherry Jagerson was a driving force behind development of the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.

Sherry led one of the first initiatives to ban plastic bags in the country. She created the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, helped found the Westbridge Coalition, was a founding board member for United with Kenya, and served on the board of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport.

Sherry is survived by her children Stacy (Andy) Fowle, Wendy (Max) Teleki and Gordon “Ty” Jagerson (Elisa); grandchildren Adelaide, Clementine, Jasper, Ayla, Tibor, Taj, Ava, Naoma and Huck; former husband Todd Jagerson, and siblings William J. Gillis II and Patricia Shephard.

A celebration of Sherry’s life, open to the community, is set for Saturday, June 15 (1:30 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport).

In lieu of flowers, Sherry would have wanted people to donate or give time to their favorite environmental organization. Those Sherry supported included Harbor Watch, Sierra Club, Earthplace and the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Sherry Jagerson (blue), surrounded by her children, grandchildren and in-laws.

12 Comments

Posted in Environment, Obituaries

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Roundup: 136 Riverside Avenue, Antisemitism, Sister City Aid …

Posted on December 8, 2023 | 15 comments

136 Riverside Avenue is one step closer to reality.

This week, the Board of Finance approved a 40-year deed restriction for supportive housing for people with special needs.

The 1880 Victorian just north of Saugatuck Elementary School — owned by the town, and used previously by the Board of Education — will include 5 apartments. Four are for people with special needs; one will be rented to a staff member, who also qualifies under regulations for affordable housing.

The off-site affordable housing is part of the Richmondville Mill project. Funding came from Sam Gault and Joe Feinleib.

It’s a great example of public/private cooperation to address affordable housing needs. The town gets a $500,000 prepaid lease, on property it still owns. The historic house got a $2 million restoration (and landscaping) through Redniss & Mead.

Abilis — the 72-year-old nonprofit serving over 800 people with special needs — gets a completely redone home, gratis, for clients. Each unit includes a kitchenette and private bath

The town gets moratorium points toward affordable housing units — without going through the contentious 8-30g process.

Once a certificate of occupancy is granted, residents and a staff member will move in.

136 Saugatuck Avenue

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Representative Town Meeting member Matthew Mandell rose, at Tuesday’s meeting, and requested time to speak on a subject he feels strongly about: antisemitism.

Click below to hear his words:

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Less than 72 hours after announcing a holiday fund drive to heat 2,000 homes for the winter in Westport’s sister city of Lyman, Ukraine, we’re already more than 3/4 of the way to our goal.

We’re aiming for $60,000. That would pay for 2 wood pellet machines. Each would heat 1,000 homes — all heavily damaged in the Russian invasion, and all filled with families facing a cold, bleak winter.

Thanks to 2 large anonymous donations, and dozens of smaller ones, we’ve raised $48,112. We are less $12,000 away from helping 2,000 people — many of them elderly, and children — in the war-torn town.

Come on, Westport! Let’s close this out today! $30 will heat one apartment for the winter. $300 will heat 10. Any gift — of any amount — will make the winter bearable, in our sister city.

To donate by credit card, click here; then click the “I want to support” box; then select “Westport — Lyman Sister City.” Scroll down on the Donate page for other options: mail, wire transfer and Venmo. Thank you!

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The short block of Rayfield Road between Post Road East and Spicer Road is public — and gets plenty of traffic.

For years, Volvo of Westport used both sides as a parking lot. After many complaints, the Board of Selectwomen voted to ban parking there. The “No Parking” signs went up a month ago.

Big deal.

Volvo — and others — continue to park there.

This was the scene Wednesday, at 2 p.m.: 6 cars. Plus a tractor-trailer.

Police: Take note!

(Photo/Arthur Hayes)

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Speaking of parking … a reader sends a photo from yesterday morning, at the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve:

He writes: “Granted, there might not be huge demand for the very limited parkin spaces this time of year.

“But there were 4 commercial vehicles parked there, presumably by contractors working on a nearby house.

“I know there’s not much available parking down here. But those few spaces are intended for residents’ recreational use.”

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50,000 copies of “Agent Orange” — the new book by Westport author and Vietnam veteran Carl Addison Swanson — have been delivered to 4 regional VA offices. They’ll be distributed free to former servicemembers.

“The dreadful chemicals, some 19 million pounds, sprayed on Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the war have now murdered over 300,000 veterans since we left Vietnam in 1975,” Swanson notes.

Click here for more information on the book, and to order. Click here for Swanson’s website.

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Ring cameras capture some plenty of prosaic scenes.

And some pretty interesting ones.

But even the cutest deer nuzzling up against a door, or the most brazen thief running away with an Amazon delivery, can’t compare with this video, from a couple of nights ago, in the Cranbury neighborhood:

Screenshot of Ring video (courtesy of Brian McGunagle)

That’s right. You’ve always been told there’s no such thing as a unicorn.

Now you’ve seen two.

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Happy anniversary to The Granola Bar!

It was 10 years ago yesterday that the almost instantly popular restaurant opened in Playhouse Square.

To celebrate — and for a limited time only — they’re offering a Morning Zest Parfait.

It’s made with morning zest granola, Greek yogurt, almost butter and strawberry compote, it’s part of TGB’s 10th anniversary menu. The Classic Parfait, Shrek, Granola Bowl, Dana, The Good Date, Very Berry and Lemon Drop are all just $10.

And — if you use the discount code “GC10” — you get 10% off online gift cards. The offer is only good through (of course) December 10.

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The Staples football team hopes for a great turnout tomorrow (Saturday, December 9, 5 p.m., Central Connecticut State University’s Arute Field), for their state “LL” (extra large schools) championship game against West Haven.

All tickets must be bought online (click here).

But if you can’t make it to New Britain, there’s a livestream. Click here (and follow the prompts to subscribe).

As exciting as the game is, it’s tinged with tragedy. Christopher Fidalgo-Pugh — a sophomore player for West Haven — died suddenly on Tuesday.

Carmen Roda — Westport Parks & Recreation Department operations manager, and director of the Fairfield County Football League — is helping raise funds for funeral costs. Click here for the GoFundMe link.

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This bobcat looked right at home yesterday, hanging out on a deck off Wilton Road and posing for his “Westport … Naturally” close-up.

(Photo/Tom Carey)

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And finally … Denny Laine — the singer/songwriter/guitarist who co-founded both the Moody Blues and Wings — died Tuesday in Florida. He was 79, and suffered from interstitial lung disease. Click here for a full obituary.

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15 Comments

Posted in Beach, Local politics, Politics

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Pics Of The Day #2311

Posted on August 16, 2023 | 2 comments

Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve … (Photo/Bobbi Essagof)

… with an oyster boat and apparatus … (Photo/Karen Como)

… and reflections of the Mill Pond clouds (Photo/Michael Friedland)

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Posted in Beach

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Friday Flashback #120

Posted on December 14, 2018 | 25 comments

Last week’s demolition of the old Positano’s restaurant — remembered by real old-time Westporters as its earlier incarnation, Café de la Plage — evoked a welter of emotions.

It also revived memories of Allen’s Clam House, the other waterfront restaurant in the otherwise residential  neighborhood.

Allen’s was right around the corner, on Sherwood Mill Pond. Built in 1890 by Captain Walter Allen, customers flocked there for seafood — and views — from as far as New York.

Allen’s Clam House, in the 1940s.

It was the go-to place for generations of celebrations — proms, anniversaries, holidays, you name it.

An aerial view of Allen’s Clam House, on the Sherwood Mill Pond. (Photo courtesy of Paul Ehrismann)

In 1999, the restaurant and surrounding .83-acre property was up for sale. To protect it from the developers, the town bought it for $1.2 million. Private donations — including $50,000 each from Paul Newman and Harvey Weinstein — defrayed part of the cost.

The restaurant was torn down a few years later. Today — thanks to efforts of Sherry Jagerson, and a group of dedicated volunteers — the land is known as the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.

It’s one of Westport’s hidden-in-plain-sight gems. Of course, you can’t buy clams there any more.

But you can bring your own, and have a very fine picnic indeed.

Captain Allen and his wife Lida, in front of the clam house.

25 Comments

Posted in Beach, Environment, Friday Flashback, Restaurants

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Pics Of The Day #401

Posted on May 23, 2018 | 4 comments

One view of Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve … 

… and one from there. (Photos/Betsy P. Kahn)

4 Comments

Posted in Beach, Environment, Pic of the Day

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Pic Of The Day #84

Posted on July 10, 2017 | 5 comments

Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve (Photo/Katherine Bruan)

5 Comments

Posted in Beach, Pic of the Day

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Photo Challenge #121

Posted on April 23, 2017 | 4 comments

Some of our photo challenges are easy. Some are hard.

But I don’t think I’ve ever posted one where a number of people get the right answer — but even more guess the same wrong answer.

Last week’s photo showed a picnic bench near some water. It could very well have been taken from the top of Burying Hill, looking out at Long Island Sound below.

Seven people thought it was.

But Seth Schachter actually shot the image at ground level. The bench was at Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve — the former site of Allen’s Clam House, now a wonderful, peaceful spot with tons of native grasses and plants. (Click here for the photo, and all the other wrong guesses.)

Chris Swan was the first person to answer (and he nailed it). Good thing, too — he’s been a member of the Sherwood Mill Pond Advisory Committee since its inception in 2005. (Plus, he grew up — and still lives — nearby.)

Kudos too to Matt Murray (another neighbor), Joyce Barnhart, Golda Villa, Kimberly Englander Leonard and Rebecca Wolin. I’m sure they all enjoy the preserve’s quiet beauty.

Now you can too. But ssshhh — don’t tell anyone!

This week’s photo challenge also includes a bit of water. Click “Comments” below if you know where it is.

4 Comments

Posted in Beach, Photo Challenge

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Restaurant Rights Abandoned; Big Changes Ahead For Old Mill Beach

Posted on December 23, 2016 | 28 comments

The on-again, off-again, on-again saga of a restaurant near Old Mill Beach is off again.

This time, forever.

When Positano — the latest in a string of restaurants on Hillspoint Road — closed almost exactly 2 years ago, there was speculation the new owners wanted to tear it down, and build a big house right there on the sand.

There was also talk that some neighbors — fearing the loss of their shoreline view, and enjoying the funkiness of a restaurant in the midst of a residential area — were doing what they could to make sure a new restaurant took Positano’s place.

The "Positano property," at Old Mill Beach diagonally across from Elvira's.

The “Positano property,” at Old Mill Beach diagonally across from Elvira’s.

That was somewhat ironic. When Positano applied for patio dining in 2012, neighborhood opposition scuttled the plan. Lack of outdoor seating was one factor leading to Positano’s closing, and its subsequent move to a new location next to the Westport Country Playhouse.

Though a number of residents worked for months to get another restaurant on the site, one neighbor continued to object. She sued.

Now comes news that the owner of the property — an LLC with an office in Nashville, Tennessee — has filed an affidavit with Westport’s Planning and Zoning Department. The owner acknowledges and affirms that “any and all commercial uses of the premises at 233 Hillspoint Road have been irrevocably abandoned and discontinued.”

In other words, any chances for a new restaurant — grandfathered in as a pre-existing condition — has been killed. Now, and in perpetuity.

Before it was Positano, 233 Hillspoint Road was several other restaurants (including, most notably, Cafe de la Plage). But before THAT it was a grocery store. Among its names: Beach Food Mart, and Joe's.

Before it was Positano, 233 Hillspoint Road was several other restaurants (including, most notably, Cafe de la Plage). But before THAT it was a grocery store. Among its names: Beach Food Mart (above), and Joe’s.

So what happens next?

The property is back on the market. It’s listed as “A Generational Waterfront Opportunity.”

Potential buyers have a chance to “build and live directly on Compo Cove Beach’s [sic] most unique [sic] lot with spectacular Long Island Sound views.” The land “is now available for a luxury private home to be built.”

Buyers can enjoy “the most beautiful expansive water views, spectacular sunrises and sunsets” (those sunsets might be tough, since the listing notes it is an “east facing property”, and Compo Hill is a substantial obstruction to the west).

This photo from the real estate listing shows the current footprint of the former restaurant (center). The yellow line shows the property boundaries.

This photo from the real estate listing shows the current footprint of the former restaurant (center). The yellow line shows the property boundaries. Click on or hover over to enlarge.

The listing continues:

Enjoy the ever-changing tides and light, the shore birds, and the tranquility that exists with living right on the beach. With no neighbor to your right,  it’s like having your own front row seat to the best Long Island Sound offers — sunbathing, swimming, fishing boating…

Seize this opportunity to create your own magnificent custom home for the first time ever on this site.

The cost?

A mere $4,500,000.

But wait! There’s more!

Elvira’s — diagonally across Hillspoint from #233 — continues to be on the market too. There’s been no sale yet, but word on the soon-to-drastically-change street is that it may not remain a grocery store/ community center.

All of which is food for thought.

A good place to think about it is at the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve.

You know — where for nearly a century, Allen’s Clam House used to be.

28 Comments

Posted in Beach, Local business, Looking back, Places, Restaurants

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Preserving Preserve Parking

Posted on June 10, 2016 | 13 comments

The Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve is a Westport gem.

Located on the site of the old Allen’s Clam House, on Hillspoint Road a few steps from Old Mill Beach, it’s an oasis of wetland plants, vegetative buffers and walking paths.

Painters, bird watchers, book readers, flower lovers, parents with kids, lunch breakers — all find peace and beauty there.

Hard work helped make the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve what it is today.

Hard work helped make the Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve what it is today.

Unfortunately, they’re not the only ones who know about it.

Though the tiny parking lot is reserved for people enjoying or tending to the preserve, neighborhood and visiting cars — some very large — and trucks belonging to workers on nearby property often take up every spot.

Police occasionally ticket, but that doesn’t stop people from parking there.

That’s bad enough. What’s worse is the drivers who, when asked to move their cars, get belligerent toward the volunteers — mostly older women — who weed, water and pick up trash.

The scene below is typical. Not only were the drivers not preserve-goers — but one car parked on the paths, in the midst of the ecologically sensitive plantings.

Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve 1

This truck is pushed up against equipment used to care for the park.

Sherwood Mill Pond Preserve 2

I am fully aware that publicizing preserve parking may exacerbate — not solve — the problem. And I know that entitled parkers sometimes look upon these photos as badges of honor.

I’m posting this anyway.

Call me stupid or naive. But I truly believe that human nature is inherently good.

Particularly where Mother Nature is involved.

13 Comments

Posted in Beach, Environment, Places

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