Tag Archives: Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates

Roundup: Fashionably Alisyn, Startup Special Interests, Van Leeuwen’s Lines …

Fashionably Westport just got even more fashionable.

Alisyn Camerota — the award-winning journalist, and former CNN anchor and host — will join fellow TV personality Dave Briggs as co-emcee.

They’ll make this the liveliest “Fashionably” event ever. The Westport Downtown Association-sponsored show (February 28, 7 p.m., Westport Library) — a benefit for Homes with Hope — features the latest styles, from the town’s mot sophisticated and fashion-forward retailers. Models are local friends and celebrities.

Click here for tickets, and more information. To donate silent auctiono items, or become sponsors, email events@westportdowntown.com, or operations@westportdowntown.com.

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Startup Westport — our town’s public/private partnership for tech and entrepreneurial founders and funders — has spawned 2 intriguing special interest groups.

“Women in Tech & Innovation” is led by Tanaz Mody, an experienced venture capitalist and tech startup leader. The group welcomes all women, from experienced pros to those just getting started. Click here for more information.

The “Investor” special interest group is led by Dan Zuller, a VC investor and former entrepreneur. The group is for experienced founders and investors looking to connect, share insights, and engage in high-level discussions on emerging trends, market dynamics and the future of innovation. Click here to sign up for the first event, in March.

Meanwhile, last night’s inaugural first-Thursday-of-the-month social gathering was a smash.

Over 100 people gathered at Nômade for a high-energy night of networking, idea-sharing, drinks and fun.

Enjoying last night’s Startup Westport social event (clockwise from lower left): Jay Norris, Josh Guttman, Paige Parker, Ted Parker, Bari Schrager.

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Who opens an ice cream store in February — on a snowy day?

Van Leeuwen.

It was a great move.

Their new Church Lane shop was packed yesterday.

After all, every day is a good day for ice cream.

It didn’t hurt that they offered $1 scoops, and free totes.

Or that kids were home from school.

Because of a snow day.

(Photo/Doris Ghitelman)

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The next step for the proposed Sherwood Mill Pond project walkway project — including discussion of the gate and properties — is Tuesday (February 11, 7 p.m., Town Hall Room 201).

The Representative Town Meetingi Planning & Zoning, and Environment, Committees meet jointly to review plans.

Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates (Photo/Judith Katz)

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A reminder: Tomorrow (Saturday, February 8, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Stop & Shop), is the Westport Police Department and Sunrise Rotary Club food drive.

All donations support the Homes with Hope, and Westport Department of Human Services food pantries.

Police officers and volunteers will accept non-perishable food items and cash donations.

Suggested items include breakfast bars, baking goods, BBQ sauce, macaroni & cheese, canned vegetables and fruit, coffee, canned meats, canned stew, noodles, cereals, gluten-free foods, granola and protein bars, grated Parmesan cheese, hamburger and tuna helper, hearty soups, instant mashed potatoes, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, oatmeal, cooking oil, pancake mix and syrup, pasta and sauce, peanut butter and jelly, rice, spices, salad dressing, shelf-stable milk, and snacks. (No glass jars.)

Suggested personal care and household items include body wash, Clorox wipes, deodorant, dish soap, laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, razors, shampoo and oothpaste.

To volunteer, or offer a large pickup, call Anna Rycenga at 203-763-9656.

Volunteers, at a previous Sunrise Rotary Club and Westport Police Stop & Shop food drive.

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There are anecdotal stories that more Westporters are commuting back to New York City offices.

And then there’s photographic evidence:

(Photo/Bob Weingarten)

This was the scene Wednesday underneath the I-95 bridge, by the Greens Farms train station.

Scenes like this — from folks who don’t have a sticker, or find the parking lot full — have not been seen since before the pandemic.

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Emily Teall’s new “Tulip Bulb” sculpture has added a bit of whimsy to Grace Salmon Park.

The sculptor is one of many folks who have fun with it. Here she is: the artist, and her creation.

(Photo/Mary Schwartzman)

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Bonnie Bradley — the descendant of a famed Westport family, and who retained a lifelong love for this town — died Wednesday in Brentwood, Tennessee. She was 86, and lived in Roxbury, Connecticut.

Born in Bridgeport Ina Trivers Bradley and J. Kenneth Bradley, she grew up in Westport. Bonnie attended the Bolton School and Smith College.

She raised her children in Westport, and was deeply involved in the community. In 1999 she moved to Roxbury, where she continued her lifelong passion for service.

Bonnie was president of the Junior League of Greater Fairfield County, a board member of the Roxbury Senior Center and Friends of the Library, and a docent at the Glebe House in Woodbury.

She was predeceased by her sister, Deborah Donnelly. She is survived by her brother James Bradley; her children Brad Colby of Boca Raton, Florida, Stuart Weise of Brentwood, Tennesse, and Wendy Bradley of Woodstock Valley, Connecticut, and her granddaughter, Ainslie Bradley Tschamler.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday February 13 (10 a.m., Roxbury Congregational Church; click here for the livestream, and to leave online condolences). Burial will follow at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Friends of the Roxbury Library.

Bonnie Bradley
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Sand, snow and Sound combine to form today’s intriguing “Westport … Naturally” image:

(Photo/Pam Docters)

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And finally …Gene Barge died Sunday in Chicago. He was 98.

The New York Times calls him “one of the last surviving saxophonists of the golden age of R&B, whose career ran the gamut of 20th-century Black popular music.” Click here for a full obituary.

Among the hits he played on:

(You don’t really need to rescue “06880.” But tax-deductible contributions sure help keep this hyper-local blog alive. Just click here. And thank you!)

Roundup: Hurricane Help Collection Today …

Hours have been extended for dropping off donations for victims of Hurricane Helene today (Tuesday), at Stop & Shop.

Items will be accepted now through 2:30 p.m.

The drive is being conducted by the Westport Rotary Club and Westport Sunrise Rotary.

The list of desperately needed items is long. It includes food and other supplies; tools and equipment; other essentials, and medical supplies. Click here for a full list.

In other Helene news, the Y’s Men of Westport/Weston have raised enough money to buy 10 generators for North Carolina.

Money continues to pour in.

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Jaden Waldman is spending his fall afternoons playing freshman soccer at Staples High School. The team is great, but they don’t attract many fans — just a few parents and friends.

Jaden will be seen by exponentially more people this fall in another role: as the younger Dr. Oliver Wolf, Zachary Quinto’s character on NBC’s new series “Brilliant Minds.”

Based on Dr. Oliver Sacks — the exceptionally gifted neurologist who suffers from a rare condition that gives him a unique perspective on care — it airs Mondays at 10 p.m., then streams the following day on Peacock.

The teenager — who goes by Jaden Myles Waldman professionally — is equally at home on the soccer pitch and the stage. He debuted in 2021 (after a pandemic delay) in “Caroline, or Change.”

His other credits include “Ne Zha,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Plot Against America,” “Give or Take,” “Confetti,” and as Peter Pinkerton in “Pinkalicious & Peterrific.”

Jaden may be best known for his voice role as TO-B1 in the Emmy-nominated “Star Wars: Visions,” and Kun in the Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated movie “Mirai.”

Next up: a guest role on “Law & Order: SVU” October 24.

Jaden Waldman, in “Brilliant Minds.”

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And on TV right now: Jeffrey Pogue.

The 2023 Staples High School graduate was featured on the premiere of the new “Scrabble” game show.

For good reason: He’s a national Scrabble champion.

Producers flew Jeffrey — now a Brown University sophomore — to London this summer, for one day of shooting.

How did he do? Click here to see for yourself.

But we will say this: His father, David Pogue — a noted TV personality himself — is proud.

Very proud.

Jeffrey Pogue (right) on Scrabble TV.
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Yesterday’s Roundup included an item about signs from Huntington Learning Center and the Patch Boys that marred Kings Highway Colonial Cemetery.

Brian Rivel, who owns Huntington with his wife, notes that he did not place or dispose of his sign there.

“I was dismayed to read that,” he says. “We would never put a sign in a cemetery.”

Huntington Learning Center on Post Road East.

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The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee will hold a public meeting this Thursday (October 10, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201/201A).

Agenda items include the Jesup Green, Imperial Avenue and police station parking lots, and the parking study and feasibility analysis.

Remote and in-person comments from the public will be received as time is available. Comments can also be emailed to DPIC-comments@westportct.gov.

The future of the police station is one key to the development of a new downtown parking plan.

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Speaking of local politics: The Board of Finance regularly votes on big appropriations — our tax dollars at work.

But they don’t just study spreadsheets and grill town officials. Sometimes, they take field trips to better understand funding requests.

This Friday (October 11, noon), BOF members head to Old Mill Beach. They’ll walk on the pedestrian bridges and examine the tidal gates. It’s part of a request for $5,580,000 from the Public Works Department director, to rehabilitate the walkway and structure.

One of the 2 Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates. (Photo/Phil Delano)

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There are only 78 days until Christmas

And just one month — 28 days — till Election Day.

Early voting takes place Monday, October 21 through Sunday, November 3, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.

On October 29 and 31, the hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voting on Election Day (Tuesday, November 5), is from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., at regular polling places. Click here to view a district map.

Registrations done online, at the Department of Motor Vehicles or by mail must be completed (postmarked or received by the Westport Registrar of Voters by October 18.

All applications to register to vote after October 18 must be done in person at Town Hall, Room 107, in order to vote on November 5.

Citizens may also register and vote in person during the early voting period or on Election Day through same-day registration at Westport Town Hall, Room 107.

Meanwhile, the registrars of voters will begin memory card and tabulator testing this Thursday (October 10, 9:30 a.m., Town Hall, Room 212D.  The public is welcome to observe on Thursday, or until completion

Questions about any of the above? Email the registrars of voters: Deborah Greenberg (Democrats): dgreenberg@westportct.gov, 203-341-1116; Maria Signore (Republicans):  msignore@westportct.gov, 203-341-1117.

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Add this to your little kids’ Halloween activity list: a “fa-boo-lous”time at Wakeman Town Farm.

Youngsters ages 0-5 are invited — in costume — for a fun event October 25 (2 to 3 p.m.). Click here for tickets.

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Lynette Washington headlines this week’s Jazz at the Post (Thursday, October 10, VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner begins at 7 p.m.; $20 music cover, $15 for veterans and students).

Her extensive career in jazz, R&B and gospel has taken her around the world.

Lynette will be joined by pianist Amina Figarova, bassist Will Goble, flutist Bart Platteau and drummer Vinton Hines, Jr. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Spice — a gift shop specializing in fashion, home, entertaining, and baby and child goods — will move into the Sconset Square space recently vacated by Bespoke Designs.

This is Spice’s second location. The first is in Delray Beach, Florida.

(Photo/Sal Liccione)

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A bit of needed rain came and left yesterday morning.

The sun quickly came out. But not before Celia Campbell-Mohn captured this scene, at the Westport Weston Family YMCA, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Celia Campbell-Mohn)

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And finally … in honor of the arrival of Spice, Westport’s newest store (story above):

(Whether you’re scary, sporty, baby, ginger or posh, you’re part of our great online “06880” community. And we rely on you — our readers — to support our work. Please click here to help. Thanks!)

Pics Of The Day #2407

One of the Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates …

… and the other (Photos/Judith Katz)

Photo Challenge #457

Whenever someone asks about “hidden Westport gems” — and for some reason, they do — my go-to answer is: Sherwood Mill Pond and Compo Cove.

While perhaps not “hidden” — millions of people see the Pond from I-95 and the train — the pedestrian pathway out there sort of is.

You have to park at Old Mill, and walk there. Or ride your bike and then jump off the bridge, as thousands of kids have done for a century.

Along the way, there are 2 tidal gates. They’re the kind of high-tech successors to previous gates. They perform important environmental functions, helping the Mill Pond stay healthy and clean.

Millions of oysters, and countless crabs, harvested from the water attests to their efficiency.

Plenty of readers love that path, and quickly recognized the tidal gates — last week’s Photo Challenge. (Click here to see.)

Congratulations to Brooks Sumberg, Andrew Colabella, Diane Silfen, Molly Alger, Matt Murray, Jalna Jaeger, Beth Berkowitz, Michelle Scher Saunders and Suki Nolte.

Here’s another water-themed Photo Challenge. If you know where in Westport you’d see this, click “Comments” below.

 (Photo/Amy Schneider)

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Pic Of The Day #2063

How not to moor a boat near the Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates (Photo/Rick Benson)

Pic Of The Day #1310

Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates (Photo/Judith Katz)

Pic Of The Day #825

Tidal gate at Sherwood Mill Pond (Photo/Paul Delano)

Pics Of The Day #558

Today’s nor’easter caused havoc throughout Westport. This was the scene at Burying Hill Beach. (Photo/Nico Eisenberger)

The wind and full moon whipped the water all the way to the Compo Beach parking lot. (Photo/Ian Warburg)

Water rose nearly to the top of the Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates. (Photo/Robin Tauck)

Today’s nor’easter damaged this 1915 Compo Cove house. It’s weathered many previous ones too. (Photo/Robin Tauck)

On the other side of the Mill Pond, waves lashed Old Mill Beach at Compo Cove. (Photo/Robin Tauck)

A flooded yard at Old Mill Beach … (Photo/Matt Murray)

… and, behind Old Mill, the garage for Compo Cove residents was under water. (Photo/Matt Murray)

A backyard on Stony Point Road. It’s behind the high wall near the train station eastbound parking lot, by the Saugatuck River. (Photo/Richard Jaffe)

Today’s storm brought the Chipper B — the abandoned vessel near Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club — another 10 feet closer to shore. (Photo/Jennifer Seymour)

Photo Challenge #133

Last week’s photo challenge was easy. You might call it a “clam dunk.”

Richard Hyman’s photo showed devices under the 2nd wooden bridge at Sherwood Mill Pond, just before Compo Cove.

They were described variously as a “sluice gate,” “pumps,” “pond gates,” “lock system,” “flood control gates” and “water control mechanism.”

Actually they’re electric gates, installed around 1990. They replaced hand cranks.

Craig Clark provided important context:

They are neither locks or flood gates, but gates to keep water in the pond after high tide. The escaping water was then used to run the grist mill. On an incoming tide there was about 2 feet of clearance under the gates. Many of us swam under them, much to the distaste of the lifeguards.

As the tide changed, the gates would close and hold water back, hence the name Mill Pond. The gates were raised yearly to flush out the pond and allow any repair work to be done to the stone coffer dams, and flush out some of the other stuff that would accumulate.

The Mill Pond has gotten a lot shallower over the years, due to sand coming from Compo Cove and the state park. Farmers used to harvest the salt hay that grows on the flats, and the channels were cut for mosquito control. The Mill Pond is one of Westport’s and the state’s true treasures.

Congratulations to the 24 alert readers — a record! — who knew their onions: Fred Cantor, Luke Garvey, Lisa Marie Alter, Vanessa Wilson, Matt Murray, Craig Clark, Andrew Colabella, Rich Stein, Bob Stalling, Susan Granger, Robert Mitchell, John Brandt, Martin Gitlin, Stan Skowronski, Jill Turner Odice, Antony Lantier, Julie Fatherley, Peter Swift, Jay Tormey, Joelle Malec, Michael, Pettee, Rosalie Kaye, Linda Amos and Don Jacobs. (Click here for the photo, and all responses.)

Since last week’s photo challenge was so easy, here’s a tough one. If you recognize this sign, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Paul Curtis)