Tag Archives: Sigrid Schultz

Roundup: Startup Pitch, Farmers’ Market Switch …

Posted on November 11, 2025 | 4 comments

If you like “Shark Tank,” you’ll love Westport Start-up’s first-ever Pitch Competition.

Five finalists — out of 77 applicants — will compete for $25,000 in non-dilutive funding November 20 (6 p.m., Westport Library).

The judges — all Westport-based venture capitalists — will evaluate live pitches from early-stage companies that have spent month refining their businesses, through mentorship and coaching, including Start-up Westport, the local public/private partnership of innovators and entrepreneurs.

Those finalists are:

  • Chroma Shield– Medical device technology
  • Mirabelle Medical– Women’s breast health technology
  • Neuro Puffs– Better-for-you snacks
  • Nexa Tax– Tax technology for athletes
  • Wheel Price– Automotive marketplace platform

May the best team win!

(To register to attend, click here.)

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Sure, the leaves are falling. The air is crisper.

But the biggest indication that the seasons are changing is the move of the Westport Farmers’ Market from outdoors on Imperial, to its winter indoor location at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center (7 Sylvan Lane).

The first date is November 20. Every Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the greenhouses will be filled with fresh, locally sourced produce and prepared foods.

Also on tap: kids’ activities, music, food trucks, and holiday pop-ups.

New this year: Once-a-month Saturday markets, beginning December 6.

In response to community feedback, WFM is also excited to expand the market with the addition of once-per-month Saturday markets (December 6th, January 3, February 7, March 7).

A pre-Thanksgiving market is set for Tuesday, November 25 (the WFM is closed on that holiday). Featured items include fresh produce, meats, desserts, flowers, pet food and more.

Click here to learn more about the Westport Farmers’ Market. Follow them on social media: @westportfarmersmarket.

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How do young Westporters learn the importance of Veterans Day?

By doing what the Cub Scouts of Pack 39 did on Sunday.

Working with Phil Delgado and Patty Kondub of Westport VFW Post 399, 4th grade Webelos Scouts visited Christ & Holy Trinity Cemetery on Kings Highway North. Very carefully, they placed flags at veterans’ graves.

Those flags provide a vivid, patriotic background today, as we honor all the men and women who served.

(Photos/Carlos Capellán)

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Yesterday’s “recanvass” of 3 Representative Town Meeting (RTM) election results — those decided by 20 votes or less — did not change any results.

It did cut Kristin Schneeman’s winning margin for the 4th and final District 9 seat from 3 votes to 2, over Sal Liccione. Both are incumbents.

When it was over, the loser congratulated and embraced the winner. As John Suggs — who was there at Town Hall — notes, “a real class act on Sal’s part!”

Kristin Schneeman and Sal Liccione. (Photo/John Suggs)

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Sustainable Westport takes their mission seriously.

And means much more than just composting, recycling and electric vehicles.

This weekend, the non-profit teams up with the Senior Center and Westport woman’s Club to collect lightly used durable medical equipment, to support Wheel It Forward.

Crutches, canes, wheelchairs, walkers, knee scooters, shower tub seats, toilet risers, new commodes and unopened disposable items can be dropped off at the Woman’s Club (44 Imperial Avenue), on Saturday, November 15 (8 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m.) and Sunday, November 16 (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

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A new documentary about World War II journalist Sigrid Schultz — a longtime Westport resident — is nearing completion.

“Eyes on Evil” chronicles Schultz’s remarkable career covering the rise and fall of Nazi Germany — from the liberated exuberance of Weimar Berlin to Hitler’s ascent and the devastating aftermath.

It includes the years during the war when Schultz returned to the US and settled in Westport, after being injured in a British bombing raid on Berlin. She launched a nationwide lecture tour to warn Americans about the growing threat of Hitler’s regime.

In 1945 she was among a small group of reporters to cover the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The film is directed by Vanessa Johnston, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and former Reuters producer based in Washington. She made several trips to Westport, including an interview with historian John Suggs.

Johnston has just launched a fundraising campaign. Click here for details.

Sigrid Schultz

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Congratulations to the Westport Police Department, and Officer Dominque Carr.

The WPD recently earned a Gold Traffic Safety Award from AAA Northeast. Only 12 police departments in the state received the honor, presented to communities that have implement programs and projects that have an active safety committee, and for efforts in education, engineering and enforcement, along with other statistical measures of success

Carr — a member of the WPD traffic enforcement division — was recognized for his efforts as a “traffic safety leader.”

From left: Officer Dominque Carr, Captain Eric Woods, Lieutenant Sereniti Dobson.

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“The A Chronicles 10-Minute Play Festival” — “bold, funny and fearless short dramas” by 9 playwrights, selected from over 350 submissions — runs for 2 performances on November 19 (2 and 7 p.m., at MoCA\CT).

The A Chronicles stages live theatrical events around reproductive rights —”amplifying voices, disrupting narratives to fuel real conversations.”

Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Composer/pianist Steve Sandberg plays Ellington, Monk, Mingus and Sandberg, blending classical, world music and jazz with exciting improvisation.

On Thursday, he brings his talents to Jazz at the Post (VFW Post 399; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner from 7).

Sandberg is joined by bassist Michael O’Brien, drummer Jeff Hirshfield, and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Squirrels are a dime a dozen around here.

But an albino squirrel — like today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature (spotted across the border in Weston — that’s one in 100,000, says photographer Andy Berliner.

(Photo/Andy Berliner)

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And finally … to all the men and women who have served our country, so bravely and so well, for so long:

 

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Roundup: Thanksgiving Pies, PopUp Bagels, Balducci’s …

Posted on October 24, 2025 | 3 comments

Here’s the first Thanksgiving item of the year.

It won’t be the last.

Wakeman Town Farm’s annual Pie Sale begins next month. Proceeds support Earth Animal’s Mitten Project, aiding CT Food Share.

Orders can be placed for fresh-baked 9-inch Oronoque Farms pies: apple, apple crumb, blueberry, blueberry crumb, cherry, cherry crumb, and pumpkin (the latter is unbaked and frozen). Pies are $25 each.

Orders can include “a la mode,” with pints of Madagascar vanilla or bourbon brown sugar ice cream from Lindsay’s Handmade Ice Cream. Pints are $10 each.

Click here to order, and for more information.

Order today!

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Speaking of food: PopUp Bagels is going bicoastal.

The innovative baker — born as a lark in Westport during COVID — has already expanded to 4 Connecticut, 8 New York and 3 Massachusetts locations, plus 1 each in Tampa and Charlotte.

Next up: San Diego.

Specifically, La Jolla.

PopUp’s tagline is “Not famous, but known.” They may soon have to change it to “Not everywhere, but close.”

“06880” reader Elliot Weiler spotted this sight, on a recent visit to La Jolla. “06880”‘s tagline is right: “Where Westport meets the world.”

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Speaking still of food: Atlantic Retail is advertising a “rare big box opportunity on Route 1 in Westport, CT.”

The subject line in an email to realtors describes the 1385 Post Road property as “NEW Listing: Former Balducci Space Available.”

Photos show the store, with its 12,233 square feet on the ground floor, and more on the second and lower levels.

But Balducci’s is not “former.”

Nor, according to a manager who answered the phone, are they closing. “I’d be one of the first to know,” he says.

“06880” has learned that Balducci’s has a 10-year lease.

Stay tuned.

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The Staples High School boys soccer team lost only 2 matches, this season.

Last night at Fairfield Warde, they avenged one. Brendan Allen’s goal, and air-tight defense, helped the Wreckers beat Stamford 1-0, in the FCIAC (league) semifinal.

That vaults them into Monday’s final. They’ll face Greenwich: the only other squad to edge them this year. Kickoff is 6 p.m. October 27, at Fairfield Warde.

Staples is shooting for its 28th FCIAC title — by far the most in the league. But it would be their first since 2010, which was capped a string of 3 straight. They made the finals the next year too, but fell to Trumbull.

The Staples girls soccer team, meanwhile, has a semifinal of their own. They face Greenwich tonight (Friday) at Fairfield Ludlowe. Game time is 5 p.m.

Staples boys soccer celebrates their win. (Photo/John Walker)

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Through the first 4 days of early voting, 3.6 % of eligible Westport voters have cast ballots.

The breakdown:

  • Democrats: 413 of 7,952 eligible voters (5.19%)
  • Republicans: 91 of 3,338 eligible voters (2.73%)
  • Unaffiliated: 175 of 7,582 eligible voters (2.31%)

Early voting continues this weekend, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Town Hall.

The early voting schedule next week, also at Town Hall:

Monday, October 27              10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday, October 28              8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, October 29        10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday, October 30            8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, October 31                 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 1           10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday, November 2             10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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A new documentary about World War II journalist Sigrid Schultz — a longtime Westport resident, is nearing completion.

“Eyes on Evil” chronicles Schultz’s remarkable career covering the rise and fall of Nazi Germany — from the liberated exuberance of Weimar Berlin to Hitler’s ascent and the devastating aftermath.

It includes the years during the war when Schultz returned to the US and settled in Westport, after being injured in a British bombing raid on Berlin. She launched a nationwide lecture tour to warn Americans about the growing threat of Hitler’s regime.

In 1945 she was among a small group of reporters to cover the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The film is directed by Vanessa Johnston, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and former Reuters producer based in Washington. She made several trips to Westport, including an interview with historian John Suggs.

Johnston will launch a fundraising campaign next month. To register for updates, click here.

Sigrid Schultz …

… and Vanessa Johnston and John Suggs, at the plaque honoring Sigrid Schultz off Elm Street. Schultz lived near there.

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Today’s great Halloween lawn decoration comes from Bradley Street:

(Photo/Celia Campbell-Mohn)

That’s in the Compo Beach neighborhood. So you know there will be plenty of kids (and parents) passing by, a week from today.

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Speaking of Halloween: Tomorrow (Saturday, 2 p.m.), the Westport Library hosts its Pinkalicious Party.

After Victoria Kann reads from her best-selling “Pinkalicious” book, youngsters are invited to join a costume parade around the Library, and trick or treat for Pinkalicious treats on Jesup Green. Click here to register.

Pinkalicious, at the Library.

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Westporters know Frank Murgalo as “Santa Claus” at our annual Holiday Stroll (Shhhh … don’t tell the kids!)

He’s also a Marine Corps veteran, who donates time and energy to many excellent causes.

Now — at 82 — he’s written a memoir.

“My Mid-Life Crisis at 82: A Life of Mischief, Mayhem and Making It Work…” chronicles his wild, adventurous life. He navigated diverse careers, pulled off international hoaxes, and discovered that “success lies in the outrageous ride rather than the finish line.”

Murgalo has been an auditor, fishmonger, actor and stand-up comedian. He writes about stopping Super Bowl XVII, being tackled by the FBI, and outwitting the State Department. Beneath the humor is an inspiring message of resilience, risk and laughter.

Click here to order, and for more information.

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A Revolution is coming to Voices Café.

On November 1 (8 p.m.), the “activist duo” Emma’s Revolution brings their music to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport,

Known for “fearless, truth-telling lyrics and melodies you cannot resist singing,” their performances span folk to jazz, and funk to rock. Emma’s Revolution has been described as “beauty, power and ferocity all mixed together with love and hope.”

Click here for tickets, and more information.

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“The A Chronicles 10-Minute Play Festival” — “bold, funny and fearless short dramas” by 9 playwrights, selected from over 350 submissions — runs for 2 performances on November 2 (2 and 7 p.m., at MoCA CT).

The A Chronicles stages live theatrical events around reproductive rights —”amplifying voices, disrupting narratives to fuel real conversations.”

Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Theatre Artists Workshop’s 42n annual Fall Festival of New Works — 9 original short plays — includes performances by Westporters including Melody James, Susan Jacobson and Linde Gibb.

Dates are November 1 (7:30 p.m.) and November 2 (2 p.m.), at Powerhouse Theatre Performing Arts Center in New Canaan.

Theatre Artists Workshop was founded in Westport in 1983. For more information, click here. For tickets, click here.

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Today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo comes from Willowbrook Cemetery.

Photographer Elenee Argent says, “follow the yellow brick road. The paved path is covered in yellowed pine needles.”

(Photo/Elenee Argent)

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And finally … of course, based on the photo above:

(You don’t need a wizard to know that “06880” relies on reader support. And that if you enjoy your hyper-local blog — which we know you do! — you can click here to contibute. Thank you!)

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Posted in Arts, Children, Library, Local business, Sports, Staples HS

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Roundup: Sigrid Schultz, Charley Rochlin, Rachel Doran …

Posted on September 18, 2024 | 2 comments

Sigrid Schultz has been remembered — belatedly — in her longtime hometown of Westport, with a parking lot named in her honor.

But there is a lot more to her story than that.

Serving as the Chicago Tribune’s Berlin bureau chief from 1926 to 1941, Schultz masked her intense loathing for the Nazis in order to cultivate contacts at the highest level of the Third Reich. Among her many accomplishments, Schultz interviewed Adolf Hitler several times. She also fearlessly cast a barb at Hermann Göring for his failed attempt to have her arrested.

She boldly covered the persecution of Jews, was one of the first to report on abuses at the German concentration camps, and was once called “Hitler’s greatest enemy.”

Yet for all her accomplishments, Schultz’s story is largely untold.

Vanessa Johnston is working on a documentary film about her. It will explore her extraordinary career, from her heady days as a young reporter covering the Weimar Republic, to her writing in secret under an alias to avoid Nazi censors, on through her anguish at seeing the Buchenwald concentration camp, then her relatively obscure life in Westport. 

Tomorrow (Thursday, September 19, 7 p.m., Westport Museum for History & Culture), Johnston will preview her unfinished film. There’s a talkback with the producer, and a look at a one-night-only display of artifacts owned by Schultz.

Click here for tickets ($5 for members, $10 for non-members). Proceeds support the museum’s exhibitions, programs and research.

Sigrid Schultz

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It’s almost one year since Hamas assaulted Israeli villages, and took hundreds of people hostage.

A group of Westporters will remember them on Sunday October 6 (12 to 3 p.m., Compo Beach).

The event will include words, songs, and 101 chairs — one for each of the remaining hostages.

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Veterans of Foreign Wars Joseph J. Clinton Post 399’s 51st straight monthly Red Cross Blood Drive honors lance corporal Charles Rochlin, of the Marine Corps.

The 2003 Staples High School graduate spent 7 months in Iraq. He was on leave in Westport when he died in an automobile accident.

The blood drive is this Friday (September 20, noon to 5 p.m.).

Click here for an appointment; use sponsor code VFWWESTPORT. You can also call 800-733-2767.

LCPL Charley Rochlin

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CraftWestport returns to the Staples High School fieldhouse November 2-3. Over 175 vendors kick off the holiday shopping season, with thousands of products in mediums like ceramics, textiles, woodworking, jewelry, glass art and more.

Plus food items like bourbon-barrel aged maple syrup, hand-painted chocolates, teas, honey, cheese spreads, curds, baked goods, and skincare products, soaps, candles, etc.

All-weekend admission is $11; seniors $10, children 12-18 $5, children under 12 are free. Click here for more details. CraftWestport is presented by the Westport Young Woman’s League.

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The one good thing that has come out of the death of Rachel Doran — the 2015 Staples High School graduate who died just before her senior year at Cornell University after a rare reaction to common medication — is Rach’s Hope.

The non-profit provides nutritious food, lodging, transportation and encouragement to family members when a child is in intensive care.

Well, there’s one other good thing: community participating in “Walk the Extra Mile … for Rach’s Hope.”

The 4th annual event is Sunday, October 6 (Compo Beach Ned Dimes Marina, 3 p.m.).

The day includes community spirit, fresh air, a fun beach walk, live music by Ellis Island Acoustic, the Pizza Pie Wagon truck, wine and beer courtesy of Greens Farms Spirit Shop, and Rach’s signature black and white cookies.

All are welcome. Click here for tickets, and more information.

Rachel Doran

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A clarification on yesterday’s Roundup post about CLASP’s “Music Through the Decades” benefit (October 18, Fairfield Theatre Company).

Band Central — the great entertainment — is not “the CLASP house group.”

Band Central is made up of very talented professional  musicians. At different times, members have played with very high-powered groups — including the Rolling Stones.

Band Central was created to unite a community of non-profits, musicians, donors, and audience members through themed music concerts. They’ve raised $6 million for over 60 Fairfield County organizations, and produced more than 150 events.

The October 18 show will raise funds to support CLASP’s clients, with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

A 6:30 p.m. pre-party includes light bites from Blue + Berries and Little Pub. The main event kicks off at 7:30.

Guests are encouraged to dress in the fashion of their favorite decade.

Tickets are $45 in person at the FTC office, $54 online or by phone (203-319-1404).

Band Central

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Yesterday’s Westport Rotary Club lunch speaker was Amit Oren.

A clinical psychiatrist at the Yale Department of Psychology with a private practice, she spoke about her work as lead psychologist at Mountain Seed Foundation. It provides healing camps in places like the Austrian Alps for veterans of foreign wars who are suffering from trauma or war loss, and their families.

The week-long program includes physical activities like mountain climbing, zip lining, nature walks and art therapy.

Amit Oren (Photo/Ellin Curley)

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On Sunday night, Alex Sherman was walking his dog near Compo Road South.

Alex got to hear Peter Frampton’s concert (for free).

Plus, he spotted this cool-looking owl on Baker Street. It’s a great image, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.

(Photo/Alex Sherman)

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And finally … in the midst of one of the most polarized times in American history, today is National Respect Day.

(If you respect “06880” — or even just like it a little bit — please consider a tax-deductible contribution to support our work. Just click here. Thank you!)

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Roundup: Club 203, Native Plants, Cohl Katz …

Posted on September 9, 2022 | 2 comments

Club 203 — the new Westport organization providing social and fun activities for adults with disabilities — launched with a bang Wednesday night.

Over 100 people gathered at MoCA for the kickoff event. DJ Joe’s great playlist got everyone on the dance floor from the moment they arrived.

The dance floor was filled.

Participants came from as far as Middlebury, Connecticut. DJ Joe rocked the night! Everyone was in on the dance floor. MoCA, The Porch at Christie’s, CVS for providing the venue and snacks. We would also like to thank all the volunteers from our community who helped us last night. We could not have done it with out them!

Hanging with the DJ …

Club 203 organizers Stacie Curran, Kathryn Sonne, Joe Anastasi and Sharuna Mahesh thank MoCA, The Porch @ Christie’s and CVS for providing the venue and snacks — as well as the many volunteers who made the night special.

Next up: a Halloween celebration (October 23, Remarkable Theater). For more information, click here.

,,, and hanging out.

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One of the most well-known houses in Westport (the Kowalsky home) sat for years on one of the last large open residential spaces in Westport.

Now the home — officially, 117 Morningside Drive South — has joined the list of notable town teardowns.

A recent photo …

… and an even more recent one. (Photo/Alan Phillips)

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Though all eyes were on the UK yesterday, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, viewers watching Yahoo! Finance got a double dose of Westport.

Dave Briggs — one of the platform’s anchors — interviewed internationally best-selling author Jane Green, a British native. Both now live here.

Click here for the full interview.

Screenshot of yesterday’s interview.

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Speaking of Her Majesty … on Monday (September 12), the Remarkable Theater honors her life and legacy with a special showing of “The Queen.”

Helen Mirren stars in the 2006 film, which examines Queen Elizabeth II n the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana.

The lot opens at 6:15 p.m. for tailgating. The movie starts at 7;15 p.m. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Who was Sigrid Schultz, for whom part of the newly designed Elm Street parking lot is named?

She was a pioneering female reporter, social justice activist — and longtime Westporer — who played an important role in exposing the growing Nazi threat during the lead-up to World War II, and beyond.

Last night, the Westport Museum for Culture & History hosted Professor Dr. David Milne of the University of East Anglia. He is writing her biography, and shared fascinating details of her life. The “Dragon Lady” exhibit is open to the public at the museum through the end of the year. (Hat tip: Dave Matlow)

Dr. James Milne, at the Westport Museum for History & Culture. (Photo/Dave Matlow)

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Wondering about all those yellow ribbons downtown?

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The ribbons create awareness too: for Circle of Care, a Wilton-based organization that helps families deal with the diagnosis of a child with cancer.

Click here to learn more about Circle of Care. Then click below, for a local video:

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With autumn around the corner, it’s time for Aspetuck Land Trust’s fall native plant sale.

Hard-to-find plants, trees, shrubs and perennials can be ordered online, and picked up September 30 to October 2 at the Caryl & Edna Haskins Preserve off Green Acre Lane. Click here for details.

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Aarti Khosla believes that teachers are the backbone of our society. In these unprecedented times, she says, they need our love more than ever.

Aarti owns Le Rouge Chocolates, on Main Street. So she’s in a position to make it happen. Sweeeeet!

Her “Give a Little Love” chocolate heart campaign works like this: For $8 each, customers can sponsor a heart for one Westport teacher. Aarti hand-delivers the treats to each school.

This is the third year in a row for “Give a Little Love.” Teachers have been very touched by this small gesture, she says.

To donate one or more chocolate hearts online, click here.

“Give a Little Love” with chocolate hearts.

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MoCA’s next show — the premiere of the From The Pen To The Knife exhibition, featuring close to 300 watercolor paintings by Marian Christy, who creates watercolors using only palette knives and puddles of paint — is on view from October 15 to November 27.

An opening reception is set for October 15 (5 to 7 p.m.).

Christy was a Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe journalist, covering fashion and celebrities, for the first chapter of her life.

In the second chapter, she pivoted from “the pen to the knife.” Christy, now 90, had no formal training. She has worked for the last 15 years in her basement at an easel, held firm by used bricks to sustain her forceful palette knife strokes. For more information, click here.

One of Marian Christy’s nearly 300 works, exhibited soon at MoCA Westport.

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Cohl Katz’s clients have included Al Pacino, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbara Bush, Bob Dylan, Cal Ripken, Cindy Crawford, Ellen DeGeneres, Hillary Clinton, Hilary Swank, Jerry Seinfeld, John McEnroe, Johnny Depp, Katie Couric, Keith Richards, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martha Stewart, Mary Tyler Moore, Mel Gibson, Mick Jagger, Muhammad Ali, Nicole Kidman, Phil Donohue, Ray Charles, Robert Redford, Robin Williams, Rod Stewart, Rosie O’Donnell, Sting and Tom Cruise,

The hair stylist and makeup artist recently moved back to Westport. She’s offering a back-to-school special for new clients (of all ages): a 50% first-appointment discount. Call 917-848-9596 — and mention “06880”!

Three of Cohl Katz’s clients.

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Several Westport chefs will prepare 4-course tableside meals at Greenwich Wine + Food. The fundraiser for the Jacques Pépin Foundation and Wholesome Wae is set for October 7 (at Abigail Kirsch The Loading Dock, Stamford).

The local contingent includes Jes Bengtson (Terrain Garden Café. Amis Trattoria); Debra Ponzek (Aux Delices), Matt Storch (Match Burger Lobster) and Bill Taibe (The Whelk, Kawa Ni, Don Memo).

The evening includes honors for the Serendipity’s 2022 Most Innovative Chefs. Among them: Will Friedman of Kawa Ni.

Click here for the full schedule, and ticket information.

Bill Taibe and Jes Bengtson will cook at Greenwich Wine + Food.

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The girls are gone from Compo. Now — as seen in today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo — the gulls take over.

(Photo/Tracy Porosoff)

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And finally … as we remember the remarkable life of Queen Elizabeth II, the United States mourns with our British friends.

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(“06880 is entirely reader-supported. Please click here to contribute.)

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Photo Challenge #320

Posted on February 14, 2021 | 15 comments

Last week’s Photo Challenge’s honored Sigrid Schultz.

As the Chicago Tribune‘s Berlin bureau chief — the first female bureau chief of any major newspaper, anywhere — the pioneering reporter, social justice activist and longtime Westporter played a key role in exposing the growing Nazi threat during the lead-up to the war, and beyond.

A plaque memorializing her was unveiled last year, near her former residence. (Click here for the photo.) Where, the Challenge asked, was that?

The plaque is at Serena & Lily — the lifestyle store in the former Kemper Gunn House. It was moved across Elm Street in 2014, to make way for Bedford Square.

Schultz lived a bit behind the site of the present store, in what is now the Baldwin parking lot. Her home was demolished, to make way for cars.

Dick Lowenstein notes that in 2019 the RTM unanimously named the area “Sigrid Schultz Plaza,” though there is no signage to that effect.

Others who identified the site correctly were Fred Cantor, Linda V. Velez, Wendy Cusick, Wendy Schaefer and Judy Reid.

This week’s Photo Challenge is another plaque. It’s appropriate, because tomorrow is Presidents Day.

If you know where in Westport we honor our first president — and why there’s a Westport tie to him — click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Kathie Motes Bennewitz)

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Posted in Categories, Downtown, History, Local business, Photo Challenge

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Photo Challenge #319

Posted on February 7, 2021 | 11 comments

Who’s thinking of summer?

Dan Vener, Fred Cantor, Andrew Colabella and Carol Brezovec.

They knew that last week’s Photo Challenge — which showed some wooden picket fencing, and the number “1” — was part of the lifeguard chair storage area in the Compo Beach Soundview parking lot. (Click here to see.) 

Only 113 days until the traditional Memorial Day opening, when all 5 guard chairs will be on the sand, manned (and womanned) for action.

This week’s Photo Challenge is easy. It’s obviously a plaque honoring Sigrid Schultz, a true (if previously overlooked) local hero.

The challenge is not just to say where in Westport it’s located. We want the exact location — to the inch (or at least yard).

If you know, click “Comments” below.

(Photo/Amy Schneider)

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Sigrid Schultz’s Secret

Posted on January 29, 2020 | 33 comments

This week — as the world remembers the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz — alert “06880” readers Morley Boyd, Wendy Crowther and John F. Suggs share a stunning World War II discovery. 

Sigrid Schultz, in a portrait by her father Herman Schultz.

Last week, the Westport Museum of History & Culture opened a compelling exhibit about Sigrid Schultz. “Dragon Lady” honors the pioneering female reporter, social justice activist — and longtime Westporter — who played an important role in exposing the growing Nazi threat during the lead-up to the war, and beyond. 

 Yet no one knew how truly perilous that role actually was for Schultz — until now.

Boyd, Crowther and Suggs have spent several years researching this remarkable, often overlooked hero. In this exclusive story for “06880,” they share a stunning discovery. They write:

Serving as the Chicago Tribune’s Berlin bureau chief from 1926 to 1941, Sigrid Schultz masked her intense loathing for the Nazis in order to cultivate contacts at the highest level of the Third Reich. Among her many accomplishments, Schultz interviewed Adolf Hitler several times. She also fearlessly cast a barb at Hermann Göring for his failed attempt to have her arrested.

She boldly covered the persecution of Jews, was one of the first to report on abuses at the German concentration camps, and was once called “Hitler’s greatest enemy.”

She also had a big secret: She was Jewish.

This fact appears to have been missed by every scholar and historian who has studied her thus far — including her own biographer, and the Westport Museum.

In 1938, as tensions escalated in Germany, Schultz’s mother Hedwig left Berlin, and  bought a house on Westport’s Elm Street.

On the ship’s manifest, Hedwig is identified as “Hebrew.” According to traditional Jewish law, a person’s Jewish status is passed down through the mother.

The passenger manifest, identifying Hedwig Schultz as “Hebrew.” It says “DO” for “Ditto,” referencing the names above.

Back in Germany, as the persecution of Jews became more aggressive, Schultz likely wondered whether her lineage would be discovered and used against her.

In a 1940 letter to her Chicago Tribune publisher, she detailed the growing threats and attempts meant to intimidate her. She noted, “I’ve even been denounced as being Jewish…”

Four months later, after learning of failed assassination attempts on 2 of her best German sources, Schultz fled Germany for the house on Elm Street. Based on her extensive knowledge of Nazi Germany’s inner workings, she was recruited as a high level intelligence operative in the OSS, the precursor to today’s CIA.

When Schultz’s mother died in Westport in December of 1960, it appears that Schultz went to extreme lengths to obscure her Jewish identity.

On Hedwig’s death certificate, Sigrid wrote “unknown” in the space reserved for her maternal grandmother’s maiden name and birthplace.

In fact Schultz was quite close to her mother, having lived with her most of her life. She also personally knew both her maternal grandmother and maternal aunt, and was in possession of historic family documents (including those related to her maternal grandfather, Louis Jaskewitz).

We believe that Schultz would have been quite knowledgeable about her family tree. It’s doubtful she did not know her own grandmother’s maiden name and birthplace.

Schultz did confide in a few people.  One was her good friend, Ruth Steinkraus Cohen. In a November 10, 1986 interview with Sigrid’s biographer, Cohen said:

Schultz also divulged her secret to a young Staples student who interviewed her at her Elm Street home in 1976, as part of an assignment for Joe Lieberman’s English class.

Student Pamela Wriedt-Boyd quietly took notes as Schultz spoke about the importance of maintaining journalistic professionalism –- no matter what.

By way of example, Schultz recounted a chance meeting with Hitler at the Hotel Kaiserhof in Berlin. Schultz had been chatting in the lobby with Göring when Hitler suddenly appeared. After Göring introduced the two, Schultz said that Hitler “bowed down, grabbed my hand, kissed it, then raised his head and with his eyes, tried to stare deeply into mine. That kind of soulful stare had always repulsed me, and I failed to show the appreciation he expected.”

As if to underscore the point of her story, Schultz added, “He didn’t know I was Jewish!”

Pamela received an “A” for her report. She provided us with a notarized statement attesting to the story Schultz told her that day.

While only a few people in Westport knew the truth about Schultz’s Jewish identity, her father’s relatives in Norway were never in the dark. We tracked down Schultz’s nearest living next of kin — a first cousin, twice removed — who lives there. He said:

Schultz was a pro at keeping secrets. There were many reasons her life and livelihood depended on it.

Our research continues. We are developing a more in-depth piece about Schultz that will not only cover this topic but others. Many have never been explored before, including her later life in Westport.

In the meantime, we are finalizing details of a bronze plaque that we intend to affix to a stone pillar on Elm Street near Schultz’s former house. (The home — located in what is now a parking lot — was unceremoniously torn down soon after her death).

The narrative on the plaque will be brief. But it will certainly make mention of the fact that Sigrid Schultz was a courageous Jewish American patriot, whose actions helped defeat one of the greatest evils the world has ever known.

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