A couple of days ago, I posted a photo of the end of a well-known house.
Toni Cunningham’s Soundview Drive home — familiar to every Compo Beach goer, and the longtime unofficial headquarters of the Compo Beach Improvement Association — fell to the wrecking ball this week.
But there’s much more to the house than my brief summary.
Alert “06880” resident Tom Leyden — a longtime beach neighborhood resident — quickly sent along this photo. It’s from 1920 — and it shows the Cunningham house standing almost alone on the road.
In the distance is the vast pavilion — with a 2nd floor. It was the site of big dances and other gatherings, until a hurricane roared through
But wait! There’s more!
Tom also sent this photo:
He explains:
I have a record of 90% of the beach property owners, going back to the original ownership by the Bradleys in 1909.
They mapped their property into lots, mostly 50 x 100. Sam Roodner (of Roodner Court fame in Norwalk) bought up many of the lots, and sold them off during the early 1920s
The Cunningham property was an exception, as Irving Bradley sold to Lockwood in 1911. I’m guessing the house was built around 1915.
According to property records, the Cunningham family bought the house in 1945.
Tom and his family live on lots 88/90.
Paul Lane — longtime Staples High School football coach, who grew up on Soundview, and lives next door to the now-former Cunningham house — has a framed copy of the plot map above.
It hangs on the wall of his home, just a few feet from what is now — once again — an empty lot.
The Independence Day fireworks are Westport’s biggest community celebration of the year.
It’s when Soundview Drive — our town’s handsome, quirky beachfront exit road — turns into a party promenade.
This year — as we prepare for another year of cookouts, hanging out, and bombs bursting in air — we should also pause for a moment (on Soundview) to remember Toni Cunningham.
The grande dame of Compo died on Thursday. She was 101.
Toni Cunnnigham, at her 80th birthday celebration.
In that century of life, she saw astonishing changes at the beach just outside her front window. She herself contributed to many of them.
Toni first came to Westport as a teenager. During the 1930s her parents — who lived in Scarsdale – rented #75 (now #17) Soundview Drive. She crewed on Star sailboats, often swimming out to join friends to help in races.
Gail Cunningham Coen — one of Toni’s 3 daughters — says that Toni also swam to Cockenoe Island and back.
When her parents moved here full time, she’d walk to Cockenoe in winter over thick ice.
Toni and Frank Cunningham, in front of 17 Soundview Drive.
Every year in late June, Toni’s father Frank Bosco drove to a special “fireworks contact.” He shot them off from a card table on the beach in front of his house. Neighborhood kids loved it.
Frank was a longtime treasurer of the Compo Beach Improvement Association — which really did spiff up the area.
The group organized field days, and swim races to and from the floats anchored offshore. Toni was an avid participant.
She also loved riding on the seaplanes that landed on shore.
In those days, “air conditioning” meant opening windows. Toni’s daily piano playing was enjoyed by everyone who strolled by. She knew all the popular songs, and was often asked to sing and play for parties.
As she grew older, Toni succeeded her father as treasurer of the CBIA. She also became secretary. Her talent for shorthand guaranteed highly accurate meeting notes.
Compo was a family affair. Toni’s mother, Margaret Bosco, created the first “beach rules.” They ensure safe, responsible behavior — and strong litter prevention practices. (Interestingly, Toni’s daughter Gail later became CEO of Keep America Beautiful.)
In 1938, a strong hurricane hit the area. Toni refused to leave, and rode out the storm.
In fact, during her 85 years on Soundview only one hurricane forced her to leave. That was in the 1950s, when waves chewed up the road and deposited huge chunks of the seawall in front yards.
As she earned fame for riding out storms, reporters regularly called her for blow-by-blow news.
Toni and Frank Cunningham, playing a 4-hand duet.
July 4th was not the only holiday Toni enjoyed. She also loved New Year’s eve. In the early 1960s she built a party room on the 3rd floor of her house at 27 Soundview, where she and Frank raised their family.
It featured a Steinway baby grand. But the party wasn’t in full swing until Toni sat down to play. Governor John Davis Lodge and his wife Francesca were frequent guests.
Today a small sign on the flower bed at the start of Soundview Drive — near where the boardwalk begins — honors Toni Cunningham for her dedication to the CBIA, and her beautification efforts at Compo.
The sign on Soundview Drive.
It’s a simple gesture, but an important one. In many ways, that stretch of Compo Beach is Toni Cunningham.
Think about that as you enjoy the fireworks — the first 4th of July Toni Cunningham has not been alive for in over a century.
(Contributions in Toni’s memory can be made to the Compo Beach Improvement Association Traffic Calming and Beautification Fund, 40 Compo Beach Road, Westport, CT 06880.)
A week ago, heavy rains and strong winds pushed Compo Beach sand onto the boardwalk. Some carried beyond, into the parking lot.
A few folks out for a stroll on Sunday were annoyed that “they” — whoever that is — hadn’t yet cleaned the sand from, um, the beach.
Those people would not have fared well a century ago. Here’s how Soundview Drive looked then:
On the other hand, check out those very cool wooden bathhouses in the distance.
Around the corner was another beach scene. I’m guessing from the somewhat garbled description — “The Old Mill Road, Compo” — that these homes were on Sherwood Mill Pond, opposite Old Mill Beach.
If you’ve got another idea — or want to commend our current Parks & Rec and Public Works staffs for their great work on our beaches and roads — click “Comments” below.
Two hours ago — when the sun was shining and it was 75, not like now when it’s pouring rain and 10 degrees colder — this was the scene on Soundview Drive:
Just 24 hours from now the Compo Beach neighborhood will be overrun by ghosts, pirates, princesses, and little boys and girls wearing Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton masks (a truly frightening thought).
The forecast is for clear skies, with temperatures in the 40s. Grab that candy, kids!
We’ve had a few hours to dig out — and play in — the Blizzard of 2016. Here are a few scenes from a day that looks quite a bit different from the one 24 hours earlier. (Click on or hover over photos to enlarge.)
The Compo Beach neighborhood escaped a flood. Instead — like this home on the corner of Soundview Drive — the scene was serene (and very “love”-ly). (Photo/Betsy P. Kahn)
Around the corner, the Compo Beach marina was equally peaceful. (Photo/Steve Axthelm)
What dog doesn’t love snow? (Photo/Ken Bernhard)
Hayley and Monty. (Photo/Daphne Cook)
Sledders were out in force at Kings Highway School. (Photo/Peter Tulupman)
Snowy mailboxes at Harvest Commons. (Photo/Jo Ann Davidson)
It’s a beautiful morning — and the forecast is for great weather most of today.
Westport is awash in red, white and blue — in many shapes and forms.
Bob Weingarten hung this replica flag over the barn door of his house:
Look closely. There are 15 stars and 15 stripes — not 13.
This American flag was used from 1795 to 1818. It was created when 2 new states — Kentucky and Vermont — joined the union.
It’s called the “Star Spangled Banner Flag” because — after being raised above Fort McHenry to celebrate a crucial victory over the British during the War of 1812 — Francis Scott Key was inspired to write our national anthem.
When 5 more states were added to the union, they got stars too. But we went back to 13 stripes, for the original colonies. Today of course our flag has 50 stars, and 13 stripes.
Bob flies the flag over his barn doors because it was originally built in 1805 as a “chaise house.” That meant it housed a chaise — an 1800 coach with a driver and seats. Back in the day, that was a luxury item.
Nearly a century later — in 1900 — this home was built on Soundview Drive:
(Photo/Betsy P. Kahn)
It’s one of the last original beach cottages — and is still in the same family.
Decked out in bunting, it looks beautiful and serene. Tonight thousands of folks will stream by, on their way to the fireworks.
Gail Cunningham Coen knows a thing or two about keeping things beautiful.
Things like Compo Beach. Westport. America.
Growing up on Soundview Drive — in a house that withstood the 1938 hurricane — she learned carpentry, fishing and beach improvement from her grandfather, Frank Bosco. One of the founders of the Compo Beach Improvement Association in 1928, he passed along his love for the area’s ever-changing landscape to his granddaughter.
From the age of 9, Gail was the neighborhood gardener. Summer renters did not know how (or want) to take care of their yards. So she mowed, trimmed hedges, and “transplanted” flowers between different lawns.
Gail also made money selling clams (a penny apiece) and fish ($1 each). The price included cleaning.
Gail Cunningham Coen, in her Soundview Drive home. It’s been in her family for nearly a century.
She went to Saugatuck Elementary School, Bedford Junior High and Staples (where she was president of the marching band). After eloping with her husband Terry on Christmas Eve, and earning a bachelor’s of music at Hartt, Gail taught piano.
But playing “Jingle Bells” during a Christmas commercial shoot for Chase Bank one hot August afternoon at Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas’ estate on Minuteman Hill — it’s a long story — got her hired by Promotion Development Corporation, across from the old Fable Funeral Home on Post Road West.
One of her assignments was running spring break for Anheuser-Busch, which sounds like a really good gig for a young woman. After stints with Glendinning, Reach Marketing and MasterCard — as vice president of global promotions and sponsorships — Gail landed a job at Keep America Beautiful.
She began work at the non-profit — the largest community improvement organization in the country — on January 4, 1999, almost exactly 15 years ago. It was, coincidentally, the day Iron Eyes Cody — “the Crying Indian” — died.
Among Gail’s many contributions to Keep America Beautiful, the Great American Cleanup stands out. She brought it to cities like New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, New Orleans and Las Vegas.
Gail was awed by the strength and wisdom of the local leaders she met. She was particularly impressed by what she saw on the Gulf Coast, following Hurricane Katrina. She was in the trenches — sleeping on a wet mattress, eating MREs thrown from army trucks — and watched admiringly as residents of Mississippi and Louisiana replanted their communities.
Gail met mayors all along the coast. She calls them “strong, loyal public servants.” She remains friendly with many of them.
The Gulf Coast drew Gail in. She’d never been there, but quickly appreciated its beauty, its hardy residents, and — of course — its music. Some of the best Keep America Beautiful rebuilding ceremonies featured marching bands and gospel choirs.
During a nor’easter, Gail Cunningham Coen welcomed Waveland, Mississippi mayor Tommy Longo to her Compo Beach home. They forged a strong friendship in the months following Hurricane Katrina.
Gail has aided her home town too, of course. Even before joining KBA, she helped transform Compo Beach. During 15 years as president of the Improvement Association — the group her grandfather helped found — she worked with Joe Palmieri on a “traffic and beautification” effort. From the Minuteman statue to Soundview, plantings and speed humps slow drivers — and calm them.
There are now planters on Main Street, police headquarters, Town Hall and Assumption Church, among many other places.
“Beauty is contagious,” Gail says. “It’s not about 150 signs telling people to slow down. What works is plantings, which people can enjoy.”
Gail’s 15 years at Keep America Beautiful flew by. Now, she says, it’s time for a new challenge.
In the years since her piano teaching days, Gail has worked with community groups, corporations and non-profits. The next step, she says, is “putting it all together, somehow.”
She’s thinking globally. She’s excited to figure out what’s next.
Whatever it is, Gail Cunningham Coen is sure to do one more beautiful job.
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