Tag Archives: Southport Congregational Church

Roundup: American Song Contest, Ukraine Concert, Late Mothers Day …

Connecticut has made it to the finals of tonight’s “American Song Contest.”

Actually, Michael Bolton has.

The Westport resident — representing the state — is in tonight’s NBC finale. The show is based on the wildly popular Eurovision, and includes representatives from all 50 states, plus Washington DC and 5 territories. There are 10 finalists.

Good luck, to one of the real good guys in the music world! (Hat tip: Mark Mathias)

Screenshot from the “American Song Contest” website.

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Tenor Craig Gillespie — a Westport resident, and son of Jim Gillespie for whom the town’s men’s shelter is named — is among the local musicians offering a mix of Broadway, American songbook, jazz, reggae, traditional Irish, spiritual, country, classical and opera songs, in a “celebrate spring/raise money for Ukraine” concert.

The event is Sunday, May 22 (Southport Congregational Church, 3 p.m.). It’s free, but donations to Save the Children’s Ukraine Project are requested.

Southport Congregational Church

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An update on the closure of Riverside Avenue near the train station, for paving: It’s now scheduled for Wednesday (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Thursday (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

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We missed this photo yesterday. But we don’t want to wait till next Mothers Day to run it.

Here was one tribute, on Post Road West:

(Photo/Patricia McMahon)

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The rainy weather last week diverted our attention from our usual spring beauty.

But Claudia Sherwood Servidio found inspiration in these “Westport … Naturally” Richmondville Avenue petals.

(Photo/Claudia Sherwood Servidio)

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And finally … Mickey Gilley died on Saturday in Branson, Missouri. He was 86.

He had 34 country Top 10 hits. But he was best known as the owner of a huge bar near Houston that became synonymous with country music. Gilley’s had a mechanical bull, and was the location for much of the famed “Urban Cowboy” movie.

Buried in the New York Times’ obituary: He was a cousin of both Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart.

Remembering Susan Wynkoop

Susan Wynkoop died last night, of pancreatic cancer. She was 60 years old.

Susan Wynkoop

Susan Wynkoop

Susan was a special Westporter: one of those passionate, always-ready-to-help, very effective yet down-to-earth people who quietly (and in so many ways) make this town special.

Susan had a fascinating life story. She was past president of the Westport Historical Society, a deacon at Southport Congregational Church, and among the 1st 200 women hired by the FBI. After 12 years with the agency, she became director of the FBI Foundation’s Oral History Project.

From 1990 until yesterday, she lived in the oldest house in Westport. Built around 1683, it’s the only pre-1700 structure in the entire town.

Passionate about preservation, she gained WHS “local landmark” certification for the home. As a result, it can never be torn down.

Susan Wynkoop did many things in her too-short life. That may be her greatest legacy of all.

The Wynkoops' home: 187 Long Lots Road. (Photo by Larry Untermeyer)

The Wynkoops’ home: 187 Long Lots Road. (Photo by Larry Untermeyer)

(To read about Susan’s FBI career, click here. For a story on her historic Westport house, click here.)