Tag Archives: Willowbrook Cemetery

Roundup: Dogs, Deer, Teenagers …

Posted on June 3, 2021 | 2 comments

=======================================================

Yesterday’s rally against antisemitism drew Westporters of all faiths and ages.

Bedford Middle School 8th grader was there too. He took this compelling photo, capturing some of the sentiment at the scene.

(Photo/Preston Siroka)

=======================================================

Staples Tuition Grants’ annual awards ceremony is one of the high school’s premier events.

Last year’s was particularly impressive. The organization — founded in 1943, with a $100 grant from the PTA — awarded $350,000 in need-based scholarships, to 129 students. Nearly half are seniors who graduate this month; the rest are Staples grads, currently in college.

The grants — ranging from $500 to $5,000 — will help them attend a total of 77 institutions, in 24 states.

Guest speakers included longtime STG donor Dick Fincher, and past recipient/current educator, EMT and Westport Local Press publisher Jaime Bairaktaris.

But — as always — the “stars” were the students. To learn more about Staples Tuition Grants, and donate, click here.

Staples Tuition Grants honorees. (Photo/Pamela Einarsen)

=======================================================

As your dog enjoys the great outdoors, remember: June is dog license renewal month.

All dogs over 6 months old must be licensed. Fees are $8 for neutered male or spayed female, $19 for others. Additional fees apply for online applications.

A $75 infraction will be issued for any non-licensed dog, and any dog not wearing a current dog tag.

Click here for everything you need to know about dog licenses.

Can I see your dog’s license?

======================================================

Kami Evans is all about connections.

Usually she connects Westport shoppers and merchants, and businesses with businesses. Now she’s working with teenagers, through a Teen Job Fair.

ConneCTalent owners Jasmine Silver and Runa Knapp will talk about interviewing and follow-up skills, and conduct mock interviews.

It’s set for June 13 (10 to 11:30 a.m., MoCA Westport, 19 Newtown Turnpike).  Click here to register. The Teacher Marketplace is sponsoring the event.

How can teenagers get jobs? The Teen Job Fair can help.

===================================================

Speaking of teenagers: Westport Farmers’ Market‘s 5th annual Young Shoots Photography Contest opens soon. And you can be even younger than 13 to enter.

There are 3 age categories: 8-10 years old, 11-14 and 15-18. Any photo taken at one of the Thursday Farmers’ Markets is eligible. Judging is by a panel of local artists, and the public.

The contest runs from a week from today (June 10) through July 18. Winners — who earn cash prizes, special swag and membership to local art organizations — will be celebrated at Gilbertie’s Herbs & Garden Center, with catering by Sugar & Olives. Click here to submit photos.

“Starstem” by Calista Finkelstein placed 1st in the 2016 contest, in the 8-10 category.

======================================================

What does it mean to be Asian American? That’s the title of a conversation next Thursday (June 10, 7 p.m.) Presented by the Westport Library, TEAM Westport and AAPI Westport, there’s limited seating at the library. But everyone around the world can tune in virtually.

Professors Erika Lee and Jason Chang are the guests. The discussion will be moderated by Westporter Heather Lee. They’ll explore Asian American life through a wide historic lens, as well as the current wave of anti-Asian discrimination and physical attacks, and AAPI communities uniting with others to create an inclusive and equitable society.

To register for in-person seating at the Westport Library, click here. To register for the Zoom link, click here.

A scene from Westport’s Asian-American rally, outside the Library.

=======================================================

An event last night at Mancini Salon honored owner Carla Morales. The staff surprised her with a party, thanking her for all she did to get them through the pandemic year. She kept all her employees on, under difficult circumstances — and kept them and their patrons safe. The salon reopened exactly a year ago.

Congratulations, Carla. Here’s wishing you and Mancini a great summer! (Hat tip: Patti Brill)

Cheers at Mancini Salon.

======================================================

Sustainable Westport’s Zero Food Waste Challenge matching grant has a month left to meet its $7,500 goal. The deadline is July 2.

The aim is to double our town’s food scrap recycling participation in the next 6 months. Funds raised will educate and inspire residents about the project. Click here to donate.

Food scrap recycling – it’s easy!

=======================================================

Tired of bears? For today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo, let’s go back to our old favorites: deer. Lauri Weiser spotted this cute one (in between nibbles) at her Lansdowne condo complex.

(Photo/Lauri Weiser)

=======================================================

Speaking of deer: At least one baby was born yesterday, at Willowbrook Cemetery. May it rest — and romp — in peace.

(Photo/Danny Amoruccio)

=======================================================

Westport Country Playhouse’s popular Script in Hand play reading series continues with “The Savannah Disputation.” The comedy — filmed on the Playhouse stage — will be broadcast virtually. It premieres June 14 at 7 p.m., and streams on demand from June 15 through 20.

In “Savannah Disputation,” Mary and Margaret are feisty Catholic sisters living in Georgia, who forget about Southern hospitality when a young Pentecostal missionary knocks at their front door to shake up their beliefs. The women call in their local priest for backup, in this entertaining examination of what it means to truly believe.

Click here for tickets and more information.

=======================================================

And finally … in honor of Kami Evans’ initiative to prepare teenagers for the job market:

2 Comments

Posted in Environment, Library, Local business, Staples HS, Teenagers, Westport Country Playhouse

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Photo Challenge #335

Posted on May 30, 2021 | 6 comments

Who knew there were so many culverts in Westport?

A couple of weeks ago, John Kantor took “06880” readers on a tour of the secret — well, well-hidden — passages that allow kayakers and canoeists to travel from Sherwood Mill Pond to beyond Burying Hill Beach without even a portage.

Susan Iseman’s Photo Challenge last Sunday showed 2 more culverts. (Which raises the question: Why are they always side by side?)

Wrong guesses included Nash’s Pond, Sasco Creek, Deadman Brook and Otter Trail.

The correct answer: Willowbrook Cemetery. The culverts are on the south end of the graveyard, at Carriage Lane. You can see them from Main Street, (You can also see them by clicking here.)

Andrew Colabella and Alfred Herman correctly identified the site of the culverts. They’re one more reason — beside the beautiful Daffodil Mile every spring — to slow down as you pass by this beautiful, and historic, cemetery.

This week’s Photo Challenge also brings to mind Westporters who have passed — those who gave their lives for our country.

They’ll be honored tomorrow, after the Memorial Day parade, at Veterans Green. It’s well worth watching.

Meanwhile, where in Westport would you find this memorial?

NOTE: It is not at Veterans Green.

(Photo/Scott Bennewitz)

 

6 Comments

Posted in Photo Challenge

Tagged

Pic Of The Day #1453

Posted on April 9, 2021 | Comments Off on Pic Of The Day #1453

Willowbrook Cemetery daffodils (Photo/Andrew Colabella)

Comments Off on Pic Of The Day #1453

Posted in Environment, Pic of the Day

Tagged ,

Pics Of The Day #1100

Posted on April 21, 2020 | 7 comments

This afternoon’s weather was crazy: thunder, lightning, heavy rain and hail. David Squires lives in Greens Farms. He calls these photos “Spring Meets Winter on Summer Hill.”

(Photos/David Squires)

Meanwhile, this was the scene at Nathalie Jacobs’ home:

(Photo/Nathalie Jacobs)

And at Willowbrook Cemetery:

(Photo/Danny Amoruccio)

7 Comments

Posted in Pic of the Day

Tagged ,

Pic Of The Day #1083

Posted on April 4, 2020 | 4 comments

Spring is here! Daffodil Mile at Willowbrook Cemetery (Photo/Arlene Yolles)

4 Comments

Posted in Environment, Pic of the Day

Tagged ,

Unable To Mourn: A Cemetery Confronts The Coronavirus

Posted on March 30, 2020 | 1 comment

Joseph Ariale led quite a life.

A project manager at GE Capital and longtime Norwalker, he did it all: handing out flags at the Memorial Day parade, volunteering at the Oyster Festival, supporting children’s organizations.

He was a golfer and tennis player; a kind, generous and spirited man; a devoted grandfather who never missed a dance recital, sports game or any other event.

Joseph died last week, after battling cancer and pulmonary fibrosis. As a Korean War veteran, he was entitled to a full military funeral. A bugler should have played “Taps,” and presented an American flag to his family.

But Joseph died in the middle of a pandemic. Instead of being mourned by hundreds of family members, friends and fans, there was no celebration of life.

Following CDC guidelines, his burial at Willowbrook Cemetery was limited to 8 people. Pallbearers wore N95 masks.

Mourners and cemetery officials at Joseph Ariale’s burial on Friday.

The coronavirus has changed the way everyone lives. Now it’s affecting what happens even after we die.

Joseph’s final goodbye on Friday was not the only one at the beautiful cemetery on North Main Street, opposite Cross Highway.

A few hours earlier, another tiny crowd said goodbye to Connie Wilds. She earned 2 master’s degrees. She served Western Connecticut State University for over 30 years, as a professor of black studies and dean of student affairs. She sang in her church choir, and was a founder of the Stamford Afro-Democratic Committee.

Her entombment was witnessed by only 5 people — including funeral staff. That left only her son William, and his wife Daisy, to bid their final farewell.

“This is surreal,” William said. “We can’t give my mother a proper sendoff.”

From left: William Wilds; Daisy Wilds and funeral director Karen Graves-Medley of Stamford, at Connie Wilds’ entombment.

Even more sorrowfully, the few mourners must stay 6 feet apart. They can’t hug, or offer a literal shoulder to cry on.

“This is so difficult,” says Danny Amoruccio, manager/sexton of Willowbrook Cemetery Association.  “They’re being stopped from doing what comes naturally to all of us: grieving together.”

Relatives and friends understand, he says. But at a time of intense pain, it’s one more burden to bear.

Daily operations at the cemetery have been whittled down to just sales of property, and scheduling of burials and entombments.

One section of the vast cemetery.

All communication is initiated by phone. There is minimal contact with the family.

The many other usual queries — where is someone buried? can I buy a monument? — are deferred to May, or done impersonally by phone or email.

Many families call just to verify their property. “They want the comfort of knowing that their deed and final plans are in place,” the manager says.

But Amoruccio still has work to do. In fact, recently — during what is normally a very quiet quarter — sales of graves spiked significantly, to 40 per month.

Families are securing property for their elderly parents — or themselves. They tell him directly: “With the coronavirus, we have to be prepared. We don’t want to run around at the last minute, taking care of final arrangements.”

When Amoruccio meets a family to sell property, he now speaks to them — no more than 2 people — outside their car. They follow him to view it, from the comfort of their vehicle.

If they see a property they’d like to purchase, he heads to his office to write up a contract. The family never goes inside. That once-comforting moment is gone too.

The newest section at Willowbrook Cemetery.

This month, Willowbrook completed an extension of its property. Earlier they bought a house on Richmondville Avenue, and razed it. They can now accommodate 500 additional burials, or 100 cremations.

So far, the cemetery has served one family whose loved one succumbed to COVID-19. They’ve received one additional call about a deceased person with the disease.

“We don’t treat them any differently,” Amoruccio notes.

He feels very badly for what mourners go through during this pandemic. “You see the frustration in their faces when it comes to the restriction of mourners” — once 10, now down to 5.

“But they seem to understand it’s for their own good. I hear in Italy, 2 family members are allowed at the burial. Or none — just the funeral director and cemetery staff.”

He is grateful that Willowbrook’s gates are open 24/7. Mourners can visit loved ones’ graves any time. Those who are barred from the burial have, at least, that chance to grieve.

And though dogs are not allowed on the property, Amoruccio sees a dramatic increase in walkers. “Visitors are always welcome to enjoy the peace and solitude here at Willowbrook,” he says.

The cemetery’s “daffodil mile” — the gorgeous rows of flowers fronting North Main Street — will bloom soon. The dozens of flowering trees — which always herald springtime in that part of town — will be even more beautiful and welcome this year.

Willowbrook Cemetery — established in 1847, and partly designed by Frederick Law Olmsted — is a non-profit community resource, Amoruccio notes.

“No one wants to think about an increase in deaths in our area,” he says. “But for me personally, I feel valuable right now. More than ever, we can be available for families at the worst of times.”

Even if death in the age of coronavirus robs those families of one of humanity’s most basic needs: saying a final goodbye.

1 Comment

Posted in Environment, People, Places

Tagged , , , , ,

Paint The Town Yellow!

Posted on October 23, 2019 | 8 comments

This is peak fall foliage time. The wonder of nature is on display all over town. It’s an amazing, spectacular, all-too-brief moment that makes us realize, yeah, Westport really is someplace special.

So why is Debra Kandrak thinking of daffodils?

The yellow bulbs are an early sign of spring. But they’re planted in autumn. Debra wants Westporters to plant thousands of them soon.

A while back, she started a memory garden on her property, in honor of loved ones lost.

She has hundreds of daffodils, and adds more each year. Just when winter seems to drag drearily on,up they pop. (And even if it snows again, they survive. They’re a lot tougher than they look!)

Debra would like to see daffodils everywhere — not just on her property, Willowbrook Cemetery and random other spots.

“Daffodil Mile” at Willowbrook Cemetery.

She’s started a campaign: “Paint the Town Yellow.” If residents, business owners and town officials participate, she says, “it would be a beautiful thing.”

Both literally and figuratively.

“Imagine driving through Westport and seeing thousands of daffodils around mailboxes, on the roadside, in front of stores,” she says. “It would be so pretty. And they can be in honor of loved ones, so they’re even more meaningful.”

She reached out to landlords David Waldman and Roger Leifer. They’re on board. So are Laurelrock and Northeast Horticulture, which maintain several traffic islands.

Debra is waiting to hear back from the Westport Downtown Merchants Association, and Parks & Rec.

Haskins Preserve’s daffodils and dogwoods — a lovely combination.

Now is the perfect time to plant daffodils. So as soon as you finish raking leaves, put some bulbs in the earth.

Then grab some apple cider, light a fire, and wait till spring. It will be worth it.

PS: Debra says that daffodils are deer-proof. There’s no better reason to start planting now!

8 Comments

Posted in Environment, Organizations, People

Tagged , ,

Pic Of The Day #857

Posted on August 22, 2019 | 1 comment

Checking to see if “Bambi” is available at the library …(Photo/Mark Potts)

… and visiting their “deer departed.” (Photo/Justin Cheng)

1 Comment

Posted in Environment, Library, Pic of the Day

Tagged , ,

Pic Of The Day #774

Posted on May 31, 2019 | 2 comments

There’s plenty of life in Willowbrook Cemetery. Officials there proudly announce 2 new additions.

(Photo/Danny Amoruccio)

Born Wednesday in Section 11,  the twins and their mother are healthy and roaming the grounds.

But it wasn’t easy. Cemetery manager Danny Amoruccio reports that as workers dug a grave for the burial, the mother walked over — and gave birth right there to 2 fawns.

But she got scared and fled — leaving one behind. After nearly falling into the grave, it became attached to Danny. It followed him everywhere.

Willowbrook officials called Animal Control. They quickly came, wrapped the newborn deer up, and walked it to the woods. The mother appeared immediately, and hustled it away.

The family has grown to 16. They now reside — happily and together — in undeveloped sections of the cemetery.

2 Comments

Posted in Environment, Pic of the Day

Tagged

Pics Of The Day #731

Posted on April 18, 2019 | 3 comments

Willowbrook Cemetery’s Daffodil Mile in full bloom.

3 Comments

Posted in Environment, Pic of the Day

Tagged ,