The Eagles have Landed on Riverside Avenue
A pair of bald eagles have been enjoying the views from Riverside Avenue for the past several weeks as they have apparently joined the influx of new residents to move to the community. The two eagles often remain in the trees directly opposite Saugatuck Elementary School as they search for their next meal from the Saugatuck River below as passersby pull over to enjoy the nation’s bird. The species, which was considered endangered until 2007, is federally protected and on the rise across North America as their numbers continue to soar from its lowest count of just 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to 71,400 pairs in 2021, according to the Department of the Interior. Eagles are becoming increasingly common along Westport’s waterways, with several pairs spotted along the Nash’s Pond, Old Mill Beach, and throughout the Saugatuck corridor. WestportLocal.com photo
Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: His Visit to the Coleytown Neighborhood, a Westport Rabbi Arrested, and Their Messages in 2021
Temple Israel’s Rabbi Byron T. Rubenstein and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Westport Museum for History and Culture).
Originally written and published in 2021
As the Nation and World celebrates the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr today - Westport remembers him, his visit to our town, the arrest of a local rabbi, and the message of peace that can still be felt in Westport 56 years later.
A Connecticut Post newspaper article, showing (L-R) Temple Israel Rabbi Byron T. Rubenstein, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and former Congregation President Dan Rogers. Archived by The Westport Museum for History and Culture
Nine months after he said the words “I Have a Dream” in Washington D.C. and seven months before he would accept his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in Westport, off of Coleytown Road, speaking before a crowd of over 600 people at Temple Israel.
The May 22nd, 1964 event was in celebration of the Congregation’s fifth anniversary; Rabbi Byron T. Rubenstein, a notable social justice advocate, invited Dr. King to join his congregation’s shabbat. The Westport Museum for History and Culture described the historic event last week during their Tuesday Treasures virtual talk, saying that King was strongly remembered as telling the crowd that “it is possible to stand up to an unjust system without hate”.
Those were words he would stand by and a relationship he would call on just weeks after his Westport visit, because 20 days after leaving our town, Dr. King was famously arrested for trespass in St. Augustine, Florida during a civil rights movement at the Monson Motor Lodge.
Two weeks after leaving Westport, a bullet broke glass at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s St. Augustine rental (Jim Kerlin/AP Photo)
From jail, Dr. King called on New Jersey friend Rabbi Israel Dresner to recruit other rabbis and head to St. Augustine and to join Civil Rights Movement that was gathering momentum. Westport’s Rabbi B. T. Rubenstein answered the call with Dresner and joined the St. Augustine movement, and was subsequently arrested - exactly one week after Dr. King - along with 16 other men; 15 of them rabbis. From the St. Johns County Jail, he co-wrote “Why We Went”, a letter from the men to the world about why they participated in the movement, saying “We came then, not as tourists, but as ones who, perhaps quixotically, thought we could add a bit to the healing process of America.”
Boston University Professor and former Temple Israel member Virginia Sapiro recounted the arrest of Rubenstein on her blog:
As the New York Times described it, on Thursday, the manager of the motel “met the demonstrators outside the restaurant, a few feet from the swimming pool. ‘This is private property and I will have to ask you to leave,’ [he] said. When the demonstrators refused to do so, he began pushing. First he pushed the leaders and one by one he pushed the rabbis. As one rabbi was pushed aside another would step forward to take his place.” White onlookers shouted, already angry because the demonstrators had conducted a prayer service the night before. Martin Luther King, watching from across the street, described “raw police brutality,” including beatings and the use of cattle prods.
One of those rabbis was mine, Rabbi Byron T. Rubenstein, of Temple Israel in Westport, Connecticut. My family was very involved in the congregation, and when Rabbi Rubenstein set off for Florida, knowing he might not be back for Shabbat services, he asked some members of the congregation, including my father, to fill in for him, which my dad was glad to do. It seemed obvious to us that the religious and spiritual convictions we talked about so often were not just consistent with the resistance to segregation, but demanded that those who could summon the bravery to act must do so. It was slightly less than 20 years since the liberation of the concentration camps.
The arrests of King and Rubenstein only fortified their own feelings of peace and love for the work they were doing. According to Westport author Sally Allen, Rabbi Rubenstein told Westport's The Town Crier that he was “enthusiastic about the determination of Dr. King.” following his overnight arrest in Florida. Ten years after the arrest, Rubenstein was quoted in Woody Allen’s Westport, Connecticut, saying “‘It was in jail that I came to know the greatness of Dr. King.’”.
Westporter Mary-Lou Weisman describes her memories of the Civil Rights Movement in the South during a June 2020 Black Lives Matter protest on Downtown Westport. (Photo: Jaime Bairaktaris/WestportNow.com)
During Summer of 2020, Westport experienced social justice movements throughout the downtown and Post Road areas - with thousands converging on the town in support of Black Lives Matter. The movements - which were planned and organized in conjunction with the Town of Westport and other local organizations - were peaceful, and brought the community together; for some it was the first time being with others since the pandemic began in March.
Despite the pandemic, the world remained together - something that Dr. King wanted Westporters to do even back in 1964, telling the crowd at Temple Israel that “because of scientific genius, the world has become geographically one. It must be socially one as well. We must live together or perish.”
Dr. King’s words are just as powerful today as they were in 1964. Modern “scientific genius” allowed our world to become geographically one as children Zoomed their teachers and COVID-19 patients Facetimed family from hospital beds - taking the miles between them and bringing them just inches apart; screen-to-screen.
The Black Lives Matter protest on Downtown Westport (Photo: Jaime Bairaktaris/WestportNow.com)
2020 was the year that community members masked-up, walked together, and demanded racial justice; mere miles away and decades after Dr. King’s speech to Westport community members on remaining peaceful, together, and continuing to fight for justice.
2020 was the year our communities chose to live together, not perish, while standing 6 feet apart.
We remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., his visit to Westport, and the message that he left us - one that means just as much today as it did then in 1964.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 and was assassinated April 4th, 1968 at the age of 39. The civil rights activist would have been 92 years old on Friday.
Rabbi Byron T. Rubenstein served as a Navy chaplain with the Marines in the Pacific during World War II, and went on lead Temple Israel from 1959 until 1982. He passed away in July of 1990 at the age of 74.
Morning Weather Report
Today
Mostly sunny, with a high near 41. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Northwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 26. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light after midnight.
Tomorrow
A 20 percent chance of rain after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 39. Light west wind.
New Neighbors: Skin Laundry California brings Laser Facials to Main Street
Skin Laundry California has announced its next clinic location will be at 135 Main Street, in the former location of Marine Layer. The company offers laser facials in their locations in Colorado, California, New York, Arizona, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Middle East, and northern Africa. Their arrival is slated for this Spring. WestportLocal.com photo
Morning Weather Report
Today
Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. North wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 24. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. North wind around 9 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Tomorrow
Mostly sunny, with a high near 41. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Northwest wind 9 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 26. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light after midnight.
Joanne Hupp Umphrey, 92, Died; Mother to Six Staples Graduates, Unitarian Church Member
Joanne Hupp Umphrey, 92, passed away peacefully at her daughter's home in Bloomfield, MI, surrounded by her family. The beloved wife, grandmother and great grandmother will be greatly missed by her second husband Jim Umphrey, her six children, 24 grandchildren, and 38 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her first husband of 52 years, Arthur Hupp.
Joanne and Arthur moved to Westport in 1963. Joanne loved the culture, entertainment and excitement of NYC, and the opportunity for international travel that Art's job presented. In Westport, she raised her six children, all of whom graduated from Staples 1969-1977. She also indulged her love of gardening, and discovered her spiritual home in the Unitarian church. The medical emergencies of child rearing eventually led her to pursue a nursing degree through Norwalk hospital. In 1977 Art's job took them back to Michigan and then on to Arkansas for retirement. Joanne remarried in 2005 to her high school sweetheart. They returned to Michigan to be closer to family in 2013.
Joanne loved to dance, to write (presenting her family with her memoir at age 86), to garden, to golf, to play games with grands and great grands, to read, and to listen to music. All of her family will carry with them her humor, her smile, her joy in living life and her tradition of helping others as they remember her and the lessons she taught them.
State Senator Will Haskell Says So-Long At His "Retirement" Party
Wednesday night about 135 guests gathered at the Carriage Barn in New Canaan to say thank you to Staples graduate, Westport's Will Haskell who became one of the youngest elected officials in America with his 2018 surprise victory over a multi-term incumbent. Haskell was elected State Senator from the 26th district which includes includes the towns of Redding, Ridgefield, Wilton, and parts of Bethel, Weston, Westport, and New Canaan.
Story and photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Among the many people offering appreciation and accolades from the podium were Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, Senate Majority Leader Will Duff, State Senator Ceci Maher who was elected and Wilton DTC Chair Tom Dubin.
Offering their well wishes via videos were Governor Ned Lamont, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, Congressman Jim Himes, Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz and Attorney General William Tong.
A good bit of fun was had at the concept of Will's "retirement". Senator Blumenthal commented in his video, "not everyone joins the Senate at 22 and retires at 26."
Tom Dubin, Wilton DTC Chair served as emcee and began the presentation by saying “Tonight was an opportunity for the seven towns Will represented to say "thank you, congratulations, and good luck. Thank you for the extraordinary job he did in Hartford and also for the energy he brought to our party. Congratulations on embarking on his legal education at NYU and also on his recent engagement. And good luck with whatever he sets his sights on next. We know that former Senator Will Haskell is going to do extraordinary things, and we hope that his path takes him back to Connecticut very soon."
Dubin, a long time supporter who was instrumental in the first campaign of the Senator shared comments on Senator Haskell's brief political history and many achievements contained in the recommendation he wrote on behalf of Haskell when he applied to NYU School Of Law. He described his call from Haskell, then in his senior year at Georgetown who he said quickly overcame the challenge of convincing " people that he was not running as a lark or as a vanity project." and that he did so by doing "his homework on current legislative matters, and he had studied the political landscape. And he was eager to listen to people and synthesize disparate and inchoate points of view." He said Will had "an energy that we were not used to, and he captured the imagination of younger voters in ways that we never could. He was fearless in knocking every door he could find, responding to every journalist inquiry and every debate invitation, and engaging with any voter willing to meet him."
Dubin further highlighted Senator Haskell's work on education while in the Senate, writing, "During his first term he sat as Chair of the Senate Committee for Higher Education and Employment Advancement. In that role he championed access for nontraditional students, and negotiated passage of free tuition for students attending community colleges. Similarly, he found aisle-crossing support for tax credits to local businesses that reimburse college debt of their employees."
Story and photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
After remarks by Secretary of the State Thomas and Haskell's successor Ceci Maher Will took the podium to thank the many people who made this unlikely journey a reality including his senior year Georgetown roomate After remarks by Secretary of the State Thomas and Haskell's successor Ceci Maher Will took the podium to thank the many people who made this unlikely journey a reality including his senior year Georgetown roommate Jack Lynch who served as Haskell's campaign manager for his first campaign. Haskell later admitted to being overwhelmed by the event and opened his remarks by saying, "First, let me thank the remarkable host committee who worked so hard to make this evening possible. What started as an idea by Tom and Shiva morphed into an event that exceeded my wildest expectations, and I feel totally undeserving of this celebration. That committee included: Stephen Blinder, Carina Drake, Tom Dubin, Christina Fagerstal, Melissa Kane, Angela Liptack, Michelle Mechanic, Liz Milwe, Glori Norwitt, Sam Nestor, Peg O'Donnell, Shiva Sarram, Amy Shapiro, Judy Stone, Vicki Volper, and Gayle Weinstein. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Each of you have been there for me in countless ways along this journey, and I feel truly honored to count you as my friends. You hosted me in your living rooms, knocked doors with me, supported me throughout my first term, then helped win a re-election campaign in the midst of a pandemic. Now, you've given me a new honor -- if I thought being a state senator at 22 was pretty cool, being a retiree at 26 is even better. If only it came with social security, too."
He continued, "I also want to thank my family, who has been patient and supportive during this wild adventure. Katie (his fianceé) wishes she could be here tonight, but she's stuck at work in DC and is sorry to miss all of you. Jack and Kevin, you guys have written every good line that I've ever used, and vetoed a whole lot of bad ones that I came up with. I hope you're enormously stressed about listening to a speech that, for once, I didn't run by you."
He credited a speech by President Obama which motivated him to run for statewide office at 22 years old. Haskell said, "Six years and one day ago, Barack Obama gave a speech that changed my life. You're all probably sick of hearing me talk about that speech that inspired me to change my post graduate plans, come back home, and start knocking on doors. He said "grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself." I took him up on it and have been quoting him ever since." Obama in fact became aware of Haskell's run for office and in fact endorsed Will in his first campaign.
Haskell also gave credit to Maher, his successor, saying "Leaving this job is made infinitely easier by the fact that Ceci Maher is our new State Senator. She cares so deeply about this district, and she'll be a tireless advocate in Hartford. I first got to know Ceci when she invited me to visit Person to Person, a non profit she ran that offered food, textbooks, clothing, counseling and so much more to 25,000 families in Fairfield County."
Haskell spoke of the work he did which he is especially proud of, and described those achievements: "We couldn't have made community college free, which this year will help over 11,000 students pursue a degree that they otherwise would not have been able to afford. We couldn't have passed the CT Clean Air Act, requiring every school bus and transit bus to be electrified so that riders don't breathe diesel exhaust on their way to work and to school. We couldn't have passed the strongest gun laws in the nation, the most inclusive paid family and medical leave program in the country, the long-anticipated right to vote early and conveniently."
The evening closed by the presentation of several gifts to Haskell, including a copy of his book, "100,000 First Bosses" which was signed by officials including Senator Blumenthal and by many of the event guests, a kind of high school yearbook theme offering their heartfelt thanks and praise. Will was also give a nearly 100 year old map of the State Of Connecticut which showed the extensive rail lines in place at the time, transportation being one of Will's passions. The guests were in agreement that Haskell will do great things after the next step in his life's journey at New York University Law School, an acclaimed institution which accepts less than 25% of applicants.
Story and photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Staples Gymnastics Scores Another Victory
In the meet held on Thursday at the Westport-Weston YMCA, Staples gymnasts once again excelled in the competition against Trumbull High school, St. Joe's of Trumbull and Norwalk High scoring first place in vault, uneven bars and floor exercise.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
SCORING:
Mia G. of Staples finished first in vault, followed by Alyssa S, Norwalk and a 3-way tie for third; Marianna W, St. Joe's, Arianna S., Trumbull and Emma M., also of St. Joe's.
On bars Sarah A. and Sofia A., both of Staples finished first and second, followed by Alyssa S. of Norwalk High.
On floor exercise Staples Sofia A. finished first followed by two Trumbull athletes, Arianna S. and Anna S. finishing second and third respectively. Balance beam saw the only event where Staples didn't prevail for first, which went to Arianna S. of Trumbull. Staples instead tied for second place by Hannah B., and Sofia A., with third place going to St. Joe's Lia M.
Staples competes against Stamford High school and Westhill of Stamford on Thursday, January 19th at home.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Morning Weather Report
Today
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. North wind 11 to 14 mph.
Tonight
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. North wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tomorrow
Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. North wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 24. North wind 7 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
MTA Announces Special Schedule for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
On Monday, Jan. 16, Metro-North will operate on an expanded Saturday schedule on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines, with extra trains to Manhattan in the morning and outbound from Manhattan in the afternoon.
On the Pascack Valley Line, Metro-North will operate on a normal weekend schedule.
On the Port Jervis Line, Metro-North will operate on a normal weekend schedule with two extra trains to Hoboken, one in the morning and one in the mid-afternoon, and one extra train from Hoboken to Port Jervis in the late afternoon.
Hudson Rail Link shuttle buses will operate on a special holiday schedule to meet Hudson Line trains at Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale, and the Haverstraw-Ossining and Newburgh-Beacon ferries will operate on a special schedule to meet trains at Ossining and Beacon. Shuttle bus and ferry schedules are posted online at Metro-North Connecting Services (mta.info).
Off-peak fares are in effect on all lines all day. To view train schedules, use the MTA TrainTime app or visit https://new.mta.info/schedules/metro-north-railroad.