Easter Egg Roll Rocks On Despite Rain

Easter Egg Roll Rocks On Despite Rain

By Mike Lauterborn

(for Fairfield Citizen News)

4/23/11

Fairfield, CT – Though it was raining buckets outside, inside it was hopping, literally, as kids and parents alike took part in Easter-themed activities.

The happy haven was Pequot Library, 720 Pequot Ave., and the attraction Saturday morning April 23 was the sixth annual Easter Egg Roll. Event highlights included Belle the bunny, sticker and coloring crafts, hard-boiled egg dying and decoration, an appearance by the Easter Bunny and the egg roll competition itself. More than two dozen families attended.

“I started the event initially,” said Susan Ei, Children’s Librarian, “deciding to do an egg roll instead of an egg hunt as so many others hold around town. And I didn’t want it to be candy-oriented. The event is based on the White House’s classic Easter Egg Roll. As a child, I went to D.C. with a dream of being part of it, but a snowstorm happened and the event got cancelled. I never got over it, so that’s why I started this, to assuage my pain.”

The Roll was to have taken place on the Library’s Great Lawn, with the Southport Fire Dept. providing a fire engine as an attraction, but a steady downpour and chilly temperatures drove the event indoors. Several long tables draped with plastic had been set up for the various crafts and a large cage with Belle the bunny inside placed at the center of the room.

“We braved the rain to dye eggs and do the egg roll,” said Jennifer Fleitas, visiting for the Easter weekend from Washington, D.C. “We’ll be at the White House on Monday for the ‘other’ egg roll. I’m hoping we’ll meet the president. This is the first Easter in which my 2-year-old Maxwell is participating.”

Mark Pires, attending with his family, said, “We thought we’d meet friends down here today, color some eggs and have some Easter fun. It’s a great way to introduce our kids to the holiday. It would’ve have been great if it could have been outside.”

A big fan of Fairfield, Pires added, “It has a lot to offer kids. My wife grew up here. It was a no-brainer to raise our kids here.”

Lucy Panagos, 9, from Southport, was busy with a sticker craft. “I love bunnies and got to meet Belle,” she said. “She’s really fluffy. I’m having fun doing crafts and dying eggs. It’s too bad it’s raining though.”

Many parents, like Nancy Haberly of Fairfield, had brought their own wooden spoons for the egg roll. “I’m armed and ready, and brought eggs to dye, too. We come every year and look forward to seeing Belle and having fun with the kids. It’s a really nice family activity.”

The egg roll was the cap of the event, with competitions by age, 2-12. Prizes included mini play cameras, Silly Bands and fuzzy toy chicks. Eggs rolled left and right, chased by wooden spoons, creating smiles and driving the blahs away from an otherwise soggy day.

Earth Day Session Teaches Kids Reuse and Respect

Earth Day Session Teaches Kids 
Reuse and Respect:

Audubon focuses on recycling and endangered animals

(Posted to Fairfield.Patch.com 4/24)

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

4/23/11

Fairfield, CT – The hope was to enjoy a little fresh air and a walk in the Larsen Sanctuary, but torrents of rain drove visitors indoors. Despite the disappointing weather, families still learned a little appreciation for their planet.

Marking Earth Day, the Audubon Society at 2325 Burr Street, offered a program Saturday morning in which children and their parents could collaborate on craft activities reusing scrap materials, visit with some endangered animals and watch the animated film classic “Wall-E”, showing the importance of taking care of our Earth.

Seated at a craft table working with great determination on a robot made from paper towel tubes, an egg carton and pipe cleaners, John Wilkinson, 8, from Dedham, MA, said, “It’s fun to just create something without any directions. I like inventing things. It’s good to reuse stuff ‘cause it’s good for the Earth and fun for people.”

Next to John was his brother Luke, 6, who was constructing a bird feeder using similar materials. Even their four-year-old brother, Luke, had gotten into the act, making a snake from construction paper and necklace using a pipe cleaner and colorful sections of straws.

Their dad, Dave, had seen an ad for the event in the newspaper. “We were excited to use old items to build crafts and to see the animals and birds,” he said. “We’re visiting grandma for Easter. This is a nice way to hang out and relax as a family together.”

The boys got very excited when Educator Linnea McHenry trotted out “Big Tony”. No, this was not an extra from the TV series “The Sopranos”, but an Eastern Box Turtle, which McHenry said is on the endangered species list. “A family had taken the turtle out of the wild to have as a pet and what they didn’t know is that they should never take an animal out of its habitat,” she explained. “What happens is that if you keep them past the time period when they are meant to hibernate, they forget how to. If he was placed back in the wild, he wouldn’t hibernate and would freeze to death.”

McHenry shared a few “cool facts” with the gathered group about Eastern Box Turtles. “They typically live their whole lifetime in an area no bigger than a football field,” she said. “Also, the way you can tell the difference between a male and female is by their eyes. A male has red eyes while a female has brown. Oh, and they love to eat strawberries.”

A volunteer at the Center, Kat Newquist, 16, brought a second turtle out to display and discuss. “Spot is a Spotted Turtle,” she said, “which was taken out of the wild, like Big Tony. Spotted Turtles mostly live in the water, in vernal pools, which themselves are in danger of disappearing. They are natural pools of rain water. Spotted Turtles are carnivores, which eat small fish, crickets and mealworms. Spot doesn’t seem like a carnivore – he’s so cute!”

 

Kids Get Insights into Sea Life

Kids Get Insights into Sea Life:

Vacation week program aligns with museum’s current exhibit

(Posted to Fairfield.Patch.com 4/23)

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

4/22/11

Fairfield, CT – The facility’s rich nautical exhibit provided the perfect fodder for a multi-pronged vacation week program, which concluded Friday afternoon.

“Find Your Way”, the last installment of a sea-themed week of educational sessions at Fairfield Museum and History Center, 370 Beach Road, showed children in grades 2 to 5 how sailors navigated, used maps and survived at sea.

“There’s a lot of maritime history in this area, so there’s a lot to draw from in terms of our exhibits, to create educational activities,” said Christine Jewell, Director of Education at the museum, who led the afternoon program.

At the outset of the session, participating children were led around the museum to see ship models and navigation-related artifacts that are part of the facility’s “From Sea to Shining Sea” exhibit, which runs through April 24.

Then the kids were armed with compasses and clipboards with guidance sheets and challenged to an Orienteering Scavenger Hunt. Beginning at a set starting point in the Gallery Lobby, children were steered by directional cues, e.g. “Go 3 steps east,” and then asked a question about an adjacent display – “What is upside down in the painting?” or “How many life boats are on the ship?”

Essentially, while learning the orienteering skill, children’s attention was focused on the finer details of the displays.

“Ok, five steps east,” Jewell would call out.

“East is that way!” a participant would reply, checking a compass and pointing.

The group would march in the suggested direction, come face-to-face with a display and answer the related question.

One display was of a rare map of New England.

“Why do you think this type of map is important?” asked Jewell.

“So ships don’t run into any islands,” came a reply.

A quick walk followed, over to the adjacent Old Fairfield Academy, a one-room schoolhouse built in 1804. There, kids got some additional insight into how and what students learned years ago.

“Why is there a fireplace in the classroom?” asked one student.

“How do you think they heated it?” replied Jewell.

Upon return to the museum, kids designed nautical signal flags, sketching them out first then applying their designs to felt pennants. While the children worked, Jewell read aloud about shipwrights, sailmakers and sea captains.

“I would like to have been a sailor back then,” said Abigail Julio, 7, from Fairfield. “It would have been very adventurous.”

“I think it would have been tough to be a sailor,” countered Abigail’s brother Adam, 9, “especially having to eat the hard biscuits. Navigating would have been kind of difficult, too.”

“Hoppy” Spirits Prevail at Soggy Egg Hunt

“Hoppy” Spirits Prevail 
at Soggy Egg Hunt

By Mike Lauterborn

(for Westport News)

4/23/11

Westport, CT – They eyed the forecast updates, peered at the stormy skies and waited until the very last minute to decide if they were going forward or not.

Such was the challenge for members of the Green’s Farms Volunteer Fire Company when faced with torrential rain that threatened an annual egg hunt they were sponsoring early Saturday afternoon at Long Lots Elementary School, 13 Hyde Lane. Fortunately, Mother Nature showed some mercy and the event, though modified, went ahead, drawing a couple dozen children and their parents.

“My father, John, was the originator of the event, along with Mike Horn,” said lead organizer Michael Gudzik. “The first one, 60 years ago, was held at Green’s Farms School, until they started renovating it and we had to move it over to Long Lots.”

This was not the first time it had been rainy on the event day. “Two years ago, it rained,” said Carol Gudzik. “We had four families show, about 16 kids, and everyone went home with an Easter basket prize. You should see it when it’s not raining. You get the fire truck here with the Easter Bunny riding on it and the sirens going.”

Normally held on Long Lots’ ballfield, this year, because of the rain and mud, the event had to be restricted to the roadway in front of the school entrance. The Easter Bunny arrived by SUV and rain slickers and umbrellas were the norm for the day.

As is the custom, special Willie Wonka-like tickets are taped to select packages of candy and then the candy is gently tossed out onto the ground. Lucky kids that find the tickets amongst collected candy can redeem them for gift baskets containing toys, games and bigger items like basketballs and footballs.

“We had no choice about coming,” said Westport parent Fredrik Franke. “The kids really love it and remembered it from last year. We’re Swedish and they don’t have this tradition in Europe. Swedish kids do, however, dress up like witches the day before Easter and trick and treat like at Halloween.”

Another Westport parent, Todd Cooper, said, “Despite the rain, it seemed like it would be a good time, and beats sitting in the house. The kids have been watching the clock and talking about it since yesterday.”

As the first batch of candy was strewn across the road, Westport police officer Ashley Delvecchio, who joined the force last fall, sounded the horn in her patrol car to signal the first batch of kids to go scrambling after it. The officer said the event was a great opportunity to get the community together and celebrate the holiday. “This is my first Easter mission since I came on board,” she said. “It’s one of the more fun aspects of my job – seeing the kids and showing them that the police are friendly.”

Kids were released by age group, starting with two to three year olds, then four to six and so on. Their challenge was less “hunt” and more “gather”. In fact, the greatest obstacle the kids faced was having a basket or bag big enough to carry all their sugar-coated loot. Besides the egg hunt, they got to sound the sirens in Delvecchio’s patrol car and enjoyed supplied cups of ice cream that rewarded them for their efforts.

With regard to the rain, parent Mary Esser wasn’t even sure the event was going to happen initially, which is ironic as her son claimed not just one gift basket but two. “We were on our way to visit the grandparents, drove by and, sure enough, it was on. We’ve been lucky winners!”

New President Takes the Helm of Community Sailing Club

New President Takes the Helm 
of Community Sailing Club:

Unique resource beckons sailors

(Appeared on the front page of the 

Fairfield Sun 4/21)

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

4/14/11

Southport, CT – You can imagine the transition as one ship entering the harbor while another pushes out to open waters. That was the image conjured up by the recent appointment of Christian Von Ancken as the Community Sailing Club of Fairfield’s new president, who replaces outgoing president Lou Schueler. The Fairfield resident served for eight consecutive years since 2003.

In a recent meet with the Sun at Ye Yacht Yard in Southport Harbor, where the Club keeps its equipment and houses its sailing vessels, the two men provided background about the group, their own experiences and thinking about the Club’s future direction.

A Local Treasure

Schueler, 74, is often asked if Community Sailing is a sailing school, and is quick to correct the notion. “We’re a non-profit club that was put together by old-time sailors back in 1991,” he said. “Anyone interested in sailing and has some sailing experience can join. Per the new harbormaster’s suggestion, new members must have a Connecticut Safe Boating Certificate and experience sailing. We accept anyone that meets the qualifications.”

Schueler was raised in a small town just below New Bedford, MA, and said he started sailing when he was a kid. “I ultimately became a pilot with United Airlines and moved to Fairfield in 1965, and always wanted to someday get back on the water. I had to wait until I put my three kids through college, which made sailing financially impossible at that time.”

In the late 1990s, a newspaper item caught his eye and resulted in his returning to his sailing passion. “I read about an open house Community Sailing was having at Ye Yacht Yard and thought, ‘Gosh, this is the best kept secret in Fairfield, and I joined.”

With regard to taking on leadership roles, Schueler became a board member at first, then president in 2003, excited to govern what he finds to be a very eclectic group of people. “Members are from all walks of life, and enjoy being together and sailing together,” he said. “We’re different from private clubs, which look for financial status. This is open to the general public and people of most any means.”

Schueler said that one of the most remarkable highlights of his tenure was involvement with the Fresh Air Fund, which gives children living in urban environments the chance to enjoy experiences in suburban areas. “In the summer immediately following 9/11, we hosted four families at Ye Yacht Yard,” he said. “One little girl and I were standing on the dock looking out on the Sound and she said she’d never seen so much open water. Then she pointed across to Long Island and asked, ‘What country is that?’ Later, a large yacht, with an American flag flapping behind it, motored out of the harbor and, seeing the flag, she put her hand on her heart and started singing ‘God Bless America.’”

A New Captain

At a certain point in his presidency, Schueler felt he was getting stale. “It was time for a change and I indicated to our board that I’d like to step down,” he said. “We looked around and noticed that Chris had done a lot of sailing and also taught sailing. We convinced him to take the helm.”

Van Ancken, 47, a SVP in the commercial real estate sector for People’s Bank United, said he hopes to continue Schueler’s good work. “I have been thinking about having middle school children from around Fairfield come and experience sailing, as a first step to being on the water,” he said. “Learning to sail as a kid lasts throughout your life.” 

Van Ancken is a prime illustration of that theory. “I grew up in Queens and Long Island and started sailing with my dad on small boats,” he said. “One of my fondest memories was sailing to Bermuda as a boy of 13, on the open ocean. We had a huge storm when we started out, then the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. It was incredible, particularly at night seeing the stars reflecting off the water. It was like you were in space. You couldn’t distinguish the difference between the water and the horizon.”

He said that he was steering large boats at ten and learning the proper terminology. “I sailed all through my teens on a Hobie Cat, and even taught myself to windsurf,” he said. “In college, I taught sailing at the marina in Three Mile Harbor in Easthampton, NY. My last year of college, I opened up Hampton Charters, a sailboat chartering business, with three large sailboats I rented out for bare boat charters. My job was to generate the business, give clients a sailing test and clean the boats each week.”

Right after college, Van Ancken married and started a family, raising two daughters. “When they were young, we began taking sailing vacations together,” he said. “The early trips were local, traveling from the Sound to Block Island or Newport. Later on, we would take trips down to the Caribbean islands. The boat we had was an Irwin 41 with a center cockpit, which we actively used for more than 10 years. We sold it in the mid-90s and began chartering boats as we wanted to expand our sailing vacations to more exotic places. Some of those destinations included Spain, Greece, Croatia and the coast of France.”

He said each trip brought a new experience. “Coming to the ports, you get a whole different perspective on a country. Arriving in a small fishing village like Menorca, Spain, and eating the local food and exploring the culture is very eye-opening.”

Staying the Course

Van Ancken heard about Community Sailing in 2005, through a newspaper article like Schueler. “I immediately thought it would be great for me and my family to have access to the water and a community of people that love sailing.”

All the members were very welcoming he said, and reflected a common love of sailing. “When I joined, it was exciting to me to use my skills to get out of the harbor, which can be a challenge. Once you do get on the Sound, it’s serene, with the water slapping against the hull and no sound of traffic. It’s just you, the wind and the water. There’s an empowering feeling of harnessing the forces of nature.”

Van Ancken started bringing his daughters, now 18 and 22, out sailing and passing his passion on to them. He also began taking out less experienced sailors and got involved with the cleaning and maintenance of boats as well as financial aspects of the Club. His participation caught the notice of senior Club members, which led to his being tapped this past December.

Looking forward, he said, “I want to keep the Club on the same track, the boats maintained and members informed. The key is to open up the water to people that would not normally have the financial means to own or even maintain a boat. Community Sailing is a priceless local resource housed in a spectacular and historic harbor.”

SIDEBAR

Community Sailing of Fairfield: An overview

Operating primarily out of Southport Harbor, the Community Sailing Club of Fairfield boasts a current membership of 58 families, encompassing about 150 people. Members must have experience sailing though part of the Club’s mission is to enhance knowledge through the promotion of safe boating practices, general boating education and training in areas related to sailing and water safety through special workshops, on-board sailing instruction and demonstrations.

The Club operates two 18-foot long, open-cockpit sailboats, each with a main sail, jib and spinnaker, which are used for racing and pleasure sailing. The group also maintains four two-man kayaks and two one-man kayaks for Club use. Through a computerized reservation system, members can schedule boating time in two-hour increments any day of the week during the hours 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Club offers three free annual seminars, this year being held on April 28, May 5 and May 12, focused on sailing safety, rules and techniques. Three additional dockside clinics are devoted to hands-on rigging, determining wind direction and maneuvering in the harbor.

With regard to social activities, the Club typically holds a late winter/early spring potluck dinner, which renews connections between members that haven’t seen each other since the close of the sailing season. During the June/July summer months, the Club reserves the Jacky Durrell Pavilion at Penfield Beach and hosts a clambake for members and their entire families.

Said outgoing CSF President Lou Schueler, “We’re not really a party group, but we hold great events meant for the family. We’re just good people.”

Two membership packages exist – one for weekdays only and the other a full week. Dues cover the use of the boats, insurance and cost of mooring/berthing in Southport Harbor.

For more information about membership and the CSF’s free annual seminars, email comsail553@gmail.com.

Fishermen Lured to Mill River to Mark Fishing Season Opening

Fishermen Lured to Mill River to Mark Fishing Season Opening:

April 16 signals time to bait up 

and cast a line

(Posted to Fairfield.Patch.com 4/21)

By Mike Lauterborn

© 2011. All Rights Reserved.

4/16/11

Fairfield, CT – Saturday, April 16 marked the official start of the fishing season. At the shorefront, gusty winds and chilly temperatures kept even the hardiest fishermen away throughout the early morning hours. But along the Mill River by the Mill River Bridge, several people turned up with their spincasters, fly rods and a range of lures and bait to try their luck in the choppy water.

Kids Fired Up About WHS Vacation Week Activities

Kids Fired Up About WHS Vacation Week Activities

By Mike Lauterborn

(For Westport News)

4/19/11

Westport, CT – Normally when a fire truck appears anywhere, it sets off concern and signals an emergency. But when Engine 2 pulled up at the Westport Historical Society, it elicited excited smiles and received a warm welcome.

The visit was part of the Society’s Creation Station Kids Vacation Program being held four hours each day at the facility Monday, April 18^th through Thursday, April 21^st. Geared to grades K to 5^th, it allowed up to 20 students per day to engage in a variety of activities, from arts projects to drama, while learning about Westport history. Tuesday’s program, which the Citizen attended, was centered around local firefighting.

“Monday, we did an art project that used buttons, relating to the fact that there had been a button factory in Westport,” said Executive Director Sue Gold. “We also took the children on a walking tour down to the Saugatuck River and talked about its history. These youth programs, which are offered during February and April school vacations, and three weeks in summer, are a way to bring children to our facility to have fun creating projects that relate to local history and meet artists and other people in the community that can educate them.”

Said parent Kim Mendola of Norwalk, “This has been a terrific program so far, and it’s incredible the history aspect the kids are getting out of it. When they did their outdoor tour yesterday, they were told about various historical homes on the way and their significance. My daughter retained the dates and information. She was excited to come back today.”

Westport artist and educator Elizabeth Petrie Devoll was this week’s program leader. “My plan for today was to base projects on local fire department history, having them make little matchbox crafts and personalize an aluminum fire bucket. I’m trying to introduce simplicity while drawing a family oriented clientele.”

In Tuesday’s session, the group would also make sweet potato fries in the facility’s kitchen and do some role-playing and acting out in the gallery. However, the fire department’s visit was certainly the highlight of the morning.

Besides providing routine fire safety information, quizzing the children on how to respond to emergencies and showing off their gear, firefighters Ben Racho and Rich Calabria, along with Lt. Michael Kronick, peppered their talk with historical tidbits.

“Fire buckets were made out of leather and everyone had one,” said Racho. “If there was a fire, they would line up by a source of water, fill them and pass the water along to toss on the fire.”

Calabria put on all his firefighting gear, inspiring Racho to comment, “We didn’t have a lot of this equipment 50 or 60 years ago. The only gear was rubber boots, a coat and a hat.”

Kronick tried a trivia question on the children, asking, “Do you know why firefighters had dalmations? They would keep the horses calm.”

The lieutenant then went on to add that the first fire department was established in town in 1923, in a building built by the Bedford family and now occupied by the YMCA. Kronick also explained the origin of the term “hook and ladder,” noting that hooks were used to pull down burning structures so a fire wouldn’t spread. “Property conservation didn’t become a priority until the early 1920s when more resources and equipment were available to allow us to do the work,” he said.

As the firefighters led the children outside to show them the truck, they continued to relate bits of lore. “The earliest firefighting equipment – coal-fired boilers pulled by horses – were painted red as red paint was very expensive and showed a town’s prominence and stature,” said Kronick.

The visit would be a memorable one for participants like Julia Herlyn, 5, of Westport, who retained contemporary facts. “We learned that when there’s a fire, you need to get down and crawl.”

Casey Corso, 7, of Westport, keyed in on historical facts. “I can’t believe it took people passing buckets to fight a fire,” he said.

Corso added, “I’m having a really awesome time,” which summed up the feelings of the participating children, whose sparks of enthusiasm would not be doused by the otherwise dreary, overcast day.