pt at large

Dylan Dobbyn: Nothing Better Than Messing About In Boats

If there’s a way to enjoy the waters of Westport, Dylan Dobbyn will find it. The Juniper Road resident owns an impressive array of things that float, glide, putt-putt, sail, and paddle and deploys them here twelve months a year. His first taste of life in Westport was when his parents trundled him off to visit relatives here in the summer.

 Ten years ago, when scouring the coast to find an ideal spot to launch his nautical toys, he found that Westport floated to the top of his list. During the work week, Mr. Dobbyn, an electrical engineer, commutes to his job at Terradyne in North Reading. Every weekend Mr. Dobbyn and his wife of four years, Ellen Culliton, leave Harbor Towers in Boston and hit the road for Westport. Outside their house, and at their pier, and on the harbor, you’ll find windsurfing boards, kayaks, and motor boats. Recently, his wife Ellen was seen relaxing with a good book on a beach chair on their East Branch pier while her husband learned to ‘drive’ his latest acquisition, an AquaSkipper.

Job at Terradyne?
“Terradyne builds equipment that tests chips for any electronic device you can think of. One of our big customers is Broadcom, which makes cell phones and communication equipment. As an engineering manager, I oversee the design efforts to verify that the chips used in our chip testers actually work.”

Training for the job?
“ I went to the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and graduated with B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering.”

Globalization?
“Of the 60 people I manage, 50 are in India and the rest in North Reading. A few years ago, we all would have been in America.”

Rewards of the job?
“Whatever I do has an impact. I can tell right away whether I’m doing a good job or not.”

Childhood memories of Westport?
“I remember Westport as a cottage-y place where the kids would spend all day messing around at the beach, then eat watermelon, go straight to a salty, sandy bed and loving it.”

Choosing Westport?
“For years, I had trailered my laser around and wanted a avoid the big production of finding a harbor to get to the water. My aunt Polly Emilita, a Westport real estate broker, showed me the place on Juniper Road that had dock access and I said this is it!”

Racing a laser?
“A laser is a 14’ Olympic racing class, one-design one-person sailboat, one of the most popular sailboats there is. There are a gazillion of them and I love racing them.”

Other boats you own?
“I have a 17’ Seaway skiff at the dock and a 28’ Cape Dory power boat in the harbor off WYC for cruising, We cruise to Block Island, the Vineyard, Edgartown, and Nantucket. I’m still trying to convince my wife to set out on Friday nights as soon as we get here but it’s usually on Saturday mornings.”

At the beach?
“My favorite place to body surf is at Baker Beach. There’s a spot off the flagpole there where the bottom contour makes the water break there consistently good. My dad was a life guard at Coast Guard Beach when he was in college and he taught me how to body surf.”

Winter kayaking?
“I love this. For safety, I did a survival test, dunked myself in the water. The struggle I had to get back in the boat awakened me to how dangerous it could be. I’ cautious now and don’t go out when it’s rough.”

Building models?
“I’m kind of a big kid and love toys. I have a Mindstorms Lego Kit and designed a model of a self-balancing motorcycle. It’s computer-controlled so after I built it, I wrote the software for it. It had a balance sensor so if it was starting to fall over, it would straighten itself out by steering that way.”

Sailing in Boston?
“We live next to the Aquarium so when I get out of work, I head for the Boston Sailing Center and cruise the harbor in a J-24.”

Latest water toy?
“I bought an AquaSkippper to use off the dock. It’s made of aircraft aluminum, weighs 26 pounds, is 6’ long, and is designed to be self-propelled. Sort of like a pogo stick. You have to get a rhythm going or you sink. Luckily, it floats.”

A nautical partnership?
“ Our first date was a cruise to see the sunrise at the entrance to Boston Harbor. On one or our early times together we did a week-long cruise up to Provincetown and around to Nantucket on boat. That’s when I figured it was going really well. If you can live a week on a boat with someone and have a great time that’s a good sign.”

Westport wonderland?
“Westport’s a water wonderland - a great boating harbor combined with a beautiful surf beach and a nice harbor behind it, all within walking distance of each other.”
“

The River Run's Real Winner Is The River

 

At the 10:30 starting time on a picture-perfect Saturday morning, the kayaks, canoes, and, oh yes, one tiny row boat,  were a swirling mass of fiberglass and wood on the south side of Hix Bridge.  Viewed from the bridge fifteen minutes later, the 74 vessels in the Family/Fun division appeared to be dots of colorful confetti paddling toward the Head of Westport 3.5 miles away. The Fifth Annual Canoe/Kayak Race and Family Paddle, sponsored by The Westport River Watershed Alliance and Osprey Sea Kayaks, was in full swing.

The Challenge Class had begun their 8.5 boomerang route a half hour before, looping south to Gunning Island then reversing course to pass under Hix Bridge and blast toward the Head. Many of the 16 Challenge Class would finish way before the more laid back family paddlers.

The name of the game for the racers was speed. Most sported kayaks and canoes built for competition. Many were equipped with GPS systems to monitor time, speed, and distance.

“I want to fool around and get some exercise. If I happen to pass one or two people, that’s fine,” David Crocker said as he checked over his Seda Glide Kayak prior to the race. A look at his brawny physique and the gleam in his eye belied that statement. He blew out of the start at the head of the pack and stayed there till the finish, winning himself a $50 gift certificate from White’s of Westport for his efforts.

Even the family paddlers wanted to pass at least one boat. Rosemary Crocker of Providence tapped into a nearly universal sentiment when she said, “I want to finish it and not be last in my class.” She wasn’t.

For Josie Woollam of Westport, the East Branch had a way of neutralizing the competitive instinct. “The trouble with this race is it’s too distracting,” she said. “There’s so much beauty behind each bend in the river. Every time I see a stone wall, swans, or meadows, I want to paddle nearer and get a good look.”

Woollam and her two pals, Polly Gardner of Adamsville and Carol Long of Westport, paddled lightweight fiberglass canoes. Apparently, Gardner and Long were less distracted than Woollam. They placed one and two in the single canoe division.

The venerable, somewhat battered, 1978 Sea Pal canoe entered by the brother/sister team of Dana Gillum of South Dartmouth and Jan St. Germain of New Bedford has more water under its bow than any other on the river. “By the end of the race, we’ll have traveled 4003.5 miles. We’ve been on the Saco. Slocum, and Paskamansett Rivers, “ said Gillum. “This will be no problem.”

Race organizers Ann Fitzgerald and Larry Hookey oversaw the largest turnout ever, 74 Family/Fun and 16 Challenge Class boats. Dozens of volunteers  monitored the event on land and on water.

“Sponsors and vendors really stepped up this year,” Fitzgerald said, naming four major sponsors and 30 others who provided goods, services, or hard cold cash.

Tots, teenagers, and adults from twenty-somethings to those who’ve owned their AARP cards for more than a decade crewed the assortment of boats that passed the finish line.

Fitzgerald and Hookey handed out dozens of medals while paddlers and friends munched on wraps, pizza, and watermelons in the shade of the trees at the river’s grassy edge at the Head of Westport.
If there were a medal for Beautiful Natural Resource, the river would have won it, paddles down.

SIDEBAR OF WINNERS
Challenge Class
Racer
Paul Cordelia
Single Kayak
1. Dave Crocker
2. Mark Edwards
Over 55
1. John Cooper Mullen
2. Bruce Meacham
Female
1. Denise Hixon
2. Marcia Hathaway
Plastic Kayak
1. Bob Wilkinson
2. George Kyller
Double Canoe -
1. Halpin and Olson (first names not available)
2. Darrill Goldizen, J.F. Paquin

Family Fun Class
Overall
1. Mike Spadea, Kara Gilson (Double Kayak, 2008 Grads Oliver Ames HS, Easton,MA )
2. Rob and Jamie Pollack (Double Kayak)
Double Canoe
1. Dana Gillum, Jan St. Germain
2. Mike and Molly Sullivan
Over 55, Double Kayak
1. Ted and Tom Gibney
2. Peggy and Jonathan Stevens
Family Boat, more than 2 people
1. The Toth Family
2. The Chan Family
Fun Boat
1. Dan and Ben (age 2 1/2) Harrington in row boat
2. Tim Groves in kayak with Ruby Groves (age 4)
Single Kayak Overall
1. Edward Earle
2. Eric LaFrance
Single Kayak, under 16
1. Nicholas Gonsalves
2. Cody Flynn
Single Kayak, over 55
1. John Hiller
2. Prue Goodale
Single Canoe
1. Polly Gardner
2. Carol Long
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SIDEBAR
SPONSORS AND VENDORS HELP FLOAT THE RIVER RUN
The Westport River Watershed Alliance and Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures are riding a wave of good will. The long list of supporters of this year’s River Run illustrates their event’s growing footprint and acknowledgement of the river’s value to the town. Major sponsors Bittersweet Farm, Graphix Plus, Lees Market, and TMJ Orthopedics were joined by 30 entities from A to Z that provided goods, services, or cash support.
A.J. Potter Jr. and Sons; Country Woolens; Dartmouth Building Supply, Inc; Doug Brown-Durfee Buffington Insurance Agency; Ellie’s Place Restaurant; Fernandez & Charest, P. C.; Graham Enterprises; Handy Hill Creamery; LaPointe Insurance; Lawton Builders; Marguerite’s Restaurant; Mid-City Scrap & Salvage Company; N.A.C. Security and Stereo Systems, Inc.; Ocean’s Catch, Inc.; Partners Village Store; Plamondon Electrical; Potter Funeral Service, Inc.; Rent-A-Jon; State Representative Michael J. Rodriques; Sticks. Stones, & Stars; The Bayside Restaurant; Tim’s Lawn Care; Village Pizza; Westport Apothecary; Westport Chiropractic; Westport Federal Credit Union; Westport Marine Specialties;  WestportHappenings.com; Zibra Corporation.

Arrrgh, Matey, A Cockatoo on the Bow!

Well, blow me down, a cockatoo on the bow.  Not since Long John Silver’s seagoing parrot has there been evidence of squawkers and their owners on the bounding sea, or in this case, the rolling river.

Dusty the cockatoo and his owner Hank Protzmann of East Greenwich, RI, showed up at the Westport River’s Hix Bridge Landing Saturday morning to man (and bird) the safety crew monitoring the kayers and canoers entered in the Fifth Annual River Run Race and Famiy Fun Paddle.

Aside from Hank, Dusty may have been the most experienced adventurer on the river.

“Dusty’s been mountain biking, wind surfing, and kayaking with me for years. This is his fourth kayak ride this week, He’s been with me hundreds of times, ” Hank said.

 Hank bought the well mannered bird from a breeder when  it was a few weeks old, Dusty spent 13 years with Hank in Delray Beach where Protzmann grew up and owned a water sports rental business. The duo has spent the last eight years in Greenwich. 

When on rescue boat jet ski, Dusty grabs on with his claws and holds on with the grit of an old salt.

Protzmann and Dusty have been friends with Osprey Sea Kayaks owners Sam and Carl Ladd for years and winged it over to Westport when invited to join the safety crew. Osprey Sea Kayaks and The Westport River Watershed Alliance organized the event.

“He’s our safety bird,” says Sam Ladd. “He’s an adventure parrot.”

Little Acoaxet Chapel has a long history

One of Westport’s most enduring structures, erected on the farmlands that slope into the sea in Westport Harbor, is the Acoaxet Chapel. If you’re not on the lookout for it, you might miss the compact little building tucked into one of the first lots on Howland Road.

The Westport Historical Society focused a spotlight on the chapel with a recent presentation, “A History of the Acoaxet Chapel.” Reverend Robert Hollis, standing at a rostrum from which other pastors in the chapel’s unique history have preached to their flocks, harkened back to the 1840s to begin charting the story of the building and the community that erected it.

The history of the Acoaxet Chapel is a story of Yankee thrift, practicality, and resoluteness. It is veined with an uncommon sense of inclusion that far predates the contemporary sense of ecumenism. It also reveals the sustaining importance of the church in the lives of the farmers and businessmen who made up Westport Harbor’s population.

Farm families in the Harbor began meeting in each other’s homes for prayer, singing, and religious instruction in the 1840s. Over time, sentiment grew for having a formal meeting place. In January 1872, with the nearest church four miles distant, Frank Howland spearheaded a successful effort to build a local chapel. One of the group’s first acts was to form the “Free Chapel Association”; all in attendance became members. They wrote a constitution and ratified it.

By the time they broke ground on January 23, 1872, two things were abundantly clear. First, they would pay cash for everything and avoid debt by raising money within their own community.

Second, they decided unanimously that the chapel would be “held in trust for the free use of all Protestant denominations for the worship of God and for moral and religious instruction” for the community.

“That. I believe, is what makes the Acoaxet Chapel different than almost any chapel or church built in New England,” Reverend Hollis said. “The people in the harbor said that anyone who wants to use it as a church can come use it free, without charge. What an incredible statement on that first meeting night January 10, 1872.”

The founding group included Quakers, Baptists, and Congregationalists. They practiced what they preached.

Over the next ten years, the members voted to add a chimney, stoves for heat and kerosene lamps for illumination. In 1882, one year after members voted to erect a closed-in shed to protect horses and carriages in inclement weather, disaster struck.  A fire was set by “a miscreant, who was pursued but never found, at least by the legal authority.”

The chapel played a vital role in their social and spiritual lives. They would not abide living without the nexus it provided. They set their jaws and built another chapel upon the ashes of the first - in less than one year - and added a belfry to the building.

Hardly a month would pass without functions and events being conducted at Acoaxet Chapel. Walter Elwell, one of three long-time chapel members who participated in the evening’s program, reminisced about chapel goings on in the 1940s through 1960s. Mr. Elwell recalled the days preceding September’s Harvest Sunday and Auction Monday. Mr. Elwell watched his grandmother spend two days cooking corned beef, hand chopping it in a wooden bowl, then pressing it so it could be cold sliced at Sunday night’s supper.

Elwell’s father was in charge of Auction Monday, a highly anticipated annual fund-raiser. Families brought produce and foodstuffs from their farms and gardens, filling the chapel with goods to be auctioned off. The proceeds of the auction, conducted by Everett Coggeshall, supported the chapel financially and gave families a head start on stockpiling food for the winter.

“There were very few houses around, you could count them on your fingers,” Gladys Corey said of growing up in the neighborhood.  She got a laugh from the audience when she recalled getting tired on one of her youthful excursions and deciding to take a nap in one of the sand traps on the golf course near her house. A frantic search ensued. A neighbor found her and carried her, still slumbering, back home.

Ralph Bodington’s main memories from the 1970s to the 1990s centered around food. After cooking beans for Sunday suppers became too much for Mrs. Marian Gifford of Little Compton, young Ralph offered to help. Twenty-five years later, he’s still the man in the chapel kitchen at 4:30 am preparing beans for the Saturday Ham and Bean Suppers. The chapel offers more than comfort for the belly. “The chapel offers a refuge, a place for peace in a world that can use more of them, “ he said.

Finances and food took up a good deal of the content of the minutes (recorded since 1872) of the chapel’s annual meetings. They might have written how pleased they were to have made $50 “but they did understand that the money raised wasn’t the most important part. It was the work they could do with it. Above all, it was the fellowship they encountered here and the joy they had with the community coming together,” Reverend Hollis said.

After spending a few quiet moments in the simple, elegantly designed chapel, a visitor familiar with its history can imagine the echoes of farmers’ boots entering for Sunday services.

Until this year, the chapel was open from Easter to the last Sunday in September. Reverend Hollis announced that the Acoaxet Chapel would be open year round beginning this October.The legendary ham, bean, and brown bread suppers live on. Check their web site for more information: http://www.acoaxetchapel.org

SIDEBAR
Special services that have been held at Acoaxet Chapel through the years:
* Christmas Tree Decoration
* Christmas Eve services
Easter
Thanksgiving
Harvest Sunday, Auction Monday
Washington’s Birthday
* Memorial Day
July 4
Mothers Day
Father and Sons Day
* Oddfellows and Rebeccas
* Grange Sunday
Fanny Crosby Sunday
Freemason Sunday
Missionary Sunday
* Music Sunday
* still on annual calendar

Suppers played a dual role of raising money and providing fellowship at the Chapel.
Box Suppers
Cold meat and strawberry suppers
Ice cream festivals
Men’s Turkey Supper
Cold Meat and salad supper
Fish/quahog suppers   
Harvest Suppers
Oyster suppers
* Ham and bean suppers
* still going strong

Meet Kathryn Graham Lamontagne: PhD candidate, librarian

Kathryn Graham Lamontagne has packed a lot into her first 28 years on the planet and shows no signs of slowing down.  Between wanderlust and a hunger for knowledge, she’s traveled around three continents and worked at an intriguing assortment of jobs.

Sky miles aside, Ms. Lamontagne’s roots are planted firmly in North Westport. Her late grandfather George Graham developed the Holly Hill Campground and Christopher Circle with his late wife Mary, who drove the dump truck and dug the drainage ditches there. Ms. Lamontagne’s Boston-based younger brother Robert works at the Department of Workforce and Labor at the State House and is a speechwriter for Governor Patrick. She resides on Watuppa Road with her parents Norman and Mary Ann.

Ms. Lamontagne’s educational pedigree includes a bachelor’s degree from Providence College, master’s degrees from Providence College (Modern European History) and the University of London (Cultural Memory). During her college career, she studied in Quebec and Newfoundland and journeyed to Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, and Portugal. Ms. Lamontagne is currently in a Ph.D. program in British History at Boston University.

NORTH WESTPORT ROOTS
“My mother’s family has been summering or living year round on Watuppa Pond since 1901. My father grew up on the reservation in Fall River at the end of Blossom Road. His father was from Westport Factory. My father’s side were all mill people so we’ve been North Westporters forever.”

MELTING POT HERITAGE
“I’m English, Irish, and French-Canadian. My father was French-Canadian, and my grandfather only spoke French. My mom’s maiden name is Graham, her mother’s maiden name was Pelletier but her mother was born in Ireland…it gets confusing!”

A BUSY SCHEDULE TO JUGGLE
“I’ve been a reference librarian at the Barrington Public Library for the past 5 years. I work at White’s and Rachel’s Lakeside. I answer phones, manage rooms, bus tables, hostess in the dining room and even made drinks. I’m also a grader of exams at
Boston University and will begin a teaching fellowship there next spring.”

FAMILY FUN
“We love doing beach stuff.  We go to Gooseberry and collect sea-glass, And I’ve always done quahogging with my father, that’s our daddy-daughter thing that we do together.”

FAVORITE WESTPORT ACTIVITY
“My absolute favorite thing to do is get a book and go to East Beach, that’s where everybody finds me all summer. It’s quiet, you don’t have to walk far, the rocks get all warm and you can lay on them, and the water is so much cleaner there.”

VISITS TO LONDON
“I go over about every two months which is why I work so much so I can afford the travel. I visit my boyfriend and do research at the British Library in London."

WHAT DRIVES YOU
“I used to be really competitive and wanted to make everyone proud of me.  Over the years it changed. Now what drives me is more about providing for the family that I’ll have and making sure that I’m best prepared for that.”

WHO INSPIRED YOU
“My grandmother and my mom. My grandmother was proponent of women’s rights, she dug all those ditches at Christopher Circle herself, and was a voracious reader. My mother’s a voracious reader, too. My mom took me to the library to borrow books about famous black women, Native Americans, and presidents. She made every effort to let me know about the world outside.”

PASTIMES
“My mom and I like to go antiquing in New Bedford. I love to cook. I’m a voracious reader. And I collect cook books, a perfect merge for me of food and books.”

AN AMERICAN DREAM STORY
“My great-grandmother was an immigrant from Ireland. She worked in the cafeteria at Boston University. There’s something that resonates with me so much that she worked in the cafeteria and now here I have the opportunity to get my doctorate there. It feels like an American Dream story.”

WESTPORT TEACHERS
“When I enrolled in Bishop Connolly in eighth grade I was the only student from public school who got placed in advanced classes. I attribute that to Mrs. Finnuci, my first grade teacher, Mrs. Croft, my 4th grade teacher, and Mr. Holt at the middle school.  Mrs. Croft had me dress up as a Pilgrim and walk around the school when it was Westport’s bicentennial. I think I was officially a history person from then on. I got a really good education in Westport.”

MEETING ROSA PARKS
“When I was in fourth grade my mom took me to see Rosa Parks at the Congregational Church in Fall River and that changed my life. Rosa Parks was such a little woman on that big, big altar and she’d done some big, big things. I’ve carried that with me my whole life.”

COMING FULL CIRCLE
“I’m studying labor leaders from Lancashire England who immigrated to Fall River in the 19th century which is when my mother’s family came over to work in the mills here.”

Westport Point: An architectural treasure

Nearly surrounded by water and splashed in sunlight from dawn to dusk, Westport Point held as much allure for Native Americans centuries ago as it does to the residents of that village today. Westport architect James Collins, Jr. shared his fascination for the Point’s unique location and the rich architectural heritage of its residences with a capacity crowd at Lees Market Community Room at a recent meeting of the Westport Historical Society.

Mr. Collins is president of Payette, a firm that has become one of the nation's most award-winning architects for high technology health and research buildings. You could probably fit the entire village of Westport Point into one of his Boston firm’s current projects, a study of how to renovate a million square feet of national historic buildings in MIT’s main campus.

In order to appreciate how architectural styles varied within themselves and how some houses on the Point mutated from one style to another, Collins gave a spirited slide-show tutorial that showed classic examples of residential architectural styles from the 1600s to the mid twentieth century. He followed this with photos of dozens of Point homes that currently line the last mile of Main Road.

The Collins house in the heart of historic Westport Point, MA has evolved since its first owner built it in 1776.

 

Mr. Collins’s family has owned property in Westport for three generations and unhappily lost three beach houses to hurricanes in 1938, the mid forties, and 1954. His talk was buoyed by an infectious enthusiasm for the Point neighborhood he’s lived in for the past fifteen summers and an obvious grasp of the principles of architecture.

Mr. Collins made the case that Westport Point is one of the most unusual harbor villages in the country.  First, it’s protected by a barrier beach and surrounded by an estuary with a river that splits around it. Next, the area is not that wide and there’s a road running smack down the middle of it. “The result is that you’re equally aware of the urban aspect of a central street and a rural quality that allows you can look past the buildings and over the grass behind them and see water on both sides of the street,” Collins said.

The wild card for Collins is that the entire area faces south so both sunrise and sunset are visible from most of the houses.

“There will be people who say you need to travel thousands of miles to get these four different experiences but here have them within feet of each other,” Mr. Collins said.

How did the village get this way? “Enlightened self-interest zoning” Mr. Collins said with a bemused laugh.

From the beginning, it seemed that everyone built close to the street to take advantage of using the back yard for gardens, animals, or water access. The roofs of the cape and colonial style houses in the Point are all pitched the same way and that creates a natural grade down to the water.

Mr. Collins insights about “ventilation” and “rhythm” should register clearly with anyone who has walked past the houses near the end of Main Road and wondered how the views down to the water on both sides were orchestrated.

He noted that most of the village houses “huddled up” to the north side of their lots and didn’t build in the middle of them. Next, the lots are random widths, depending on how much money the property owner could afford to spend.

“No one ordered them to build on the north side of their lots but the fact that they did and the random lot widths create a rhythm of openings between them,” Mr. Collins said. “You look left and say ‘nice house,’ look right and say ‘nice gap to the water,’ and you can say this all the way down the street.”

When families got bigger and more space was needed, they “telescoped” their houses by adding on to the back so the village got denser “but those all-important gaps (views to the water) didn’t get filled in,” Mr. Collins said.

Heading north, away from the river from the Paquachuck Inn, most of the houses are capes or colonial styles. The capes are one story, never two, have simple detailing, and perhaps sport dormers or an attic. Classic colonials are usually two stories, have regularized sets of windows, a central chimney, and several types of roofs.

And oh, what a range of them there are. Full capes, 3/4 capes, half capes, and in one case a cape that morphed into a colonial. Owners continually tinkered with their Cape and Colonial style homes, adding, subtracting or replacing windows and adding porches and extending living space. Chimneys have been added to some houses and in one case built partially over a window on the side of a house. Hardly any of them are carbon copies of another.

Farther up the road, the architecture gets more kaleidoscopic.  Styles including Greek Revival, Arts and Crafts, Italianate, Gothic Revival, American Foursquare, and Bungalow Craftsman are all represented.

“When architecturally knowledgeable people come to the village they flip out. This is an important place because it houses as many great homes of architectural style as anyplace I’ve ever seen in my life,” Collins said.

On a stroll through Westport Point with his dad when he was five years old, Mr. Collins asked him why he loved the neighborhood so much.

“Oh, Jim, this is a special place, this is sacred ground,” his dad replied. Now that he’s lived there for fifteen years, Jim Collins feels the same way.

SIDEBAR
Of the architecture described by Mr. Collins, Westport Point contains examples of Cape, Colonial, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Victorian Shingle, Georgian Revival, American Foursquare, Arts and Crafts, and Bungalow styles. Some houses are a mix of two or more styles.

Architectural styles described by Mr. Collins
1626 - 1725 First Period Architecture
1600s - 1960 Cape
1725 - 1775 Georgian Colonial
1780 - 1830 Federal
1830 - 1875 Gothic Revival
1825 - 1850 Greek Revival
1845 - 1860 Italianate
1860 - 1880 Second Empire
1870 - 1900 Richardsonian Romanesque
1875 - 1925 Victorian Eclectic
1880 - 1910 Queen Ann
1880 - 1900 Victorian Shingle
1895 - 1930 Georgian Revival
1895 - 1930 American Foursquare
1905 - 1930 Arts and Crafts (Craftsman)
1905 - 1930 Bungalow

Big helpings at the WFA Clam Bake

Lynda Perkins (right) and Barbara Bates serve up helpings of clams, codfish, chourico, franks, corn, potato, sausage, brown bread (and, for a few bucks more, a lobster) to a long line of hungry ticket holders at the 24th annual Westport Fishermen's Association Clam Bake on Sept. 16.

A record setting crowd of 262 people gathered for the event at the Little Compton Sportsmen's Club. Proceeds will help underwrite restoration of the Horseneck Point Life Savng Station, The winner of the dinghy which was raffled off at the Bake  was Chris Vemfi of Lexington, MA.

Meet The Kiteman of Westport Beach: John Davenport

John Davenport’s presence on Westport’s Cherry and Webb beach is easy to notice. His calling card, a massive array of whimsical, colorful kites drifting lazily in the sea breeze, pinpoints his location from April till October.

With hand-made appliqué banners set firmly in the sand to mark off the edges of his “flying field,” he sits happily in a lawn chair, ready to answer questions from curious or admiring beach-goers about the soft fabric wonders floating above him. Born and raised in Somerset, Mr. Davenport recalled coming to Westport since 1956 when his family spent time at his mother’s family cottage on Cadman’s Neck. He’s lived in Westport full time since 1971. The first place he purchased was Al Lees,  Jr.’s Sea Swing Farm on Old Horseneck Road. He currently lives on Cadman’s Neck in a home his late father built.

A graduate of MA College of Pharmacy in Boston, Mr. Davenport, is a long-term care consultant for PharMerica of Warwick, RI. A chance walk down Thames Street near one of his work sites in Newport brought him to the High Flyers Kite Company. The colorful displays and the owner’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the hobby hooked Mr. Davenport. He’s been flying kites “religiously” since 1987.

First summers in Westport
“We kids all had boats and would zoom around, go quahogging, waterskiiing, and generally have a good time around my mother’s family summer cottage. This place just gets in your blood.”

First kites
“We had big cemetery behind our house in Somerset and we’d fly paper kites off fishing poles with hundreds of feet of line on them. Sometimes kites got so far away we never got them back.”

Day job
“Federal law states that every long-term care facility has to have a consultant pharmacist. When PharMerica supplies medications to a facility, they package me with the deal so I come along with the contract. I’ve been with PharMerica for over twenty years.”

Kites as magnets
“I’ve been flying kites in Westport for a good ten years. Put up a kite and it puts a smile on people’s faces. They come right over, it’s like a magnet. They ask did I build it, where I came up with the idea and the next thing you know I’m preaching the value of kites. ”

The kite man
“Kids will see me unloading my car and you’ll hear them shout, ‘Look, mommy, there’s the kite man!’ I’m known as the ‘Kite Man of Westport Beach.’”

Westport beach ideal for kite flying
“As the land heats up, the cool air from the ocean starts this heat pump so you get a stable, reliable southwest wind around noon. Since the beach faces SW if anything happens to your kite you can always recover it on land. A salt water landing would ruin a kite. The ideal wind is SW 10 - 12 mph.”

What you like about Westport
“Where else do you have three choices how to get to the beach on a summer morning - by bike, by boat, or by car!”

Materials used for kites
“They’re made out of rip stop nylon, basically in two weights, 3/4 oz. for light winds and 1.5 oz. for durability in stronger winds. I’ve made animal kites -frogs to elephants- rainbow kites, kites that spin, and a revolver kite.”

Friendships made
“I’ve made many friends. We send Christmas cards and email each other about our projects and send pictures of our latest creations.”

A great chance to combine two hobbies
“I’m a big civil war buff and have been to most of the civil war battlefields. Next year the American Kitefliers Association is going to have its grand national festival in Gettysburg PA. I will work all this winter to build a kites that have a North/South theme.  All the kites flying under my main lift kite will be war related - cannons, cannonballs, flags, rifles and whatever else I can think of.”

Other hobbies
“One of my other favorites is astronomy. I belong to Astronomical Association of Southern New England.”

An emotional 9/11/01 experience
“I think we all felt a sense of desperation. I felt the need to fly kites so I packed up every single one of my red white blue kites and went to the beach and put up this huge red, white, and blue display. National pride overwhelmed me.  People came up to me and said thank you. It was the most emotional time I've ever had flying kites.”

New Year’s Fly in Newport
“Members of the region’s American Kitefliers Association show up in Newport no mater what the weather. The age-old story is that when you’re flying a kite you’re taking all your troubles and attaching them to the kite and watching the wind carry them away. When you pull the kite back down it’s the start of a new year.”

Life Lesson
“It’s a lesson in life that people have to learn to find a hobby that gets the stress right out of their lives. Kite flying has done that for me and done it for many other adults.”

Radiology technologist knows detection is critical to survival

Monday, September 10, 2007   

Radiology technologist knows detection is critical to survival

Laurie Palmer of Westport has been a radiological technologist with a specialty in mammography for 27 years.Our health. Some of us take it for granted — maybe we all do — until it becomes a question mark. That's the time we head for our doctors, nurse practitioners, and to hospitals that house the technology we've come to depend upon to determine what ails us.

X-rays, ultra sound tests, MRIs, and CT scans are front line tools doctors use to assess our body's general heath. Each and every one of the pieces of equipment used for these assessments has to be administered by a skilled technician.

Laurie Palmer of Westport is one of these technicians. For the past 27 years she's been a radiological technologist with a specialty in mammography at Truesdale Radiology Imaging Services in Fall River. The facility is part of the Southcoast Hospitals Group that includes Charlton, St. Luke's, and Tobey Hospitals.

An annual mammogram (x-ray) is recommended for women over 40 and is used to detect cancer in a woman's breast. A mammogram produces a black and white image of the breast that is "read" by a doctor who specializes in interpreting these images.

"For most women it's not a pleasant exam. The more I can get them to relax, the better chance I have of getting a really good exam for them," Mrs. Palmer said. During the exam the breast is pressed between two plastic plates to flatten and spread the tissue. The pressure lasts for a few seconds and is necessary to get a good picture. Those few seconds of the 20-minute procedure can hurt.

"I've learned from physical therapists how to position women while doing the mammogram and even tried to position myself on the machine to see how to be as gentle as possible while getting more of the tissue on the plates," she said.

Mrs. Palmer administers two types of mammograms. One type, a screening mammogram, is a routine part of an annual exam for women who exhibit no symptoms. A doctor orders the second type, a diagnostic mammogram of a particular area of the breast, when a lump or other irregularity is found.

"Cancer" is one of the scariest words in our vocabularies. Since the chance of a woman having breast cancer at some point in her life is 1 in 8, women coming for mammograms have cause to be anxious. Mrs. Palmer needs to be able to read a woman's emotional state as well as she reads the dials on her x-ray machines.

"You have to be a really good listener," she said as she thought about her daily interactions with women. "I know many of them from previous exams, so I might ask how their sons or daughters are doing. Since I'm from Westport there are people who know me from town and might ask me about myself or my family."

It took some trial and error for Mrs. Palmer to find the glide path into her career. "I had originally wanted to go into radiology when I was at Westport High School but was told I'd be bored. I can't understand that now, because it's such a versatile, challenging field," she recalled with a laugh.

But she heeded the advice when she graduated from high school in 1974 and entered the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth as a psychology major with a minor in special education. By 1977 she'd figured out enough of her own psychology to realize that her heart wasn't in that career path.

The medical field, on the other hand, was in Mrs. Palmer's DNA. Her mother, Lois Montigny Guay, had been the director of the Westport Visiting Nurses Association. "She was a smart person, an RN, and was respected by the physicians, especially Dr. Kirkaldy and Dr. Lepreau. She was always there for people," Mrs. Palmer said.

And there was Mrs. Palmer's grandmother, Agnes Raposa, who was a 1947 founder of the Schwartz Center for Children, now located in Dartmouth.

Back to school went Mrs. Palmer. She enrolled at Northeastern University and spent the next 28 months rotating between clinical practice and academic radiology classes at Northeastern, graduating in 1979 with an associates of science degree in Radiology. Since then she's been granted newer licenses and passed more exams to keep up with advances in radiology.

Early detection has helped make the big "C" a curable disease. Mrs. Palmer fondly recalled a cancer survivor whom she got to know during two decades of annual mammograms. During one of her visits, the woman presented Mrs. Palmer with a beautiful porcelain pin of an angel, a gift she cherished. One day, the pin fell to the floor and broke. Two days later, Palmer heard that the woman had died at about the same time.

"She was a 20-year survivor. She had a good life because her cancer was caught early. She died of heart failure," Mrs. Palmer said. She gave the pin to the woman's daughter, also a survivor, who later gave Mrs. Palmer an angel Christmas ornament the mother had made.

"I keep it in my bedroom and think of her every day. That pin reminds me of her and of what I do. It's one of the reasons I get up every day to go into this stressful job," she said.

At Truesdale, one of the buffers against the stress of the job is the staff with whom she works. "I work with a really nice group of people. I've been with some of them over 20 years. We laugh together, yell at each other, and cry together. We're like family," she said.

Mrs. Palmer has no trouble finding ways to relax when she returns home to Westport. Yoga, gardening, boating and volunteer work at the Westport Point United Methodist Church help diffuse the tension from her Tuesday to Friday occupation.

Mrs. Palmer, her husband, Matthew, and their two children, Kristin, 24, and Ryan, a freshman at Westport High School, often trek less than a mile down the road to the Point to row out to their Boston Whaler for a day on the river. "One of the things I love about Westport is the river. It's so tranquil. As soon as I get in the boat, I let out a big sigh of relief," she said.

X-ray machines dedicated to mammography are much more sophisticated than the first breast imaging equipment that was introduced in 1969, and Mrs. Palmer has kept up with the advances. She earned a bachelor of science degree in Health Management from Anthem College in 2005 and is currently taking an online certificate program in PACS Administration (Picture Archiving Communication Systems) through Bunker Hill Community College.

"Everything in radiology is now computerized. We're going from film to imaging on high-resolution computer screens. Some day I might like to teach how to integrate radiology and PACS. I'd miss the contact with patients, but in the meantime the college program helps me be better at my job as the system changes," she said.

American Cancer Society guidelines for early breast cancer detection

• Mammogram: Women ages 40 and older should have a mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health.

• Clinical breast exam: Women in their twenties and thirties should have a clinical breast exam (CBE) as part of a regular exam by a health expert, preferably every three years. After age 40, women should have a CBE by a health expert every year.

• Breast awareness and breast self-exam: Self-exam is an option for women starting in their twenties. Women should be told about the benefits and limitations of the self-exam. Women should report any changes in how their breasts look or feel to their health professional right away.

For more information, see www.cancer.org

Ron Costa — for veterans, he's the man with answers

Ronald E. "Ron" Costa is in his second career of government service. He has served as Westport's Veterans Agent for the past 26 years. From his office in Town Hall Annex he meets with veterans and fields phone calls Monday through Friday. Prior to that he was a career Air Force man, signing up in 1953 and retiring in 1975. Mr. Costa served in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

When stateside, he was posted as close as Otis Air Force Base in Bourne and as far west as Lowry Air Force Base and the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Mr. Costa saw Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Nixon and Vice President Humphrey when they visited bases where he worked. In 1964 he witnessed one of Bob Hope's famous Christmas shows for veterans overseas. Both natives of Fall River, Mr. Costa and his wife Roberta were married in September 1959. They built a house on Newton Street in Westport in 1965 and moved in full time after Mr. Costa retired in 1975. The Costas have four children: Vicki, Steven, Michael and Kathleen, all of whom live in Westport.

SIGNING UP?: "I originally enlisted in the Air Force in 1953 as an electronics repairman. After I finished basic training, I went to tech school at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado then to bombsight school and flexible gunnery school to learn how to repair bombsights and guns on aircraft."

FAMILY? "Roberta was with me on all of my tours of duty. Our first two children were born in the U.S. and the second two were born in Japan. We're a close family. All my kids live within half mile of each other, work in the area, and talk together just about every day."

WHERE STATIONED? "I was stationed twice each in Colorado, Japan, Hanscomb Air Force Base, and Otis Air Force Base. My second duty in Colorado was at the Air Force Academy. Whatever place I put in for I got. Somebody was looking out for me."

AIR FORCE DUTIES? "First I was involved with bombsight repair. Next I was in consolidated maintenance and supplied power units to aircraft as specialists were working on them. Then I worked as a transportation coordinator at the Air Force Academy. Wherever cadets were going, here or abroad, we took them."

VETERANS AGENT SERVICES? "I've worked with vets from WWI to the present. If a veteran qualifies for services, I can provide financial assistance for food, clothing, shelter, housing supplies and medical care. I have an average of 2,000-3,000 calls a year. Veterans ask what they're entitled to, what their spouse is entitled to, and information about everything from medical matters and to burial forms. I answer an average of 15 calls a day."

SEEING EISENHOWER? "President Eisenhower loved Colorado and had a summer home there. I used to see him every day when he had the Summer White House at Lowry Air Force Base between 1953 and 1955. It was impressive. You had to have clean uniforms and we worked long shifts. You might get a nod when he was passing by."

BOB HOPE? "When Bob Hope's 1964 Christmas Show was in Tokyo, I got off duty after a 12-hour shift and walked over to take a peek at the hanger the show was going to be in. When the ambulances came in, one of the drivers says if you give us a hand wheeling in the wounded on wheelchairs and gurneys I'll get you into the show. Not only did we go in but we sat in front row center. I got my ticket signed by Bob Hope, Lana Turner and Anita Bryant. A photo of me in a crowd of guys around the comedian Jerry Colonna was in the next day's Far East edition of Stars and Stripes."

HUBERT HUMPHREY? "In June 1968, the night Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, I was working at the Air Force Academy compound in Colorado where Humphrey had come for the cadets' graduation and I was called to guard his compound. He gave me a card that entitled me to sit at a reserved spot to watch the proceedings in the Senate."

FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD: "Every Christmas I get mail from around world from people we knew while I was serving. Occasionally some of them stayed with us when passing through. When we traveled across country we visited with others we knew."

FAVORITE LOCAL SPOTS? "I used to enjoy walking around getting exercise and watching the people at Lincoln Park. I could get jobs for my veterans there. My kids worked there in the summer, too."

PASTIMES: "I really love reading Louis L'Amour Western novels. I have at least 40 of his books. If I haven't read one of them, it's because I can't find it. I think the plots of many Hollywood, even Japanese, films, are based on his stories."

VACATIONS? "In October, I'll spend week in Newport fishing and going out to good restaurants in the evening."

LOOKING BACK? "Thirty-five people applied to be veterans agent in 1975 and I'm still here enjoying the job."

Westport gets preview of Noquochoke Village housing plan

The "Final Concept Plan" for the Noquochoke Village Community Housing project was the solitary item on the Board of Selectmen's August 13 meeting.

The final plan calls for 54 units to be built on the 32-acre site just off Route 177. Thirty-nine of the units will count toward the affordable requirements of the state. Sixty percent of the units would be rental, 40 percent for sale. The total development cost is approximately $12 million ($220,000 per unit).

The plan was outlined by GLC of Boston, a real estate consulting firm that analyzes projects like Noquochoke Village, and Kennen Landscape Architecture, based in Cambridge, Mass., a design, landscape architecture, and planning practice that has done extensive planning work with municipalities on Cape Cod. They have been working with the HPC since last April.

"GLC created plans that work economically and match the objectives heard to date and have written a draft RFP that could be used to solicit a developer to develop a mixed housing development," GLC partner Drew Leff said.

Kate Kennen opened with a project overview showing the design goals for a 54-unit project. She addressed traffic patterns, buffering, safety, water supply, property values and maintenance. She stressed that the plans included citizen input about making Noquochoke Village a model for future development and provided an advanced wastewater treatment system that would remove substantial amounts of nitrogen from a 10,000-gallon per day waste water septic system.

Ms. Kennen showed topographical slides of the Quinn and Perry properties that comprise most of the site and various configurations of residential and rental units that would be built there. The final plans had what Ms. Kennen called the "look and feel of Westport," including recreational areas and conservation areas that preserve open space.

The second part of the program laid out GLC's market analysis, financial assumptions, and zoning considerations. Projected rental costs and sales prices of Noquochoke Village units were based on comparably sized homes for sale in the area, rental costs of complexes in Dartmouth and Fall River, and estimated costs of units that will be offered at Strawberry Fields and Lincoln Park developments.

The maximum number of bedrooms in the village's layout would be 90, based on state standard of each bedroom producing 110 gallons/day and a septic field that can handle 10,000 gallons/day.

The Perry parcels on the north of the area were purchased with CPA funds and cant be resold so GLC recommended placing rental units there.

Condominiums in a town house format could be built on the Quinn parcels that have no restrictions.

Mr. Leff concluded by discussing the RFP (requests for proposals) process. He suggested creating a document that protects the town — a developer selection process, subject to the approval of the HPC and the Board of Selectmen — that makes sure "we get the goals and objectives we established for the project." The selection process would aim to find developers who have experience, are financially responsible, and are willing to abide by the constraints of the document.

Mr. Coughlin asked for permission to apply for state grants to clean up contaminated soil on the site so it wouldn't be an impediment in developing the land. He was granted permission in a unanimous vote.

During the question and answer period, Mr. Mauk asked whether owners of affordable units could get market value profits when they sold their units. Mr. Leff said that there are requirements that units be resold to people that meet the criteria for buyers of affordable units. The returns on the seller's investment are limited by the state as well, he said.

Mr. Mauk expressed concern that out-of-towners could displace Westport residents in state mandated lotteries that select renters. Mr. Leff said that a preference might be stipulated that a certain percentage of renters be Westport residents.

From the audience, Elizabeth Collins said that many children of Westport families have moved out of town because they can't afford to buy homes here and that the lottery would give them a chance to return.

There was some discussion about whether the project would be 40R (provides financial incentives for the town providing the zoning is suitable) or a "friendly" 40B. Mr. Leff said that could be decided later in the process.

The board made no motion to act on GLC's proposal.

Westport Selectmen close Beach Ave. for three months

The quandary about Beach Avenue arose during Town Administrator Michael Coughlin's Informational Report to the Board of Selectmen Monday night.

Mr. Coughlin recommended closing Beach Avenue temporarily for public safety reasons. Sergeant Majewski recommended placing a barrier 20 feet down Beach Avenue. The 20-foot stretch would provide sufficient turn around space for vehicles that attempted to enter it.

Several land owners who live near Beach Avenue were present and complained about the issues that have plagued them increasingly in past years: trespassers and party people who leave trash, trudge over fragile dunes, and get their cars stuck in the sand as they attempt to drive ever closer to the beaches.

Photo courtesy of Shorelines

Board member Duncan Albert noted that the public should be advised that these are not town beaches or public beaches but private property.

"People think because it is a town street it must be a town beach; it is not," Mr. Albert said.

He encouraged people who live in that area to form an association to petition the town for the removal of Beach Avenue as a public street and make it a private street. The road could then become gated as long as keys are provided to public safety personnel. He also said there are environmental issues that arise when moving all the sand to clear that road.

Mr. Mauk moved to follow Mr. Coughlin's recommendation provided that a key be given to Mr. Morad, who was in favor ot the motion and has land on Beach Avenue, so that he could have access to his property and it wouldn't be viewed as a land taking.

Mr. Coughlin was not in favor of distributing keys to public personnel and to private landowners and reiterated his recommendation to temporarily close the road. He reported that the Westport Land Conservation Trust, which owns seven lots abutting the road, had written a letter to his office in favor of abandonment of Beach Avenue and closing it permanently.

"It's not a taking of land because it's a temporary measure for public safety reasons," Mr Coughlin said. "Permanent solutions could be abandonment of the road as the WLCT suggested or formation of neighborhood association to hammer out property rights to the roadway." Presumably, that process would involve determining if there are town landings anywhere along Beach Avenue and what to do about one piece of town owned land on Beach Avenue.

"I'm not trying to give you a hard time, I'm trying to bring this to a successful conclusion," Mr. Mauk said, "If I move to exactly what you want to do, could you put a time to come back to come back and report your follow up recommendations."

Mr. Coughlin agreed. A motion was unanimously passed to temporarily close for a three month period after which Mr. Coughlin would appear before the Board to offer his follow up recommendations about Beach Avenue's future.

"Fred" Bettencourt: Trucker, Entrepreneur, Adventurer

Mr. Alfred G. Bettencourt, universally known as Fred, was born and raised on the family farm on the Dartmouth side of Horseneck Road. Widowed since 1974, he has three children, Andrew and Jo-Ann of Westport, and Janice of Dartmouth. By the time he struck out on his own at the age of 22 he’d witnessed an event that changed Westport’s landscape forever, the 1938 hurricane.

The succession of businesses he’s operated at 821 Main Road reflects both his independent and entrepreneurial instincts and the changing economies of the times. In 1949 he opened his first business, The Village Spa, selling sandwiches and ice cream. The A.G. Bettencourt Trucking Company followed in 1958 with one truck and he eventually added excavating services. In 1972, Mr. Bettencourt added heating oil and fueling equipment to his line.

Two years later he tried hauling one or two loads of mulch and liked it so much he expanded that part of his business to what it is today. As the construction climate cooled in 1976, he shuttered the excavating enterprise and continued long distance trucking, hauling crushed glass to a recycler in Maine. He retired in 1990. He’s always enjoyed the call of the open road, whether for business or pleasure, and has visited nearly every state in the union.

First business
“In 1949, before I started the present business, I had a place called the Village Spa that sold ice cream and sandwiches. It ran till 1960.”

Army service
“I got drafted into the army between 1951 and 1953. I was a motor sergeant in charge of 42 trucks in Heilbronn, Germany.”

Change in course
“When I came back I was more interested in running equipment than being inside and pulling sodas so I rented out the Spa and began operating heavy equipment for someone.”

Present company
“We provide heating oil, diesel fuel, mulches, and aggregates  - 22 products in the yard here including chips, loam, clamshells, crushed stone, fill, loam, and sand.”

Horseneck Beach
"I have fond memories of Horseneck Beach, the way it was then versus the way it is now. When I was 11, where the trailers now there were homes on both sides of that road. There were lawns in back of homes on water side, in front of homes on other side That’s how badly the shore has eroded. Now you can barely get trailer on without it getting washed away overnight.”

Travel
“In the summer I go north where it’s cool, in winter I go south where it’s warm. Last summer I visited Amish country in Pennsylvania. I’ve been to 37 states.”

Next state to visit
“I’d like to catch the northwest quadrant.”

Favorite places
“The west coast of Florida.  It’s less congested than the east coast. We have friends and relatives there. I hauled crushed glass up to Maine for many years, got to know lot of people and am very comfortable going up there, too.”

1938 hurricane
“It was like a warm-weather blizzard that came unannounced. The winds and rain were heavy.  Two south facing buildings were lost on my father’s farm.”

The next day
“I wasn’t involved in any rescue during the storm I was only 11. But the following day I helped voluntarily in the search for bodies. Bodies were found upriver in drainage ditches. I never found any.”

Destruction
“A lot of the homes had washed up on the first farm that was in the Bayside area. My uncle was renting that farm and most of homes got washed up in the marsh there. Half houses, whole houses, crushed up houses, and boats that had been driven from the sea.”

What do you like about Westport
“The fact we don’t have anything to brag about. Most of the things I like are that we don't have certain things - water, sewer, sidewalks. It’s laid back more than other towns and very much countrified over here.”

Present role in company
“I retired as president of the business in 1990. I’m still available as a consultant and advisor to my son Andrew who runs the business.”

Looking back
“I enjoyed very much servicing my customers. I enjoyed that part of trucking that involved traveling to Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and other parts of Massachusetts. I never looked at any trip as a job.  I looked at it as a vacation. I had no one to answer to but myself.”

75th Annual Feast of the Holy Ghost, Westport, MA

The 75th annual Feast of the Holy Ghost was blessed with fair weather and good crowds at the Holy Ghost Club’s Sodom Road grounds on Saturday and Sunday, July 7 and 8. Eighty people filled the club Saturday night for a caciolla dinner and live music. On Sunday, a procession carrying the crown of the Holy Ghost entered the sunny grounds at noon.

Dolores Amaral serves "sopas" on Sunday.

Nearly 200 people enjoyed a free traditional Portuguese dish of sopas. The auction that followed lunch is one of the ways the club raises money. The club and pavilion are available to rent. The club will hold a lobster and steak dinner and dance at its Sodom Road Pavilion on July 29. For more information call Andy Rutkowski at 508-678-3357

George Lewis: chief taste tester

One of the highlights of the 75th annual two day Holy Ghost Feast is Sunday’s procession that carries the Crown of the Holy Ghost into the Sodom Road club grounds. Longtime club member and procession crown bearer Patricia St. Laurent of Tiverton, RI, died unexpectedly last week.  Her grand niece Cassandra Barry of Fall River carried the crown in St. Laurent’s memory,  Six week old Kacie Vieira was crowned queen of the seventh Sunday. Photo L to R Mitchell Lynch, Cassandra Barry, St. Laurent’s sister Dorothy Chretien of Fall River and Dorothy’s cousin’s infant daughter Kacie Vieira.

Westport's Farmers' Market Blasts Off

 

Opening Day, July 7, 2007

 

Nine-year-old Courtney Gauthier pitches in with her mother Kelly at the family's George Farms of Dartmouth stand at Saturday’s Farmers’ Market in Westport.

Hundreds of shoppers streamed through the market from 8 am until closing time at noon in search of locally grown produce, plants, herbs, and flowers plus arts and crafts.

The market is held at the Westport Grange, 931 Main Road, on Saturday mornings from 8 am till 12 noon in July August and September. An Adamsville resident summed up her experience enthusiastically. “I did the whole weekends grocery shopping in less than ten minutes, saved gas, supported the local community and local agriculture. I got food my kids love. It’s  a win-win for everyone and the planet. Everyone will be talking about this around the table tonight.”

 

Farmers' Market Opens at the Westport Grange 181

 

Farmers' Market Opens July 7, 2007 at the Westport,MA Grange 181

The Westport Farmers’ Market got off to a roaring start last Saturday.

Over 20 shoppers had lined up at the gate by 8 am and the crowds swept through in steady waves till precisely noon when organizer Beth Easterly rang the closing gong.

Three generations of the D’Agostino family, Thelma D’Agostino, her daughters Shirley and Joanne, and her granddaughter Ashley Robbins were on hand to sell produce from Paradise Hill Farms on Cadman’s Neck. Locally grown produce, plants, herbs, and flowers plus arts and crafts were on sale. The market is held at the Westport Grange, 931 Main Road, on Saturday mornings from 8 am till 12 noon in July August and September.

4th Annual Westport River Run: Racers and Lollygaggers paddle to the Head

From 36 pound Kevlar kayaks that skim the water like dragonflies to pedestrian green canoes that can carry the whole family plus a picnic basket, the 4th annual River Run Race had it all. With sunny skies, a gentle breeze, and an incoming tide to boot.

The 11 serious kayaks and canoes in the Challenge Race, an 8.5 mile route from the staging area at Hix Bridge south to Gunning Island then north to the Head of Westport, got underway in orderly fashion at 10 a.m.

Order, however, was not the word a casual observer might have chosen to describe the starting line for the Family Fun race just north of Hix Bridge.  A constellation of sixty-four swirling, pirouetting kayaks and canoes filled with exuberant crews with good intentions and dubious paddle coordination might be more accurate. Looking at the starting line from a perch atop Hix Bridge looked like three score of boats in spin cycle. By 10:30 a.m., race director Sam Ladd had coaxed enough order into the line to send them off to their reward (lunch) at the Head of Westport 3.5 miles away.

By noon, paddlers had been cheered past the finish line at the grassy knoll at the river’s edge near County Road. The youngest - 3 years old- to the oldest - often their grandparents- were rewarded with cold soft drinks, sandwiches, pizza, and watermelon. As was evident in the laid back medal ceremonies, this was as thoroughgoing a multi-generational event as one will find in Westport.

With such perfect conditions for four years in a row, it’s clear that organizers Anne Fitzgerald and Larry Hookey, co-hosts Sam Ladd of Osprey Sea Kayaks, and the Westport River Watershed Alliance have connections in high places.

Osprey monitors check for chicks on the Westport River

Osprey papas and mommas screeched and swooped in the cobalt blue skies.  Below them, a team of osprey monitors from the Allen’s Pond Wildlife Sanctuary was inspecting the contents of their nest and the parents weren’t happy about it. Holding a pole to ward off dive bombing parents intent on protecting the nests, Osprey Monitor Andrew DeLong and volunteer Alan Poole took turns climbing a ladder to count the number of eggs and chicks in 14 of the osprey platforms on islands and marshes on the East Branch of the Westport River.

The inspection was the second of a four part annual program that has tracked the osprey population since Gil and Jo Fernandez began rejuvenating the faltering local colony in the 1960s. The late legendary couple imported healthy eggs from Chesapeake Bay to replace the DDT weakened eggs produced by the local nesting birds. The osprey now flourish here.

During the cold, gray days of March, the first winged pairs arrived on the river from astonishingly distant winter habitats as far flung as Brazil.  By April, monitors completed the first part of the program by determining exactly which of the 83 platforms on the East and West Branches of the river were occupied.

The Tuesday May 24th assessment was to determine how many pairs were incubating eggs. Most nests contained three warm, chestnut brown, speckled eggs. Scrawny, grayish brown one to three day old chicks with eyes closed and beaks open were noted in several nests.

“The osprey population here is the longest monitored bird population in the world,” Poole said as he, DeLong and navigator George Yeomans shuttled between islands and marshes in the flat-bottomed outboard borrowed from the Westport River Watershed Alliance.

Dr. Poole, editor of “Birds of North America Online” (bna.birds.cornell.edu) has been monitoring ospreys here while pursuing a doctorate in Woods Hole (Boston University Marine Program) in the late 1970s. He’s lived part-time in Dartmouth since the early 1990s.

“Osprey can recognize landmarks from here to Brazil. They even recognize boats they associate with nest visits and generally ignore other boats at a similar distance, “ Dr. Poole said. They get riled up when the monitor’s boat approaches the nest.

This reporter was startled to hear a swoosh of feathered wings distressingly close over his head as he busily lined up a photo of the monitors setting up a ladder to climb one of the platforms. Within minutes of shoving off from marshy shores, one or both parents alighted upon their nests to reconnect with their eggs.

This is Mr. DeLong’s fledgling year as an osprey monitor. As soon as he saw the part-time job posted on the internet, the Warwick, Rhode Island resident knew he wanted it. Next April, Mr. DeLong, a retired inner-city social worker in Providence for 25 years, and his wife will be off to Africa as Peace Corps volunteers.

“It’s been a pretty steep learning curve for the past two months,” he said as he and Mr. Poole compiled data. “ This is an excellent place to work. The community avidly supports the effort and they’re really knowledgeable.”

Through June, Allen’s Neck Wildlife Sanctuary monitors will continue slogging out to the islands and marshes to count how many eggs hatch. The final part of the program will count how many pairs successfully raise their fledglings.

“Success takes luck, skill, and a lot of fish,” said Dr. Poole.

Memorial Day, May 28, 2007, Westport, Massachusetts

Town officials, civil servants, politicians, and veterans salute as a band plays "America" at the conclusion of Memorial Day ceremonies for the nation's veterans.

Pizzazz was added to patriotism as the 215th Army National Guard Band from Fall River marched the route and delighted onlookers with snappy versions of martial music.

School Committee  member Russell Kleber, Representative Michael Roderiques, Select Board Chair Veronica Beaulieu spoke briefly at ceremonies at Beech Grove Cemetery. Veterans Agent Ron Costa has already invited the band to return to next year's parade.

Professional fisherman Dave Cornell reels in audience at Westport library event

Real fishermen see the glass as half full. When Dave Cornell watched ice forming on the Westport River during the gray days of the early March, he looked on the bright side. Only a few more months and we'll be fishing for stripers again, he smiled to himself.

Now that April has arrived, fishing season looms even closer.

Like most fishermen, Mr. Cornell enjoys telling stories. He told a few on March 15 when the Westport Library presented a program titled, "Fly-Fishing with Dave Cornell." The event was sponsored by the Westport River Watershed Alliance and the Westport Fishermen's Association.

A cabinetmaker in the winter in Dartmouth where he has lived with his wife Linda for the past 25 years, Mr. Cornell is on the water from late spring until deep into the fall. By 1994 it had become clear that he washopelessly hooked on fishing. He decided to bait and switch and turned an avocation into a vocation. He's been a professional fishing guide since then.

Mr. Cornell is as good at reeling in an audience as he is at catching fish in Buzzards Bay. His slide presentation was chock full of information useful to beginners and experienced anglers alike. As you listened to him, you could infer that a good fisherman must be observant and patient. Mr. Cornell has studied the characteristics of local game fish, cataloged the places he has fished, the flies he used, and the conditions that produced the best results.

Mr. Cornell has tried using live bait, lures, and trolling and could probably figure out a way to scoop them up with his bare hands but the method he loves the most is fly-casting.

The first thing he cleared up is that he doesn't fish with flies. "Salt water flies are meant to represent bait fish whereas fresh water flies are representing insects a lot of the time," he said.

He showed pictures of flies representing silver side minnows, the most common bait fish in our area. The flies may not look the same as a minnow to us but they are the right size and shape and can get a fish's attention when it moves just like a minnow. Larger flies used might represent scup or even baby crabs.

"I think everyone would agree that the number one fish that people go after in this area is the striped bass," Mr. Cornell said. "Stripers come in all shapes and sizes virtually an unlimited supply of school sized fish here and in Buzzards Bay."

Stripers can reach hefty sizes. It isn't unusual to hook 25 pounders. The best way to catch them is to learn how they hunt their prey themselves, he said.

Second on the list of predator fish are bluefish, Cornell said. While stripers lie in wait to ambush prey, the more sleek bodied bluefish chase them down. Other game fish in the area are false albacore, bonito, and summer flounder.

Photo: Timothy Leary

"We have world class fishing around here, Mr. Cornell said. "You could spend your whole life fishing here and you wouldnât be wasting your time. You've got flats fishing where you can go sight casting, deep channels for fish with sinking lines, and rocky shorelines where surf breaks when water is rough."

An observant pair of eyes is as important as good rods or reels. A little bit of agitation on the surface might indicate that bait fish are underneath. Little bubbles or wakes might mean a school of fish is feeding underneath. A "blitz" of birds in the air grabbing minnows means bigger fish are chasing them to the surface. All of it means it's time to cast a fly into the water. An experienced angler can cast a fly 80 feet.

Outside of the Westport River, Mr. Cornell's fishing grounds are Buzzards Bay from Sakonnet Point to Dartmouth and across the bay to the west end of the Elizabeth Islands. It's not necessary to have a large boat to catch large fish. Mr. Cornell uses a 20-foot Sea Craft as his primary boat. He carries a push pole for shallow water and a small electric motor for approaching fish quietly. He uses an 18-foot Johnboat with a poling platform for fishing the rivers and estuaries.

No boat? No problem, says Mr. Cornell. Many areas of our rivers are wadeable. The tide scours deep holes around points in the river that often hold small to occasionally big stripers and bluefish. Outside the river, try standing on a rock near big boulders, rough water, and a drop off to deeper water.

Mr. Cornell showed slides of trusty old navigation charts his family used for years and showed digital and aerial photos of local fishing grounds. "My favorite things to look for are boulders, deep water, and flats," he said.

What can't be conveyed on film is the attitude of a dedicated fisherman. Anglers like Cornell enjoy the hunt as well as the catch. Sure, they love outsmarting the fish but they love the smell of the salt air, the ever-changing color or sea and sky, and the sense of getting away from it all. And it takes a true sport fisherman to release a thirty-pound striper he or she has just landed.

"When's a good time to go fishing?" Mr. Cornell mused. "Whenever you have time to go," he said with a grin.
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Some of Dave Cornell's favorite spots are:

*Hen & Chickens Reef

*Outlets of Allens Pond, Slocum River, Gosnold Pond

*Pockets of deep water south of Cuttyhunk shoreline

*Quick's Hole north side

*Robinson's Hole

From shore:

*Tip of Gooseberry Island

By Paul Tamburello

Candidate Mauk: Any new police station should be in north end

Gary Mauk usually sits at the far end of the table for the Retired Old Men Eating Out meetings. Last Thursday, March 8, he was in the spotlight at the head of the table as the speaker at the ROMEO's weekly luncheon.

Running for a contested seat for Board of Selectmen, Mr. Mauk spoke for about 40 minutes about four major talking points then answered questions from his peers.

"I came to Westport in 1975. I'm what's known as a 'wash-ashore,'" he said.

Mr. Mauk is married with four grown children, two of whom have children in Westport public schools. He said he spent most of his career working with industrial equipment, installation, startup, heavy construction, project design, project management, departmental management, and manufacturing facilities.

"One of the highlights of my public career was that I was appointed to the Finance Committee. Being a wash-ashore, not a native, it made me proud. I served three terms and was elected chair of that committee six of the nine years I served."

During his watch on the Finance Committee, Mr. Mauk said his leadership helped get the town through the toughest financial times the town had seen up to that point.

Mr. Mauk said his past experience gives him the knowledge of the responsibilities of the committees, boards and commissions in town. "And most importantly, I know what they are not," he said. "Today some people on committees lose sight of what their responsibilities are. What that results in is very little forward progress. It's the responsibility of the selectmen's office to provide good leadership and direction"

Why did he decide to run? Mr. Mauk said, "If the Finance Committee is right in their projections, this town's about to go through some really bad financial times in the next two or three years."

Mr. Mauk said his past experience of working with a board to achieve a majority and his policy of being a financial conservative will help the town ride out the tough times ahead.

Mr. Mauk's major talking points were town finances, public safety planning, housing and Route 6.

"New growth is down, construction is down, foreclosures are increasing at a phenomenal rate all across the state and here in Westport I've been told by the tax collector that some of these new homes in the $400,000 to $600,000 range have changed hands four times in the past two years," Mr. Mauk said.

Mr. Mauk said raising property taxes would "put people who are in a bind in a further bind."

Mr. Mauk questioned efforts to spend $15.000 on a special election to raise taxes when the result is likely to be negative. "Leadership might be to face the reality and say don't cause another $15,000 expenditure on a special election. Let's use some common sense on this. I think I can bring that to the table," Mr. Mauk said.

Mr. Mauk advocated applying common sense to the public safety buildings issue as well. "Let's do a south end fire station. I didn't say take the police out of this but don't use a documented well-known need for a fire department to push something else that the public's not behind, that's not well documented, and not generally accepted yet," he said.

He recommends doing a good analysis to find the needs of the police department. "If it becomes a fact and well accepted that we need a new police station, we take a look at what can we do with the old building to bring it into compliance and put it where it should be. If that's a doable thing and in the taxpayers best interest we probably should do that," he said.

Mr. Mauk said that if bringing the facility into compliance wasn't achievable and a new police station is needed, then it made sense to site it farther north. "I'm told with a good deal of authority that 80 percent of the calls in this town are north of 177. It doesn't make sense to put a new police station further south than the existing one. It would make sense to put it around Route 177 someplace."

In sum, he said, "The public safety complex, the big look there is that 1,300 people voted no and the longer it goes on and the more they try to force feed that, the more it's aggravating people."

On the subject of property rights, Mr. Mauk said, "Growth can be shaped and molded but its got to be done right. You cannot stop people from using their properties. You can work with them and help them but you're not going to get far when you go in and tell them