To the Editor:
It is strange what a storm can do. Damage. Hardship. No electricity.
I grew up in Westport though I haven’t lived there since 1949. I graduated from Staples High School when it was on Riverside. Probably not many of you remember. I still call it my home. Ed Mitchell and family moved to Westport shortly before we did. He later founded the clothing store by his name. The families were friends when we lived in Lansdowne, PA.
I knew the sons of many of the artists that lived in Westport – the Dohanas and Von Schmidts families among others. We used to brag that we had more artists per capita than any other town in the USA.
I lived in a brown house between the minuteman and Owenoke Park on Compo Beach Road. We didn’t have numbers on the houses then but it has now been torn down and the lot was empty the last time a Google satellite photo was taken (March 2012). I just happened to check the news of Westport online when it was being demolished. Sad!
Over five years ago, I called a classmate, Nancy Coley who still lived in Westport and asked if we were going to have another high school reunion. She said, “No, all of our class has moved away. It is too expensive to live here.” She still lived on Riverside and may still.
I lived through two hurricanes there. The side yard flooded and some of the people had flooded basements.
What amazed me was when you people were hit by Sandy, I searched for news of Westport to see how “my hometown” faired and came across Westportnow.com. So I followed you through the tragedy and was saddened to see what happened. Their coverage was wonderful.
Isn’t wonderful how the Internet and the news media can keep us informed no matter where we live. I live in Edmonds, Washington, a Seattle suburb. If you remember me you can follow my life on http://www.maritimeconsultant.com.
Kirk Greiner
Edmonds, Wash
