Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Monday, May 31, 2010
Quick Article Index . . .
Leo
St. Onge gets a promotion!
New
Westport business brings gourmet cupcakes to Westport.
Westport
woman goes “buggy” over UMass-Dartmouth quilt show.
“Head to Toe” -
the great cover-up at the Westport Historical Society!
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Leo St. Onge gets a promotion! EverythingWestport.com Monday, May 31, 2010
Sergeant St. Onge was the honorary
Grand Marshall for this year’s Westport and Fall River Memorial Day parades. St. Onge, sitting to the right of Fall River’s mayor William Flannigan
and U.S. Representative James McGovern (far left) listened to the retelling
of his brave acts on Hill 69 by master of ceremonies Manny Dupont, Veterans’
Agent for Fall River. Machine-gunner Leo St. Onge didn’t
set out May 11, 1944 to be a hero. He didn’t see himself as Captain America,
or an avenger of the wronged and weak. He was simply an American doughboy
trying to do what he was told to do it. And therein lays the uncomplicated
truth of what makes a genuine hero. Commitment to duty, doing what’s right,
having the courage to fulfill one’s responsibilities. Make no mistake about
it; this young infantryman man was just as scared of dying as the next young
recruit climbing a hill in the face of enemy fire. He just didn’t let that
stop from fulfilling his duty. When his comrade got tangled up in a
mass of communication cables while crossing a storm-swollen creek, and was
drowning, St. Onge pulled him out, not because he was a hero, but because he
needed the ammunition to support his company’s charge up the hill. “They
needed my machine gun and all the men,” St. Onge said. “And a machine gun
without bullets is no damn good.” Six enemy pillboxes had St. Onge and
his buddies in a cross fire. “I needed that man’s bandolier
(ammunition belt),” St. Onge said. Click here to read about Leo St. Onge’s bravery that won
him a Silver Cross and Croix de Guere. The French War
Cross is the third highest French wartime honor given to Americans and
Britons. Click here to read about St. Onge’s heroics and his Silver
Star. St. Onge received a battlefield
promotion to Sergeant that day in 1944, but he turned it down. “I couldn’t
read or write,” St. Onge recalled the day. “I was afraid and embarrassed that
I couldn’t fill out the reports required of a non-commissioned officer.” All that was made right this Memorial
Day, but it wouldn’t have happened without the monumental effort of long-time
friend and veteran Lino Rego of Westport.
Left: Lino Rego of Westport. Right: St. Onge receives his promotion
from Colonel Joe Lydon and watched by Mayor Flannigan.
Left: World War II hero St. Onge being adored by Miss Fall River (left) and
Miss Bristol County. Right: Mayor Flannigan and State
Representative Michael Rodrigues with Leo.
Many federal, state, and local
officials were on-hand to witness the presentation of the promotion of Leo
St. Onge to Sergeant by Colonel Joe Lydon (right). Lino Rego, Commander of American Legion Post 145 in Westport, took an interest in St. Onge four years ago when he met him through his
father-in-law, who also had fought in World War II. Rego began
researching the 85th Infantry Division and the 339th Infantry Regiment to
learn more about St. Onge. It was during this research he discovered the
Croix de Guere. Rego’s efforts were directly responsible for St. Onge
receiving the French War Cross, the third highest French wartime honor given
to Americans and Britons, that was awarded St. Onge’s unit 64 years ago. It was during this research
that he became aware of the battlefield promotion refused by St. Onge. Rego worked on restoring
that rank, culminating in today’s presentation. “We had some very influential
people working on it,” Rego said. St. Onge, in his remarks to the
packed armory auditorium, recalled the pile of German bodies in front of him
during the assault on Hill 69. “It’s something you never forget, never get
over,” the Sergeant said. “I was lying in their blood, firing my weapon. The
nightmares never leave me.” The price paid for being a
hero.
New Westport business brings
gourmet cupcakes to Westport. EverythingWestport.com Thursday, June 3, 2010
Left: Jen Dias of Westport, Village
Cupcakery’s first customer, is served by proprietor Kathy Ferreira. Kathy Ferreira of Village Pizza fame
opened Village Cupcakery located
at Village Commons Thursday, June 3rd to a line of customers waiting to get a
glimpse of her handmade, glamorous small cakes. Everyone loves a cupcake, and what’s
there not to love. But Kathy’s cupcakes are a notch above the ones Betty
Crocker® puts in a box.
Village Cupcakery offers special
order decorations, and varieties are subject to change daily. The store will
also feature related sweets and treats sure to spice up your next unique
event, whether it is a corporate meeting or an anniversary. Special
deliveries are available. For more information please call
Kathy at (508) 636-5945. Indulge yourself. Give her a call when planning your
next graduation, birthday, wedding, bridal or baby shower, or for whatever
you have in mind.
Westport woman goes “buggy” over
UMass-Dartmouth quilt show. EverythingWestport.com Thursday, June 3, 2010
“I now have several works in
progress,” Ms. Alden said as she was hanging her second baby quilt “Buggy Business” for the upcoming Shining Tides Quilt Guild show
starting this Friday, June 4 and running through Sunday at UMass-Dartmouth. Left: Suzanne Alden attaching a
description of her quilt “Buggy Business.” “I started a queen-sized quilt for my
first baby, and one for each of my next five children. Now as a grandmother of
four with two more on the way, I have a baby quilt either finished or in
progress for each of them. I guess you
might say I’m a quilting nut.” “My next two baby quilts will be for
two grandsons that are coming this year. I can’t tell you hard it is to pick
a design for a baby boy!” Meeting weekly with a small group of
Westport quilting buddies, Ms. Alden and other local quilters will display
their passion and love of quilting this weekend at UMass. The Shining
Tides Quilt Guild kicks of their bi-annual quilt show this Friday,
June 4th starting at 10:00 a.m. in the Woodland Commons building at UMass-Dartmouth, 285 Old
Westport Road. You can park in Parking Lot 10, and walk up the path to the
left and follow the balloons to the Woodland Commons building. All Hands on Deck! There will be over 100 hand and
machine made projects and quilts on display from some of the best quilters in
the area. Several Westport women will be featured. Also vendors, door prizes,
and a fabulous quilt raffle (pictured
below, left). The raffle quilt was made by members of the Guild. It was machine quilted
by their member Janice Macomber. Scores of quilters like Ms. Alden, some with award-winning designs,
will display their handiwork not for prizes or glory, but for the simple
delight of taking pride in their hand stitching and artistic ability, and
also for the fun of networking with other quilters throughout the area.
This year’s show
theme is based on a fabulous 52 deck of cards design, each card quilt block
made by a separate member (see picture below, right.) The show will be held Friday and
Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is
only $5. Woodlawn
Commons’ building, UMass-Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth. http://shiningtides.wordpress.com/
Click here to read about and view photos from their 2008
Quilt Show at UMass.
Left: Setting up the quilt show Thursday Morning. Right: Five of the All Hands on Deck block pieces.
Left: Ms. Alden with her baby quilt, “Buggy Business.” Right: Finishing her quilt, “Autumn Pennies,” also on display at
the show. “Head to Toe” - the great cover-up at the Westport
Historical Society! EverythingWestport.com Saturday June 5, 2010
“Head to Toe: A
Century of Westport Fashion 1800-1900” explores
the transformation of fashion during the 1800’s. Worn by women in the
Westport area, the outfits on display reflect the everyday fashion of the
average countrywoman, rather than the finery of city dwellers. Working from
the undergarments outwards, WHS’
newest summer exhibition shows the layers of garments needed to dress a
woman in the 19th century. Exhibition curator, Blair Walker, a textile consultant and
graduate of the Textiles Department at The exhibition explores specific features of dress, such as the shape of a sleeve, which can help to pinpoint when a piece of clothing was made. Highlights include a brown silk “leg o’ mutton” sleeves dress with matching “pelerine” from the1830s, corsets and stays, hoop and bustle and a bathing costume from the 1890s. Also on display are shoes, boots, hats, and bonnets from the 19th century, and many of the undergarments that provided structure and shape for the changing fashions. The exhibition includes objects on loan from the collection of Little Compton Historical Society and Freetown Historical Society as well as from private collections.
On Thursday June 24th, Blair Walker, curator of “Head to Toe,” will present a program “The 19th Century Westport Woman: Exploring her Life through her Clothes.” This program will begin at 7 p.m. at Westport Public Library and is free and open to all. The exhibition is located at 25 Drift Road and will be open until September 4th. The exhibition is supported by the Westport Cultural Council through a grant from the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust administered by Bank of America. For more information please call the Society at (508) 636-6011, or visit www.westporthistory.com. Summer exhibition opens Saturday,
June 12 until September 4th at the Society’s Bell School, 25 Drift Road. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 10
a.m. to 4 p.m.
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of Westport All rights reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
Curator Blair Walker presents “The 19th
Century Westport Woman: Exploring her Life through her Clothes.”
