Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Wednesday,
January 14, 2015
photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted
Quick
Article Index . . .
Westport’s Mary Lou Daxland to head state
GOP group.
Pickup
truck takes out Main Road utility pole.
Westport
mourns the passing of Christopher “Chip” Gillespie of Westport Point.
Accomplished artist,
writer, Ludmila Svetlana Alexeieff
Rockwell of Westport dies.
WFA Oyster Stew
Supper and Annual Meeting features writer Cornelia Dean.
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Westport’s Mary Lou Daxland to head state GOP group. EverythingWestport.com Wednesday,
January 14, 2015 A Westport woman
has been elected as president of the Massachusetts Republican Assembly. Daxland defeated Mark Fisher last
Saturday during a convention in Worcester to become president of the
Massachusetts Republican Assembly, which bills itself as the “Republican Wing
of the Republican Party.” Daxland soundly
defeated Mark Fisher, who lost the Republican gubernatorial nomination to
Charles Baker who then went on to win the Massachusetts Governor’s race. “I’ve been there for years, and Fisher was relatively new,” said Daxland. A Westport Republican who donated to Fisher’s gubernatorial campaign, Daxland said she has helped build the assembly up since
2009 and predicted that narrow losses will translate into victories as more
people who have been disappointed with the state party’s moderate outlook
join MARA. A retired
housewares buyer for department stores, Daxland
said she won 74-46 and said there were two clear camps. The Republican Assembly
has no official ties to the state Republican party and operates under
different campaign finance rules than the party. Daxland
said at the end of last year that the organization had close to 200 members. Pickup
truck takes out Main Road utility pole. Main
Road resident startled by crash. EverythingWestport.com Monday, January
13, 2015 Travis Stoval’s encounter with an NSTAR utility pole fared badly
for the pole, but worse for the driver who was charged with an OUI. The Westport man crashed
his pickup truck into a utility pole on Thursday, New Year’s Day, and wound
up under arrest for driving under the influence of drugs. Westport Police
say they didn’t have to go far to find the crash scene as it was just south
of the police station in the area of 824 Main Road.
Above: Pickup truck
takes out utility pole on New Year’s Day. Photo courtesy of the Westport. Detective Antonio
Cestodio said that Travis W. Stoval,
39, of 43 Cornell Road, Westport, was driving his pickup truck north on Main
Road. Witnesses said
“he had been swerving all over the roadway,” the detective said. At 12:02 p.m.,
the pickup “swerved off the road striking a telephone pole causing heavy damage
both to the poll and vehicle.” The Mr. Stoval was charged with operating under the influence of
drugs, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and marked lanes violation. He
was arraigned in Fall River District Court on Friday, January 2nd. Elaine Ostroff was greeted New Year’s day by the sight of the
buckled utility pole in front of her home. “That was a nasty
accident in front of my house today. The telephone pole was hit, broken but
still standing,” Ostroff said. “Luckily no one
was hurt.” Ostroff added, “I was impressed by how
fast the pole was repaired.”
Above three
photos courtesy of Elaine Ostroff.
Photo courtesy of Westport
police. Any witnesses to
the pickup truck’s operation prior to the crash that day are asked to contact
officer Barry Beaulieu at 508-636-1122. Westport
mourns the passing of Christopher “Chip” Gillespie of Westport Point. A
celebration of Chip’s life will be held Saturday, February 21, 2015, 2:00
p.m., at the Westport Point United Methodist Church at 1912 Main Road. EverythingWestport.com Thursday, January
15, 2015 Christopher
“Chip” Gillespie of Westport Point, Massachusetts, died January 8, 2015,
after a long illness, surrounded by his family. He was 72. Born on September
23, 1942, in Exeter, New Hampshire, to Janet Lansing Wicks and William Ernest
Gillespie, he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy and Princeton
University.
There are houses
all over the SouthCoast area that bear his mark —
traditional New England style, often featuring what he called the
“Newburyport jog,” a sliding of the gable end at the ridge to provide for a
window for a good view. He loved architecture. “Look UP!” he told us, as we
walked around New Bedford with him once, pointing out the angles, roof lines
and windows, the details of an arch. In addition to
his busy professional life, he contributed generously to his community. He served on a
number of boards in Westport — the Historical Commission, the Landing
Commission, the Westport Point United Methodist Church — and also served as a
trustee for Friends Academy in Dartmouth. As chairman of the board of WHALE
(the Waterfront Historic Area League) in New Bedford, he and then-Executive
Director Tony Souza, secured the funding through Sen. Edward Kennedy to
restore the historic Corson building in New Bedford, now the Corson Maritime
Learning Center, a part of the New Bedford Whaling
National Park. In 2010, Chip was
chosen “Westport Man of the Year” by the New Bedford Standard-Times for his
heroic efforts on behalf of the Westport Fishermen’s Association to save the
old Horseneck Point Lifesaving Station, then a
derelict of a building, used from 1888 until 1914 to rescue people at sea. It
was this kind of project that was a hallmark of what Chip loved to do — talk
to local people who knew some of the old-timers and working with them on
historic research, “learning new stuff,” as he would have said. The Lifesaving Station
project “probably wouldn’t have happened without Chip
Gillespie,” said the Westport Fishermen’s Association President Jack
Reynolds. He worked on a
farm as a milkman and field hand when he was in college, for a while was a “shacker” on a lobster boat, where he filled bait bags and
gauged and banded lobsters as they were hauled in. On early spring days, he’d
get up early and walk the shore of the West River, scavenging for drift wood,
scallop shells, and hunting for wild asparagus, which he’d bring home for
breakfast. He’d go quahogging in the middle of the
river at low tide, stalk greener crabs in the eelgrass from his rowboat. When Bordy Tripp plowed up his fields for planting, Chip would
row across the river and hunt for arrowheads in the disked fresh earth. He learned to do
carpentry from his grandfather and to sail the river and sea from his uncles.
Heaven was a hot summer afternoon sailing on the river. In the Coast Guard he
learned navigation, to “shoot” stars at night, and he loved the evenings on
the flying bridge doing flag hoist drills and trading signal light messages
with other ships. He loved being in the midst of family and friends and
invented games and projects so they could all have fun together. “Every day is
just once,” he said, “so try to do something every day that you enjoy, even if
only for a few minutes.” And that’s the way he lived his life, even through
the difficult days of his illness. He leaves his
wife of 43 years, Gay, their three children: Alison, Ben (wife Kim), and Kate
Jandernoa (husband Tom), and grandchildren Jonathan,
Alayna, Kayla, and Carson; sisters Hilly van Loon, Peggy Gillespie, and
brother Tim Gillespie, and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of
flowers, gifts may be sent to the Westport Fishermen’s Association PO
Box 83, Westport Point MA 02791 (checks made out to: Horseneck
Point Lifesaving Station); or WHALE (the Waterfront Historic Area League),
128 Union St. New Bedford, MA 02740 (checks made out to: WHALE). A celebration of
Chip’s life will be held Saturday, February 21, 2015, 2:00 p.m., at the
Westport Point United Methodist Church at 1912 Main Road. Accomplished artist,
writer, Ludmila Svetlana Alexeieff
Rockwell of Westport dies. Ms.
Rockwell was a former vice principal of the New England School of Art. In lieu of
flowers, donations can be made to the Lazicki’s
Bird House and Rescue, 2141 W. Shore Rd, Warwick, RI 02886. EverythingWestport.com Friday, January
16, 2015 Ludmila Svetlana Alexeieff
Rockwell, 91, of Westport, MA, passed away at home on, January 15, 2015
succumbing to Congestive Svetlana was born
between the two world wars in Paris, France to Russian émigré parents
Alexandra Grinevsky and Alexandre Alexeieff .
Both of her parents overcame poverty and survived post revolution dislocation
to become accomplished in their chosen fields of deluxe book Illustration.
Her father Alexandre Alexeieff, became a world-renowned film animator and the inventor
of what is known as the Pinscreen along with his
second wife, Claire Parker. Svetlana was raised in Paris among well-known
artists of the time, and she herself became a dedicated artist, teacher,
consultant and writer. Shortly after the
Second World War she met Paul S. Rockwell of Bristol, RI (deceased) who had
come to Paris to study theater on the GI bill. Svetlana remained a creative
person throughout her long life. She continued to paint, founded an art
consultant company, and was appointed the vice principal of the New England
School of Art in the 1970’s. Late in life, she wrote her memoirs in a
collection of stories entitled “SNAP SHOTS”. “SNAP SHOTS” was published in
France and Russia. Svetlana leaves
behind her children: Niki Rockwell, Valery
Rockwell, Sacha Sullivan, Alex Rockwell and step daughter, Annette Rockwell.
Her grandchildren: Luke, Valery, Cassandra, Rafael, Mei, Claire, Lana, Nico and Abner. Her adored pets: Happy, Luna, her parrot,
Acu and an eclectic group of dedicated friends
spread out over the world. She will be missed by all who were fortunate
enough to have known her. Please join the
family in a memorial service at the Friends Meeting House, 938
Main Road in Westport on Saturday the 24th at 1 p.m. There will be
refreshments and the sharing of many life stories after the Quaker ceremony
in the Main Meeting house. As is the Quaker
tradition, there will be the opportunity, if so moved, to share personal
impressions, poetry, and memories of Svetlana no matter how small or
seemingly insignificant. The family wants you to know more about the heart
and soul of this remarkable and generous person. In lieu of
flowers, donations can be made to the Lazicki’s
Bird House and Rescue, 2141 W. Shore Rd, Warwick, RI 02886. WFA Oyster Stew
Supper and Annual Meeting features writer Cornelia Dean. Oyster
stew supper at 6:30 p.m.; annual meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. EverythingWestport.com Saturday, January
17, 2015 The Westport
Fishermen’s Association will hold their Oyster Stew Supper and Annual
Meeting on Tuesday February 10th starting at 6:30 p.m. at St. John The
Baptist Church, 945 Main Road in Westport. Entrance to the
event is located in the back of the church, lower level, and will be open at
6:00 p.m. The Oyster Stew Supper will be served at 6:30 p.m. and will include
a time-tested delicious Oyster Stew, Cornbread and fresh baked Apple Pie
topped with delicious Adamsville Cheddar Cheese. Reservations are
required in advance and are $15 per person.
This year they
are pleased to have journalist, author, advocate and educator Cornelia Dean as
their speaker. Ms. Dean will be talking about her book "Against the
Tide" The Battle for Americas Beaches which has been widely accepted
as the best book that deals with beach policy.
“To anyone interested in the
preservation of the nation's beaches, this is the handbook, incredibly well
researched and interestingly presented. And that "anyone" should be
all of us, for our beaches are a notional heritage and a precious resource
for our future generations.” - Walter Cronkite Dean teaches at
Harvard and has taught at Columbia, Vassar, and URI. AAAS recognized Dean
“for compelling and engaging science and health reporting and journalism
education spanning a career in the nation’s newspaper industry.” A trustee
emerita of the Corporation of Brown University, Dean earned an A.B. from the
University in 1969 and an M.S. in journalism from Boston University in 1981. The Annual Meeting portion of the evening
is free and open to the public and is scheduled to begin just after the
supper around 7:30 p.m. Please mail your reservation and check,
made payable to the WFA at PO Box 83 Westport Point MA 02791. Remember to
include your name and the number of guests that will be attending. This is a
ticketless event. Your name will be on a reservation list at the door when
you arrive. Reservations must be made by February 6, 2014. They hope you can
join them for what is sure to be a terrific evening, enjoy a delicious meal,
and learn more about their organization and their plans for moving forward in
2015. For further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact them at
wfa@westportriver.org. © 2015 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
