Free Train Parking Existed

No Free Parking

In 1960, commuters were harassed by a "long series of rate increases," according the first selectman of the time Herb Baldwin. In the late summer, yet another increase was proposed: parking was no longer going to be free at Westport's train stations.

Back in the day, there were no $4 dollar daily fees or half-a-decade waiting lists to nab a parking spot. The New Haven Railroad, which operated the tracks, asked that Westport begin to implement parking fees ranging from 25 to 50 cents. If the town didn't oblige, then the company would find a private operator to take over the lot.

Town officials were leery of the change, voicing some opposition. We all know how it turned out in the end.

Photographer Acts Like Jerk to Giant Great

The New York Giants arrived at Fairfield University earlier in the summer and they continued to make headlines as training camp winded down.  Sept. 1 was a special day for both the Giants and area photographers. As the Town Crier reported, "Press Photographers Day, for the New Giants like Christmas for the kiddies, comes but once a year."

Everyone from "Baby Brownies to Leicas with bologna-like lens were in action." Does anybody know what that sentence means?

One gutsy photographer had the gall to demand future Hall of Famers Frank Gifford to pose by making a sharp turn with "his knee high and arm extended to stiff-arm an imaginary opponent."

"I just don't run that way," Gifford replied after declined to do it.

"Listen," said the photographer, "for me you run that way."

First Day of School

It was a big opening day of Westport schools. There were 5,560 students enrolled in all the schools, up from 560 in 1959. There were also an undetermined number of Weston students attending Staples since the town to the north lacked a high school. There were 70 new teachers for the 1960-61 school year, which was the most in town history at the time. For comparison, there were less than 30 new teachers for the 2010-11 school year.

Breaking News: Audience Likes Play

In front-page news, it was reported that people liked the Westport Country Playhouse's production of The Captains and the Kings. There's quantifiable proof, too.

In a questionnaire handed out to the audience, 728 people said they liked it "very much." Only 12 said "not at all. In regard to the "Senator" character, 146 people found him offensive.