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Community Corner

Longshore's 50th Anniversary Celebrations Planned

Commemorations are set to mark Westport's purchase of landmark Country Club for public recreation.

Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the date the Representative Town Meeting unanimously approved the town’s purchase of the 169-acre Longshore Club Park for $1.9 million. On May 28, 1960, just six weeks after the purchase, the former exclusive Westport Country Club was opened to townspeople.

Longshore’s 50th anniversary as a public playground will be celebrated with events and commemorations being coordinated at various venues around town through May 28, 2011. Information is posted at the “Longshore 50th page” on the town’s Web site.

The Westport Historical Society plans to mark the May 28 anniversary with a preview reception of new special exhibits called “Treasures of Longshore: the Kids’ Wall” and “Longshore Memories,” which open on Memorial Day.

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On June 1, the Westport Library will open an exhibit of Longshore-inspired art and historical photographs, “The Art of Longshore.” The show is curated by Helen Klisser During, director of visual arts for the Westport Arts Center.

The Westport Rotary Club’s annual golf and tennis outing at Longshore on June 9 is honoring former First Selectman Herbert Baldwin for his leadership role in the Longshore acquisition 50 years ago.

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And at its fourth meeting on Thursday evening, the 12-member Longshore 50th Anniversary Committee appointed by First Selectman Gordon Joseloff approved a “1960s Party” at Longshore on May 20.

The brainchild of RTM member Gene Seidman, a self-described “danceologist,” the rock 'n'roll dance will evoke the spirit of the 1960s when  Baldwin clinched the real estate deal. Partygoers are encouraged to dress in eye-catching ‘60s attire, from head to toe.

“We honor the town visionaries by doing something that’s fun and jazzy - a sweet, fun time!” Seidman told the committee. Tickets will be $75 if purchased before May 1 and $85 thereafter.

Proceeds from the “1960s Party” will be used to fund a short promotional video being filmed this week under the supervision of Anniversary Committee member Jenniann C. Barile. It will include remarks by town historian Allen Raymond, Joseloff, one-time star golfer Mimi Levitt and others interspersed with graphic images.

A feature-length documentary of Westport’s beloved recreation mecca, with its golf course, seven tennis courts, marina, sailing school, inn, restaurant, three swimming pools and lanes for bikers, joggers and rollerbladers, is in the early planning stages.

The Anniversary Committee’s charge, in addition to coordinating diverse celebrations, is to gather archival materials from Longshore’s past for permanent preservation and to provide grist for a coffee table-style book.

Brian O’Leary, who holds history degrees and is retired from the information technology industry, is heading the archival research team and working closely with committee chairman Scott Smith to ascertain the “true history” of Longshore.

O’Leary hopes to solve several historical puzzles, such as who came up with the name “Longshore” and why. The earliest reference to “Longshore” O’Leary has come across is a “Longshore Farm” advertisement for livestock in a 1911 issue of the Norwalk Hour.

Another is whether renowned golf course designer Orrin E. Smith designed the Westport Country Club golf course and, if not, who did.

“That’s our Holy Grail,” O’Leary said.

Finally, O’Leary would like to determine whether F. Scott Fitzgerald partied with the socialites who congregated when Longshore was the elegant country estate of New York millionaire Frederick E. Lewis.

 Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda rented the Wakefield house next to the then-Lewis property during the summer of 1922 and he is thought by some to have based the location and some characters of “The Great Gatsby” on events from those days.

O’Leary and his fellow committee members invite all to share photographs, memorabilia, anecdotes and trivia with them as they create the first comprehensive historical and cultural survey of Longshore.

The call for archival treasures has already turned up the 1960 plans for a subdivision of the scenic manicured grounds into 140 building lots.

As materials are gathered, they will be digitized and posted on a new Web site under development, westporthistory.org/longshore50.

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