December 24, 2020

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December 24, 2020

The Greenwich Weekly Newspaper, where we celebrate our hometown with Greenwich news, people, and events.

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Writing for His Children Changed the World What you might not know about the famous bedtime story that re-wrote Christmas Eve

By Beth Barhydt For ma ny i n Gr e enw ich a nd around the world, treasured holiday traditions include a bedtime story that begins, “’Twas the night before Christmas,” on Christmas Eve. We include it here in its entirety for you to read out loud this evening if you would like.

While there is some slight disagreement over the authorship of this now famous poem, most believe it was penned by Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863).

Ac cor d i n g to t he L i bra r y of Congress American Memory project, Moore wrote the tale on Christmas Eve, 1822, while traveling to his Chelsea-district home from Greenwich Village, where he picked up the last of many turkeys that his family donated each holiday season.

Moore created the poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas (now known as ’Twas the Night Before Christmas), to read to his ow n si x children that evening. His vision was likely inf luenced by the vivid description of St. Nicholas by his friend, Washington Irving, in A History of New York (1809). Irving, the son of a Presbyterian minister and author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle wrote a fanciful account of how St. Nicholas came in a dream to Dutch explorers who were scouting a location for New Amsterdam, now Manhattan.

Yes, the founding of New York City, in Irving's account, was divinely inspired by St. Nicholas.

Moore would have been inf luenced as well by his father, B e nja m i n Mo or e , who w a s t he E p i s c o p a l m i n i s t e r o f Tr i n i t y Church and would later serve as the Episcopal bishop of New York, taking part in the inauguration of George Washington as the nation’s first president.

The poem was actua l ly f i rst published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel newspaper on Dec. 23, 1823.

A graduate of Columbia University, Clement Moore was a scholar of Hebrew and a professor of Oriental and Greek literature at the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan.

H is l ig ht-he a r te d p o em wa s originally not meant for publication which may be why it was published

anonymously, likely without Moore even knowing it was submitted.

H is poem has come i nto t he homes and hearts of millions across the world. On Christmas eve, in our home, our holiday tradition will most certainly include this bedtime story.

A f ter watch i ng ou r chu rch's Christmas eve service, virtually this year, everyone will open one present.

The contents of these presents is never a surprise—always new Christmas pajamas, washed and ready to wear that very night.

Then there will be hot cocoa while we sit by a fire and listen. One wife, two children, two dogs. Quiet.

Then Peter will begin to read this brief but magical tale.

Twas

the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her ’kerchief, and

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When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave a lustre of midday to objects below, When what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

was as white as the snow;

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

a right jolly old elf, And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

The stump of a pipe he held As dry leaves that before tight in his teeth, And the smoke, it encircled the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and mount to the sky; a little round belly So up to the housetop the That shook when he laughed, coursers they flew, like a bowlful of jelly.

With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too— He was chubby and plump,

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight— “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Magic and Joy

SENTINEL

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I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

By Icy Frantz There is magic and joy in the story of a young girl who falls asleep at the foot of her Christmas t ree w it h her a r ms w rapped around a new gift, a nutcracker, dreaming that the tree grows in massive proportion and that the nutcracker becomes a prince. Or maybe it’s the magic and joy in dance that is so mesmerizing this time of year in particular.

A sma l l g roup of da ncers from Greenwich High School has found a way to offer that magic and joy to children and teenagers who typically miss out. The class, Adaptive Ballet, given on Sunday af ter noons at the Greenw ich Conservatory of Classical Ballet, was created to offer young people with disabilities the chance at dance.

Mimi Citarella is the founder and Executive Director of G r e e nw i c h C o n s e r v a to r y o f Classical Ballet (GCCB). “I was thrilled to be approached by a young group of dancers about this and to offer the studio space and support where this program can be offered and can thrive. We have an outward community focus, and the Adaptive Dance program is central to our mission. It provides a vehicle for autistic children to learn new skills and experience t he joy of da nce, movement, and music, which is the heart of classical ballet.”

Adaptive Ballet, started this fall, is made up of students with different disabilities, a variety

of needs, and a unique set of goa ls. Because of th is, there are challenges, and the lessons develop at their own pace.

“The class has been a work in progress because autistic children often have diff iculty with new experiences. So, in building this Adaptive Dance program, the introduction and getting the kids acclimated is a significant part of the start-up process. That’s really where we are now, after eight classes, getting to know each of the students, how they learn, how they become comfortable in a new situation, and then teaching the actual ballet skills from there. We are starting to see the dancers b e g i n to le a r n s e q ue nc e s of instruction, and with one student, the girls are teaching her to skip.

It is something that may come easily to most children, but it can be a huge achievement for a child with special needs,” says Citarella.

Martina Phelan, a 17-year-

is 15-years-old and has taken ballet for over twelve years. Her brother has autism. “I am so proud that I have learned these communication skills from having an autistic brother and am now able to work well with kids with special needs,” says Reynolds.

Phela n a nd Rey nold s a r e joined each week by Avery Byrne, Angelica Cilio, and Alexis Killeen, and together they give their time and experience to not only help teach skills that they know so well but ones that have given them such pleasure, in the hopes that it will do the same in the lives of their students with disabilities.

“It's very difficult for autistic children to find classes, so to have these free Adaptive Ballet classes at GCCB, it's so important for them and their families,” says Reynolds Providing individuals with disabilities the chance to learn ballet also allows them to develop other important skills.

A small group of dancers from Greenwich High School has found a way to offer that magic and joy to children and teenagers who typically miss out. old and one of the cofounders of the class, spent a weekend last summer at Boston Ballet becoming a certif ied Adaptive Ballet Dance Instructor where she learned techniques for teaching dance and movement to individuals with disabilities and strategies for modifying dance instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. Katherine Reynolds, the other co-founder,

Many studies indicate that learning dance and movement helps w it h co ord i nat ion a nd balance, increases attention and concentration, strengthens the ability to understand and express emotion, and enhances social interaction for students w ith disabilities. “Ballet is an art form and a means of communication.

For nonverbal autistic children especially, it can be a powerful tool

in communicating and expressing themselves,” says Phelan.

In For Some Children with Autism , Dance Is a For m of Expression, a November 19, 2019, New York Times article, the author tells the story of a 14-year-old boy with autism who has limited speech and had recently enrolled in a dance program for children with disabilities. One afternoon, while dancing around his own liv ing room, he spun around and yelled “I love you” to his mother. She had been waiting fourteen long years to hear those three words from her son and his engagement with dance had sprung them loose.

If you close your eyes, I bet you can feel the excitement of a young girl as she spins around t h e s t a g e w it h h e r n e w g i f t outstretched in her arms. For Clara, the nutcracker is indeed extraordinary, like the coveted presents a child finds under the tree on December 25th in the early morning. Santa has come.

Miraculous. And yet, there is no gift more miraculous than one motivated by love and service like the one these young teachers are

offering a small class of aspiring dancers - not only at Christmas but throughout the year.

“With every new step, I’m watching kids develop a love for dance that will follow them for their whole life,” says Phelan.

There is magic and joy in the steps that each performer takes across the stage each holiday season as dancers execute the exquisite choreography of The Nutcracker. So too, there is magic and joy in a small dance studio right here in our own community, where young dedicated volunteers are teaching steps and sequences and even a sk ip, beautif ul groundwork that will impact and enhance the lives of their students not just for the duration of the class but for an entire lifetime.

The Greenwich Conservatory o f C l a s s i c a l B a l l e t h o p e s to d e ve l o p p r o g r a m s fo r o t h e r diverse learners such as the aging adult population as well as giving all learners the opportunity to perform on stage.

For more information about their programs, please visit www. greenwichconservatoryballet.com

Page 3 | Greenwich Sentinel

Time to Jump Into Winter Bird Counting

By Audubon Greenwich

round! This online tool and app, developed by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, is a fun way to take bird watching to a whole new level while contributing to and sharing critical bird information for the advancement of science.

Greenwich Audubon Center is a vibrant nature education center located at the main 285-acre Audubon sanctuary in Greenwichand is a part of the Audubon Connecticut state office of the National Audubon Society and Atlantic Flyway and steward a total of seven sanctuaries in the Greenwich area. Their mission is to protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Visitors are welcome to enjoy trails, learning resources, nature programs, and conservation-themed events throughout the year.

Learn more at greenwich.audubon.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Go to https://ct.audubon.org/get-involved/whatwinter-bird-counting for the full article with links.

Birders enjoying winter bird counting. Photo: Luke Franke / Audubon

Eastern Bluebirds. Photo: Tami Gingrich / Great Backyard Bird Count

Each winter, for more than 100 years, bird lovers across North America have taken part in the joyful activity of bird counting.

Originating with National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count (started in 1899 as a way of encouraging people to count birds instead of shooting them—an old Christmas-day tradition), winter counting has become not only a great way to experience nature during the cold months of the year, but it is also an impactful tool for science and conservation.

Data collected by bird and nature lovers of all ages and skill levels provides insightful information about bird populations that is used by scientists and helps to identify conservation areas of concern and set priorities.

Getting started in winter bird counting is easy. Simply choose one of several events or programs, or you can take part in all of them.

The amount of time you wish to dedicate to the activity is completely up to you. While some bird counts take place at specific times (and places), there are also opportunities to count whenever and wherever you like. Each opportunity provides information on how to count and submit your tallies, which for most is online.

When planning to participate in a bird count, keep in mind that the COVID-19 pandemic may impact bird count events, especially the Christmas Bird Count, and how they are organized.

Although the Christmas Bird Count is well underway, there are still plenty of opportunities available to enjoy bird counting this winter.

Project FeederWatch - Enjoy bird counting at your chosen location anytime and for however long you like from November through March.

Christmas Bird Count - This count takes place at specific count areas on predetermined dates (each year from December 14 through January 5). Interested individuals join count area teams to count as many birds as possible in their count area in a 24-hour period.

Great Backyard Bird Count - The GBBC is another great count that can be done from any location for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as you wish) each year on Friday through Monday over President’s Day Weekend in February. eBird - Enjoy tracking and sharing your bird sightings year-

All day on Christmas Eve, families can enjoy the outdoors and learn about Christmas symbols on the beautiful campus of The First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich.

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Happy Holidays!

Rudy’s great-great-great Grandfather Rudolph set the standard for being on-time years ago. Today, Rudy’s fleet is the largest in the Northeast, with over 100 luxury vehicles including Cadillac and Mercedes.

Happy Holidays and our heartfelt thanks to our clients who have supported us for over 50 years.

EXPERIENCED. TRADITIONAL. RELIABLE. DOT# 1951 • ICC# MC15081

Page 4 | Greenwich Sentinel

Frank J. Gaudio President/CEO 203.302.4375

yourCOMMUNITYcalendar GREENWICH LIBRARIES: greenwichlibrary.org

PERROT LIBRARY: perrotlibrary.org/events.html

Dec. 26

Jan. 6

10 a.m.

Virtual – Saturday Story Time (Toddler, Preschool).

Free. Register. 203-622-7940. dsullivan@greenwichlibrary. org

Virtual Discussion with Susan Brady – renowned leadership coach, strategist, and author of Mastering Your Inner Critic and 7 Other High Hurdles to Advancement: How the Best Women Leaders Practice SelfAwareness to Change What Really Matters.

GREENWICH HOSPITAL: greenwichhospital.org/events 888-305-9253

Dec. 29 11 a.m.

Virtual Drop-in Computer Lab. 203-6256560. trainingcenter@ greenwichlibrary.org 5 p.m.

Virtual - Meditation and Breathing with Gail. Free.

203- 622-7920.

Jan. 4 1 p.m.

Creative Writing Workshop: Writing for Sanity. Free.

Register. 203-625-6534. ghayes@greenwichlibrary.org

Jan. 5 11 a.m.

Virtual Drop-in Computer Lab. 203-6256560. trainingcenter@ greenwichlibrary.org 1 p.m.

SCORE Webinar: Google Analytics 102 - Setting Goals, Tracking Data and Analyzing Reports. Free. Register.

203-622-7924. ywang@ greenwichlibrary.org 3 p.m.

Virtual: Laser Engraved Travel Mugs. Free.

Register. 203- 6227979. innovationlab@ greenwichlibrary.org 4 p.m.

Virtual: Chess Club (Grades K-5). Free. Register. 203622-7940. dsullivan@ greenwichlibrary.org

Dec. 28 12:30 p.m.

Webinar: Knee Replacement Education Class. Via Zoom.

Free. Register.

Jan. 4 12:30 p.m.

Webinar: Hip Replacement Education Class. Via Zoom.

Free. Register.

Jan. 5 12 p.m.

Webinar: Bariatric Informational. Via Zoom.

1:30 p.m.

Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. For people with Parkinson’s disease and caregivers. Via Zoom.

Jan. 7 1 p.m.

Webinar: Clarifying Values for 2021 Resolutions. Via Zoom.

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE OF GREENWICH: afgreenwich.org

Dec. 30 5 - 6 p.m.

‘Worldwide Wednesdays’ join in for lively discussions on French films. Open to all.

Donation. RSVP for a Zoom link.

FIRST CHURCH: fccog.org

Dec. 24 6:00 a.m.

Christmas Eve Outdoor Nativity Walk. The First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich, 108 Sound Beach Ave. Free and open to all.

FRIENDS OF GREENWICH POINT: friendsofgreenwichpoint.org

Jan. 3 9 - 11:30 a.m.

First Sunday Bird Walks at Greenwich Point Park. (Bring binoculars). Meet near the main concession stand at the south end of the beach. All ages. (Group size limited, up to first 15 participants). birdwalk. home.blog ARCH STREET archstreet.org Every Tue. & Thu., 4-5pm Virtual Yoga Takeover. 7th12th Grade Free. Online.

Wednesday, By Appointment Only Open Studio. 7th-12th Grade.

Free.

AUDUBON CENTER: greenwich.audubon.org/ events

Jan. 9

6 p.m.

‘Bobcats: Our Feline Neighbors’. $10 & up. All ages are welcome. Registration is required. Ryan.MacLean@ audubon.org. 203-930-1353.

BREAST CANCER ALLIANCE: breastcanceralliance.org/ events

Jan. 7

8 p.m.

BCA + Sharsheret present a conversation about the book, Beat Breast Cancer Like a Boss with author Ali Rogin.

Register.

FLINN GALLERY: flinngallery.com

TOWN HALL MEETINGS: greenwichct.gov/calendar

Thursday-Sunday, 5:307:30pm through Jan. 3.

Through Jan. 6

Dec. 28

The Flinn Gallery presents ‘Heidi Johnson, Animal Attraction’, for in-person and virtual viewing. Free.

BRUCE MUSEUM: brucemuseum.org

6:30 p.m.

Board of Health Regular Meeting. Greenwich Town Hall – Evaristo Conference Room, 101 Field Point Rd.

LOCKWOOD-MATHEWS MANSION MUSEUM: lockwoodmathewsmansion. com

Dec. 27

Dec. 29

1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Exhibitions Highlight Tours - for the general public. Make a timed ticket reservation, and then make a free tour reservation, or call 203-869-0376, ext. 311 to reserve your spot.

NAMI SOUTHWEST CT: namisouthwestct.org/onlinesupport

1 p.m.

RTM Blight/Nuisance Ordinance Sub Committee Meeting. Zoom Webinar/ Phone Webinar ID: 818 6764 6686 Password: 1814184 +1 646 518 9805.

Dec. 30 6:30 p.m.

NAMI-CAN (Child and Adolescent Network) Online Support - for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents, under age 21, with behavioral and emotional issues (Wednesdays). Free.

YWCA GREENWICH: ywcagrn.org/healthyhome

Jan. 6 1 p.m.

How to Live an Environmentally Healthier Life. Via Zoom. Free and open to the public. Register.

KAIA YOGA: kaiayoga.com

Dec. 26 10 a.m.

Live Stream Kaia Flow - an inclusive class that you can step up or down depending on your practice and needs. Register.

RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE: RedCrossBlood.org

Dec. 26 7:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Union Baptist Church, 805 Newfield Ave., Stamford.

Dec. 28 12:15 - 5:15 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church, 1101 Bedford St., Stamford.

Dec. 31 7:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Union Baptist Church, 805 Newfield Ave., Stamford.

STEPPING STONES MUSEUM FOR CHILDREN: steppingstonesmuseum.org

Dec. 26 & 27 5:30 p.m.

Worldwide Light Celebration Car Parade. Register.

Dec. 26 12 & 2 p.m.

Holiday Guided 45 Minute Tour - enjoy the first floor Period Rooms featuring the Museum’s Holiday Exhibit.

295 West Ave., Norwalk. $10.

LEGO LAND: legolanddiscoverycenter. com/westchester

Dec. 29 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Little Playtimes - for the youngest LEGO fans aged 2-5.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester, 39 Fitzgerald St., Yonkers, NY.

Submit your event for consideration for being included in the community calendar at www. greenwichsentinel.com/ community-calendar-event/

Page 5 | Greenwich Sentinel

Town Government

Updates from BET

By Richard Kaufman Ever y week , the Greenwich Sentinel will bring you alternating updates from the BET leadership and the First Selectman.

T h e G r e e nw i c h B o a r d o f Estimate and Taxation held their final regularly scheduled meeting of the year last Thursday. But earlier in the week, the Board received a presentation and subsequently accepted the long awaited Town Fire Study, which looked at fire services in Greenwich.

BET Accepts Town Fire Study The study was performed by Matrix Consulting Group, and cost $100,000, which was part of the town's 2019-2020 municipal budget.

A key recommendation within the report calls for the replacement of the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Station so it can be staffed with a career engine compa ny to bet ter ser ve the northern portion of Greenwich.

"With the addition of the Round Hill station career staffing, adjust the station districts to align better with the responses to emergency calls for service and improve the overall response time," the report further suggested.

Add it iona l ly, Mat r i x sa id "another station to the north of the central business district may be necessary with increases to population density and calls for service." The new station would be a part of a long-term strategy to reduce response times. A specific location or time for a new station to be built was not described.

S o m e o t h e r k e y

recommendations in the report say the town should establish community standards for call processing, turnout and travel time goals; annually report performance against established goals; adjust over-response to minor calls; review dispatch center procedures a nd processes a nd rev ise as necessary; enforce the false alarm ordinance to reduce the number of false fire alarms, and increase the false alarm fees for repeat offenders to recover the cost of the response by the Fire Department.

The compiling of the report was described by BET Vice Chair Karen Fassuliotis as a "truly bipartisan ef fort." BET Chair Michael Mason, who served on the BET committee for the study, said earlier this week that he was happy that the report is now public for all to see. He thanked Town Administrator Ben Branyan and Comptroller Peter Mynarski for their help during the process.

"Our next plan is to hand [the report] over to the First Selectman and public safety officials," Mason said, adding that the BET would like to have a public hearing on the report in January.

"We normally don't do things like that, but this has been a conversation in town running for a decade on fire response times, coverages and f ire ser v ices," Mason said.

After that, the BET would want to communicate w ith the First Selectman and Fire Chief about where some of the recommendations will go.

Mason cited the dif ferent areas in town that need to be protected, population density,

Mike Mason BET Chair

and turnout times as the most intriguing things to him in the report. Turnout time is the elapsed time from when a call comes in, to when an apparatus is leaving the station to respond.

"There was some very interesting data in there about where we are in relation to industr y standards and recommendations," Mason said.

The full 147 page study/report can be found on the BET website at greenwichct.gov.

Regular BET Meeting The BET approved several non-routine applications during its regularly scheduled meeting last Thursday.

Of note, the Board approved an additional appropriation of capital funds ($1,477,000) so the Board of Education can purchase equipment to fix HVAC at Cos Cob School at the end of the school year.

"The Board of Education just wants to make sure they can get the equipment. The BOE does a fantastic job of trying to get the work done while schools are closed, but that means you need the money ahead of time for getting the equipment, and mechanical devices. As soon as the school is closed, they can begin the work," Mason said.

Since the town has a contract for ser v ices w ith Greenw ich Emergency Medical Ser v ices (GEMS), and the Transportation Authority of Greenwich (TAG), the BET unanimously approved the second release of funds to both organizations this year -$2,350,000 to GEMS, and $139,500 to TAG. A vo t e o n t h e r e l e a s e o f $2 00,000 for t he Greenw ich Avenue/Elm Street enhancement proje c t was p ost p one d u nt i l nex t month. Board members indicated they wanted to get more information on the proposed work before the funds are approved.

The Board also reviewed and approved the town's fund balance and debt policies. They're reviewed every two years.

About 10-12 years ago, for the fund balance, credit rating agencies were recommending towns have between 5-10 percent of their annual operating budget in reserve.

"We made a slight change to that in terms of the operating budget. We've slightly increased the amount we'd like to have," Mason said. " T h e d e b t p o l i c y i s ve r y challenging," Mason noted, adding that it takes into consideration how much outstanding debt the town wants to have at one time. It's also part of the town's planning tool in borrowing for capital projects.

"Everybody is trying to work towards having a real debt policy, one that we believe in, one that has some flexibility," Mason said.

Stay Up tp date. Check back here each week for alternating updates from the BET leadership and First Selectman Fred Camillo.

Top Local News Story Briefs Narcotics Investigation Outcome On July 25, 2020, a local resident died of a narcotic overdose. Detective Quezada was assigned to investigate. This investigation led to the identification of the drug dealer who supplied the victim with the drugs. Before the court would consider charges against the dealer, Det. Quezada was asked to present the case and recommend how it could be successfully prosecuted for conviction.

Det. Quezada prepared a presentation detailing the methods used in the investigation and drawing upon his experience as a narcotics detective to illustrate the unique facts and circumstances of this case. An arrest warrant was subsequently signed for Manslaughter in the Second Degree. On November 25, 2020, the drug dealer was apprehended in New York and waived extradition to Connecticut to face charges. Not only was this a successful outcome, but the court's Assistant State’s Attorney has recommended to all Superior Courts that the methods and processes used by Detective Quezada and the Greenwich Police Narcotics Section be adopted as a model to prosecute drug dealers in overdose deaths. This month’s Greenwich Police Department Officer of the Month is Detective Frederick Quezada.

will be available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Library patrons can use the service for reference questions, research help, assistance with online resources, book recommendations and more.

Simply type your question into the Live Chat box to connect with a Reference or Children’s Librarian who will be standing by. The service also boasts screen-sharing and documentsending capabilities.”

a scam include: • Threatening phone calls or home visits demanding immediate payment to avoid a shut off, without prior notification. Don't panic and don't pay.

• Asking for personal or account information.

• Insisting on a specific, often non-traceable, form of payment.

• Providing an unfamiliar callback number.

JLG Community Service Award

The holidays are a time of greater risk for fire, here are some risks from the Greenwich Fire Department for a happy, fire-free holiday.

• Choose flame resistant or flame retardant decorations.

• Keep lit candles away from decorations.

• Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.

• Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections.

• Read manufacturer’s instructions for the number of light strands to connect.

• Use clips, not nails, to hang lights.

• Keep live Christmas Trees watered.

• Test your smoke alarms and tell guests about your home fire escape plan.

• Keep children & pets away from candles.

• Keep matches and lighters secure.● • Stay in the kitchen when using the stove.

• Ask smokers to smoke outside. Provide large, deep ashtrays for smokers.● • Place all hot ashes in a metal container, take out of the house and store in a safe place in your yard (do not place it against the house).

The Junior League of Greenwich has announced a community service award of $1,000 to recognize a female high school student who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to community service. For more information and for the application please visit https://www. jlgreenwich.org/. The deadline is March 29, 2021 and the application must include two written recommendations.

Grace Daycare to Open Jan 4.

Grace Daycare and Learning Center will offer affordable early childhood education programming. The daycare is located at the facilities of the former YMCA preschool at St. Roch Church, 2 St. Roch Avenue. It will open on January 4 and accepts both Care4Kids assistance as well as Greenwich United Way scholarships.

Aquarion Warns of Dangerous Scams

Real-time Chat Service Now Available Greenwich Library has just launched a real-time chat service that is available on their website. “The new live-chat feature will be available on the bottom right corner of the home and children’s pages on their website and

Aquarion Water Co. is warning customers of the increase in scam activity during the pandemic. Customers should be wary of unsolicited calls, texts, and emails that threaten to shut off your water unless you pay by phone or other unusual means. Some common signs of

Prevent These Fire Risks

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Page 6 | Greenwich Sentinel

PUBLISHER Beth@GreenwichSentinel.com Elizabeth Barhydt

Editorial Page

EDITORS & COPY EDITORS Editor@GreenwichSentinel.com Peter Barhydt, Daniel FitzPatrick, Caroll Melgar Stapley Russell, Anne W. Semmes

Newspaper Magic In 1897, newspaper magic happened. An eight-year-old girl, Virginia O’Hanlon, wrote a simple three-sentence letter to The New York Sun newspaper asking if Santa exists. Her father suggested she write: “Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’” The power of the fourth estate. What transpired has become legend. The editor who wrote the response, Francis Pharcellus Church, who had been a war correspondent during the Civil War, used it as an opportunity to not just say whether Santa exists or not, but to highlight the importance of faith and believing in something larger than yourself.

It is difficult to imagine what Francis Church must have experienced as a war correspondent and how this affected him afterwards. The Civil War ravaged our country; more than 600,000 Americans died. It was, at times, brother fighting brother as our country tore itself apart. During the four-year conflict there was extreme suffering, and we can assume that Church saw this and that it left an imprint on him. At its conclusion, the South’s infrastructure was destroyed and the long, hard process of Reconstruction began. Many felt that society was broken as a result and that there was a collective loss of faith. When Virginia’s letter came in, Church must have jumped at the opportunity to craft such a brilliant

Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond.

Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. reply—a reply asserting that if there were no Santa, “The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.”

Newspapers are an interesting thing. You have the opportunity to make an impact. Church’s editorial appeared on page seven of The Sun, below a piece on the “chainless bicycle.” You would not think it would have gotten much notice, but it did. It was read and the magic began. Today, it is the most reproduced editorial, in part or whole, in the English language. It words and phrasing are both quick-paced and soothing. We like to imagine Church wrote it quickly, in a fit a passion. “Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.”

We do not begin to believe our editorials are as impactful as Church’s most famous one. However, we do have faith. We have faith not just in our paper (and faith that you are reading the editorials), but in our community and our neighbors. We believe that Santa abounds in Greenwich in large ways and small. We saw it first hand when we witnessed the children from Christ Church Nursery School donating toys to Neighbor-toNeighbor. Neighbor to Neighbor, in turn, held a holiday “toy store” where more than 200 Greenwich families were invited to “shop” for their children for the holidays at no cost. Thanks to the generosity of many civic groups, businesses and others, these children will know holiday cheer.

At the heart of Church’s editorial is a question: how can you believe in something, have faith in something that you cannot see and when others tell you it does not exist?

To the doubters and naysayers, he responds, “Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.”

As you gather next week with family and friends, as the race to the holidays concludes with the actual holiday itself, we hope that everyone will take a moment to avoid the “skepticism of a skeptical age” and look for what we, as a community, can hold up with pride as meaningful accomplishments. For us, it will be the ringing of the chimes at Tod’s Point, not heard for decades, serenading all in honor of Emily Fedorko and her love of music.

A big thank you to the Greenwich Point Conservancy, Chris Franco, and Pam and Joe Fedorko for “Emily’s Chimes”.

It is this effort, and many others, that need faith and belief to be made real.

Yes, there is a Santa Claus.

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus Originally published in the New York Sun the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, V IRGINI A, there is a Santa in 1897.

Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. know that they abound and give to your Some of my little friends say there is life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how no Santa Claus. dreary would be the world if there were Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary it’s so.’ as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There Please tell me the truth; is there a would be no childlike faith then, no Santa Claus? poetry, no romance to make tolerable VIRGINIA O’HANLON. 115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET. t h is ex istence . We shou ld have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight.

VIRGINIA, your little friends are The eternal light with which childhood w rong. They have been af fected by fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They as well not believe in fairies! You might think that nothing can be which is not get your papa to hire men to watch in all comprehensible by their little minds. All the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s Santa Claus, but even if they did not see or children’s, are little. In this great Santa Claus coming down, what would universe of ours man is a mere insect, an that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, ant, in his intellect, as compared with the but that is no sign that there is no Santa boundless world about him, as measured Claus. The most real things in the world by the intelligence capable of grasping are those that neither children nor men

can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart.

Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Sa nt a Claus! T ha n k G o d! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make g lad the hear t of childhood.

Letter to the Editor

Uber Eats Adds Economic Value

Dear Editor, Thank you for your editorial on 12/04/20 encouraging your readership to "Please Buy Local." I agree with the overall sentiment and direction of the editorial, though I found the following quote incomplete at best, or inaccurate at worst: "when you order food to be delivered from Uber Eats and other online platforms they charge the restaurant a delivery fee that can be as much as 65% of the total bill, meaning the restaurant is actually losing money on your order and that helps no one."

Technology managed delivery platforms create a complex four-sided marketplace between the restaurant, consumer, courier, and the platform itself (e.g., Uber Eats). In order for the marketplace to be sustainable, each stakeholder must realize economic value, not only on a transaction by transaction basis, but across the millions of transactions

Letter to the Editor

that happen over time. Examples of economic value for each stakeholder include: restaurants = profit, consumers = convenience, couriers = earnings, and platform = profit. In order to achieve economic value for each stakeholder, the platform does indeed charge delivery fees, which are shared by the restaurant and consumer in different proportions based on the specifics of each transaction.

Whereas for any given transaction the restaurant may pay a higher proportion of the delivery fee, and in doing so not make a profit, in the long run restaurants have suggested these transactions are still valuable by continuing to participate in the marketplace.

For example, restaurants may consider these transactions as the cost of acquiring new customers through the exposure they gain on the platform, and the lifetime value of those customers more than provide a return on the

investment of their acquisition cost. To use a personal anecdote, my family and I recently used Uber Eats to order pizza. As a result, we ordered from Fairfield Pizza in Cos Cob, rather than a restaurant closer to our home in Byram. We loved the pizza so much that we’re likely to continue to give them our business (both on the platform, and off) going forward.

A ga i n, I ag re e w it h you r advo c ac y for patronizing our local establishments, including our local restaurants. However, please don’t encourage your readership to discontinue the use of technology delivery platforms with phrases like, "when you want to order from a restaurant, go to their website to place your order" without fully informing them of the economics for all of the stakeholders involved in their use.

Edgar Pastrana, Global Head, Uber for Business Experience

Thank you GPD

Dear Editor, Reflecting upon the discussion held during our RTM 12/14/20 regarding the anonymous gift of 4 motorized bicycles, it occurred to us that it is an appropriate time to express our total confidence in Chief James Heavey and the Greenwich Police Department.

The Greenwich Sentinel published a very interesting article regarding the use of the motorized GPD. There has been at least one

very positive outcome, as a result of the pandemic, on Greenwich Avenue. In order to preserve public safety our police, using motorized bicycles, have easily been able to communicate with pedestrians enjoying the newly created mall. This interaction is giving our police force a chance to build community.

Police Chief Heavey stated that having a mobile force, brought about by the bicycles, decreased crime on Greenwich Avenue as

well as providing an opportunity to increase community connections.

To q uote ou r Pol ic e C h ie f , “ It i s a pa r t nersh ip,” a nd to t he GPD a nd t he anonymous donor we say thank you for continuing making our town so safe.

T H A N K YOU SO M UCH FOR YOU R SERVICE! Linda Moshier and Irene Dietrich

Local Charity Successes Com munit y Centers Inc. (CCI): thank you for feeding 125 families and senior citizens this holiday season. Your consistent and caring effort to reach out to those most in need in our community never fails to inspire. We give thanks to Gaby Ratner, Vanessa Cardinal and Sydney Henck who reach out to our community with care and love. Thank you for making Greenwich a welcoming place for all who call it home. Your successful efforts to feed those in need do not go unnoticed. Community Centers Inc. still needs produce, canned foods, bread and egg nog for meal baskets being delivered next week. Give them a call to donate or help deliver these New Year family meals: (203) 869-6786. www. ccigreenwich.org

some Nugs and send some hugs.

Stephanie Fox-Ureña, the force behind the new Greenwich Facebook group: Pay it Forward reports that you helped this town fill the needs of others during this holiday season keeping hope alive. Members of Pay it Forward gifted joy and cheer to struggling local families through their “Gifts of Hope Wishlist.”

Stephanie and Pay it Forward began promoting the wishlist on December 1. During the course of three short weeks, members contributed over 375 gifts and $2,000 worth of grocery gift cards, helping 27 families/78 children.

The coffee, cards and kindness drive brought coffee to essential workers at the hospital, at Nathaniel Witherell and to the Greenwich Police department.

Finally, a shout out to Barrie Silverman working hard behind the scenes helping manage the Facebook page and bringing coffee, cards and holiday decorations to Nathaniel Witherell for the nursing staff on Friday 12/18, thank you! Please take a moment and join the Pay it Forward Facebook group with 1500 of your neighbors looking to help others.

Nugs not Hugs drive at Garden Catering is on track to feed 543 families this holiday season. They have partnered w i t h t h e B oy s a n d G i r l s C lu b o f Greenwich and the United Way to reach families in need. This local business is dedicated to giving back and with the help of our neighbors many families are enjoying happy holidays during these uncertain times. A huge thank you to Tina and Frank from Garden Catering.

To the residents of Greenwich who Stop by Garden Catering any time to buy made the Greenwich Chaplaincy Services

and Friends of Witherell Card Drive a HUGE success, THANK YOU! This Call to Action went VIRAL. First stop: right here on our Call to Action list, then the ask made its way to Nextdoor, landed on Facebook in the Pay it Forward Group, our neighbors Facebook pages, in email blasts, men's clubs, at local synagogues and in church bulletins. The entire town pulled together dropping off 1000+ holiday cards and monetary donations.

We received holiday cards for residents and thank you cards for essential workers from Brownie Troops, teachers, families, parishes and grandparents. All of these efforts helped make the holidays a bit brighter for the residents and patients.

New Covenant Center is serving meals 365 days a year. Take a few hours during the holiday break and make individually wrapped sandwiches.

Items for donation can be dropped at 174 Richmond Avenue Stamford in the rear parking lot, at the door marked volunteer/donors Monday - Saturday 10:15- 5:30 and Sundays 10:15-1:30. Reach out to David Lovegreen: dlovegreen@ ccf-ct.org, call 203 964-8222 or visit https://www.newcovenantcenter.org/ for information.

Page 7 | Greenwich Sentinel

Local News

Vaccine Distribution Campaign Continues

By Richard Kaufman Last week, Connecticut received 31,200 Pf izer vaccine doses, and the state was expecting a nother 87,76 5 th is week . I n Greenwich, elected officials are urging the community to take their shots in the arm when their turn comes up.

"This is extremely important.

The risk to anybody who is older is high, and this vaccine, based on the science and all the FDA approvals, looks to be very safe.

I strongly encourage people to take this vaccine," said State Rep. Harry Arora (R-151).

Right now, the vaccination is voluntary and no mandates are being considered.

P h a s e 1 A o f t h e m a s s i ve vaccine distribution campaign, wh ich focuses on hea lthca re workers, long term care facilities and first responders, is underway around the United States.

Earlier this week, advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend that adults age 75 and older, and "frontline essential workers", such as first responders, te a c h e r s , a n d g r o c e r y s tor e employees, be next in line for Phase 1B. A rora recent ly sent out a survey about the vaccine, and he has received nearly 2 ,000

FROM PAGE 5 NEWS BRIEFS BoE Approves Budget The Greenw ich Board of Education approved a $170 million operating budget and $33.6 million capital budget last week.

HVAC for Cos Cob School A new HVAC for Cos Cob School has been approved by the Board of Estimate and Taxation and will now only need to be given a go ahead by the Representative Town Meeting.

COVID Vaccines The Nathaniel Witherell in Greenwich has been approved to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting just af ter Christmas.

The residents of the nursing and rehabilitation center are considered high risk and therefore included in Connecticut’s first phase of it’s vaccination program. Vaccines have already begun in Greenwich, starting with the front-line medical workers at Greenwich Hospital.

Bakery Opening A new bakery just had their grand opening on Sunday, December 20. Raphael’s Bakery is located at 146 Mason Street and is run by a local family originally f r om F ra n c e . T h ey a r e op e n Tuesday through Saturday from 7am-4pm, on Sunday from 7am2pm, and are closed on Mondays.

You can visit their website to order and learn more at https://www. raphsbakery.com/.

Wreaths Across America The Putnam Hill Daughters of the American Revolution held a wreath-laying ceremony this past Saturday at the Tomac Cemetery, also known as the Old Sound Beach Cemetery. The ceremony was part of National Wreaths Across America Day to honors veterans.

Sen. Kasser Presented "Jennifer's Law' Monday, Dec. 21, State Sen. Kasser, presented her 2021 revised d r a f t o f " Je n n i fe r 's L aw,” to expand the definition of Domestic Violence in Connecticut Family courts to include Coercive Control: e m o t i o n a l , ve r b a l , s t a l k i n g , financial, and legal abuse.

Sen. Kasser Announces Housing Funding State Sen. Kasser announced nearly $3 million in funding from the state was allocated to Greenwich for the renovation of buildings 2, 4 and 5 at Armstrong Court.

The State Bond Commission approve d a $2 ,98 3 , 3 0 0 z ero p e r c e nt , 4 0 -ye a r lo a n to t he Armstrong Court Phase III Limited Partnership to continue developing affordable housing and help cover the cost of its $21 million renovation project. " I applaud t he Gr e enw ich Housing Authority for their work rebuilding and renovating A r m s t r on g Cou r t to p r ov ide more housing opportunities in Greenwich," Sen. Kasser said.

All of the buildings will be completely renovated, with the go a l of c r e at i ng mor e t h r e e bedroom units.

responses from the community.

Seventy percent said they intend to take the vaccine as soon as it's offered to them, and 18% said they'd like to learn more about it before making a decision. Nine percent are not interested in the vaccine at all. Roughly 80% of the population must be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity and stop the virus in its tracks.

State Rep. Stephen Meskers (D-150) said the vaccine provides an "overall umbrella of security" in the community. He recently s e nt out i n for m at ion on t he vaccines to his constituents, and

the reaction has been positive, he said.

Meskers hopes people understand that the quick turnaround for the development of the COVID-19 vaccines has nothing to do with cutting corners on science. " We now have t wo world class, credible organizations that have developed vaccines. They've been broadly tested. The reason it has been accelerated is not because they cut corners on the testing, it's that they pre-funded the logistics for the build-out of the supply chain to manufacture

the vaccine," Meskers said.

Experts have said that the vaccine is the only true way to escape the grips of the pandemic, but until more people get their shots, masking and testing will still remain key.

On testing, Arora said he not only wants to see more volume, but more timely testing in order to slow the spread of the disease.

He mentioned that pool testing, similar to what's being done in schools, would help get results back quickly so people ca n k now ea rlier if they're infected or not, and the spread

can be minimized. For example, people would submit samples on a certain day of the week, and results would come back the following day or soon after. " Yo u ' r e m o r e l i k e l y t o c at c h t h o s e p e o p l e w h o a r e asymptomatic or who have not gotten to the stage where they're spreading. [R ight now], once people have symptoms and then they get tested, then by the time the test comes back , they've already spread it," Arora said, noting that he's suggested the development of a more timely testing program with Gov. Ned

Lamont.

Kimberly Fiorello, a Republican (149th District) who will be sworn-in for her first term next month, has said recently that when the next legislative session begins, it won't be the time to pass massive legislation because "there's so much that's in f lux."

She said that elected officials must do everything they can to support local businesses and those on the frontline of the pandemic.

For more infor mation on vaccinations in Connecticut, go to portal.ct.gov.

Page 8 | Greenwich Sentinel

By Catherine Neiswonger For my ninth birthday, my mother made me a cake, as she did for most of the birthdays of my youth. She had taken special care to decorate it with a lovely bunch of frosting flowers hugging one side of the circle and cascading down along both sides. It was a beauty! When my father came home that evening, I was eager to show him the cake.

I carefully pulled off the counter and walked it into the living room to show him. It was pronounced "SPECTACULAR" with all the appropriate "oohs"' and "ahhhs." I made my way back to the kitchen and lifted the cake back up to the counter. Just at the last moment, the cake fell; I caught it against my chest and obliterated the beautiful f lowers. I was devasted. I had ruined the cake! My mom helped me clean myself (and the cake)up and said: "don't worry, it is not how we planned it to be, but it will taste just as good." That is what 2020 has been like to me. It wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but I refuse to let the struggle to stay ahead of COVID be what defines the year for me.

Instead, I wanted to look for ways that made the year "just as good" (if not better) than what I expected.

I reached out to my Round Hill Nursery School community to find out what they thought the positives of this year might be. I know you will recognize yourself, your family, and the school community in these sentiments as well. Happy New Year to each of you!

D r oppi n g of f / P ick i n g up my kids at school and hearing immediately about their day!

We all came together to care for our children.

How the staff handled coming back to work for the kids. Teachers aren't millionaires, so when they come to work, it's for the love of the

Thank You 2020 career. This year more than ever, there is an overwhelming feeling of love when coming to Round Hill.

You know there is a smile behind the mask even though you can't see it. You have put your lives on the line to keep things as normal as possible for our little ones during this time.

The close-knit culture at RHNS cultivates a family-like community of parents. 2020 has turned into a year of bonded friendships with an abundance of support within our school. These familiar bonds and stable routines have been an invaluable source of comfort to our daughter and even us as parents during a turbulent time in life.

We are beyond grateful that our son has been able to attend RHNS for in-person learning this year, despite what is going on in this world. He has grown so much as a little human, and every day, I am amazed at what he is learning at school. There is no way we would have accomplished this through v i r t ua l or at-home le a r n i ng , being two working parents. His experience at R HNS w ith his friends and teachers has been priceless and has allowed some normalcy into a very different year.

I think that it is a massive accomplishment that our teachers feel safe coming to school. That they understand and appreciate efforts made on their behalf to keep them safe at school.

The children are happy to see and play with their friends. They gain valuable, important life lessons by in-person learning instead of sitting alone in front of a computer.

I think it is a Godsend that we, as teachers, can teach in person this fall regardless of the pandemic.

I am so happy to be in school with my students.

The teachers and staff and the parents have been incredibly

We should never underestimate our own perseverance. This year more than ever, there is an overwhelming feeling of love when coming to Round Hill.

Me and My Mom thoughtful, dedicated, and loving, and we are feeling very grateful to be able to send our child to school each day during this pandemic.

Since we had spent most of our time traveling between school and therapy, my son didn't really have time to unwind at home. Once quarantine started, it was my job to continue his services via zoom.

Having a child who has limited speech was lonely. We worked hard day and night, and eventually, he began to speak more clearly.

A positive is the pure and utter joy in my daughter's face when she tells me about her projects and fun events at school!

For a full-time working mom who travels extensively for work, I have found this extra time at home to be a blessing. I am grateful that I work in an industry and for a company that allows me to work from home to keep myself, my family, and my community safe. We feel very fortunate that our son has been able to attend school in-person this fall and enjoy the benefits of socializing with other two-yearolds after a long six-month period in isolation earlier this year. We are thankful to our teachers and administration for going above and beyond in their safety protocols, keeping our kids safe and learning.

human spirit is much stronger than politics, disease, and uncertainty.

We should never underestimate our own perseverance.

One positive to COVID is a slower pace of life with less running a r ou nd a nd out of t he home commitments, allowing kids to be kids longer.

Teaching my son to drive on less congested roads.

Using ZOOM to connect with family near and far and to take classes and workshops T i me to r e ad , to c o ok , to complete projects.

Better work balance for many families as there is no commute.

We rediscovered the joy of having meals together, where no one had to eat on the fly because they had a lesson, practice, or a work commitment. We talk and laugh and enjoy each other so much more.

I have loved watching my kids get very close this year. With no activities, play dates, etc., they all spend a lot more time together and have truly become best friends.

While it was challenging to watch a toddler and work for the first few months of the pandemic when we didn’t have child care, I really enjoyed our daily lunchtime wa lk s th roug h the woods something we would never have done if not for COVID. Watching him get so much joy from balancing on fallen logs and throwing rocks into the pond rekindled my interest in hiking.

I am grateful for the extra time with my family and my family's health and time to reflect on what's important and to slow down the days without rushing everywhere.

I have a deeper bond with my family. A deep appreciation for all health care workers in a world where the fragility of life is overlooked. A deep appreciation for dedicated teachers and mentors to children who risk their lives to make sure our children are safe, educated, and loved.

I ap p r e c i ate t h e v a lu e o f genuine friendship and a real understanding of how we are deeply connected in more ways than we will comprehend. Only during these challenging times can Catherine Neiswonger is the each one of us truly understand Director at Round Hill Nurser y and appreciate our own innate School. resilience and strength. . .. the

REVIEW: NICK'S FLICKS First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich joyfully celebrates

Broadchurch

CHRISTMAS EVE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24 RESERVATIONS REQUIRED! LIMITED SEATING

Call (203) 869-8686 or RSVP online at www.fpcg.org 3:00 PM - FAMILY SERVICE A Christmas Eve service designed with our littlest angels in mind. This time of worship includes a children’s message and plenty of joyful music to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

6:00 PM - FESTIVAL SERVICE With fanfare and joy, we hear the Christmas story accompanied by a brass ensemble, and Christmas message. This service culminates in a candle-lit meditation.

10:00 PM - REFLECTIVE SERVICE Communion, string quartet, piano and a sermon highlight the Christmas story with a candle-lit meditation closing our service and leading us toward Christmas day.

FACE MASKS REQUIRED. TEMPERATURES WILL BE TAKEN AT ENTRY. 1 WEST PUTNAM AVENUE GREENWICH, CT 06830 WORSHIP ONLINE www.fpcg.org/live

By Nick Barile Available: Netflix Created and written by: Chris Chibnall Rated: TV-MA

S e a s o n o n e fo c u s s e s o n t h e suspicious death of 11-year-old Danny Latimer. The town starts to tear its civic roots apart, as neighbors suspect neighbors and outside media come in to exploit the story. Season 2 aims to bring Danny’s killer to justice and a past criminal case haunts Hardy.

In season 3, the rape of a local woman at a party is the focus as the Latimer’s struggle with the truth about Danny’s death.

A beautifully crafted series with twists at every turn and a cast so well-conceived, you f ind yourself immediately a part of the town and the unfortunate drama that unfolds.

C o l e m a n a n d Te n n a nt a r e a perfect compliment of style and wit.

Their chemistry is astounding from the word go. The supporting cast’s characters are brilliantly developed, and the Jurassic Coast location is breathtaking. Chibnall scores big

This three season English crime d ra ma sta r r ing Academy awa rd winning actor Olivia Coleman and Scottish actor David Tennant, has won 5 British television awards, and nominated for 14 others.

Set in the small fictional English town of Broadchurch, detectives Ellie Miller (Coleman) and Alec Hardy (Tennant) are reluctantly partnered to solve the most unnerving crimes this seaside village has witnessed.

Tr ying to f ind the best bingeAs their professional relationship a n d f r i e n d s h ip b l o s s o m s , t h e y worthy series for the long indoor become obsessed with unraveling winter ahead, I give Broadchurch 5 the mysterious undercurrents of out of 5 on the popcorn scale.

Broadchurch.

Page 9 | Greenwich Sentinel

Gifts I Am Grateful For Each Day

By Ralph Mayo Things that I am grateful for as a school principal as the Holiday Season is upon us: The children that attend our schools, they dutifully wear their masks, wash their hands, remain socially distant and have learned to do school in a different way.

Their perseverance, adaptability and work ethic should be the standard that is set for us all. They are our best and most precious resource and they stand out as leaders each and every day.

The instructional staff who have had to work night and day to provide lessons to the students in front of them and to our remote learners. They have had to learn new technology skills while at the same time personalizing each child’s education. They are the frontline workers that are never mentioned in the news, but they are truly my heroes and I wish them the best as they move

toward multiple days of rest and relaxation at the end of the month.

The custodians, security staff, administrative assistants and our food service workers who have given us all the support we need in order to stay in school. These individuals are rarely recognized, but we would not have such an amazing school district without their unwavering dedication and devotion to their schools.

The fall coaches who won more than they lost, but more

stand-out performances in all sports and if we had a normal fall season we may have won championships in multiple sports.

Our coaches demonstrated the sportsmanship and the needed f l e x i b i l i t y t o ove r c o m e t h e limitations that were imposed upon them by our league officials.

GO BIG RED!!

The members of our PTA and all of the families that have been so supportive of our school and the changes we have made to keep

The children that attend our schools, they dutifully wear their masks, wash their hands, remain socially distant and have learned to do school in a different way. Their perseverance, adaptability and work ethic should be the standard that is set for us all. i mpor ta nt ly, t hey gave t hei r student-athletes a season to be proud of even thoug h it was abbreviated. We had multiple

the building safe. We have asked them to provide us with many different types of support and they have done so without hesitation.

They are the gold standard when it comes to this type of organization.

They constantly ask me what does the school need to make teaching and learning more effective-it doesn’t get any better than this !

Finally, to the Leadership Team at GHS who have worked everyday since last March to plan for the current school year.

They redesigned how and where students eat, how they passed from class to class and how and where to sit in classrooms. How the daily schedule would move forward on a hybrid basis while at the same time f iguring out how we would service all of our students. Our team continues to make progress on assessments and different technologies in order to make every student’s classroom experience a better one.

All of these individuals have been the best gift a Principal could receive as we move through these trying times. Gifts such as these raise your spirit and last forever!

Ralph Mayo has been employed by the Greenwich Board of Education since 1976. He has had many roles in the district and he is currently the Principal of Greenwich High School.

Making a Difference, One Person at a Time Q and A. These aspiring young actors had achieved the dream of a film role, and we gave them and their families the only chance they would get to see their work on the

which prov ides a suppor tive environment for LGBTQ teens.

The spaces in which they prev iously met were closed, putting their future in jeopardy.

By Stuart Adelberg I am sad to report that this has been another slow week at the Avon. This morning, I asked myself, once again, if it makes sense to be open. But then I am reminded that a mission driven, non-profit organization does not measure itself by numbers, but rather the meaningful difference it makes. With that as a goal, the Avon Theatre Film Center remains open!

After a long, costly closure, the Avon reopened a few months ago with rigorous safety protocols and seating capacity reduced to under 40%. We knew it would take time for many patrons to return and we knew there would be limited new film offerings, but we were excited to welcome our staff and even a small audience back into our historic theatre. Since reopening, we have hosted “crowds” from five to fifty, a major reduction from our pre-pandemic capacity of over 240 in each of two theatres. Social distancing at the Avon is clearly not a problem! Despite these numbers, there are stories that give me a sense that our decision to stay open is the right one.

Shortly after reopening, we agreed to show a new independent film. At the time, we were the only option in the tri-state area, so even though this was a lesser-known project, we showed it. Not only was it an excellent film, but our theatre welcomed several of the stars who eagerly engaged with our audience for an impromptu

This pandemic has once again cemented this beautiful, historic theatre’s role and mission as a welcoming place and a source of inspiration. The Avon is certainly challenged, but we’re not going anywhere! big screen.

A couple of months ago, I was approached by Kids in Crisis.

This amazing agency has a program called The Lighthouse,

They are now meeting at the Avon, at a time each week when we are not showing films. Our family has grown, and I could not be prouder.

A few weeks ago, I was asked

if we could help a gentleman propose to a young lady he hoped would become his wife. He invited a small group of friends who sat masked throughout the theatre, as he arrived with his intended.

The young man had created a wonderful video that played on our screen, which ended with him on his knees proposing marriage!

Yes, it ended as he hoped!

Just last week, the Avon hosted a small private event for a group of toddlers and their parents.

The children sat, with masks, in the theatre to watch a 28-minute f i l m . T hey we r e c omple te ly mesmerized and enchanted, as they experienced of what was undoubtedly their first time in a movie house.

In early December, we hosted our annual free holiday film (Elf), and this coming weekend, we are offering the Bolshoi’s version of The Nutcracker. We are doing all we can to ensure that the holidays, despite the pandemic, can be safely enjoyed. And, of course, we still offer new art house films every single week, to a small but loyal group of people who thank us profusely for being there.

This pandemic has once again cemented this beautiful, historic theatre’s role and mission as a welcoming place and a source of inspiration. The Avon is certainly challenged, but we’re not going anywhere! Wishing you all the joys of the season – from a Miracle on Bedford Street!

Old Greenwich resident, Stuart Adelberg, is the Executive Director of the Avon Theatre Film Center, a non-profit, community supported independent cinema in downtown Stamford. He has a long history of involvement and leadership within the region's non-prof it human services and arts communities.

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O R T H O D O N T I C S

Obituaries

Page 10 | Greenwich Sentinel

Hugh Lafferty

"bunker" writing, or in the garage who knew him. There will be a celebration of his life when it is safe "tinkering".

We love you more than you'll to gather. ever know, and we will continue to treasure each sunrise.

Michael Mooney In lieu of f lowers, donations may be made in Hugh's memory to Several Sources Shelters. s e v e r a l s o u r c e s . o r g /g e tinvolved/donate

Salvatore Curcio Hugh R. Lafferty, a former resident of Cos Cob, CT for 40 years, passed away peacefully on Dec. 19, 2020 at the age of 90.

He was born and raised in Olean, NY, and was the youngest son of the late Hugh and Anna Lafferty, and brother to the late John Lafferty and Robert Lafferty.

Hugh is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barbara Lafferty; his son, Hugh and his daughters, Kathleen, Rosemary and Susan. Hugh and Barbara's son John passed away in April 2020.

He is also survived by eight g r a n d c h i l d r e n a n d a g r e atgranddaughter, and two greatgrandsons are on the way.

In 1947, he graduated from Olean High School at the age of 16, and went on to earn his Bachelor's degree in math and physics from Saint Bonaventure University, where he also completed the US Army ROTC program.

During the Korean War, Hugh was 1st Lieutenant, Field Artillery Commander, Forward Observer in the US Army – 92nd Armored Field Artillery Battalion - "Red Devils". He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Hea r t. A f ter retu r n ing f rom Korea, he went on to Penn State University to earn a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering.

In 1956, Hugh married Barbara Eberl of Bolivar, NY, and began his career as an Application Engineer at Cla rk Brothers-Dresser Industries in Olean, NY. Hugh had worked at Clark Brothers during the summer while in highschool and college and sang bass in the company's Barbershop Quartet, The Clark Angles. He continued singing with the Clark Angles and The Irish Four while in Olean.

I n 1957, Hug h de cide d to continue his career with DresserClark in sales in Los Angeles, CA. Hugh's career led him and his family to live in Tokyo, Japan and Illinois. He ultimately landed in New York City where he was regional sales manager for the northeast and the midwest. He retired after a 30-year career with Dresser-Clark.

Hugh loved music, especially Barbershop. His favorite quartets were the Buffalo Bills and The Suntones. He directed many church choirs and just loved to sing. He loved to be outdoors, working in the yard, or in his

Salvatore "Sam" Curcio passed aw ay s u d d e n l y o n Mo n d ay, Dec. 14, 2020. Sam was born in Greenwich, CT on Dec. 31, 1954 to the late Salvatore and Edith Curcio, Sam was predeceased by his sister Gayle Curcio Faugno.

He is survived by his loving wife, Nancy, his son David Curcio, and his stepchildren, Jason Hall (Maureen), Kristin Bien (Jason), D a n H a l l ( M e g a n), a n d h i s grandchildren, whom he adored, Keller, Chloe, Audrey and Lily Hall.

He is also survived by his niece Kelly Ceci and great-nephew Gabriel Ceci.

Sa m was a ver y ta lented mechanic and he owned 3 gas stations in the Greenwich area.

Sam was friendly and outgoing with an infectious laugh and sense of humor and became longtime friends with many of his customers. Sam began a career in sales and worked at Riverbank Volkswagen, where he continued to build lasting relationships with his co-workers and anyone he met along the way. Sam had a passion for Harley Davidson motorcycles and muscle cars, his favorite, was the 1966 Chevelle.

Sam met his wife, Nancy, many years ago when he worked as a mechanic for her father, Walter Crowle, at Toyota of Greenwich.

Sam and Nancy reconnected, fell in love and spent 13 wonderful years together. Sam and Nancy loved traveling to their favorite spots: St. Martin, Aruba and the occasional Crowle family Cape Cod vacation.

In 2013 Sam and Nancy moved to Monroe, CT where they shared a beautiful home together. Later in life, Sam was proud to work at All-Star transportation in Monroe where he was able to support students with special needs. In his spare time, he loved working in the yard and in his garage repairing cars, and relaxing with Nancy and their adopted rescue dog, Harley.

Sam will be missed by all

two brothers William Lawlor (LeeAnne Vidala) of Cos Cob, CT and Thomas Lawlor (Eileen Finn ) of Stamford, CT, two sons Liam and Aiden and former wife Sara all of Greenville, three nieces along with their spouses and children and one nephew.

He was predeceased by his parents and sister Elizabeth.

Services and burial will be private.

Spi n ner a nd Cha rles Pa rker (Dencie) Allen; his sister Winnie (Leo) Denis and brother John (Lora) Allen; his grandchildren Caleb and Merritt Spinner, and many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins. His family and friends meant everything to him.

A celebration of his life will be scheduled whenever family and friends can safely gather.

Memorials may be sent to The Friends of Nathaniel Witherell.

Richard Allen

Michael Pierce Mooney, 60, died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest at his home in Williston, FL on Dec. 15.

Mike was born in Reading, PA on March 10, 1960 to parents Mary (Heavey) and Robert P. Mooney. He grew up in Riverside, CT and graduated from Greenwich High School, class of '78. He is a graduate of Bucknell University a nd e a r ne d a n M . B . A . f r om Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Mike held marketing positions at Colgate-Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, and Larson-Juhl. He was licensed in Florida as a Real Estate Broker.

Tall of stature and big of heart, Mike could build or fix almost anything. Mike was an incredible leader, quick-witted and humorous, but most of all he was kind and generous. He will be dearly missed by family and friends.

He is survived by his wife, J i l l (S t e w a r t) M o o n e y ; h i s mother, Mary Mooney Webster of Stamford, CT; sisters Beth Longcope of Falmouth ME; and Kate Harris of Jamaica, VT. He was beloved by eight nieces and nephews. Many horses, dogs, cats, and other creatures benefitted from his care.

A celebration of Mike's life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692, or heart. org

Patrick Lawlor P a t r i c k T h o m a s L aw l o r, resident of Greenville, SC passed away on Nov. 25, 2020. Born Dec. 31, 1969 in Greenwich, CT to William E. and Grace (Keough) Lawlor of Cos Cob, CT. A graduate of Greenwich High School in 1987, Patrick served as an altar boy at St. Agnes Church on Stanwich Road and will be remembered for his athletic skills especially hockey and his witty sense of humor.

Sur v ivors include sisters Marjorie (Ronald) Tymula of New Milford, CT Grace (John) Woytowicz of Greenwich, Ct and

Thomas Conelias

On Nov. 28, 2020, Richard Harrison Allen passed away after bringing joy to those around him for 84 years. Known to many as "Torch" for his fiery red hair and quick-witted humor, he held affinities for ruthless victories of the game Sorry!, Dixieland Jazz, piano duets, back scratches, and pranking anyone who could be fooled.

Torch was born in Chicago, IL on June 7, 1936, to Charles and Edna (Mower) Allen and grew up in Lloyd Harbor, NY. He graduated from Denison University and e njoye d t he br ot he rho o d of Lambda Chi Alpha. Following college, he joined the Army and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where he worked in intelligence.

A passion for flight born from his father's career as a captain for American Airlines, called him to earn his private pilot's license.

Before marrying the love of his life, he exercised bachelorhood by jokingly dropping his laundry from planes onto his parent's lawn in New Hampshire!

His successful career with A mer ic a n A i rl i ne s i nclude d management of LGA /JFK Passenger Service, developing their South Pacific Operations, and overseeing Flight and Freight Services in the Northeast. He left American to become a regional Vice President of Continental Airlines. In retirement, he loved the camaraderie of the Senior Men's Club, the nurturing community of the Congregational Church of New Canaan, and playing poker with longtime friends.

He lived an inspiring life following a stroke in 1996 that impacted his speech. Despite t h i s , h e c o nt i nu e d to fo r g e sincere connections that made one feel seen and special. The words he used most are those t h a t s e r ve n ow a s l e s s o n s : love, beautiful day, thank you, and WOW! He contributed to a v i bra nt com mu n it y at t he Nathaniel Witherell Nursing Home in Greenwich, CT where he maintained a front row presence at music programs since joining in 2012.

He will ultimately be remembered for his ability to share joy, connect through laughter, and make all feel loved in his presence.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Linda (Merritt), and their two children; Elizabeth (Matthew)

He and Eileen enjoyed their retirement in Boca Raton, FL then returned to Greenwich in 2016 to be closer to their family.

Tom w ill be remembered as a kind and genuine man who focused on life's most important things - friends, family, hard work, honesty and integrity. He touched so many people over the course of his life.

Tom received Military Funeral Honors at the private services held at St. Mary's Cemetery on Dec. 15, arranged by Castiglione Funeral Home, Greenwich, CT. A future memorial service will be planned when we all can gather safely.

Please consider donating in his memory to The Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, 4 Horseneck Lane, Greenwich, CT 06830.

Charles Pennella, Jr. Thomas William Conelias " Tom", age 89, passe d away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Eileen Conelias (Ring) of Greenwich, CT. He leaves behind his family, of whom he was most proud daughters Kathryn Wile (Michael), Carolyn Conelias (Larry Nania), 5 grandchildren; Kelly Milazzo ( R o b e r t), K i m b e rl y Fau g n o (Patrick), Erica Strazza (Joseph Pilloni), Megan Wile and Thomas Wile (Erin) and 4 beautiful greatgrandsons - who will miss their dear "Poppi" so much - Ryan, Grayson, Peyton and Thomas.

He was predeceased by his parents, Catherine "Kitty" and Jack Conelias and his brother, Philip Conelias. He is survived by his sister-in-law Helen Conelias, along with their children, Tom Conelias, John Conelias, Phyllis Monick and their families. Also he was predeceased by sister-in-law, Maureen Goley and husband Jim and brother-in-law Timothy Ring.

He is survived by sister-in-law, Joan Ring and many nieces and nephews.

Tom w a s b or n i n Cr ow n Heights, Brooklyn and moved to Greenwich when he was a young child. He was raised and resided in Greenwich for most of his life where he graduated from Greenwich High School. He served his country, drafted into the Army in 1954, and was stationed in Germany. He was self-employed, ow n i n g a r e f u s e c o l l e c t i o n business in Greenwich for over 40 years. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus for many years as well as a member of the Bocci Club of Greenwich, an independent social club, where he developed cherished, lifelong friendships. Golf was his sport and passion - he enjoyed playing until a few years ago. He was most proud of his hole-in-one at age 80!

Charles William Pennella Jr. passed away peacefully on Dec. 6, 2020 surrounded by his loving family in Bradenton, FL. Charlie was born in Greenwich, CT on July 3, 1940 He was a graduate of Greenwich High School, where he excelled in sports and met his wife Julie Ann Arnold. The couple was married on June 10, 1961.

Charlie attended the University of Maryland under a basketball scholarship, then proceeded to play basketball and graduate f rom The Universit y of Hartford with a BS in Business Administration in 1963. Charlie joined The Air National Guard and was state side for a few years. The couple had three daughters, Amy Pennella, Joy Doherty (Paul) and Margaret "Meg"Curulla (Jim) and a son, whom did not survive after birth. Charlie started his career at FW Woolworths Company in Manhattan, after many years with them, he bought Center Hardware & Houseware in Cos Cob. Charlie loved the hardware store, working alongside family, and many loved employees. Charlie and wife moved to Sarasota in their later years where Charlie continued to work in retail, and selling insurance.

He is survived by his beloved wife, 3 daughters, and 5 grandchildren. Loved by all, he will be greatly missed.

A graveside family service will be held this summer at the family plot in Greenwich, CT at Christ Church.

Mathes Brings Us His 26th Holiday Concert Virtually

By Anne W. Semmes If its Christmastime, its Rob Mathes Holiday Concert time, no matter what the present challenges are. So, instead of that usual packed venue at Suny Purchase, Mathes convened a select number of his musicians and guest artists - socially distanced - for a one-hour concert, sans audience, in Old Greenwich’s First Congregational Church – hosted by the Church’s Reverend Patrick Collins and Minister of Music Craig Scott Symons.

Though Mathes’ normally 15-member ensemble was reduced to five due to the pandemic, he says, “Some really good music was made.” Fortunately filmed by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Bob Conover (and wife Susan), the virtual concert is now viewable, as of December 23, through January 1, on Mathes’ YouTube channel @RobMathesMusic.

The concert is being offered for free, but Mathes is encouraging fans to donate to a favorite charity, “Through the Eyes of Children”, a beneficiary of his concerts since 2003. Mathes cites angels Deborah and Chuck Royce and Jane and Mike Peak “for matching each other's donations to pay for the filming. We kept the budget very low but to film and get musicians together and editors and be able to do it at all, even in a humble way, is a significant effort.”

“We played the ‘hits’ so to speak,” says Mathes, “the ones people always ask for: ‘William The Angel,’ ‘Wake Up, It's Christmas Morning,’ ‘When The Baby Grew Up,’ and ‘Deck The Halls’ with Andy Snitzer on sax.” That other hit, “Go Tell It On The Mountain” he says is “sung by our geniuses James ‘D-Train’ Williams and Vaneese Thomas.”

One song written by Mathes he finds a challenge to sing. “The song is called ‘Everywhere’ I wrote

around Christmastime of 2008 for Max Scotti, a f irst grader in my wife's 2008-2009 Class at Greenwich Country Day School. He was diagnosed with brain cancer and died later in the school year, an absolutely beautiful and sweet kid. He just had something about him and I wanted to document an unplugged version of that in this year's little filmed concert.”

Mathes explains the absence of his Christmas 2019 Holiday Concert. “In 2018, we celebrated our 25th anniversary concert with three sold out shows in the Connecticut and New York City area featuring an illustrious group of New York all-stars in the band, with Sting, David Sanborn and Vanessa Williams as special guests.”

That concert was such a landmark, he decided to “take a gap year” in 2019, he says, “to help Sting prepare for another UK version of his musical,

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‘The Last Ship.’” That collaboration began 10 years ago with the musical coming to Broadway in 2014.

Hopefully, the new UK version says Mathes “will make it to the London stage. I am so deeply proud of that score. Some of his [Sting’s] greatest work both lyrically and musically is contained in that musical.”

There isn’t space to list all else Mathes has been up to in that gap year till now. But a highlight was musically directing the first live show streamed at the Kennedy Center after the pandemic, with Renee Fleming and Vanessa Williams. Mathes also often gives time for non-profits. He produced and arranged f ive songs for the David Lynch Foundation’s Meditate America benefit featuring Graham Nash, Sting, Jim James, Kesha, Angelique Kidjo, Larkin Poe and Elvis Costello. That video is also on you tube via the Meditate America-David Lynch Foundation link. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=PgF-aNukHUI. Mathes has also some creative ideas of how to personally cope in this pandemic. “I have spent the pandemic reading and watching the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall and some of the London Symphony broadcasts with Simon Rattle. I read ‘Moby Dick’ for the third time and highlighted a great edition of it for my bookish firstborn Emma.”

He also read two translations of “War and Peace,” and is now deep into Charles Dicken’s “Bleak House.” “Dickens, Dickens, Dickens!!! What an astonishing book.” And lastly, he adds, “walking the neighborhood getting to know my wife of 30 years (August 4th, 1990) a little better!!”

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A Shepherd Finds The Light

By Rev. Terry Elsberry Every year for a long time, at Christmas I’ve done the same thing.

I’ve tried to imagine what it might have been like to actually be there, be in Bethlehem, see the baby Jesus born of Mary and laid in a manger.

Every year, the Lord has helped me.

Every year He’s given me an idea of what it might have been like to be one of the characters at the creche.

Some were there for sure, we know that from the Bible. Others MIGHT have been there. So come with me now. In your imagination, leave 2020 far behind and journey with me to a land far away and a long time ago and to the holiest night of all as a shepherd.

When you’re a shepherd, your sheep are everything to you. And since they’re prone to wandering away from the flock and getting themselves in predicaments, you learn to keep a constant eye out.

On the night I’m here to tell you about, I suddenly looked around and discovered to my horror that one of the lambs was missing.

His mother, one of my favorite ewes, caug ht my attention by h e r p a i n e d b l e at i n g a nd desperate pacing.

I told one of my fellows where I was going. I left them and the rest of the sheep in their good hands. I headed off, as fast as I could, to find the little guy. If I’d be able to find him.

One of the boys had seen a lion by the creek the day before.

Was our f lock being stalked? It was cloudy. Night fell early.

My destination was a steep ravine leading down to a canyon on the side of the hill opposite Bethlehem.

It didn’t take long.

My instincts proved right.

Before I saw the little guy, I heard his desperate bleating for help.

There he was, not much more than a white fluff of wool, trapped where two boulders come together.

The anguished look in his eye stabbed my heart. I extricated the tiny tortured leg, took the little guy in my arms, rubbed a bit of ointment into his wound, gave him food and water from the provisions I’d thought to bring.

I was ready to head back to camp when I realized we wouldn’t be able to make it. Not before morning. The clouds obscured any light from moon or stars.

“It’s overnight here for us,” I told him. He nestled into my arms. I found a soft bit of earth under a spreading tree. Wrapped in my warm winter robe, we both slept.

It was the light that woke me. I’ve been to Jerusalem, seen S olomon’s Temple, se en t he palace of K ing Herod, but no earthly wonder could touch what we saw next.

I raced back to camp. There I found the other shepherds, crouched around the fire, unable to move, glued to the rocks like stones themselves.

W h a t h a d b r o u g ht t h e m to their knees was a heavenly panoply beyond imagining. It was as if the stars were landing on the earth around us. It was as if the Milky Way had descended up on us a nd a rou nd us. We were bathed in light, outlined in light—glimmering, sparkling, shimmering, radiant light.

T i ny f l a she s a nd sp a rk s of light danced and leapt and seemed to collide overhead and all around us and for a minute I was blinded, while at the same time pierced with a joy so intense, I realized I was laughing though my face was wet with tears.

T h e s p a rk l i n g , c o l l i d i n g f lashes stopped, t houg h t he light stayed—bright as noonday, brighter than any noonday I’d ever seen, even in summer here in sun-washed Judea.

Then we heard it. A sound like nothing you can explain, overhead, a whirring noise as if giant fans or enormous eagles were stirring the air.

The whirring sound came closer in a new bolt of light, like a giant tongue of fire, and out of the flames stepped a man but not a man; blazing white, with pale, clear eyes and a swirl of goldcolored hair and a voice that more sang than spoke.

He was too glorious for mere mortals to look upon. No one had to tell us. We knew what he was.

But his voice was piercingly sweet and, if you can imagine, in a scene such as that, actually

comforting. I’m amazed that with all that was happening we could take in what he said at all, but his words seared my heart: “Fear not. For behold I bring you good tidings of great joy. For there is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Savior—who is Christ the Lord. Go. Go, and this will be a sign to you; you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

There was more. Came now out of the heavens, voices praising, shouting with joyous a ba ndon, yet sou nd ing w ith great sweetness, and the sound of instruments—harps, lyres, t r u mp e t s — a n d t h e vo i c e s — singing: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace!”

The light lif ted. Again, a t hou s a nd wh i r r i n g w i n g s sounded overhead. The music echoed down across the valley toward the sea and was lost.

We stood blinking at each other—too dazed to speak. Then one of us gave the call to run.

The light had formed into a single, enormous, streaking star and was moving majestically, like a long-tailed comet, toward the town.

We ran as though possessed.

We WERE possessed—by joy, by emotion so intense I thought at one point I’d explode from the glorious burden of it.

We r a n . A n d t h e s h e e p scattered, forgotten by us, chased and nipped back into place by our faithful dogs.

I couldn’t feel my feet on the street, only hear the clattering of our sandals on the cobbles. “ How c a n t h e y s l e e p? ” I remember wondering looking at the shuttered houses. “How can the world still sleep as if this weren’t the most wonderful night in the history of the world?”

Then the great star stopped, and so did we.

It was a cave out back, where they kept the animals.

And we saw Him there, just as the angel had said, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid i n a m a n g e r f u l l o f s w e e tsmelling straw.

After the sound of the mighty chorus, the sudden hush was so sweet, so gentle, I was filled with a different kind of awe.

I remember thinking: “So this is the one come to save us. Only a baby.”

His mother was lovely, little more t ha n a ch i ld hersel f. I remember a wash of pale blue around her shoulders and face.

The father, rough, grizzled, a workman, he might have been one of us, so simple and genuine he looked.

But we on ly had eyes for the baby.

I remember thinking, asking myself as I have every day of my life since: why was I chosen to be there? I was no one special. The reverse. There was a time when being a shepherd was considered a high calling. The great King, David, tended the sheep. Now I

Page 11 | Greenwich Sentinel

felt like little more than a hired hand, love my sheep though I did.

But t he L or d d id n’t c a r e who we were. He had chosen us shepherds to see the light, to hear the angel, the music, to find the Babe, and to see his mother, with that strange, shining look in her eyes, and to feel the hush of the stable.

And today it’s the light I still remember. I’ve gone through d a rk t i m e s s i n c e . You h e r e today know something about dark times.

Yet the birth of that baby, God’s coming to earth, was really about two things: love and light. God came into the world to show us how much He loves us.

Every time we see light, we have the reminder. Love revealing itself in light. Light to help us remember that no matter how hard the times we may be going through, the hard times never last forever. But God’s love does.

His love forever with us, holding us close as I held the tiny lamb against my heart that night until the light came to show us the way.

I c a n s t i l l clo s e my eyes, all these years later, and see the light. The true light, the light coming into the world—the genuine, perfect, steadfast, never changing light, the light pointing to, shining around, beaming forth from the baby, proof that love is the greatest light there is. Look for the light.

The Rev. Terry Elsberry is with Christ Church Greenwich

The Work of Christmas

By Rev. Ted Pardoe As Christians continued the journey through the season of Advent there was the opportunity to reflect on the centrality of time in Christianity. Our present time is used to place us in contact with God’s acts in time past and future. We have experienced a particularly unsettling time here in 2020 as the COVID 19 pandemic has clutched the entire world in its grasp. Yet even with this significant issue impacting our lives, we may find hope and encouragement with a look at the most recent past and then cast our eyes just ahead to the nearterm future that is unfolding before us. If we allow ourselves to exhale and think about how people have responded to changes created by COVID 19 and matters at large in our town and across the country there is hope for our future.

There a re t wo pa r ticu la r examples that come to mind.

Ver y quick ly af ter COV ID 19 presented itself we saw people rapidly experience urgent food needs. Greenwich has a terrific

network of organizations that are able to serve people when needs such as this arise or grow more acute. It was truly a blessing to see these organizations and numerous volunteers spring into action to help with this urgent situation. This work continues right now. It appears that it will continue into the future. May we f ind new ways to sustain this response together.

The other specific event that took place was the Black Lives Matter rally that occurred at Town Hall in June. COVID 19 was upon us yet hundreds of people safely came together to express their support to work for the elimination of racism. After the exclamation point of the rally, people have continued to seek out conversations on this movement.

Just like the people attending the rally were quite diverse, people young and old and from a variety of b ack g r ou nd s a r e sha r i ng their experiences to bring about long overdue change. Everyone appears aware that this is not a short-term effort and plans seem to be falling into place to sustain systemic change for a

better future.

A f ig u re who m ig ht need some introduction and whose w isdom and actions to react against racism and seek true brother and sisterhood is Howard Thurman. Thurman was a Black mystic, educator, and minister who d ie d i n 19 81 . He w a s a colleague of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders of the civ il and social rig hts movement in the 20th century.

This unheralded person lived in a present in which he was very much in contact with God’s acts in time past and he had a real vision of the future. He helped lead an interracial church in San Francisco in the late 1940’s. What foresight.

As we move through this present Advent time may we find insights from God’s entering into our human histor y in the past. Then let us realize ou r ex pectations as we gain conf idence to move together into a future that invites our full participation. Howard Thurman was also a most insightful writer and author. In addition to great books about mystical spirituality

Devon Dalio Dies in Shopping Center Crash

By Richard Kaufman As of press time, the investigation into the motor vehicle crash and fire from Dec. 17 that killed 42-year-old Devon Dalio, son of Greenwich's Ray Dalio, remained ongoing. " The investigation of t he collision at the Thruway Shopping Center is still underway.

Numerous witnesses have been identified and the investigators are still in the process of completing some interviews," said Capt. Mark Zuccerella in a n update released Tuesday afternoon. "Evidence from the crash continues to be collected and analyzed with some results still pending. This investigation has many components and the Greenwich Police Department wants to ensure all avenues a r e a p p r o p r i at e l y a s s e s s e d and its f indings are properly documented."

The GPD remains in contact with the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, as official results are still pending.

The GPD is also working with the Greenwich Fire Marshal's office regarding the fire cause and origin.

"The Greenw ich Police Department continues to express its deepest condolences to the Dalio family," Zuccerella added.

Devon Dalio was killed on the afternoon of Dec. 17 when his 2016 Audi drove over the parking strip,

mounted the curb, and crashed into the Verizon storefront located within the Thruway Shopping Center at 1253 E. Putnam Ave. After entering the building, a fire was ignited.

When of f icials arrived on scene just before 4 p.m., the inside of the building was completely engulfed in smoke. Employees inside the store were able to escape unharmed, but deteriorating and dangerous conditions prevented first responders from approaching the interior.

The fire was eventually put out, and the scene was handed over to the Greenwich Police Department and the Connecticut State Police.

Devon Dalio is survived by his wife and daughter, his parents and three siblings. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Lafayette College, and was the co-founder of the Greenwich private equity firm, P-Squared Management Enterprises. He was also a board member of Dalio Philanthropies, and his philanthropic interests included health and wellness, disaster relief, veteran support, and animal welfare, according to his family.

Devon Dalio was co-CEO of the Dalio Family Office for eight years, and worked at Bridgewater Associates earlier in his career.

His father, Ray Dalio, issued a statement on his son's passing.

“It is with great pain that I a m sh a r i n g w it h you t h at

my 42 year old son was killed in a car crash yesterday. My family and I are mourning and processing and would prefer to be incommunicado for the time being,” Dalio said on twitter. “We know that the terrible pain we are feeling has been and continues to be felt by so many others so our sympathies go out to them. May God be with you and may you cherish your blessings, especially at this time of year.”

G ov. Ne d L a mont , a ls o a Greenwich resident, released a statement last week offering his condolences to the family.

“Annie and I are devastated to hear the news of the sudden and tragic passing of Ray and Barbara Dalio’s son, Devon. As pa rents, we ca n not i mag i ne the grief and sadness of this loss. Our prayers are with Ray and Barbara, who have been c h a mp i o n s fo r C o n n e c t i c u t children,” Lamont said.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year in March, Barbara and Ray Dalio and Dalio Philanthropies announced a $4 million donation in support of medical care and food for childcare services and food and nutrition for Connecticut residents in need.

First Selectman Fred Camillo said, “The Town of Greenwich sends its heartfelt thoughts and prayers out to the Dalio family at this time. May God love Devon, and may He bless his family.”

he penned poetry too. It is not taking anything away from our celebration of Christmas if we consider the following poem that Thurman gave us; The Work of Christmas When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart.

Let us open our hearts and minds and very souls to this call.

It beckons us to work together for a future that includes and honors the dignity of each and every human being in our town, across our great country and around this troubled world. May we seek out and listen attentively for the voices of current prophets and wise men and women. Then let

us be in real conversations about how we will move together into a future that will serve all people.

As looks to be the case, our terrific town of Greenwich brims with possibilities about learning from the past and moving though our present circumstances into a future that will bring blessings that we cannot foresee. Let’s get set for the work of Christmas.

The Rev. Ted Pardoe is the rector at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.

Worship Services Information ASSEMBLIES OF GOD Harvest Time Church 1338 King St., 203-531-7778 www.htchurch.com In-Person Worship Services: Sun, 8:30, 10 & 11:30am (meeting on a limited basis in accordance with CDC guidelines and Connecticut’s executive orders). All services are streamed on the church’s website and social media outlets. Christmas Eve Service: Dec. 24, 4 & 5:30pm (tickets on Eventbrite).

BAPTIST First Baptist Church 10 Northfield St.; 203-869-7988 www.firstbaptistgreenwich.com Sunday Servings: 11:30am, Facebook Live or for Devotion: 11-11:25am (Dial in 701-8025355, Access code 360922).

Greenwich Baptist Church 10 Indian Rock Ln; 203-869-2807 www.greenwichbaptist.org In-person Worship and live stream (Facebook & YouTube): Sun, 11am. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service: In-person and live stream (FB & YT), 5pm.

CATHOLIC Sacred Heart Church 95 Henry St.; 203-531-8730 www.sacredheartgreenwich.org In-person Mass: Mon-Fri: 7am (in Chapel); Sat: Vigil, 4pm (also live streamed); Sun: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am (in Sanctuary). (Only by registration - call or text: 203-559-9256 or email: sacredheartgrn@optonline.net).

Sacrament of Reconciliation (Church) by appt.; Sacrament of Baptism: Sun, 12:30pm (call the parish office in advance). The 2021 Mass Book is open for Mass, Altar Flowers and Altar Bread & Wine requests. Christmas Masses: Christmas Eve: Dec. 24: 2:30, 4 & 5:30pm. Christmas Day: Dec. 25: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am. New Year’s Masses: Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God: New Year’s Eve: Dec. 31: 5:30pm.

New Year’s Day: Jan. 1: 9:30 & 11:30am.

St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes St. Agnes: 247 Stanwich Rd; St. Catherine: 4 Riverside Ave; 203637-3661 www.stc-sta.org Masses: Mon-Fri: Daily Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 7am; Distribution of Holy Communion at front door of Rectory; Mask and Social Distance required: 5:15-5:45pm. Sat: Confessions at St. Agnes Church (specific dates in the bulletin), 3-4pm; Vigil Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 5pm. Sun: Distribution of Holy Communion at front door of Rectory; Mask and Social Distance required, 7:30-8am; Mass at St. Agnes Church – in-person, 8:30am; Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 10:30am; Language Masses at St. Agnes Church – in-person, 11am (French: 2nd Sun of the month; Spanish: 4th Sun of the month); Distribution of Holy Communion at front door of Rectory; Mask and Social Distance required, 5-5:30pm. Christmas Eve: Dec. 24: Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 2pm; Mass at St. Agnes Church – in-person, 4pm; Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 6pm; Distribution of Holy Communion and Christmas Blessing for those who are unable to attend Mass because of vulnerability or Church occupancy restrictions; in front of St. Catherine’s Chapel, remaining in your car, 7:30-9:30; Christmas Eve Mass at St. Catherine’s Church – in-person and livestream, 11:30. Christmas Day: Dec. 25: Mass at St. Agnes – in-person, 8:30am; Distribution of Holy Communion and Christmas Blessing for those who are unable to attend Mass (in front of St. Catherine’s Chapel, remaining in your car), 9-10; Mass at St. Catherine’s – in-person and livestream, 10:30am.

St. Mary Church 178 Greenwich Ave.; 203-869-9393 www.stmarygreenwich.org Public Mass: Mon-Fri, 12:05pm (no reservations are needed - limited to 50 people).

Sat: Vigil, 4pm; Spanish (call 203-912-0246 for reservations), 7:30pm. Sun: 9, 10:30am & 12:15pm, (must make reservation in advance by calling the Parish Office, Thu or Fri, 9am-3pm and speak to the receptionist). Confessions: Sat, 2:45-3:45pm, on the patio. Virtual Mass: Sun, 12:15pm, with Fr. La Pastina on Facebook. Visit EWTN.com for daily Mass at 8am with encore at 12pm.

Sunday Family Rosary: Sun, 7:30pm (No registration is necessary), live-streamed on YouTube (also listen by phone). Christmas Masses: Christmas Eve Vigil: Dec. 24: Upper & Lower Church, 2, 4 & 6pm; Spanish in Upper Church, 7:30pm; Upper Church, 10pm. Christmas Day: Upper Church: 9 & 10:20am & 12pm (reservations are re-

quired).

St. Michael the Archangel 469 North St.; 203-869-5421 www.stmichaelgreenwich.com Sunday Mass: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am (All masses are Live Streamed on Zoom. Log onto the website at stmichaelgreenwich. com to access the Zoom Link or the LIVE Stream Masses and the Mass Reservation System). Sacrament of Reconciliation: Dec. 24, 11am-12:30pm. Christmas Eve Mass: St. Michael the Archangel Outdoor Mass, 2 & 3:30pm, in the parking lot.

Christmas Day: St. Michael the Archangel Outdoor Mass, 7:30am, 9, 10:30 & 12pm, in the parking lot. Dec. 27: St. Michael the Archangel Outdoor Mass, 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am, in the parking lot. Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, New Year’s Day: Jan. 1: St. Michael the Archangel Outdoor Mass, 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am, in the parking lot.

St. Timothy Chapel 1034 North St.; 203-869-5421 Daily Mass: Mon-Sat: 7:30 & 9:30am. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Wed, 10am-4pm; Live-streamed, 10-11am. Confessions: Wed, 10-11am & 3-4pm.

St. Paul Church 84 Sherwood Ave.; 203-531-8741 www.stpaulgreenwich.org Public Mass Celebration: Mon-Thu: 9am; Sat: 4pm (Vigil); Sun: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am (Reservation is required only for Sunday Mass by visiting the homepage or by calling 203-531-8741, ext. 4). Holy Days: Vigil: 5:30pm, 9am & 12:15pm. Online daily Mass at EWTN.com, 8am with encore at 12pm.

Daily Mass also available on Bishop Robert Barron’s website at wordonfire.org/ daily-mass. Confessions by appointment only – call 203-531-8741, ext. 2. Christmas Masses: Christmas Eve: 4, 6 & 10pm.

Christmas Day: 7:30, 9:30 & 11:30am (reservations are required, online at stpaulgreenwich.org or by calling 203-5318741 ext. 4 or direct dial 203-542-0551).

St. Roch Church 10 St. Roch Ave.; 203-869-4176 www.strochchurch.com Mass: (Reservations and/or for viewing via live streaming): Mon-Fri: 7:30pm; Sat: 5pm; Sun: 7:30am (Concelebrated for Previously Scheduled 9:30am Mass Intentions), 10:30am, 12pm (Spanish). Mass Intentions: consult the bulletin for time.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE First Church of Christ, Scientist 11 Park Place; 203-869-2503 www.christiansciencect.org/ greenwich Sunday and Wednesday services via live tele-conference: 203-680-9095, code is 520520*.

COMMUNITY First Church of Round Hill 464 Round Hill Rd.; 203-629-3876 www.firstchurchofroundhill.com (If you need to reach Rev. Leo W. Curry, pastor, or any other personnel, call 203-629-3876 and leave a message or email fcroundhill@outlook.com).

Round Hill Community Church 395 Round Hill Rd.; 203-869-1091 www.roundhillcommunitychurch.org Worship, Children’s Ministries and Youth Fellowship: Sun. 10-10:30am, in the Church, registration is required. Weekly service also available online. Thrive: biweekly high school gathering, Wed, 6pm. Foundations: biweekly middle school gathering, Fri, 6pm. November Bible Study: Stories of Advent, Mondays at 11 am, registration required. Christmas Eve Drive-In Service: 5pm (pre-register as the number of cars permitted is limited to 22. Registration – available online or by phone - will close on Dec. 23).

CONGREGATIONAL The First Congregational Church 108 Sound Beach Ave; 203-637-1791 www.fccog.org Worship: Outdoor Service: Sun 8-9am, Memory Garden (sign-up online or call the church office); Virtual Worship: through live-streaming on YouTube and Facebook, and broadcast on WGCH (1490 AM or 105.5 FM). Connect during the week: Wednesday: Wisdom on Wednesdays (sent by Rev. Patrick Collins); Thursday: Faith Formation at Home for All and Faith Formation for Children (sent by Rosemary Lamie).

Christmas Eve Services: Family Service Live Stream, 3pm; Traditional Service Live Stream, 6pm; Rebroadcasting of 2019 Lessons and Carols, 9pm (all links to services can be found on fccog.org or by searching for First Congregational Church of Greenwich on YouTube or Facebook). All Day: “Nativity Walk” - 12 stations of seasonal symbols placed around

the campus for families to enjoy together safely outside (A map of stations can be downloaded on the website or will be available on site).

North Greenwich Congregational 606 Riversville Rd.; 203-869-7763 www.northgreenwichchurch.org Online Worship Service: Sun 10:30am, via Zoom (email Rev. Halac at Pastor@northgreenwichchurch.org or call the church).

Christmas Day: the Sanctuary is open for prayer, 12-5pm (for more information/ reservation, contact pastor@northgreenwichchurch.org) Second Congregational Church 139 E Putnam Ave.; 203-869-9311 www.2cc.org Saturday Evensong Virtual Service: 5pm. Sunday Traditional Virtual Service: 10:30am. Christmas Eve Services: Carols on Mead Lawn (bring your own mask & chair), 4pm; Festival Service (virtual only), 6:30pm.

EPISCOPAL Anglican Church of the Advent 606 Riversville Rd.; 203-861-2432 www.churchoftheadvent.org Service: Sun, 9am, Holy Eucharist. Sunday School during academic year.

Christ Church Greenwich 254 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-869-6600 www.christchurchgreenwich.org Worship: Sun: Eucharist 8am, (Chapel)* & 10am (Church)*; Ceremony of Carols, 5pm (Church)*, registration required to attend in-person; Compline, 8pm (Tune in). Weekdays: Mon-Fri, Morning Prayer on Zoom, 8am; Tue: Eucharist & Healing Prayer, 10am (Chapel)*. Thu: Choral Evensong, 6:30pm (Church)*. Christmas Eve: Dec. 24: Carols around the Christmas Tree (outdoor service), 12pm; Festival of Lessons and Carols, 5pm; Midnight Choral Eucharist, 10pm. Christmas Day: Dec. 25: Eucharist Christmas Celebration, 11am.

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church 954 Lake Ave.; 203-661-5526 www.stbarnabasgreenwich.org Sunday Worship: Spoken Eucharist, 8am, Church; Holy Eucharist with music, 10am, Church and Livestream; Family Eucharist, 10am, Parish Hall. (sign up for in-person service: signupgenius.com/go/4090e4aadac2ea3ff2-sunday1). Christmas Day Service: 10-11am. Holy Eucharist: Dec. 27, 8-9am.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church 200 Riverside Ave.; 203-637-2447 www.stpaulsriverside.org Worship Service: every Sun, 10:15am, Outside on the Meadow. Longest Night Service: 7pm, outside in the Courtyard - registration required. Ongoing: Neighbor-to-Neighbor Food Drive: Every Thu, 10-11:30am, in the parking lot. Christmas Eve Service: 2pm, outside on the Meadow - registration required.

St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church 350 Sound Beach Ave; 203-637-2262 www.saintsaviours.org In-person Outdoor Service: Sun, 11am. Online Worship Services available on Youtube.

JEWISH Chabad Lubavitch of Greenwich 75 Mason St.; 203-629-9059 www.chabadgreenwich.org Services available via Zoom. PJ Library Zoom Storytime: Mon-Thurs, 3pm & Fri, 2pm.

Congregation Shir Ami 1273 E. Putnam Ave, PO Box 312, Riverside; 203-900-7976; www. congregationshirami.org All services, programs and celebrations are available online via Zoom.

Greenwich Reform Synagogue 92 Orchard St.; 203-629-0018 www.grs.org Online programs streamed virtually on Zoom.us: Tot Shabbat with Rabbi Gerson and Cantor Dunkerley, Fri, 5pm. Shabbat services with Rabbi Gerson and Cantor Dunkerley, Fri, 7pm. Religious School: Sun, 9:30am. Hebrew School: Wed, 4:30pm.

Temple Sholom 300 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-869-7191 www.templesholom.com Services – live-streamed via Zoom and Facebook: Fri 6:30pm; Sat 10am; Sun 8:15am. Lunch ‘n Learn: Tue, 12-1pm (except

Dec. 22 & 29), via Zoom. Limited in-person Friday night Shabbat service, registration is required, lori.baden@templesholom.com.

LUTHERAN First Lutheran Church 38 Field Point Rd.; 203-869-0032 www.firstpaul.com Indoor Service: Sun, 10:30am. Bible Study: Sun, 11:45am.

St. Paul Lutheran Church 286 Delavan Ave.; 203-531-8466 www.firstpaul.com Indoor Service: Sun, 9am. Bible Study: Sun, 10:15am. Wednesday After-School program: Snacks & Crafts, 3-4pm; Bible Stories & Catechesis, 4-5pm; Community Dinner, 5:30pm (all are welcome); Bible Study on Romans (adults), 6:30pm.

METHODIST Diamond Hill United Methodist 521 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-869-2395 www.diamondhillumc.com Online Worship Service: every Sunday, 10am, followed by a time of Fellowship (Zoom details can be found on the website).

Virtual Christmas Eve Service: 7:30pm.

New Year’s Eve Service: 6pm (links will be provided on the website).

First United Methodist Church 59 E. Putnam Ave.; 203-629-9584 www.fumcgreenwich.com Virtual Sunday Worship, 9:30am, via Zoom (203 629 9584). Virtual Daily Gathering: Mon-Fri, 3pm, Zoom. Talking with Your Hands: Mon, 3pm. Reading this World as a Christian: Tue, 3pm. Back to Rock – music with Mr. Bruce: Tue, 3pm, via Zoom. Reading the Shape of Scripture: Wed, 3pm, via Zoom. Spring Bible Study: Thu, 3pm, via Zoom. Tea & Talk: Fri 3pm, via Zoom.

Bethel African Methodist Episcopal 42 Lake Ave.; 203-661-3099 Worship via teleconference: Sun, 11am and until further notice (Dial-in number: 425436-6380, Access code:​​ 612220).

NONDENOMINATIONAL Revive Church 90 Harding Rd., Old Greenwich (Old Greenwich Civic Center) www.myrevive.org Worship Service: Sun, 10am, Holiday Inn 2703 Summer St. Stamford. Online Sermons available on Facebook (facebook. com/myrevivechurchgreenwich) and on Youtube. All groups are online. Direct any prayer needs to the prayer chain at 203536-2686 or revivecfm@gmail.com.

Stanwich Church 202 Taconic Rd.; 203-661-4420 www.stanwichchurch.org Events marked by an * require registration at: stanwichchurch.org/event Sunday Service: 10am, Online. *Outdoor Christmas Eve Service: Dec. 23 & 24, 5 & 7pm, In-Person.

The Albertson Memorial Church 293 Sound Beach Ave; 203-637-4615 www.albertsonchurch.org Sunday Service held online via Zoom.

Trinity Church 1 River Rd.; 203-618-0808 www.trinitychurch.life In-Person Services: Sun, 10:45am, Hyatt Regency Greenwich, 1800 E Putnam Ave. Online Services: Sun, 9:45am, youtube.com/c/TrinityChurchLife/live. House Churches: Sun, 9:45am, Fairfield County, CT & Westchester County, NY. Alpha (online): Tue, 7:30-8:45pm. Christmas Eve Online Service: 4pm.

PRESBYTERIAN First Presbyterian Church 1 W. Putnam Ave.; 203-869-8686 www.fpcg.org Sanctuary Worship: Sun, 10am (Traditional Service); 5pm (Contemporary Service), register. Online Worship: Sun, 10-11am at fpcg.org/live. Sunday School online, 10:15-11am. The Prayer Room: Tue, 11am & Thu, 8pm. Christmas Eve Service: Family Service, 3pm; Festival Service, 6pm; Reflective Service, 10pm, all services held in the Sanctuary (reservations are required).

Grace Church of Greenwich 8 Sound Shore Dr., Suite 280 203-861-7555 www.gracechurchgreenwich.com Worship: Sun, 10am, Woman’s Club of Greenwich, 89 Maple Ave. (Outside. Please bring a mask and a chair or a blanket). All are welcome.

Living Hope Community Church 38 West End Ave; 203-637-3669 www.LivingHopeCT.org In-Person Worship: Sun, 10am, Sanctu-

Page 13 | Greenwich Sentinel

Oral History Project

Fifty Years of the Grace Notes: 1967-2017 What would the holidays and the Christmas season be like without music? Music brightens our spirits and brings us joy. Grace Notes, an all-women’s volunteer a cappella group, begun in 1967, has been providing that joy for over 50 years. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 and is the subject of an Oral History Project book based on interviews with Helen Bingaman, its f irst paid director, and former Grace Notes members Mag g ie McGirr and Donna Moffly.

The m ission of t he Grace Note s is to “sha r e t he joy of m u s i c w i t h t h e c o m m u n i t y, always striving to provide the highest caliber of performance to entertain, lift spirits, and brighten hearts with the gift of music.”

The Grace Notes sing gratis for numerous local community groups, including nursing homes, schools, rehabilitation centers, and libraries, as well as at civic events.

According to Mag g ie McGir r, “One of the strengths of Grace Notes over the years has been our f lexibility. And we adapt to wherever we find ourselves. And you just never know, you might be crammed in a corner or stuck in a room with carpeting and low ceiling. You adjust your voice, and you position yourself best you can, and you make sure there’s a lot of energy and projection.”

In addition to their community performances, Grace Notes also had the opportunity to perform at the Empire State Building, the Waldorf-Astoria, and Shea Stadium. “We sang for a game (in 1983). We were invited to sing the ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’ and then they asked us to sing for fifteen

Back row: l-r, Cowardly Lion (Betta Dippy), Tin Woodsman (Phyllis Littlefield), Gepetto (Donna Moffly). Front row, l-r: Snow White (Caroline Bonheim), Helen Bingaman, director, and Peter Pan (Emily Jones) in 1978. Photo by Gretchen Tatge, courtesy of Donna Moffly.

“When you work so hard together for that long, you are a team . . . And you form forever-friendships.” Donna Moffly minutes before that, a little concert – and it was all up on the big board and everything,” described Helen Bingaman. A memorable performance also occurred when, du r i ng the ad m i n istration of President George H. W. Bush,

the Grace Notes performed in the East Room of the White House at Christmastime. They sang for an hour, “just for people coming through to see the White House, a nd for the volu nteers,” sa id Helen Bingaman. “And it was so

exciting.”

One of their favorite yearly appearances was at the Greenwich train station at Christmastime, arriving at 6:30 a.m. and singing non-stop until 9 a.m. Donna Moffly remembers dressing as a mouse

and singing for the commuters. “ Us u a l l y, i t w a s h y p i n g t h e children’s show that was going to be in February. So, we’d have a couple of people in outf its, which drew their attention, and the acoustics are great singing in there, in the Greenwich railroad station.” Maggie McGirr added, “We’re just standing here saying, ‘I know you’re off to work and depending on what era we’ve been in, we’ve lived through a lot of economic seasons, shall we say.

I don’t know what you’re facing today, but here’s some fun for you to start off the day,’ and I love that aspect of it.”

Grace Notes greatly enjoyed donning costumes and performing for the yearly children’s shows at Greenwich Library in the seventies and eighties. According to Donna Moff ly, “We’d take a theme like the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and songs we already knew, and I would rewrite the lyrics.” Children’s participation was welcome. For example, during a performance of “Cinderella,” some little ones from the audience would be led onto the stage to help Cinderella dress for the ball. With six or seven shows performed with an audience capacity of 400 each, upwards of 2500 audience members were able to enjoy these free productions.

He le n Bi n g a m a n w a s t h e first paid director of Grace Notes and served for a total of 24 years, ending in 1999. In describing Helen , D on na Mof f ly st ate d, “Helen was a professional. She’s a musician. She taught piano and music in the schools.” Helen was well-loved and respected for her professionalism and hard work. In describing her arduous audition

process, Helen said that potential members were told not to prepare.

“We’d do warm-ups to find their range and what part I felt they would sing. Then it was a question of whether they cou ld match pitches, make the tonal jumps— some easy, some hard—and then on to sight reading.” A required attendance at a summer clinic was next, in which all the music would have to be learned. To make rehearsal time more productive, Helen took new pieces and sang each of the parts herself, taped them, and gave the tapes to the singers to take home or listen to in their cars. Approximately eight new songs were learned each month.

Once members left the Grace Notes, t hey were facet iously labeled the DisGrace Notes. As Donna Moffly reminisced, “When you work so hard together for that long, you are a team. If I had eight DisGrace Notes around this table, and I have music upstairs, we could pull off a lot of songs pretty well. I could remember the second soprano part for dozens of songs.

And you form forever-friendships.”

This blog was derived from interviews in 2017 with Helen Bingaman, Maggie McGirr and D o n n a Mo f f l y c o n du c te d by Harriet Feldman, Sally McHale and Laurie Heiss, respectively.

The Oral History Project book, “Grace Notes -50 Years” is available for purchase at the Oral History Project off ice. Mary A. Jacobson serves as OHP blog editor. The Oral History Project is sponsored by the Friends of the Greenwich Library. Visit the OHP website at glohistory.org

On My Watch

Remembering Those Great Family Christmas Traditions

By Anne W. Semmes

The table is set, the Christmas music is playing, i t ’s C h r i s t m a s E v e . B u t where’s the family? Colorado!

Massachusetts! Upstate New York! Upstate Connecticut!

What’s a girl to do?

Remem b er! Remem b er what it was l i ke when we gathered for Christmas! Wasn’t it beautiful!

We’d get into the Christmas spirit on Christmas Eve gathered around the radio to hear the beautiful Kings College Choir of Cambridge University sing the Festival of Lessons and Carols (Little did we k now our youngest would go there to college!).

We were all in the k itchen mak ing the zebra cake for Christmas dinner desser t.

We’d hold our breath as the young boy chorister would begin the service with his high notes of "Once in Royal David's city," with no accompaniment – such a task when his high voice would go out across the world. It had to be right!

You saw the decorations f irst on our f ront door - a Christmas wreath studded w ith small straw animal f igures with a red sash.

We didn’t have that heav y wrought iron front door screen of my parents that allowed the hanging of the della Robbia Madonna and Child that

my Catholic father found in Florence at the end of WWII. It was always garlanded with boxwood, and later graced the outside of my Cos Cob house until a fierce windstorm sent it flying, breaking it into many pieces, yet miraculously put back together – like that ancient Portland vase - by my dear friend, Rana Es Said.

We a l l h a d a h a n d i n setting up the crèche made by my potter sister. The pottery f igures were hand sculpted, w ith her clever husba nd crafting the barn and crib, and rigging up the light to shine behind baby Jesus’ halo. Little animals were placed about in straw with the three kings st a nd i ng proud ly outside , waiting to bear their gifts.

The Christmas tree was always a real one, balsam if possible, for its Christmas s c ent , w it h mu lt i- c olor e d l ig hts. Atop was a specia l terracotta angel handmade in Naples, Italy, where those angels were made that decorate the Metropolita n Museum of A r t Ch r istmas Tree. The trick was to put a white light behind the angel.

The Christmas tree or na ments i ncluded those created by my four children ove r t h e ye a r s . M i xe d i n were color f u l Mex ica n tin ornaments collected by me and my mother who introduced us all to Mex ico when she

built her house in the early days of Puerto Vallarta. Bird ornaments grew in number over the years as some of us were bird lovers.

Three caroling angels and assorted Santa’s were set here and there. A new addition was an enchanting musical ca rousel fou nd in Athens, Greece on a trip my son took me on in 2005. What ever happened to that, I wonder?

T he t a ble w a s c ove r e d with that favorite red linen embroidered tablecloth.

Its centerpiece, a Santa sitting in a wooden sleigh, a simple attempt to copy my grandmother’s centerpiece of Santa, sleig h, and eig ht reindeer that burned up in a fire.

The Christmas stockings were quilted designs that hung f rom the f ireplace mantel.

Santa would f ill them with small gifts, fruit, nuts, and candy.

Christmas eve the family of ten went to t he even i ng service at Christ Episcopal Church. At bedtime, the children would be read "Twas the Night Before Christmas” by their father, after he placed cook ies and milk by the fireplace hearth for the arrival of Santa Claus.

Santa Claus would come and lay out his gifts unwrapped for each child in the living room and leave gifts wrapped

The della Robbia Madonna and child was miraculously put back together by my friend, Rana Es Said.

for us parents under the tree.

On Christmas morning the children would assemble at the top of the stairs as the parents first checked to see if Santa had come. Yes! He had come!

Everyone would race down the stairs into the living room.

After the great excitement, it was the parents turn to open

their gifts.

Christmas breakfast was t hat del ic ious cof fe e c a ke made by New York City pastry maker, William Greenberg, toasted su mptuously w ith b u t t e r. L a t e r i n t h e d a y Christmas tea featured my lemon tea cake. Christmas dinner was turkey, stuff ing,

cranberr y sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, broccoli with mock hollandaise made by a daughter, and then that zebra cake for dessert!

Does it get any better than this? Was this all a dream?

Am I remembering correctly?

Could we have lived so well?

JSJ WINDOW TREATMENTS Serving Greenwich since 1989

HUNTER DOUGLAS ♦ GRABER® ♦ CONRAD SHADES ♦ DESIGNER FABRICS BLINDS A Santa sitting in a wooden sleigh was an attempt to copy my grandmother’s Santa, sleigh, and eight reindeer that burned up in a fire.

Free measuring & installation DRAPES SHUTTERS CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY

311 Hamilton Ave., Greenwich | 203-661-5123 | www.jsjwindowtreatments.com Showroom hours: Monday – Friday 10 – 5pm, Saturday 10 – 2pm

Extra Puzzles for the Holiday Weekend: Have Fun!

For Code Breakers

Each number in the Codeword grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this puzzle, 16 represents A, 26 represents D and 19 represents S, so fill in A wherever 16 appears, D wherever 26 appears and S wherever 19 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid. Answer on page 12 9

9

25

19

9

23

20

7

20

19

14

7

12

16

15

16

1

14

12 26

9

4

19

26

22

9

19

7

2

20

6

22

7

12

17

7

20

23

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8

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11

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22

23

19

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24

21

3

12

10

12

6

19

1

23

2

15

2

2

18

26

7

26

11

20

7

7

A

D

5

19

14

22

22

25

3

3

9

16

6

16

17

16

6

25

16

18

20

7

19

19

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1

19

16

7

14

14

2

12

15

22

22

2

18

8

22

1

16

17

22

1

21

22

1

2

7

1

2

3

14

15

16

5

6

17

18

19

S

23

14

3

6

16

3

19

14

2

16

11

16

19

6

16

25

8

5

20

16

14

22

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1

7

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22

19

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19

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16

7

8

9

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13

1

20

21

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24

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26

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26

D

22

24

15

5

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5

19

23

14

21

19

22

15

17

20

1

8

23

5

2

13

14

8

15

5

3

17

8

13

8

15

5

1

1

6

14

8

21

5

13

1

3

2

8

9

22

3

22

6

5

22

22

13

16

23

3

5

8

14

2

25

13

5

18

15

3

1

14

15

5

2

19

22

22

O

11

23

4

6

L

20

18

L

G

15

13

25

6 3

1 6

3

23

8

20

5

11

18

5

17

8

24

5

21

10

15

8

23

25

12

15

23

18

13

9

20

5

22 16

14 23

14

5

13

15

5

24

25

15

3

17

20

5

6

3

1

23

17

19

25

18

14

20

4

19

3

14

25

14

26

14

1

1

15

14

16

6

3

8

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13

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23

24

25

26

2

3

15

16

O

8

3

4

5

6

7

17

18

19

20

G

For Crossword Enthusiasts 5

6

7

8

9

15

14 17

18 21 25

24 27

10

13

19

17

22

20

30

31

3

41

42

45

5

26

49

55

50

56 59

7

8

9

10

24

32

33

38

39

40

41

42

44

45

46

52

53

58

59

54

61

62

61

62

63

63

64

65

64

65

66

40 Demeanor

DOWN

6 Apex

41 Total

9 Jobs

42 Capital of Norway

14 "ER" actress --Tierney 15 "--- Believer", Monkees hit 16 Start playing!

17 Tap 19 "Fear of Flying" author --- Jong 20 Snow runner 21 Less common 22 Buoyant 23 Old-fashioned cab 25 Lightweight tropical hats 27 Elite group 28 Gene Pitney was only 24hrs from here

43 Source of formic acid

40 Faculty senior

DOWN

1 Pennsylvania Mennonites

32 One of the Three Bears

5 Choice

41 Little sweetmeat?

2 Sri ---, formerly Ceylon

33 "--- Almighty", in which Morgan Freeman played God

10 Chucklehead

42 Little biter

1 "The Alienist" author

14 ---- vera

43 Chemical ending

34 Nixon's successor, informally

15 Buzz 16 All square

45 Most objectionable

17 Has another go at

48 Scrambles 51 Little finger

41 --- Todd, barber

19 Colorful salamander

5 Cough up in advance

52 Illegal liquors

6 Coke's partner

9 Anna Paquin won an Oscar for this film, aged 11

45 Chest pain

20 Hay grass

54 A ninth?

7 Subjective

21 Ridgepole

58 Stake

8 Drive

10 Spanish winds

48 Pro

23 Click beetle

59 Between high and low water marks

9 Approximately

61 Bell curve figure

12 Woodland flycatcher

6 Bracket

47 "Band of Gold" singer Freda --48 Miscreants 51 Economizer 54 Succeed 56 One of New York's finest, perhaps

5 Litter of pigs 7 Stimulus 8 Security detachment

57 Nautical fastener

11 The pen

58 To

12 Recoil

60 Carroll's rabbithole explorer 61 Wyo. neighbor

32 Small lake

63 Waterproofed as many showers are

37 Sidestepped

1 Sagan of "Cosmos"

46 Little one

62 Extended area of land

35 Tenor --- Bocelli

31 --- doble (dance)

4 Mineral source

29 Downloadable program 34 Natter

39 Auld lang syne

44 Jambalaya ingredient

64 Affirmative vote 65 Solemn promises

13 Remain 18 Rotating engine part 24 Welcome 26 Old Testament song 28 Sliver 29 Nobleman 30 Rind

36 Drivel 38 At peace 39 Rev up

46 Am disposed 47 Serenity 49 Gun handle nick

25 Lubricator

50 Notices

26 Top colors

51 Get outta here!

29 --- Aviv

52 "--- want is a room somewhere..." ("My Fair Lady") 53 Bridal wear 55 Start of a Hamlet soliloquy 59 Geological time composed of periods

30 "What - ---!"

31 60% of us live here 33 Hearty hello 37 Kind of palm 38 Sugar coating

56

57

60

ACROSS

3 Ahead of the field

55

51

50

60

1 Distant

36

47

58

39 Splendors

35

29

28

57

ACROSS

34

25

31

49

13

22

37

48

12

19 21

27

11

16

18

43

48

6

15

46

47

4

30

36

39

54

2

23

35

40

1 14

29

38

53

12

26

34

44

11

16

28

33

52

3

15

16

51

25

15

12

43

21

22

15

37

17

8

12

32

14

12

14

23

9

8

11

20

23

16

17

4

14

11

20

3

1

18

6

2

5

11

16

1

23

14

15

A

2

15

19

16

16

2

S

Each number in the Codeword grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this puzzle, 20 represents G, 1 represents L and 3 represents O, so fill in G wherever 20 appears, L wherever 1 appears and O wherever 3 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

Answer on page 12

62 Short brandy glass?

63 Bone dry 64 Formerly, once 65 Factions 66 Version

28 "Othello" villain

2 On the sheltered side 3 Way to go 4 Statements of future action

10 Fang scraper 11 Excess amounts

29 Label for a dog, maybe 32 Old Cuzco valley inhabitant 34 Top-of-the-line 35 Nest eggs, for short 36 Riga native 38 The rocks 44 U.S. Army medal 46 Gets around 47 Salon job 48 Embarrassment 49 Sharpener 50 Itsy-bitsy bits 51 Tubular pasta

13 "The door's open!"

53 Noisy and controversial perjurer?

18 Ratted

55 Notion

22 Charge

56 Drug law enforcer

24 Train

57 Delight

26 Door securer

60 Young newt

27 Gelatin substitute

Page 15 | Greenwich Sentinel

Suduko

Sudoku: each row, column, and nonet can contain each number only once. Answers on page 12.

Easy

Easy

Very Hard

Hard

Hard

Very Hard

The 2020 Real Estate Market Year In Review

By Mark Pruner As of this week , we have 846 sales of single-family homes compared to 527 sales last year.

This makes 2020 the highest sales year going back to 1999 wh ich i s a s f a r b ack a s t he Greenwich MLS data goes. In that time, we only had two prior years with sales over 800 houses; 1999 with 832 sales and 2004 with 835 sales. We still have a week and half to go so our record will just keep getting better.

Contracts start to fall due to year-end deals With 142 contracts waiting to close, next week will be one of the busiest for sales this year even with a short wee. These are the weeks, that you do not want to be a real estate attorney. At the end of last year, we only had 72 contracts, so contracts are up 97% from last year. Last month we had 171 contracts, so contracts have dropped 29 deals in three weeks. We have signed 67 new contracts in those last three weeks, it’s just that for this month closings are happening faster than contract signings so total contracts are shrinking, which they always do in December.

Low inventory hurting sales Another reason that contracts are down this month is that we are running out of houses to sell.

At the present time we only have 322 home listings compared to 432 house listings at the end of 2019. This 25.5% drop is actually more dramatic than that if you looking to buy. Of the 322 listing only 29 have come on the market in the last 30 days while 115 have been on the market for more than 6 months. The result is that only 9% of our market is fresh and 36% of our market is stale. As these long timers sell, our days on market goes up, the opposite of what you would think would happen in a busy market.

Wit h sa le s cont i nu i ng at a b u s y p a c e a n d i nve n t o r y continuing to drop now is actually a good time to list your house. It will be interesting to see how many people decide to list in early January 2021 rather than early March 2021.

2020 Greenwich Sales and contracts from Byram to Banksville

2020 Sales and contracts by week

Covid is one of several factors driving sales What is driv ing all this activity? The obvious answer is the rush of young families from New York City, but this is only one of several significant reasons. One reason that doesn’t get enoug h emphasis is ou r extraordinarily low interest rates.

With mor tgage rates for 30year jumbo loans around 2.75%, monthly payments have gone down for many buyers.

Reallocating bonds and capturing stock gains Another effect of low interest rates is that bondholders are seeing ver y low interest payments. Globally, less than 10% of bonds yield more than 3% according to Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank. High yield bonds are now those that pay 4.9% or more, a number which used to be called low yield. These low bond rates are helping our market over $3 million where the majority

of deals are done for cash. The opportunity cost to put reallocate some bonds to Greenwich real estate doesn’t look that high.

The record stock ma rket pr ices a lso ma ny that ma ny p e ople have more money to spend. With folks staying home they have less to spend these gains on. One result is big jumps in sales of our high-end houses.

The Greenwich upsizer returns The other thing that doesn’t

g e t a s mu c h at te nt i on a s it deserves is that a large number of the sales in Greenwich are Greenwich people buying bigger houses. Many of the people that lived in those 846 houses that have sold this year have moved north to the 2-acre and 4-acres zones and a bunch of people that had been renting in Greenwich are now buying houses.

At t he h ig h- end we have Covid refugees, but for many of the people, the increasing chaos in NYC has pushed people to buy either their primary home or a secondary home in Greenwich.

Shootings and murders have taken dramatic jumps in NYC. NYC also saw increases in drug overdoses, as did Connecticut, but we still look safer than NYC. NYC and Greenwich real estate markets redefined A ll of this resulted in a redefining of the two real estate market in the media. Sales and rental prices are down in NYC while they are up substantially in Greenwich and a series of articles have documented and shaped people’s view of the two real estate markets. This reshaping market reputations started back i n M a rch w it h a Blo om b erg article about sales increase in Greenwich. This was followed by several Hearst Media articles, a major New York Times article and a bunch articles in other publications from the New York Post to Forbes.

The crescendo came in the last two weeks with articles in CNN, the Wall Street Journal and a Yahoo Finance article naming Greenwich the real estate market of the year. Now one of my rules is not to talk about story ideas I’ve pitched, but I did get quoted in a lot of these articles. (It’s like Fight Club, the second rule of Fight Club is not to talk about Fight Club, it’s also the first rule.)

What can you do to help?

Lots of people have helped to shape the narrative about the Greenwich real estate and its comeback in 2020 and more are needed. What can you personally do to help cement this new market reputation and help your home values? With our New England reserve, we often let newcomers have their privacy, but you might take a moment and say hi to your new neighbors and help them get acclimated to what for many is a very different, but pretty nice world. A neighborhood Zoom is

a good way to meet new and old neighbors.

Social media is the co-equal of national media in shaping opinions these days. So, if you are a resident keep posting pictures of the beautiful sunsets, the bald eagle over the Mianus river, the whale in L ong Island Sound and all those kid’s activities. For our new residents with lots of friends in New York City these can be even more effective in shaping the view of Greenwich for prospective buyers feeling left behind.

New York City starting r e c o v e r y, a g o o d s i g n f o r Greenwich We all wish NYC a speedy post-Covid recovery. A good sign for New York City’s recovery is that this November’s number of leases signed in NYC was the highest November rentals in over a decade. New York City has the opposite of our inventory problems with record amounts of inventor y at substantially lower rents than last year. Lower prices have generated higher demand. Speaking of rentals, commercial office leases are up 31% in Fairfield County as lots of company are looking to open satellite offices in this area.

W h at we a r e s e ei n g i s a paradigm shift in the way people live and work and much of this shift is in Greenwich’s favor. We need a strong New York City, but we won’t see the concentration of offices in the City that we have seen before. The concept of an “office” is going multi-location.

Looking ahead to 2021 For 2021, sales in Greenwich may slip a little compared to our red hot 2020, but we will still probably blow away our anemic 2 01 9 m a r k e t . I a l s o e x p e c t that we will start to see some significant price increases in $/ sf as inventory will stay below traditional levels with demand higher than our post-recession average.

The pandemic will continue to have major ef fects on our world for years to come. Next week we will look at the f inal numbers for 2020 by price and neighborhood. And, stay tuned to see what happens next year.

Mark Pruner is a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway in Greenwich, Connecticut. He can be reached at 203-969-7900 or mark@bhhsne. com.

REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD NEW SALES

NEW LISTINGS

Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866

Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866

Address

Original List

List Price

Sold Price DOM BR FB Acres

SqFt

Address

List Price

25 Valley Road 25

$689,000

$625,000

$610,000

112

4

3

1,768

4 Putnam Hill 2A

$369,000

2

1 South of Post Road

55 Locust Street B

$739,000

$689,000

$660,000

182

3

3

20 Church Street B12

$675,000

$675,000

$675,000

19

2

2

0

1,318

157 Putnam Park 157

$469,000

2

1 South of Post Road

351 Pemberwick Road 701

$723,500

$723,500

$697,000

76

2

2

0

1,774

5 Glen Street 206

$699,000

$349

2,004

2

2

South Parkway

130 Water Street

$725,000

$725,000

$705,000

67

3

1

0.13

1,226

36 Cognewaugh Rd

$1,100,000

$613

1,794 0.31 4

2

Cos Cob

87 Laddins Rock Road

$825,000

$780,000

$750,000

84

3

1

0.31

1,808

13 Davenport Ave

$1,890,000

$630

3,000

4 South of Post Road

23 Ettl Lane

$849,000

$849,000

$810,000

742

5

3

0.38

3,260

12 Middle Way

$2,250,000

$964

2,334 0.26 3

2

Old Greenwich

307 Cognewaugh Road

$899,000

$899,000

$899,000

12

3

3

4.08

2,310

3 Stanwich Lane

$1,425,000

$1,245,000

$1,245,000

178

4

3

0.37

2,420

390 Round Hill Road

$5,495,000

$590

9,310 4.02 6

7

North Parkway

95 Bowman Drive North

$1,399,000

$1,299,500

$1,262,500

621

3

2

1

4,173

12 Richmond Drive

$1,365,000

$1,330,000

$1,300,000

70

4

2

0.13

1,903

34 Montgomery Lane

$1,575,000

$1,575,000

$1,625,000

327

4

3

1.27

2,058

63 Valleywood Road

$1,695,000

$1,695,000

$1,690,000

138

4

4

0.17

2,850

15 Stanwich Road

$1,795,000

$1,745,000

$1,745,000

30

5

4

0.31

2,558

15 Serenity Lane

$2,200,000

$2,099,000

$2,010,000

126

4

3

1.03

3,200

19 Hendrie Avenue

$2,050,000

$2,050,000

$2,050,000

-

4

3

0.42

2,667

40 Elm Street 5D&E

$2,495,000

$2,495,000

$2,150,000

50

3

3

0

2,890

88 Birch Lane

$2,450,000

$2,450,000

$2,400,000

66

4

3

1.02

3,454

328 Lake Avenue

$2,995,000

$2,995,000

$2,850,000

57

4

3

1.1

4,477

125 Field Point Road A4

$2,950,000

$2,950,000

$2,950,000

19

3

3

55 Wesskum Wood Road

$3,100,000

$3,100,000

$3,100,000

-

5

4

0.45

4,228

125 Field Point Road A3

$2,950,000

$3,150,000

$3,150,000

706

3

3

12 Long View Avenue

$3,750,000

$3,750,000

$3,675,000

95

5

5

0.31

5,696

REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD MASTHEAD

19 Witherell Drive

$5,795,000

$4,450,000

$4,200,000 1,074

5

5

2.06

5,845

510 Stanwich Road

$4,950,000

$4,950,000

$4,545,000

148

6

7

4.62

10,084

DASHBOARD EDITOR

7 Fairway Lane

$4,350,000

$4,350,000

$4,625,000

109

6

5

1.18

6,086

33 Grosset Road

$5,450,000

$5,450,000

$5,450,000

4

6

7

0.51

-

586 Round Hill Road

$11,250,000

$9,995,000

$9,200,000

152

9

11

4

10,087

127 Byram Shore Road

$13,500,000

$13,500,000 $12,000,000

147

6

8

2.54

11,000

22 Pilot Rock Lane

$15,999,000

$15,999,000 $14,000,000

112

5

4

1.31

7,258

0

1,796

Price/SqFt

SqFt

AC

0 0

BR

3

FB

Area

Deborah Ference-Gray

One Pickwick Plaza Greenwich, CT 06830

Office: 203.618.3155 Mobile: 917.584.4903

For Market Updates and Listings Visit deborahferencegray.com

deborah.ferencegray@sothebyshomes.com

2,335

Mark Pruner | Mark@GreenwichStreets.com | mark@bhhsne.com

DASHBOARD CONTRIBUTORS

Robert Pulitano | RobertPulitano@bhhsne.com Cesar Rabillino | CesarRabellino@bhhsne.com Pam Toner | PamToner@bhhsne.com

Come and take your GELATO home for the Holidays! We are open throughout the winter and have Take-Home in 3 sizes as well as custom made Gelato cakes. Our products are made fresh daily with dairyfree, vegan, and nut-free flavors available.

Call us for pick-up orders or find us on GrubHub, Seamless and UberEats!

(203) 900-1288. 232 East Putnam Ave, Cos Cob. Mon-Fri 3pm to 9pm, closed Wed., Sat-Sun 12pm to 9pm.

Randy’s Wines is a boutique wine and spirits shop serving the Cos Cob community for over thirty years. Our expert team has curated a vast and varied selection of hidden gems from around the world. We offer top value on new and interesting wines we guarantee you’ll love. We have the best beer selection in Greenwich and craft liquors you’ll find nowhere else. We’d like to warmly welcome all patrons of Cos Cob Liquor and to wish our friend George the best in retirement.

Sign up for our newsletter on RandysWines.com and ask about our wine club! Monday-Saturday: 9-8 / Sunday: 10-5 (we deliver!)

Trovare Home offers a curated and collected look of both modern and vintage home décor. For over 20 years Trovare has been the “go-to” store for stylish home furnishings and décor. Visit our shop and learn about our design services.

245 East Putnam Avenue, 203-869-5512 Open daily 10:30am to 4:30pm.

Beam & Barre has everything you need for dance and gymnastics! They have something for dancers of all ages from your tiny dancer to the professional ballerina.

Tutus, wands and tiaras satisfy your little dancer’s imagination, while an impressive range of pointe shoes and dancewear will have every dancer excited for class and performance. Their staff has the expertise to find exactly what you need!

241 East Putnam Avenue, 203-622-0591, Monday - Friday - 10-6, Saturday - 10-5.

Take a step off the Post Road into The Drawing Room and you are transported to the perfect blend of a café (with hand blended teas, freshly baked treats, or an artisanal sandwich with daily soup), an interior design studio, a boutique with hand-picked items for your home, and an art gallery. Welcome to The Drawing Room.

5 Suburban Avenue, 203.661.3737. Open Tuesday - Saturday 9am - 5pm. Open Monday, December 20th for bonus holiday

You’re Invited to the Cos Cob Village Marketplace DRAPERIES & INTERIORS gifts

•

OF GREENWICH

decor • furnishings • artwork

Take 15% off entire online ordering, free delivery within Cos Cob area.

We are Open on Christmas Day 12/25 Friday 3:30pm-9:30pm, regular menu & special holiday menu $59 for 3 courses both are available.

Reserve Your Seats Now! 203-869-2339 We have indoor and outdoor dining with Covered and Heated patio www.coastseafoodrestaurant.com

interior design services personalized shopping experiences

_________________________ cos cob design district 234 east putnam avenue greenwich botanical center shop bib street 130 bible

habitatgreenwich.com

With the holidays in full swing, it's the season of giving and the First Bank of Greenwich (FBOG) is making sure that season lasts all year with our unique Charitable Checking Program that supports local non-profits 12 months a year.

Giving has always been part of the bank’s mission. As a true community bank, we want to be able to help as many people as we can and the Charitable Checking Program allows us all to do that.

Learn more about Charitable Checking, contact Emily Newcamp at the First Bank of Greenwich at (203) 302-4382

With 35 years of experience, we offer custom window treatments and full-service interior design – whether you need help in just one room or your entire home. We don’t believe in a “one-style fits all” approach and truly work with each of our clients to get them the results and style they want within their budget.

DRAPERIES & INTERIORS of Greenwich

238 East Putnam Avenue, Cos Cob 203-489-3019 www.draperiesandandinteriorsofGreenwich.com

Il Pastaficio always and only provides the very best artisanal Italian products of the highest quality using organic and genuine flour, without adding any preservatives or chemical additives. It is an authentic Italian experience.

213 East Putnam Avenue, Cos Cob 203-900-1199 Delivery available.

Open daily 11:00am to 8:00pm

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY

2019 Thanks for all your generous contributions to our Neighbor to Neighbor Holiday fundraiser.

Thank You Coldwell Banker for matching all our donations!

We wish you all a Joyous Holiday Season and a Healthy and Happy New Year!

https://tinyurl.com/CBOGtoNTN Our fundraiser continues till end of this year

SUPPORT A WORTHY CAUSE

YOUR GIFT – IN ANY AMOUNT – IS PRICELESS

The Old Greenwich Team | 203.637.1300 Jane Owen Brash • Laura Calabrese • Susan Calabrese • Pat Cameron • Jackie Chamandy • Trish Clark • Jean Dana • Emile de Neree Cynthia De Riemer • Margaret Dietz • Diane Dutcher • Russ Dutcher • Shanna Fischer • Cristy Fraser • Nora Giovati • Sheila Goggin Liz Johnson • Michelle Luksic • Brid Mortamais • Erin Murphy • Sally Parris • Cliff Paulson • Diana Whyte

ColdwellBankerHomes.com 278 Sound Bea ch Avenue | Old Greenwich, CT 06870 • 66 Field Point Road | Greenwich, CT 06830

Moshe Niv | Senior VP of Mortgage Lending CELL: 310.863.7290 | p: 203.974.1707 | f: 727.509.8662 Moshe.Niv@grarate.com | www.grarate.com/mosheniv NMLS #486125 EQUAL HOUSING LENDER | © 2020 Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC | 1800 W. Larchmont Ave. Chicago, IL 60613 | NMLS ID 1598647 | NMLS Consumer Access (nmlsconsumeraccess.org) Coldwell Banker and Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC share common ownership and because of this relationship the brokerage may receive a financial or other benefit. You are not required to use Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC as a condition of purchase or sale of any real estate.

Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty and Coldwell Banker Devonshire are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2020 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

Wishing you Happy Holidays from our Greenwich Sotheby’s family to yours.

GREENWICH BROKERAGE | ONE PICKWICK PLAZA | 203.869.4343 | SOTHEBYSREALTY.COM © Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All rights reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.