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Looking Back at Our Town: New Canaan in 1927

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An estimated 200 residents filed into the Lamb Room at New Canaan Library on Monday night for a presentation led by NewCanaanite.com contributing editor Terry Dinan, on New Canaan in 1927. New Canaan Library’s selection of “One Summer: America 1927” for a community-wide reading initiative will culminate this week with Wednesday’s speakeasy in the same Lamb Room and Saturday’s original play at the Powerhouse Theater. Terry, who writes the news site’s popular “0684-Old” local history feature, walked the crowd through a rapidly changing time in New Canaan’s history. The 1920’s saw New Canaan’s population jump by 40 percent, and important pieces of the town’s downtown and landscape took shape in the period. In 1927 itself, both Karl Chevrolet and New Canaan High School were founded, and the town marked locally much of what Bryson chronicled in his book, including Babe Ruth’s 60-home run feat and Charles Lindbergh’s trans-Atlantic flight.

Around Town

UPDATE: With Foul Weather Coming, Library’s Speakeasy Rescheduled for March 25

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UPDATE 10:30 a.m. Wednesday: New Canaan Library has rescheduled Thursday’s planned speakeasy due to the snow and sleet that’s expected to hit the town and region overnight. The new date is Wednesday, March 25, 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Original Article

New Canaan businesses are gearing up for the kickoff event for this year’s One Book New Canaan initiative: the speakeasy at New Canaan Library, set for 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday (register here). Conceived in the spirit of the library’s chosen book for this year—Bill Bryson’s nonfiction “One Summer: America 1927,” which spotlights Prohibition, as well as Charles Lindbergh’s virgin flight across the Atlantic, Babe Ruth’s 60-home run season and other cultural milestones—the speakeasy features all local businesses, library officials say. That’s an important part of this event and the larger initiative, since One Book New Canaan “is a community read,” said Community Engagement Library Jocelyn Glatthorn. “I wanted to showcase our New Canaan businesses and all the participants in this event are local businesses and institutions,” she said.

Around Town

New Canaan’s Top-10 Sandwiches

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There is an amazing ratio of sandwiches to people here in New Canaan. So amazing, that a couple of places (most notably the Best Würst and the Forest St. Deli) closed while we compiled this list. It’s important to note that this specific list was relegated to counter service restaurants or delis only. We are well aware of many of the amazing sandwiches that are served at traditional sit-down restaurants here in town.

Business

Westport to New Canaan: Unless Local Merchants Embrace Banning Plastic Bags, Don’t Bother

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A ban on standard-sized, single-use plastic bags on retail checkout at New Canaan businesses can only work if merchants themselves are not only backing but also leading the effort, town conservation officials say. Given that paper bags can cost four or five times more than plastic ones, the town must think creatively about how the change feasibly could happen without damaging the bottom line for local businesses that already do so much to support New Canaan causes, community events and human services needs, members of the Conservation Commission said at their most recent meeting. Those interested in pursuing a focused ban on single-use plastic bags must “step out with small merchants so that the small merchants are really spearheading it, so they have a leadership role with us helping—that is how I would love to see it happen in New Canaan, because we love our small businesses and they do so much for the town,” commissioner Miki Porta said at the group’s Dec. 11 meeting, held in the Art Room at Lapham Community Center. “It really has to be a partnership.”

Westport, prompted by concerns for the environment (more on that below), has had a ban in effect since March of 2009, and Liz Milwe and Jeff Weiser, each of whom helped lead Westport toward its plastic bag ban, attended the meeting as guests, as did town resident Molly Farnsworth, one advocate for a similar effort here.

Business

Helping Neighbors: ‘Thanksgiving Donation Days’ Drive at Walter Stewart’s through Wednesday

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Each of the 11 cousins in Alex and Doug Stewart’s generation of the longtime local family has worked at one point or another in one of the family’s iconic businesses: New Canaan’s oldest retailer, Walter Stewart’s Market (since 1907) or its contiguous wine and liquor shop, 40-year-old Stewart’s Spirits. Asked on a recent afternoon how their own professional arcs landed both him and one of his little brothers, Doug, at Stewart’s full-time, the affable floor manager and co-owner of the Elm Street store, Alex said with a smile: “It’s like it was meant to be.”

Good thing for New Canaan. As Walter Stewart’s—anchor of the business community and pillar of the New Canaan community at large, a supporter of countless local causes, events and nonprofits—marks its 107th birthday, shoppers can take advantage of a special promotion serving families in need. As Doug and Alex—both former Center Schoolers and South School parents now, explained—the store is teaming up with the Young Women’s League of New Canaan for their annual Thanksgiving Donation Days T-Bill Drive, through this Wednesday, Nov. 5, to provide local families in need with Thanksgiving meals, which will be distributed by Person-to-Person.