Issue No. One Jan/Feb '23 DarienMagazineCT.com

Penny Glassmeyer surveying the site of her Knobel Hill project.

Readers and Residents of Darien,

t is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the inaugural issue of DarienMagazineCT.com as we celebrate the New Year! We created this magazine in honor of you and the town we share as a way to tell the local stories that connect and inspire. It has become a tribute to our co-founder Renie Trautmann as well. Though we lost her too soon last fall, this magazine and the media platform around it will perpetuate the legacy she leaves through all she gave back, a reminder to find the best in each day, and in each other.

And we can think of no better way to kick all this off than with a cover feature about Penny Glassmeyer, the woman behind so much of what we see happening in our downtown. How grateful we are to her! Thank you Penny and all the Glassmeyers for allowing us in to share her story. It’s important to know the shoulders we stand on as we move about our lives.

Thank you Carolyn Eddie for joining our new effort with your inimitable recipes and to David Nelson, owner of Ten Twenty Post, for the access you provided for our first Good

Table column. Thanks to Linda Stephens for agreeing to lead our In Good Health feature and to Dr. Amanda Craig for taking on the inaugural Mind Set column—our monthly look at mental strength, wellness and advice from a range of voices in town. Thanks too to Geary Gallery for helping kick off our Art Show column, a snapshot each month of some aspect of the arts in town, and to Marian Castell for providing the spark (and great direction) for this first effort. Thanks also to Janet King of The Darien Community Fund for your contributions to our first Giving Back column. All so interesting. Thank you to our founding partners, and all the advertisers who are making it possible for us to produce this magazine, and the website, newsletter and social media that will accompany it.

There’s so much for you in the pages ahead and we hope you will enjoy this issue as much as we did putting it together for you. Please, share your thoughts with us at pam@darienmagazinect.com or carl@darienmagazine. com. And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @darienmagazinect.

Happy New Year!

PAMELA DEY VOSSLER CARL TRAUTMANN Editor-in-Chief Founder & Publisher

Dear

Letter to Our Readers |

photo by: BAMBI RIEGEL riegelpictureworks.com

To be positive, to inspire, to educate, and expand minds through contributed content and the stories we tell about Darien residents, influencers, organizations, business owners, charities, and more, connecting to the issues of our day by showcasing the many layers of who we are as a community.

We are grateful to our local Founding Partners for their support.

If you need the services these great folks provide, please visit them first.

Who We Are:

A new, locally owned, multimedia platform built to serve Darien exclusively and help connect our community. Our aim is to uncover the gems in our midst, exposing what we may not know, or could have missed—an angle, a resource, a backstory and more, as shared by the people behind them. We’ll look at the familiar in new and different ways, to take you deep into the community that we call home.

Our efforts are dedicated to the memory of Irene “Renie” Mahoney Trautmann, co-founder of DarienMagazineCT.com, loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend. A long-time Darien resident, music educator, Holmes School substitute teacher, real estate agent and so much more, it was her selfless, positive approach to giving back and bringing joy that is our inspiration. You can visit Renie’s bench in Woodland Park.

Darien’s prosperity is intertwined with our amazing local businesses. Did you know that:

• 70% of local dollars spent, stay local (Amex)

980 Post Rd. #A Darien, CT 06820 (203) 655-7677

• www.crossprivateclient.com

A boutique Personal Lines Insurance Agency that focuses solely on Personal Risk Management for successful individuals.

You can schedule a complimentary call with me through my website at www.lindamstephens.com.

My virtual door is always open if you want to discuss your health concerns and goals. We believe in being proactive about your health because your health is your responsibility.

• Local businesses generate as much as 80% of their business within 5 miles of their location. (SBA)

Special shout out to our local contributors this month: Linda Stephens, Tom Geary, Amanda Craig, Janet King, and Carolyn Eddie Coming soon: DarienMagazineCT.com

website launch

Please follow us on: @darienmagazinect

@darienmagazinect.com

carl@darienmagazinect.com

576 Boston Post Road, Darien, CT 203-655-6613 • www.gearygallery.com

Fine Art. Accent Picture Framing. Accent Restoration. We offer installation services and curbside pick up. Come visit our Gallery or take a tour on line.

635 Frogtown Rd , New Canaan, CT 06840

(203) 801-5608 • www.countryschool.net

New Canaan Country School focuses on translating knowledge into action. NCCS ensures that students enjoy a broad range of ageappropriate, “learning-by-doing” activities in an environment that fosters trust and risk-taking.

• “Near Me” (within 5 miles) is a top business search category. (Google Small Business)

Thank you for supporting our local business community.

If you’d like to connect regarding:

• A marketing partnership, to advertise, or have a general inquiry, please reach out to carl@darienmagazinect.com

• Editorial or contribution ideas and feedback, please reach out to pam@darienmagazinect.com

pam@darienmagazinect.com

DarienMagazineCT.com is an independent, wholly owned multimedia platform and business, with the magazine published monthly effective March ’23. Produced in affiliation with The CET Consulting Group, Inc.

Founder & Publisher CARL TRAUTMANN

Editor-In-Chief PAMELA DEY VOSSLER

Director of Photography BAMBI RIEGEL

Art Director KIRSTEN NAVIN

635 Frogtown Rd • New Canaan, CT 06840 (203) 801-5608 • www.countryschool.net

SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS

• A co-ed, independent, day school of 570 students

• Pre-K (ages 3 & 4) through Grade 9 75-acre campus

• Four academic divisions:

Early Childhood – Pre-K (ages 3 & 4, K); Lower School – Grades 1-4; Middle School – Grades 5 & 6; Upper School – Grades 7, 8 & 9

• Transportation provided to families living throughout Westchester and Fairfield counties.

Founded in 1916

• Athletic and performing arts programs

• All classes from Pre-K through Grade 6 have two teachers in each classroom. Overall student/teacher ratio is 6:1.

New Canaan Country School students enjoy a broad range of age-appropriate, “learning-by-doing” activities in an environment that fosters trust and risk-taking.

New Canaan Country School:

A BOLD APPROACH

IN THIS Q&A WITH NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL’S

Beth O’Brien, Director of Enrollment Management and Financial Aid, we learned why this private school option for students Pre-K (ages 3 & 4) through Grade 9 is such a draw in our area. We’re pleased to share the interview with you here.

What makes New Canaan Country School different?

“A Country School education is much more than just gaining knowledge. It focuses on translating knowledge into action. Founded in 1916, for over a century the school has earned a reputation as a proven leader in the field of child-

New Canaan Country School is for students three through fourteen, among the most crucial years of a child’s academic, creative, moral and physical development.

[

How are you able to do this?

“Diversity of thought, experience and background among students and faculty alike enriches our classrooms and enlivens our campus.”

How does New Canaan Country School prepare students for success?

“Students who graduate from Country School enter secondary school with confidence, ability and character. They leave with the knowledge, self-awareness and assurance to engage the world head-on and craft fulfilling, vibrant futures. They are ready to face whatever challenges they may encounter at their next schools, and beyond, because of the habits of mind developed at New Canaan Country School.

You describe your teachers as “guides along the journey.” Why?

“In and out of the classroom, on and off athletic fields and auditorium stages, Country School faculty artfully stretch students further than they think they can go, and they do so with the compassion children need to triumph over challenges. Teachers purposefully design hands-on experiences and direct lessons to provoke critical thinking, engage in conversations, foster relationships and connect ideas and concepts. Because classroom teachers also act as athletic and performing arts coaches, they know the children in a variety of ways, they earn their students’ trust and they develop meaningful relationships with them over the course of many years. This results in a community in which every student is truly known, loved and appreciated as a whole child.”

hood education. Known for its experiential teaching methods, Country School ensures that students enjoy a broad range of age-appropriate, “learning-by-doing” activities in an environment that fosters trust and risk-taking.”

“Country School students thrive in an atmosphere of high expectations, mutual respect and individual attention. An extraordinarily talented and devoted faculty engages our students in developmentally-appropriate ways by delivering a challenging curriculum that introduces academic skills and invites creative and critical thinking. Individuality and independence are valued characteristics here; collaboration is an essential skill.”

“In addition to their preparedness, graduates are known for their natural leadership, their kindness and their ability to identify and create opportunities.”

Why is the New Canaan Country School educational program deliberately designed for students in Pre-K through Grade 9?

“The ages of three through fourteen—defined as childhood—are among the most crucial years of a child’s academic, creative, moral and physical development. Investing in these key twelve years, the most formative of their lifetime, is investing in their future.”

How can parents learn more about New Canaan Country School?

“There’s nothing like meeting our people and seeing our campus to gain a deeper understanding of what our school has to offer families and their child(ren). In addition to scheduling a personalized chat and tour, we welcome families to attend any or all of our upcoming admission events specifically designed to introduce you to our school. Our Admission team looks forward to meeting with families, learning about their children, sharing more detailed information about Country School and to answering any questions. For more information about the school, please visit www.countryschool.net.”

Going the Distance for Yourself

5 Quick Steps to Results

Ihear it all the time, “I’d really like to lose this weight.” Or, “I want to get in better shape.” Sure, the decibel level of all this goes up in January but the lament continues year ‘round. Day after day, month after month…so many people. Maybe even you too.

Absolutely, the impulse is great. It is an important first step. But, most people never follow through. Or, they start like gangbusters then fizzle out after a few weeks, or even days. Why is it so hard to stay the course when there’s everything to gain? Read on for my five steps to health, fitness and feeling your best.

Write down your goals. Be realistic and prioritize what you want to achieve. Do you want to lose weight? How much? Is it building strength that matters most to you, or are you looking to have more energy? Decide what’s most important and put it on paper.

Break your overall goal into smaller ones that you can stick to and achieve. An example is, ‘I’m going to drink more water every day this week.’ How much is enough? A good rule of thumb is half your body weight in ounces every day. Aim to drink it all during the daytime so it doesn’t interrupt your sleep. Be sure to pat yourself on the back as you tackle the small goals.

Add to your list of achievable, smaller goals. Got the water thing down? Add this: ‘Every day I’m going to walk for 30 minutes as if I’m late for a meeting.’ Once walking is part of your routine, add another small, achievable goal. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed. People tend to set themselves up for failure before they really even get going by trying to do too much right from the start.

Remind yourself why you’re doing this. Continuously. Journaling and surrounding yourself with supportive notes in your cabinets, at your desk, etc., will keep your “why” top of mind.

Get out the pom poms. You must be your biggest cheerleader! Talk to yourself in a positive, uplifting way. “You can do it!” “You are doing it!” Banish those self-sabotaging thoughts: “I’ll never lose this weight” or “This is going to take so long.” They will have you headed to the snack aisle faster than you can say Dorito.

You may think January is the perfect time to hit the reset button. The truth is, there is rarely a perfect time to embark on a health and wellness journey. There will always be an event, house guests, vacations, excess stressors and a host of other distractions. Don’t wait. The change you want—to your weight, strength, energy or attitude, won’t happen without some change to the behaviors that got you into the shape you’re currently in.

I like to say, “Anything worth doing should be hard.” You have to want better for yourself every day. If commitment to change feels hard, you’ll know you’re succeeding. The more you do it the more it becomes your routine. It builds upon itself as you stay the course … and grows even stronger as those around you notice the changes in your physique. Notice how they start inquiring about your new found health.

As you inspire them with your story, you’ll reinforce your own resolve. There’s so much technology today to help you get started and stick with it. Maybe you’re a self-starter, a gym membership or health and fitness app is all you need. Perhaps you need the support and accountability a nutritionist or health coach can provide. Do some research and what’s best for you.

As we start the new year, remember: go the distance for yourself!

In good health, Linda

LINDA STEPHENS, M.S. Nutritionist, Darien Resident and Owner, Linda Stephens Fitness, LLC. My virtual door is always open if you want to discuss your health concerns and goals. You can schedule a complimentary call with me through my website at www.lindamstephens.com.

Linda Stephens Fitness offers comprehensive nutritional planning to help you achieve your personal wellness goals. We work with individuals, athletes and families. We believe in being proactive about your health because your health is your responsibility.

www.lindamstephens.com

“Anything worth doing should be hard.”

Parenting Tweens to Build Confidence, Empathy & Resilience

Often missed, overlooked or lumped in with adolescence, the tween years are a key to the long-term health of our kids, a set up for the tricky teen years and beyond. It’s because of the neurological explosion occurring during these volatile years as tweens transition into and through middle school. It is brain growth that rivals the first years of their life. If we understand what’s happening with our tween—and how it affects us and our behaviors—we can help them develop in ways that will keep them healthy in body, mind and spirit, with the resilience and emotional strength they need to counter the mental health challenges that envelop them as academic expectations ramp up, social media inundates them and their friendships change – sometimes with devastating effect.

It starts with emotional connection. No matter how our tween may behave, they want us to know them; they want us to care about their opinions; they want to play with us. They’re trying to get us to see them. They want a bond with us. This is emotional connection. Establishing and maintaining it is the key to parenting our tween.

How to Build Emotional Connection

Emotional Connection consists of these four pillars.

PILLAR 1: I SEE YOU. I see you is listening and understanding our tween’s perspective. It means putting time and our perspective aside to hear them and their thoughts.

▶ HOW DO WE DO IT? Make eye contact instead of yelling from different rooms, stop the multitasking, make time to be available. Tone and body language matter. Be curious: Ask multiple choice, this, or that, or correct-me-if-I’mwrong questions to help probe their thinking.

PILLAR 2: I WANT TO KNOW YOU. This is a deeper dive into their felt experiences. We learn about how they view the world, what touches them emotionally and how they cope with the world around them.

▶ HOW DO WE DO IT? There are two ways: 1) Practice the behaviors and emotional expression we want our kids to emulate. They will copy what they see in us. 2) Help them name, express and regulate their emotions. We can talk about feelings by name, and teach them to scale emotional

intensity: 1 to 3 is mild, 4 to 6 is more moderate and 7 to 10 is for the big emotions. With this awareness, they can start articulating their emotions and regulating with breathing and stretching exercises, listening to calming music, walking in nature and/or journaling. When we do this stuff with them we create a feeling of safety.

PILLAR 3: I AM HERE FOR YOU. This is about helping our tween feel they are an integral part a supportive family that has their back no matter what.

▶ HOW DO WE DO IT? Hang out as a family and with friends who are important to us. Expose them to talking about friends and family in a positive light. Show them what quality time looks like. Cultivate rituals, family traditions. Come up with inside jokes. Find joy together.

PILLAR 4: I WILL KEEP YOU SAFE. Boundaries and consequences hold important life lessons. They tell our kids we will not let them get into situations that will hurt them.

▶ HOW DO WE DO IT? We communicate boundaries when we are calm and in a good place with our tween, rather than

in a moment of anger. Then we follow through with consequences when the boundary is broken. Natural consequences are our best friends. Start with one or two boundaries; too many become overwhelming—for you and your tween.

Note: When trying to build emotional connection, many parents start with boundaries. The problem with that is if you don’t have the first three pillars as a foundation, tweens will push harder against the boundaries rather than appreciating the boundaries are coming from a good place.

The best news of all for parents of tweens is: When our kids are 9-to-12 years old, we still have a seat at the table with them, opportunities to make positive impressions on them as we prepare them for their high school and college years. No matter how they may act toward us, they care what we think and look to us for reassurance and guidance.

AMANDA CRAIG, PHD, Darien Mom and Author of Who Are You and What Have You Done With My Kid: Connect with Your Tween While They Are Still Listening (Worthy Publishing/Hachette Book Group and available in print and as an audiobook).

Portraits | Events | Landscapes

Bambi Riegel | Photographer | riegelpictureworks.com

Built to Last: P

Penny Glassmeyer and the Power of Positive Spaces

By Pamela Dey Vossler

ERHAPS YOU’VE HEARD HER NAME. Maybe you’ve even met her. Most likely not. She’s kept a low profile as she transformed the blights in our town to things of beauty. But you absolutely know her. Better than you might imagine.

Builder, visionary, decades-long Darien resident, wife and mom—Penny Glassmeyer and her work surround us—in commercial properties such as Grove Street Plaza, 1292 Post Road, 17 Old King’s Highway South and 745 Boston Post Road, to name just a few of the places she has reclaimed. Homes too. If it’s beautiful, made from the finest materials and looks like it’s always been there, chances are she built it, renovated it or inspired it.

You’ll know her best through Grove Street Plaza. Perhaps you’ve met a friend there for coffee, brought your kids to the multigenerational Darien Summer Nights concert series, decamped there to work or just “be,” and then run into people you know from all walks of whatever claims your interest in town.

In a morphing world that allows for less and less time together, Penny has saved space for us to still have what made families and communities close before social media, sports on weekend mornings, meetings at night and our “always-on” lives shredded our days into disjointed bits. →

above: Grove Street Plaza, far left: Penny at one of her building sites

“She created a place for people to connect. That creates pleasure, that creates kindness,” said recently retired State Representative Terrie Wood who has known Penny professionally and personally for 30 years. “Grove Street was a game changer for our town. There was no place like it before,” she added, describing what she calls “the power of positive spaces” and Penny’s ability to conjure it.

Any moment you’ve enjoyed at Grove Street is thanks to Penny. Fifteen years ago, it was a tumble down, ramshackle wreck of a place, nothing to note …which most of us who lived here at the time didn’t.

Who would have thought it could be anything more? The

town didn’t. Not at first. It took them three years to approve Penny’s plans. So, who would take a flyer on such a long shot?

Someone with vision. Someone with conviction. Someone with the tenacity to see it through.

“Penny has a fantastic eye for properties,” said Carol Guthrie, Penny’s landscape architect for 25 years on all her projects, including Grove Street, “and then turns them into something great,” she continued.

“She never quits,” said Darien native David Genovese, founder of Baywater Properties who, in partnership with Penny, is developing The Corbin District downtown, adding

new layers to a relationship with the Glassmeyer family begun when he was five years old and just starting a lifelong friendship with Ward, the oldest of Penny’s five children.

“She never gave up (on Grove Street). …She knew what it could be, so she trusted her gut. She has enormous conviction and patience,” he added.

In rescuing Grove Street from the mess it was and replacing it with structures built from the highest quality materials using the best type of construction, true to her uncompromising commitment to exacting excellence, she set the course for David’s rebuild of Ten Twenty Post and its sister structures. She also sparked the revitalization of downtown Darien.

“The Bevolo gas light fixtures that you see on Grove Street Plaza or 1020 Poston Post Road and our other buildings in downtown Darien? That started with Penny,” explained David.

And those bricks! Each one handmade in Virginia, authentic, beautiful—the kind that last …similar to those Penny chose for Grove Street.

Already influenced by his own high standards and his volunteer work with the Darien Revitalization Initiative (DRI) which he’d been asked to join after leaving his career in real estate investment banking to pursue commercial real estate development in 2001, David’s commitment to quality was cemented by Penny’s work. He took it with him as he moved on with her to design and break ground for The Corbin District.

“It all kind of emanated from Penny’s overarching philosophy to do it right,” said David of the trajectory of The

Corbin District and the Grove Street-like spaces it will have for gathering. “Penny set the bar.”

“The typical financial partner is focused on maximizing the economic outcome of each investment,” he explained.

“In the case of Mrs. G. (as David still calls her), it is never that. It’s how do we create a sufficient economic outcome and the best possible project for the Town of Dairen and its residents. If I didn’t have a partner like Penny, The Corbin District would look very different. (No matter what I may want), I would have had to convince a financial partner to look at that with me and it’s unlikely that a typical investor would allow us to design and build the project at the high quality we are today,” he said.

If you’ve been to Flour, Water, Salt—the baker in Grove Street Plaza, you’ll know another side of Penny.

“She’s tough. You respect her,” said Ed Glassmeyer, Penny’s husband of 58 years.

Just try to keep her in a meeting for longer than the shortest amount of time required to cover the issues at hand and you’ll understand what he means.

“She is a woman on a mission,” agreed David. “She doesn’t like long meetings. She’s like ‘What are we here to talk about? Let’s do this. Let’s go.’ She does not labor over decisions,” he continued.

“But she’s very empathetic,” Ed added as he related the story of her investment in the extensive equipment Flour, Water, Salt owner Rob Van Keuren needed to get his bakery up and running in the space he was to rent from Penny.

Given the bakery’s great success since the day it opened, it’s hard to imagine the leap of faith it was back then to

“

Grove Street was a game changer for our town. There was no place like it before.”

right: Grove Street after, below Grove Street before

Penny with Hoby Baker, her right hand man

make that big cash outlay based solely on her belief in Rob and his vision.

Was she nervous about it? Sure. “It was a dance studio before, with no fixtures. The only thing there was a bar along the walls and a bunch of wood,” said Ed, explaining just how anxious Penny was about it, and just how much she trusted her gut to give it a go in spite of it.

“She gives people a chance,” said her son Ward of the path she paved for people to pursue their dreams through the breaks she gave them. Not just Flour, Water, Salt, but the Melting Pot, Neat, A Little Something White, and other

small business owners who are now so central to our town.

“But she doesn’t believe in a wishful way,” said Ed. “She’s a tough person to win approval and respect from. But she has this amazing combination of that and giving people a fair chance,” he added.

And she cares, endlessly, though you have to look a bit beyond her focused, no-nonsense approach to see just how much.

It’s in what she does when no one’s looking, randomly stopping by one of her buildings to see to a planter, or a mat that needs fixing—rolling it up herself and putting it in the

back of her car to bring it to the people who will mend it; or getting down on her hands and knees to paint the small protective pads beneath the legs of an antique console in the lobby of 17 Old King’s Highway South so that they match the wood.

“She is an artist,” said David commenting on Penny’s ability to see the big picture and the details simultaneously, and the driver behind all that conviction and tenacity. “Her emphasis is on the art of what she builds. Penny is into the details of the aesthetics, the materials and the place that she is creating.”

“But she’s very practical when she needs to be,” said Carol, recalling her “complete calm” when things did not go as planned, when it truly was unrealistic to backtrack.

She believes in people, respects them and they love her for it.

“She treats people fairly and with respect regardless of where they came from or who they are,” said David. Her contractors? Her crew of carpenters, electricians plumbers, sheet rockers and masons? They were her partners, and her friends.

“Penny really is like a second mom to me,” said Garry Ford who started working with Penny in 1995 as a carpenter. “We had similar opinions on how to bring her visions to life and I respected her goal of keeping things authentic and beautiful. …Penny holds a special place in my heart and I’m so grateful for all that she has shared and taught me over the years.”

“She is an unbelievable gatherer of opinions,” David said. “While she has her own opinions, she always sought the opinions of a huge cast of characters, and wove that into her thinking.” She spoke to everyone—her friends, her builder, people in town. “She loved to get advice from as many people as possible,” he continued.

“She is (also) incredibly capable of spotting competent, talented people and then giving them free rein to do their best and because of that everybody gave her 110%,” said Carol who holds an MBA from Columbia and describes Penny as “the best manager I ever encountered.”

“Penny was always in control, but never control-oriented,” she added.

…and good at getting people to get things done. Just ask any of her kids’ friends, now adults, who raked leaves, stacked wood, mowed lawns, seeded grass—whatever Mrs.

G. asked, when they’d gather at the Glassmeyer home.

“We were lucky we still had friends after that,” recalled Ward, laughing.

“Their house was where we went the most to play street hockey and hang out and Mrs. G. would always put us to work if she had chores. She was old school. Really old school. She’d say, ‘Hey guys, take a break and come help,’” recalled David. “She liked me the most because I worked the hardest,” he joked.

Where does all this come from? Some by way of DNA, of course. Her uncle and grandfather developed Rye Brook and other properties in Westchester in the mid 1900s. Her father was a tenacious adventurer, determined to prospect for uranium, which he did – in Utah, moving Penny, her mom and three siblings from Larchmont, where Penny was born, to Wisconsin and Texas.

And she comes to it by way of grit and an instinct to provide for those she loves—the kind you get when you lose a dad you’re very close to when you’re just 16 years old and you’re the one best equipped to take over the care of your mom and siblings.

“She was the second child but the other siblings weren’t up to taking command of the family and give their mother support so Penny did,” explained Ed.

She also comes to it through a sharp intelligence that took her through Berkeley to a B.S. in Business/Math in California where the family moved after her father died.

It’s in her quiet yet fierce drive to do her best in her work, the paddle she played in flight one of the town league, the golf and bridge tournaments she won. It was in her tough, no-nonsense confidence in her kids as they grew up. She believed in their ability to make decisions, get to where they needed to be and make the most of their talents. It cuts widest in the good humored, non-negotiable positivity with which she lives her life.

In a time of disposable everything, where convenience rules and even messaging lasts just nanoseconds, how very lucky we are to have someone so focused on the long game, someone who can see what others may not—in a space, a building, a business, a person, someone who is willing to go against the grain so that others may see it too, and become better themselves for it. …Someone who knows how to build things that last, someone like Penny Glassmeyer.

“

How very lucky we are to have someone so focused on the long game, someone who can see what others may not—in a space, a building, a business, a person. ”

Fine Art in Darien

John Frederick Kensett, world-famous master of luminism in American landscape painting, called Darien one of the finest coastlines in New England to paint, according to Darien Town Historian Marian Castell. Among the first residents of Contentment Island in the late 1860s, Kensett spent the last summer of his life in 1872 painting there. You’ll find one of the works from this time – Twilight on the Sound, Darien, Connecticut – at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

And while Darien may not (yet) have achieved the artistic renown of Cos Cob, Silvermine, Westport, Old Lyme, Mystic and Kent – Connecticut’s most famous art colonies, there are plenty of Darien artists – past and present – who have seen the light in our town, as Mr. Kensett once did.

A sampling here from Geary Gallery, 576 Boston Post Road, Darien, CT. →

above : FISH ISLAND by Peter Arguimbau

opposite top MORNING AT GREAT ISLAND by Chet Sauer

opposite bottom : SILVER AND OYSTERS by Mary Morant

Fine Art in Darien

left : BEACH by Mary Morant

below SCOTT’S COVE AT SUNSET by Peter Arguimbau

opposite : PASSING THE LIGHT by Chet Sauer

One for Many

There are things that make a town hum—roads, schools, government, the basics that keep us moving along. And then there are those extras that make it really sing, in a kind of symphonic harmony that reveals just how good we can be when we join together to lift lives. The Community Fund (TCF) of Darien is one of those—our community as one supporting those with less, those in formation, those in need, and those with nowhere else to turn in Darien, Norwalk and Stamford…pulling us to the best version of ourselves as our generation takes its turn to keep it strong.

Established 71 years ago by the Darien Council of Social Agencies at the request of the Board of Selectmen to consolidate fractured fundraising efforts among local nonprofits, the TCF has been taken up and championed by a parade of Darien’s leading citizens—people who have realized the power of combined giving to return multiples on each gift including the Zangrillo family, the Palmer family, Louise Tweedy, Edgar Auchincloss, Gordon Aymar, Rawls Deland, Joan Barksdale, Obie Harrington-Howes, Paul Johnson, Noel Bradley, Bob Harrel, Steve and Ann Mandel, Jerry Nielsen, Sue Okie, Ed Cosden, Ned Goodnow, Dave Campbell, Charlie Eaton, Joseph Viesta, Terrie Wood, Jayme Stevenson, Shedd Glassmeyer, Frank Huck, Shelly Skoglund, Bob Wells, Pete Wright, Kaye Barker, Monica McNally, to name just a few. Learn more about this gem of Darien in this Q&A with TCF Executive Director Janet King.

Q: What is your mission?

A: TCF inspires people and mobilizes resources to strengthen our community. We serve critical, basic human needs in Darien, Norwalk and Stamford by funding the most efficient and impactful social service agencies in those towns. Since 1951, we have granted $26 million to local nonprofits and community initiatives that help end hunger and homelessness, support workforce development, give access to physical and mental health resources and support youth success. Our vision is for all community members to have the opportunity to reach their full potential as healthy, educated and self-sufficient individuals.

written by: PAMELA DEY VOSSLER with JANET KING Executive Director of The Community Fund of Darien

TCF youth group participants at the Darien Memorial Day Parade

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Q: What were your giving priorities in 1951? How have they changed over the decades?

A: TCF’s giving priorities haven’t changed since 1951. We help people right here where we live. We revisit our community needs on a regular basis. This past funding season we allocated more funding to youth mental health, and during COVID we focused on supporting Norwalk, Stamford and Darien residents with basic needs like food and shelter, especially for those who were unemployed or ill.

Q: You’ve been around a long time! To what do you attribute TCF’s staying power? What has propelled its success over the years?

A: TCF’s staying power is attributed to concerned, dedicated and passionate neighbors who support TCF’s mission. Volunteers have kept TCF going because they believe in creating a stronger local community by investing in helping people. Through the years, we have played a unique role in our community by capitalizing on the knowledge, skills and talents of people who care – both professionals and private citizens – mobilizing them to address health and human service needs.

Q: There are lots of new people in town, the next generation. What do they need to know about TCF?

A: There are so many worthy organizations in our community and so many areas of need. It can be daunting to figure out where to give, and where a gift will do the most good.

TCF does this work for our donors. Our 60-person panel of Community Investment Volunteers spend 650 hours each year conducting on-site visits and reviewing funding applications. They, along with our our deep community connec-

tions and expertise, assure our donors that their gifts are going to fantastic organizations that help the people who need it most; right here. We pool together gifts to distribute larger sums, so a single donation to TCF helps thousands of people across Norwalk, Stamford and Darien.

Q: When did youth become a focus of TCF? How did that come about and why?

A: In 2008, much of the conversation at Human Services Planning Council meetings centered around Darien’s youth.

As a result, TCF formed the Thriving Youth Task Force (TYTF), a volunteer coalition of mental health, substance use and healthcare professionals as well as leaders from the schools, police, town government and clergy dedicated to promoting and empowering positive youth development and mental health, with the goal of reducing teen substance use. The Youth Asset Team, composed of high school students, was also established to support TYTF’s work and provide a youth perspective about teen stress, struggles and substance use.

In partnership with Darien Public Schools, TYTF collects data on seventh to twelfth grade students to identify student strengths and potential areas of concern. The findings from the survey, which is administered every two years, are used

to inform TYTF educational program planning and prevention initiatives.

Q: How else does TCF engage and support the town’s young people?

A: TCF also offers opportunities for middle and high school students to get involved in local community service, philanthropy, community-building, and public health initiatives through our four student groups. With their group leaders and mentors, students have participated in a variety of volunteer projects and have solicited and awarded grants at different local nonprofit organizations. They have also planned and participated in activities and exercises supporting mental health and substance use recovery.

Q: Why include Norwalk and Stamford in your grant making?

A: Community doesn’t end at a zip code. Caring for our surrounding communities impacts where we live and makes all of us stronger. We help families, uplift the vulnerable, improve educational opportunities and enhance community life.

To learn more about The Community Fund of Darien and how you can get involved, visit https://www.communityfunddarien.org/

above:TCF youth group participants at the spring clothing drive at Open Door, a TCF supported non profit; right: The Alini family delivering dinners for TCF during COVID

above Janet King (third from left) with leaders of Filling in the Blanks a TCF-supported non profit that provides take-home weekend meals for local students; left: Rocco

Palmer (left) of Palmer’s Market, among the early champions of TCF

Ten Twenty Post: Our Place

It’s no accident the fries are as good as they are at Ten Twenty Post…or that you can entertain your most important client over a refined meal there as easily as you can pop in for a great glass of Sancerre and the best oysters money can buy on a Saturday afternoon…or bring your kids in for a quick bite any time, or gather for anything from a simple night out with friends to an anniversary, a birthday, a date night or a Sunday brunch you’ll be hard pressed to pull the plug on. Oh, and if you’re so inclined, you can rent the place out and claim it as your own—as people do…for all sorts of things including rehearsal dinners, Vegas-themed nights, company bashes and other private parties.

It’s that good.

tures of Urano in chef whites with celebrities such as Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Mohammed Ali, and more crowded the walls.

David, who went on to earn a degree in literature, thinking he would teach, before returning to restaurant work full time, learned that exacting quality – in everything – is non-negotiable. And the same artistry and precision that make him pre-eminent in fly tying among fly fishing enthusiasts worldwide, is evident throughout Ten Twenty Post. It is in the systems that help his chefs keep the promise of every item on the menu, thanks to the groundwork laid by opening chef Roland Coulombe, a French Canadian from Maine who came to Ten Twenty Post by way of the Allan Stillman Restaurant Group (Smith & Wollensky, Cité) and the Hilton Group after opening restaurants in Vail and Boulder.

Owner David Nelson makes sure of it, using every bit of the knowledge amassed from the nearly 30 restaurants he worked at prior to opening Ten Twenty Post in October 2008, including Rowayton Seafood where he was the first manager and helped establish it as the place it is today.

When you start at 18 years old, talking yourself into a job with celebrity chef Urano Saragoni on Cape Cod in the middle of winter, before the summer crowds return, and come in as a dishwasher then work your way up to sous chef – in just months – you’re bound to learn a thing or two.

“He was the Kennedy’s personal chef. Then he opened his restaurant in Hyannis,” said David, describing the place where Joan Baez once sang for her supper and pic-

The prepping, the labeling, the recipes, the storage and standards have added up to a consistency of delivery that has made this spot a go-to for thousands in town, all started and solidified under Roland during the seven years he spent at Ten Twenty Post before his sad loss to a quick illness.

“Roland was an incredible person. That’s why his chef’s coat is still hanging in my bar,” explained David.

David’s commitment to exacting quality is in the extraordinary efforts the kitchen staff make to prepare everything from scratch, refined each year in an ongoing quest to improve. Those fries? Hand done, on site. Everything is. All fresh. Corners are for sitting, privately, not cutting at Ten Twenty Post.

Greatness takes time. There is patience in the urgency that fires this business which has doubled from robust to even more robust in the years it’s been open.

“I have 20 kitchen employees. On a given day I have anywhere from seven to 11 working,” said David who starts

each day with a walk through his restaurant to make sure all is as it should be. “It takes a lot to keep it organized. We get deliveries here six days a week. We don’t keep too much food. We keep what we need to stay prepped for a day or two,” he added.

“And we don’t spare the expense on buying the best products,” he continued. “We recognize we’re not a Michelin starred restaurant but we use the same products for the most part…best quality meat, best quality fish. Nothing’s frozen. Everything’s from scratch— flatbread, sauces, Everything’s traditionally done.”

And that exacting quality is alive and thriving in the vibe of the place, the attitude.

“The energy is everything, that feel,” said David who insists on positivity and engagement from himself and every person to wield a tray, fill a glass, place a fork or sear a steak in his employ.

“We feel that the only acceptable attitude is a positive one,” he added, quoting his mission statement. It’s in the way the staff treat customers, and each other. “We believe in service. Our sense of urgency with regards to our work defines us,” continued David, relating more of his mission statement. Drop a napkin or ask to change tables and see what happens. Guaranteed, it will happen fast.

And exacting quality is in how David conducts himself. Just go there. Watch him. You’re as likely to see him bussing a table as seating a customer or rushing off to the kitchen to attend to an order. He leads by example, respecting his employees and every diner that walks through his door.

If restaurants make a community, it is the community that makes the restaurants, and David knows this too. It’s in his support of Darien’s nonprofits and his unconditional welcome to all. We are his town, Ten Twenty Post is our restaurant, and we are a better place for it.

opposite: Ten Twenty Post, a top destination for oysters and delicious food & drink across the board, top: David (right) with Chef Roland; Tuna tartare, a house favorite

Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

While the world turns to diet and healthy living in the New Year with constructive resolutions galore (a good thing, for sure!), I nonetheless submit this recipe for your consideration. Why?

…because life is ultimately about balance, right? Moderation is a key to success in all things and a little sweet from time to time derails no eating plan. …because we simply cannot be all work and no play. Every. Single. Day.

…because life is short. Make it sweet.

…and because these were DarienMagazineCT.com co-founder Irene Trautmann’s favorite, and I can think of no better recipe to include in the inaugural issue of this magazine and the media platform around it that she so dearly wanted to see launch. So here’s to you Renie…and to living every day to its fullest.

INGREDIENTS

14 oz bag of sweetened shredded coconut

Large tin of condensed milk 2 egg whites

Splash of vanilla, totally optional and quite often forget

Half a pound of chocolate of your choice (I love both the milk and dark blocks of Belgian chocolate at Trader Joe’s)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325°F

2. Add the coconut to a large mixing bowl and stir in the condensed milk and vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

4. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

5. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.

6. Using two teaspoons, drop small amounts of the mixture on to the trays. As I am normally making these as part of an afternoon tea spread, I tend to make my macaroons very small. However, you can make them any size you want! I try to make them slightly rounder, but a more rustic look works too.

7. Bake for around 20 to 25 minutes until the base and spiky bits are nicely browned.

8. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes two to three dozen.

To dip or not to dip?

Now, it is perfectly acceptable to eat the macaroons sans chocolate, but why? The macaroons can get a little soggy, so the hard chocolate serves a double purpose of being a perfect complement to the coconut and also gives them a little extra structure. However, it can be a little tricky holding onto the macaroons and not letting them fall into the chocolate bowl. Be warned!

CAROLYN EDDIE is a Darien Resident & Owner, Carolyn’s Absolutely Fabulous Events. For more of her recipes, check out carolynsabsolutelyfabulousevents.com and please remember to tag her on Instagram @carolynsfabfoods.

A sweet indulgence, coconut macaroons

photos by: BAMBI RIEGEL riegelpictureworks.com

above View from Nearwater Lane left: Cherry Lawn Park

All Bambi Riegel photos available to own. Visit www.riegelpictureworks.com for details.

635 Frogtown Rd, New Canaan, CT • (203) 801-5608 Confidence. It’s built over time.