A typically quiet midsummer week in New Canaan turned tragic Wednesday when a motor vehicle on Route 123 struck a municipal highway department employee as he worked in the roadway. Benjamin Olmstead, 71, of Norwalk, would succumb to his injuries the next day.
Town officials call Olmstead extremely well-liked by his colleagues and the community.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 20 at St. Jerome Roman Catholic Church in Norwalk, according to a brief obituary that appeared on Legacy.com (a longer obit is to be published Monday). St. Jerome is located at 23 Half Mile Road—that’s just off of East Rocks Road, less than 10 minutes from the DMV there on Route 7.
Olmstead’s family will receive friends at the Magner Funeral Home, 12 Mott Ave., Norwalk on Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to St. Jerome Church.
Our thoughts are with Olmstead’s family and many friends, including his colleagues here in town and New Canaan’s emergency responders.
The New Canaan Week in Review follows.
For our regular local history feature, we looked this week at Ponus Ridge Chapel, the striking, prominent if neglected structure that sits right on the west side of Ponus Ridge just south of Frogtown.
Ponus Ridge Chapel on July 23, 2014. Credit: Michael Dinan
Built in 1911 as a nondenominational house of Christian worship, the chapel—later doubling as a community center—for decades served as an integral part of the neighborhood, host to six weddings (Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Brecker, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Dunn, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Thomsen, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tippman, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth I. Walton and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph E. Pettit), christenings, fairs, a funeral (Mrs. Selleck Seeley), dances, art classes and meetings of volunteer and nonprofit groups. Walter Schalk is said to have held his dance classes there for the first two years of his school’s existence.
Efforts to rehabilitate the property and structure popped up since Ponus Ridge Chapel became largely disused in the 1960s, local history says, but never materialized.
The property now is at the center of two lawsuits filed by a neighbor of the property, and both suits name another neighbor there. The defendant had sought (and won) a variance from New Canaan planning officials to pursue a capital project to renovate the chapel and turn it into a guest house. The plaintiff objects to the project and says, among other things, that sale of the property cannot be made without the full and formal approval of the board that formed more than a half-century ago to maintain it and conduct the chapel’s business.
[acx_slideshow name=”Wildflower Field at 123 and Parade Hill Road”]
Town Talker
For years a typical patch of weeds by a state road, the area just north of the traffic triangle at Route 123 and Parade Hill Road has been transformed by the New Canaan Department of Public Works highway department.
Admirers gather July 26 to enjoy the wildflower garden at Route 123 and Parade Hill Road. Credit: Andrea Dinan
A colorful, truly beautiful wildflower garden has appeared—brainchild of Mose Saccary, the head of the department—and is garnering high praise from green thumbs and passersby alike. (The photo on the right shows people admiring the garden on Saturday.)
Plenty of comments about the wildflowers came into our Facebook page and Twitter too—hopefully Mose will see them when he returns next week from some well-earned time off.
Capital Improvements
Though it’s the middle of the summer, there are plenty of capital projects in New Canaan.
Among them:
-
The pine trees by the Center School lot that are slated to come down. Credit: Michael Dinan
A row of pine trees that are leaning near the edge of South Avenue at the Center School parking lot (that’s just before the library block, on the right as you head into town) will come down and make way for two dogwoods and a magnolia.
- Though it’s been delayed and changed more than once since Yankee Gas began promoting natural gas service in town, municipal officials are eager to run lines up from Stamford to heat big buildings such as Saxe, South and the high school. The plan now calls for that work to start next summer and within five years from then, for the utility to come down South Avenue into the downtown.
- The widely anticipated re-surfacing of the public tennis courts at New Canaan High School is underway, and it should all be done by the end of September.
- And, though it wouldn’t start until next April, we reported on the hugely inconvenient (and absolutely necessary), looming replacement of Jelliff Mill Bridge. Officials don’t know yet whether one lane of traffic will be closed during the 2-year project, or two—they’re leaning toward the latter—but it could start in the spring if all the approvals come through.
New Canaan’s Alex Hutchins is an intern with NewCanaanite.com this summer. Credit: Michael Dinan
Many thanks to our NewCanaanite.com summer intern, rising New Canaan High School senior Alex Hutchins, for his terrific contributions to the site this week, which include our featured stories for the Saturday and Sunday newsletters:
- New Canaan Artist Ed Eberman’s Work Showing Now at New Canaan Library
- Songs of Summer: What Are Locals Listening to?
- Faces of New Canaan: Cynthia Gorey
- Staying Safe: New Canaan Experts Address Sexual Assault on College Campuses
- CT Challenge Bike Ride: New Canaanites Ride for Cancer Survivors
Public Safety
New Canaan police arrested three New Jersey residents who tried to commit fraud at Walgreens in town and are suspected in similar crimes in other states. Police also are trying to identify a man caught stealing a misplaced wallet at Dunkin Donuts.