A rare appearance by President Marty raised the spirits of the good sized crowd gathered at the Roger on this unseasonably chilly March day in New Canaan. Eric offered a vintage “chat with God” blessing which comforted the diners in the knowledge that our spiritual shepherd is on such intimate terms with the Almighty.
Marty rose at the appointed hour and caressed the newly cleaned and polished bell, courtesy of Treasurer Rob, before asking for the introduction of Visiting Rotarians and guests. Although there were none of the former, Keith Simpson introduced his guest/colleague Bill Pollack. Allocations Chair Eric announced that he was in the process of rounding out the Allocations Committee in preparation for their work to commence following the April 12 deadline for grant requests. Outreach has been initiated to previous recipients.
John Engel reminded all golfers to register for the May 9th PGA sanctioned Golden Putter extravaganza; the Stamford vs. New Canaan Rotary Clubs’ version of the Ryder Cup. Any auction items should be forwarded to Carolyn or Laura. In an effort to encourage timely compliance John has recruited Brock Saxe to act as John’s “muscle.” Prudence dictates early registration. While he had the floor, proud father John shamelessly plugged the NCHS presentations of Beauty and the Beast occurring tonight, Friday night and Saturday with a matinee and evening performance. John’s twins are members of the cast.
President-Elect Fred is off to the District Assembly on April 13. It is an excellent opportunity for any incoming members in leadership positions to expand and enhance their knowledge and understanding of Rotary. Contact Fred if you are interested in accompanying him. Assistant District Governor Ben encouraged members to attend the Assembly and reported that the Newtown Rotary Club, one of 42 Newtown charities, has raised over $750,000 for community emergency relief.
Sergeant Scott, fresh from the plane home from Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City, fell back on some too easy misogynistic, profane material to amuse the masses and then collected fines from Bill Walbert for a happy and successful outcome with daughter Joanie in St. Louis, Fred for a happy Friendship Dinner experience, smut purveyor Dr. John for a sojourn in St. Maartens, John Marlow for the upcoming pop-up art initiative on June 21, John Bemis for a long-standing all male ski trip, Keith who actually turned 70 yesterday after teasing us with the event for the past few weeks, and Scott himself for having completed his trip successfully with only a wrenched back as a souvenir.
In a surreptitious exchange redolent of CIA tradecraft an anonymous donor personally slipped a check to Dictionary Chair Keith in an amount sufficient to fund the entire project. While this is not the way the project has traditionally been funded, we can only be grateful for this extraordinary act of generosity and, for those who planned to donate, seek alternative destinations for our Rotary dollars.
Program Chair Jim Cole then introduced today’s speaker, our very own septuagenarian Keith Simpson. He opened with the premise that, for a landscape architect, the pinnacle of the profession is public park work because both the aesthetic and use are observable. Keith has been involved locally with Waveny Park, Mead Park, and the Kiwanis Park master plan among others. He alluded to the European influence on U.S. park design as when Hartford-born Frederick Law Olmstead toured in the U.K. and on the continent before returning and working from 1850 through 1860 on the 850 acre New YorkCentral Park. By 1863 the Park had in excess of seven million visitors. It deteriorated over time until, in the 1980’s, the Friends of Central Park raised a great deal of money and repaired and enhanced the Park which now attracts over 40 million visitors per year. Olmstead’s office was the original designer of the Waveny estate which is now Waveny Park. Keith gave a brief nod to the pocket park movement in NYC with examples created by the Rockefellers and the Paleys as well as some creative land use ideas such as allowing additional building height in exchange for open space at street level as was done with the Seagram Building. He also touched on the linear West Side Park from Battery Park to the north end of Manhattan, East Side Park, Hanover Park in Lower Manhattan to honor the non-American dead in the 9/11 attacks and the 9/11 Memorial Park to honor the Americans lost in that horrendous event. He saved the bulk of his presentation for a slide show and narrative on the High Line Park on Manhattan’s West Side from 14th to 30th Street. It is a tremendously imaginative use of an abandoned elevated railroad line which had become a deteriorating eyesore and attractive hazard slated for demolition. Instead, the largely privately funded Park with the encouragement of the Bloomberg administration, was created to enormous public acceptance. Keith stressed both the design and execution as contributors to a hugely successful manifestation of the landscape architect’s craft. For those who have not yet visited, you are in for a treat. Keith is one of New Canaan’s most treasured assets as well as a talented presenter. Yet another in a long line of educational and inspiring programs.
Robert Moses
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