Editor’s note: Following is a letter to Ramin Ganeshram, executive director of the Westport Museum for History and Culture, about the future of a circa-1756 house at 125 Riverside Ave., and a copy of which was submitted to the Westport Journal for publication.
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Dear Ms. Ganeshram,
My name is Victoria Wylie. I’ve contacted you before about the Westport Historical Society’s new political bent, new name and new ideologies.
From its Black history exhibitions, homosexual “oral stories,” to Indian cooking classes, the current Westport historical society offerings seem to have little, if anything, to do with the history of Westport, Connecticut.
Once upon a time, our historical societies celebrated their forebears accomplishments through services like protecting their towns historical buildings from the wrecking ball instead of focusing on Marxist ideologies. But, here we are.
It was no surprise to me when, a couple of years ago, the historic Tavern on Main restaurant was turned into Nomade, and its once-charming, Colonial interior was gutted and transformed into what is now a California-Casual, Modernist, Bar Taco-esque, shell of its former self.
Historical New England on the outside, something else all together on the inside. Now, why was that allowed? What is the point of Westport’s historical society, if not to preserve Westport’s history?
But maybe the answer lies in its new name? The Westport Historical Society is now the “Westport Museum for History and Culture,” tacking on the operative word, “culture,” is a clue, but who’s culture? Black culture, Gay culture, Indian culture? Any culture but New England American, Colonial culture?
It seems the Westport Historical Society is nothing more than a shell of its former self as well. It appears to be historical New England on the outside, but is something else all together on the inside. This organization’s new plaques around town (they’ve quietly replaced the original ones) bemoan the evils of the “European colonists.” Even though those colonists are the ones who happen to have founded this country and built the house in question.
So what would this organization, with such a low opinion of these white colonists do when one of their European Colonial homes is in jeopardy? If I were to guess … not much. I would imagine that an organization that has nothing but disdain and resentment toward the European colonists who created this country, would have that same disdain and resentment towards whatever they’ve built and anything that preserves their legacy.
I would imagine this organization would both actively (through spouting anti-Colonial propaganda) and passively (by not protecting their historic buildings) do everything it can to besmirch and erase their legacy. But hope springs eternal.
So, Ms. Ganeshram, as the executive director of (the former) Westport Historical Society, what do you plan to do to protect this Colonial American New England home? And therefore, help protect and preserve Colonial American New England history?
Victoria Wiley
Westport
Editors: How disappointing. Bitter tirades full of misinformation are not “opinion pieces.” If hate mail is the new opinion piece, where do we turn for trustworthy information? You have done better than this in the past, and you can do better now.
Ms. Hicks, Glad you chimed in. The article from the (erstwhile) Westport Historical Society titled “Focus on: Darcy Hicks” from 2020 is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. A social justice warrior talking about herself (ad nauseam), and BLM, and feminism, and Covid, and low-income housing, and global warming (wasn’t it 10 degrees last night?) and all the Left’s other tedious talking points and no mention of anything historical, whatsoever. You have proven my point. The Westport Museum of History and Culture is now a Leftist political organization.
I’m honored that you took time out of your busy schedule to google me, Victoria/Sharon! While you’re at it, you might want to look up the difference between the Historic District Commission and the museum, which you’ll find are two entirely different entities. And the tip of your misinformation iceberg.
Ms. Wylie, I do not agree with Westport Journal’s decision to run your opinion piece. It would appear that you want to save this house, but you do not offer a single example of what you are doing to save it. Did you write a letter to the Town of Westport to offer to raise money for the town to buy the home? Did you write a letter asking town boards and commissions to block or deny a request to demolish the home? Did you ask for public officials to join you in saving this home? Did you write a letter asking all of us to join you in preserving this private home to put an historic plaque on it? No. Instead you write a letter with “it seems” and “it would appear” and “I would imagine” statements against a private Westport organization, it leader and its board that is not connected in any way to the processes in town related to stopping a demolition. Your letter sets an unseemly precedent for others to target private institutions and people. Is this what journalism and publishing have come to in Westport? Our Town deserves better than this.
Prior to it’s metamorphosis into the Westport Museum for History and Culture it was The Historical society which certainly should have been interested and influential in the area of historic building preservation. Clearly the Museum is a propaganda entity in which culture is the real focus. Europeans were almost exclusively responsible for the culture in New England. There would be nothing wrong with other influences being included but it seems to always be in tandem with denigrating the people who actually founded this country, this state and this town. Get over it. It’s not going to change because you hold your breath and kick your little legs in fury.
Where’s the misinformation? Do a little research and you will find that historical societies across the state are being changed into so called museums of culture, a nebulous renaming with what seems to be an ulterior motive. Recently the exhibits and focus of the “museum” seem to be making a concerted effort to promote anything but white European culture. Apparently expressing any displeasure with that is very distressing to Ms. Hicks. Well, I find that the systematic canceling of my culture to be distressing and unacceptable. The fact is Europeans settled this country and this particular part of the country is not called New England for no reason. Ms. Hicks’ baseless accusation of ” hate mail” is the usual response of silly leftists to any thing they don’t like. In the last few months we have seen real hate spewed by leftists all over this country and the world. I wonder how vociferous Ms. Hicks has been in her comments condemning vile vicious lefties. I am neither proud nor ashamed of being a white European, it’s not an accomplishment,merely a fact. I am , however, in awe of what Europeans were able to create here in the New World…the greatest country the world has ever seen with a constitution that provides the mechanism to strive toward that “more perfect union” they envisioned. I didn’t have anything to do with the founding but I certainly don’t want to sit by and shut up while some on the left destroy it.
And I hope the Constitution remains if that man named Trump is elected. He mentioned something about not wanting a Constitution. He also did not respect it on January 6th. It seems to me that the disdain for the Constitution is coming from a leader on the right. I hope you vote to protect it and our Democracy that allows us to voice opinion in the first place.
We’ve been celebrating white European men’s achievements for a couple centuries now, maybe it’s ok to let… what was your roster again, gays and black Indians, have a little of the spotlight.
As for you specifically Ms Wiley I think maybe a move to Europe would be invigorating for you! Maybe go farther!
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that and that haters of America are soundly trounced in 2024 and remain subdued for the foreseeable future. Having said that, getting ones documentation in order for a right of return to your European homeland is not a bad idea.
History doesn’t really start till the white folks show up, I guess.
Well, it certainly wasn’t documented very well until then. In order to be memorialized in the annals of history one has to produce evidence via written descriptions, architecture, inventions, etc. Just saying.
I learned a lot from going to the musuem. I never knew some of the history of this town. Did you also know that this town had some anti- semitic roots once upon a time? Kind of like Palm Beach did!
Not all of history is positive and amazing. We always can do better at learning about all parts of history. I think we can celebrate the good parts and learn about the bad parts at the same time.
My step father who was Jewish and my mother bought us a summer house down on Norwalk Ave. in 1962. My parents closest friends did the same. There were 3 families on Norwalk Ave, one on Danbury Ave. and one on Fairfield Ave. They were all Jewish families ( in my case blended Jewish/ Christian) but you get the point. No one had any difficulty purchasing those homes and I never heard any negative comments. That’s why I was surprised to hear Danielle Dobin, who I’m pretty sure hasn’t been here nearly as long as I have tell us these anti Semitic horror stories at a P and Z meeting at Town Hall. Upon leaving an elderly gentlemen told a group of us in the outer lobby that his parents, both Jewish, bought their house in the 1920s, also without a hitch. As a town, Westport has very little to apologize for.
There was anti Semistim here Sharon! You live in a universe without facts which is hy you fall for Trump.
You live in an alternative fact Trumpian universe.
So true. But apparently not being thrilled with the direction of the town is not permitted to be debated. If you express your view, you are a hater. For the record, hate,
like love is a very strong emotion reserved for more important individuals than Westport leftists.
I am also disappointed that the Journal decided to print this letter. First of all, it is not a letter to the Journal but to a third party – why is WJ the appropriate venue for that? Second, the Hisyorical Society has no authority over building and land use decisions in Westport, even if it had an interest in them – that is the purview of the P&Z Commission, Historic District Commission, and other official town bodies (which the Historical Society is not). Third, the idea that the Society having an interest in the history of local Westport Black, LGBTQ+ and Indigenous people is un-American or Marxist is patently ridiculous, reflective of a larger national political agenda, and has no place in this publication.
Do they want people only to learn about the white colonizer history of this town? That is pretty narrow minded. This town has all kinds of cultural history, good and bad
What is with “the town, the Westport Journal,etc. deserve better than this”? What exactly does that mean? My family members have gone to P and Z meetings and repeatedly contacted them regarding our displeasure in the direction this town is going. The Westport Journal is a valuable forum to get others aware and involved. I find leftist, Marxist values infiltrating this town to be dangerous and demoralizing. I think we deserve better than that.
Here’s a news flash Stephanie, every place on the earth has good and bad history. The problem with some is they have some kind of inferiority complex about their contribution to the place they decided to live in. So, what is the best way to feel better about that but to create a false history with an overly exaggerated depiction of the influence of their group and a denial of the reality they don’t like. Europeans have been kicking a.. and taking names for thousands of years. If that offends you, it really doesn’t matter.
Nothing is offending me about contributions black people, LGBTQ people, Jewish people, and Europeans have made to Westport! I applaud it all!
I LOVE America!!!!! Which is why I vote for America, our Constitution, and Democracy and do not pledge allegience to a party over person.
You can hate all you want, has no bearing on my love of Westport!
OMG, the exclamation queen is back. Constantly accusing people of hate with no evidence is really intellectually lazy on your part. Claiming that anyone is pledging allegiance to party over person is equally lazy. Who did that and when? Blacks, gays and Jews may, in your opinion, have made huge contributions to our town but now it is suggested that only these are worthwhile while the founders of the town with their white European values should be considered to be racists worthy of scorn and should be canceled from history. Let’s pretend that everything good we have here is due to the aforementioned minority groups. That is what is going on here and saying it is the case doesn’t make it true.
What does your “Marxist Values” bugaboo have to do with the Tavern on Main location being taken over by a new restaurant with new owners? It makes absolutely no sense at all.
Gosh Chris, I can’t imagine what connection there could be between historic buildings being permitted to be gutted and completely stripped of their historic character and the desire of people interested
in maintaining the character of the town to enlist the influence of the former Historical Society. Clearly, the fact that it’s now the Museum of blah, blah, blah it is disturbing that it is not only not interested in preserving anything but rather creating a new diverse history. Because as we know truth is no longer “the truth” but rather my truth or your truth. History apparently is in the same category and we now have some creative individual’s version of their history going on in this town.
Gosh, Sharon, a restaurant went out of business and, into its space moved another restaurant. While I am not personally a fan of the “new” Museum, it has nothing to do with restaurant openings and closings. You seem to want to make this all about your grievance. As someone asked the same about the house, did you attempt to preserve the failing restaurant?
I genuinely hope you can seek some help that will lead you to a place where you can find a place in the world where you don’t see everything that you don’t like as somehow being an attack on you.
I am trying very hard not to be unkind to you Chris, but if you are not being deliberately obtuse and really don’t understand the point about the larger picture then I can’t help you.
Where did you get the idea that I believe everything is an attack on me? I couldn’t care less what lefties, including you, think of me. The point of a forum like this is to elicit interest in a topic one finds to be of interest to them. As for the specific Tavern on Main preservation question, which completely misses the point , but nevertheless….I patronized the restaurant and recommended it to others. That is generally how restaurants remain in business. To summarize, this is not a restaurant question; it is a question of what elements of a town are worth protecting. I submit that the architecture, the history, the culture and traditions are worth protecting.
That is what is under attack Chris.
I don’t care if you are unkind to me or not. A restaurant closed and was replaced by another restaurant. You seem to want it to fill your white grievance narrative.
“It was no surprise to me when, a couple of years ago, the historic Tavern on Main restaurant was turned into Nomade, and its once-charming, Colonial interior was gutted and transformed into what is now a California-Casual, Modernist, Bar Taco-esque, shell of its former self. ”
You understand it has new owners, right? It’s a restaurant. A restaurant that didn’t have enough customers (and surely suffered, as all restaurants did, during the pandemic) shuttered and another opened with new owners. There is no Marxist plot there.
Stop with the restaurant comments. It is a symptom of lack of protection by town government for historic preservation. I would hope that historical preservation organizations including historical societies ( which no longer exist here apparently) would show some interest in that. Perhaps you would like to see communist Brutalist architecture replacing beautiful colonial buildings, but I would not. Then again, I am not a communist.
Stop with the restaurant comments? You are the one who brought up the restaurants. Communist? Marxist? You seem to be the socialist who objects to a restaurant that goes out of business in a free market being replaced by another restaurant in the free market.
So you want big government telling us what buildings are appropriate, too? You really must like big government.
Do you understand how unbalanced you sound with these comments?
Hello Chris? Sharon Wylie here. I did not bring up the restaurant. I commented on the letter that “brought up” the restaurant. I agreed that it was a good example of a lack of reverence for beautiful historic buildings. That, in addition to all the other evidence of canceling of Western European culture in favor of cultures that, in fact, had very little to do with the history of the area should be examined and explained, in my opinion.
P&Z is hardly “big government “. Please cut out the drama and hyperbole.
And before it was Nomade or Tavern on Main, 150 Main was home to our favorite restaurant,Chez Pierre. But times change, tastes change , Westport has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Main St. reflects the diversity that is Westport. Tall buildings,short buildings of various shapes and colors. Unlike Fairfield, New Canaan,Darien and Greenwich where businesses are in lock step with a red brick facade. Or Nantucket where the H.D.C. reserves the right to determine what color we could paint our beach house this summer. Westport has historically been home to creative minds who embrace individualism and self expression which is why we choose to live here. But this comment thread reveals a malignancy that must be excised. Bullying,name calling ,racist labeling has got to cease and desist. Let’s respect each others values,ethics,world view and mindset which might not always reflect our own but are equally valid. And maybe through conversations rather than condemnation, we might actually learn something.