
Jack Comporesi is hugged by former student Janette Ireland of Kent during the Sharon Center School reunion Saturday.
Ruth Epstein
Jack Comporesi is hugged by former student Janette Ireland of Kent during the Sharon Center School reunion Saturday.
SHARON — Memories filled the air of the Sharon Center School cafeteria Saturday, March 1, as alumni from the 1970s to 2000s gathered at the invitation from beloved teachers Irv Robbins and Jack Comporesi.
Shrieks of recognition from those who hadn’t seen each other in decades were constant. So was the laughter as reminiscences were shared. The two teachers looked on with delight, watching as the more than 100 came together.
Looking back on their years with great fondness, the pair decided to host the reunion in hopes of reconnecting with the students they so enjoyed. Robbins taught social studies and math, while also coaching and Comporesi, affectionately known as “Compo,” was the physical education teacher and coach.
“It’s a blast to be in a place with friends,” said Robbins, who was at the school from 1969 to 1998.
“This is just great,” said Comporesi, decked out in his signature shorts which he wore throughout his tenure. “It’s bringing back a lot of memories. I’m surprised at the turnout. I guess that shows how much they thought about their time here.” He taught at the school from 1968 to 2002, noting a highlight was his being able to introduce cross-country skiing into the program. It was the only school in the state at that time that offered the sport and he praised the Board of Education for providing the funds.
As they arrived, the guests first headed over to the teachers for hugs and handshakes. Adam King of Westborough, Massachusetts, came bearing his eighth-grade yearbook, poring over the photos with some of his classmates. “As fast as I wanted to leave this town, I’ve kept it in my heart.” He and several others made reference to Comporesi’s shorts, noting he always wore them, even in sub-zero-degree weather. “His gym classes were the bright spot in my day.”
Among those attending Saturday’s Sharon Center School reunion are, from left, Meng Kry, Maggie Laverty, Julie Prindle, Barbie Ellis and Andrea Kennedy.Ruth Epstein
King remembered that Robbins had them read Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” and that he invited students to his home for sledding.
King, and others, recalled the wooden hand Comporesi kept in his office as a deterrent to poor behavior. Jesse Loucks of Salisbury also had vivid memories of that spoon that had one smashed finger. When he thought about it, he went over to question Comporesi to ask if that finger was a result of his using it to punish someone. He came back with the answer. “He said that broken finger was just for effect,” reported Loucks.
For Nam Kry of New York City, Sharon Center School played a pivotal role in his life. He and his family were from Cambodia and were sponsored to come to town by the Sharon Congregational Church. Knowing no English, he said sports was the way he broke through the language barrier and he credited the two teachers for providing those experiences. He and his siblings were the only Asian students at the school at that time, but they were embraced by the school and community.
Kry went off to Salisbury School, Yale for an undergraduate degree and Harvard for a master’s. He works in the area of technology. “My American dream started here,” he said. Robbins noted he was one of the brightest students he ever taught.
As she embraced Comporesi, Janette Ireland of Kent said, “He was tough. He didn’t let us get away with anything.” Ed Duntz of Sharon said his main remembrance about Robbins was telling the students they all needed to know about football, because the boys would play it and the girls would date players. Douglas Cahill, current chairman of the Sharon Center School Board of Education, said his greatest pleasure is giving out the Comporesi Sports Award for sportsmanship at each graduation and Brian Wilcox beamed to relate that his daughter Morgan received that award.
Several women from the classes of 1986 and 1987 attended, pleased to see the teachers and each other. Andrea Kennedy said the two “set expectations because they loved the kids that went here” and Maggie Laverty said they inspired her to become a teacher.
Jamie Hall Casey of Sharon said when her father died, Comporesi was the first to arrive for his calling hours. Linda Amerighi of Sharon remembers students having to take part in the Presidential Fitness program under Comporesi’s supervision, which gave students needed exercise. “I still have my badges and certificates,” she said, proudly.
Jonathan Costa, who is director of EdAdvance, said his father, Tony Costa, a former principal at the school, hired Comporesi. “Jack inspired me in sports and Irv inspired me in education,” said Costa.
Ellie Lowell of Sharon came to show her appreciation to them both, but said Robbins made her seventh- and eighth-grade years enjoyable after having a difficult sixth-grade experience. “You don’t forget teachers like that,” she said.
Wanda Moeller of Sharon was the school secretary from 1977 to 2006. “They were a lot of fun,” she said of the pair. “They cared deeply about their students.”
“I knew I’d enjoy it and I did,” said Robbins, looking around the room toward the end of the event. “It’s a dream come true. I loved the kids, most of whom I haven’t seen since they graduated. To see them as adults is a joy.”
HVRHS sophomore Wyatt Bayer will suit up for the Mountaineers' varsity baseball team.
FALLS VILLAGE — With the arrival of warm weather, so too comes a new season of athletics at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
The Mountaineers will field teams in five different sports for the spring season: baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis and track and field.
Baseball gets the varsity season started with a scrimmage March 31 at home against Wolcott Technical High School. The Mountaineers will be coached by Bobby Chatfield this year. The last time most HVRHS varsity players took to the diamond was in August 2024 when Housy Juniors won the Babe Ruth League District 4 Northwest Connecticut summer baseball championship.
With a surplus of baseball players this year, junior varsity baseball returns to HVRHS. The JV boys, coached by Russell Sears, will get the season started April 5 on the road against Shepaug Valley High School.
Softball starts April 5 as well with a home game against Shepaug Valley. Coaches Pete Foley and Kaleigh Selino led the team to a 13-9 record and a trip to the Class S tournament last year. The Mountaineers will need to establish a new hurler on the mound after graduating star pitcher Anne Moran in 2024.
Boys and girls tennis begins April 7. The boys, coached by Jeff Tripp, will travel to Lakeview High School for the first meet of the season. At the same time, the girls, coached by Don Drislane and Mo Kirby-Dore, host Lakeview on the newly refinished courts at HVRHS.
The lacrosse season begins with a rematch of last year’s Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference girls championship game. HVRHS, coached by Laura Bushey, will travel to play the reigning champs St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol April 9. St. Paul defeated HVRHS 13-12 in a riveting league final last May.
Track and field is set to start April 22 with a home meet against Lakeview High School. HVRHS, coached by Alan Lovejoy, has a number of decorated athletes returning to the track this year including Kyle McCarron, Ava Segalla and Anthony Labbadia, each of whom competed in the CIAC State Open meet last June. Many more returning runners and jumpers gained state-level experience last year at the CIAC Class S meet in May.
Fans of fine art filed into the Sharon Historical Society’s gallery on Saturday, March 15, for the opening reception of student works from the Northlight Art Center in Amenia, New York.
Northlight was founded in Sharon by Pieter Lefferts in 2010 and later moved to Amenia. This is the 14th year of the annual student exhibit.
“It’s an invitation for people who may never have thought that they might be included in an art exhibit,” said Lefferts about the show that includes 34 works created by a dozen artists. Lefferts added that visitors will see a range of abilities and individual expression.
“I like to draw out innate expression,” Lefferts said. Lefferts said there were 34 pieces as he had hung them all the day before.
Several works on display were inspired by local subjects. For example, Kathleen Kulig’s “Grand Dame of the Orchard” depicts an actual old apple tree found at a friend’s home.
“I’ve actually picked apples from that tree,” Kulig said.
Kathleen Kulig with her “Grand Dame of the Orchard” painting.Leila Hawken
Artist Cathleen Halloran’s acrylic on paper painting titled “Eleven Eleven” is a loving remembrance of her dog, Maddie, whose death was imminent as Halloran created the painting, an expression of her subject’s magnificent spirit.
Variety is evident in artists’ ages, mediums, experience and subject matter.
“It’s always a pleasure to see how the artists grow every year, a fascinating variety,” said Historical Society President Chris Robinson as he dished out the wine and other beverages in the reception area.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the historical society, although not all works are for sale. The exhibit will be open until Friday, May 9, during historical society hours. For additional information, go to www.sharonhist.org.
Coinciding with the gallery show, the Sharon Historical Society’s current exhibit is worth a visit. Titled “Family Collections,” the exhibit shows collective Sharon memories found in the artifacts left by ancestors, remembered now in part by what they left behind. Each is a clue to the town’s historic past, spanning two centuries.
Tess Marks as Little Sally and Jackson Olson as Officer Lockstock in the Housatonic Musical Theatre Society production of "Urinetown."
Last week’s Housatonic Musical Theatre Society production of “Urinetown” featured strong performances and superb choreography.
The remodeled auditorium at Housatonic Valley Regional High School made a big difference as well. New seats were a welcome addition, and the increased technical capability meant that the show was flawless from a production point of view.
The difference was so noticeable that director Christiane Olson thanked the taxpayers of Region One for supporting the recent school improvements project in brief remarks before the start of the matinee performance Saturday, March 15.
Katelin Lopes and Andy Delgado were powerful as the star-crossed lovers Hope Cladwell and Bobby Strong.
Jackson Olson got a lot of laughs with his deadpan take on Officer Lockstock, often in tandem with Tess Marks’ wide-eyed Little Sally.
The entire cast hit all the right buttons, not the easiest thing to do with a show that contains multiple layers of satire.
The orchestra, led by Tom Krupa, was rock solid.
And Amber Cameron’s choreography was seamless. The cast looked like they’d been dancing together all their lives.
Race Brook Lodge
Tucked away on Under Mountain Road in Sheffield, Massachusetts, The Stagecoach Tavern dates back to the mid-18th century and offers fine dining in an enchanted setting. It also serves as the portal into the Race Brook Lodge, which harbors unique spaces for entertainment, lodging and wellness.
Intimate outdoor gathering areas are illuminated by strings of lights. A cluster of mid-century bungalows can be rented by guests who come to spend the weekend and attend concerts and retreats, which typically take place in the barns farther back in the woods.
This magical vision springs from the mind of David Rothstein, who purchased the property in pieces between 1990 and 2000, a continuation of his idea to create a place where like-minded people can congregate to enjoy cultural happenings in an idyllic setting.
Before acquiring the Race Brook Lodge, Rothstein, now 90, managed The Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts, the premier outdoor music venue in the Berkshires during the 1970s, which he purchased with his former wife, Nancy Fitzpatrick, whose family owned the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge.
In its heyday from 1970 to 1979, The Music Inn featured a who’s who of iconic performers of the era like Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King, James Taylor, Muddy Waters, The Byrds, Ravi Shankar, Joan Baez, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, The Eagles, Lou Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals and The Allman Brothers.
“Music Inn was the last outpost of the counterculture, which had evolved as a result of the groundbreaking evolution of jazz as the first integrated music genre that ultimately paved the way for Rock ‘n Roll,” Rothstein said.
Race Brook barn at nightLety Marcos
This history goes even deeper. Prior to the Music Inn, the buildings were known as the Berkshire Music Barn, and featured performers like Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk and the Modern Jazz Quartet. The property also featured The Lenox School of Jazz, The Lenox Arts Center, Toad Hall Moviehouse, and The Great Riot Alley Memorial.
As a student of modernist architect Louis Khan, Rothstein absorbed Khan’s ideas of “open frame” or a space without barriers. It’s a concept he used at the Music Inn that carries on at Race Brook.
Race Brook’s music programmer, Alex Harvey recalls how he came to do a retreat with Qi Gong master Thomas Drodge and noticed a Louis Khan poster on the wall. He spent a morning and afternoon talking with Rothstein about art, performance and community in a way he’d been dreaming about for a long time.
“When I saw the poster, I asked David about it. He told me that he was one of Khan’s assistants, and he actually drafted some of the buildings I’d studied. So, before I knew he had the Music Inn, he was a superstar to me,” Harvey said.
Harvey also met the current proprietor Casey Fitzpatrick — David and Nancy’s son — and the two hit it off, realizing they shared a common interest in global music. Armed with a deep Rolodex, thanks to his many years as a performer and ethnomusicologist, Harvey soon began programming shows at Race Brook.
When booking, Harvey looks for artists who can offer something beyond the typical performance.
“We had Alash, who are one of the more renowned Tuvan throat singing ensembles,” Harvey said. “With their energy, they change the weather of the room. It’s a participatory feeling. I loved reading the reactions online; was it a concert or a ritual? That’s what we’re interested in.”
“We have Beausoleil coming up on April 5. When they start playing, you feel transported to a hooch house in Eunice, Louisiana. They create a sense of place, and that’s what really excites me,” he added.
Sunder Ashni singing at Dia de los Muertos.Lety Marcos
There are regularly scheduled programs, like Jazz brunches every Sunday, and at times Race Brook Lodge is open to other groups who book shows like the recent “Almost Spring Weekender” a DJ’d house party produced by Edo Moore.
Ideally, Harvey books fully immersive weekends with music, workshops, and enjoyment of the spaces, whether hiking nearby trails or inside the barns.
“One of my favorites is the Dia de los Muertos weekend which has an open mic to the dead,” Harvey said. “It’s art as a form of medicine and healing. It’s kind of like Brooklyn Academy of Music meets Esselin.”
For elevated musical and wellness experiences in an idyllic Berkshire setting, Race Brook Lodge offers something for everyone. See their site for information on all that they offer: rblodge.com