Red in Second Life

I'm attending Jonathan's concert tonight in Second Life. Here are a few screen shots from the event.

I even got a snazzy t-shirt to wear:

Plus a copy of the libretto to read along with:

And chatted with people over drinks in the Red Tent during intermission

(though its a bit weird when the drink starts chatting with you)

It wasn't without its glitches though... sometime in the 2nd act we all started seeing a Pixar cartoon instead of the live feed... (though it may have been those talking drinks during intermission that did us all in...)

There was QA afterwards (and yes, I think those are leather pants...)

Americans for the Arts Dinner

A photo from Mom's Playhouse dinner last night:

Robert Lynch, President of Americans for the Arts, addressed a group of arts advocates at the Westport Country Playhouse yesterday, followed by a preview performance of All About Us (which opens Saturday night.) The visit, at the invitation of board member Ann Sheffer, highlighted the work of the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts (and arts education) in America, and the creators of the "Art. Ask for More" campaign appearing nationally in newspapers and magazines.

She's in Westport Now as well, pictured with Eartha Kitt.

I'd love to see the show -- its based on “The Skin of Our Teeth” by Thornton Wilder, one of my favorite plays.

New songs from Eduard

Eduard told me that he's been adding new songs to his purevolume account and that I've been missing them (I of course told him that it needed an RSS feed if I was expected to know about updates, but that I would try to check more often in the meantime). Right now the ones that are there are:

Beautiful
What I Got
You're So Last Summer
Demons

So go have a listen.

Distinguished Service Award

Mom and Bill received a Distinguished Service Award this morning from the Voluntary Action Center of Mid-Fairfield County. There's a piece on them in Westport Now and Mom sent this photo:

Betty's Trip

Betty sent this great update from her trip:

Hi everyone-

I am eurotripping and thought I would email you all to let you know that I am alive. Last week I was in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and now I am in Prague. And then next week I am going to Italy (Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome to be exact), then back to London for a few days and then off to Greece! After that I will be back home (just in time for my 21st birthday!) Once I move into my new apartment in DC, I expect everyone to come and visit me. Copenhagen was much nicer than I imaged it would be. I saw the changing of the guards and the statue of the little mermaid, among other things. In Amerstda, I went on a canal ride, went to the Anne Frank House and to the Van Gough Museum and I even went to the Heiniken Factory. Tomorrow I am going to explore Prague by starting at Castle and walking around the Jewish Quarter. I am taking lots of pictures, so when you all come to visit me I can show you them. Hope all is well back in America! Write back if you want, I check my email about once a day because luckily there are lots of internet cafes in Europe!

Sounds like an amazing trip!!

Brian in Fast Company

Brian appears to be blogging for Fast Company now!

FC Expert Blogs

Notice in the Times

If you're looking for the notice from the NYTimes about Harold, you should be able to find it here at Legacy.com.

And I just learned from Ann that today would have been Aunt Felicia (Annie's mother and my great-grandfather's sister) birthday (born in 1887).

Harold

For family members looking, here's a link to the obituary in the Santa Cruz Sentinal for Harold. I'm not sure how to give to the library fund without going through Margaret, but I'll let you know if I find out.

Update: Ann sent this note about giving to the fund:

You had asked about a memorial recommendation. Some years ago Alan and Margaret established a special endowment in honor of Annie and Harold (and Alan's parents) at the UCSC library and I think this would be a lovely place to make a donation. Harold and Annie were very supportive of the library activities. The gift should be made to the Gordon Library Endowment, UCSC Library, c/o UCSC foundation, carriage house, university of california at santa cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064. Checks should be payable to UCSC Foundation with "Gordon Library Endowment" noted on the memo line.

Raves for Brian

Brian gets some raved reviews on PBS's MediaShift blog today:

The We Media site also includes audio from some of the panel sessions, as well as a comprehensive group blog that has detailed notes from every session. Not only are the notes useful now, after the fact, but the live notes by Brian Reich during sessions helped punch up the major points and “a-ha moments” as they happened. I was impressed with Reich’s fast work during sessions, as he brought up relevant sites that were discussed during panels, and built full PowerPoint presentations based on statistics he found on the web.

I talked to Reich after the first day of the conference, and told him how impressed I was with his rapid-fire work. He told me that was the environment in which he was most comfortable — juggling multiple screens and inputs — and that he could most relate with stock traders, who have a similarly chaotic work environment.

One more Grandpa writeup

Brian and Mom wrote up a notice about Grandpa for the Columbia alumni magazine, and it appears here in their Nov/Dec issue:

Ralph Sheffer, sports marketing pioneer, fundraiser and philanthropist, Westport, Conn., on September 26, 2006. Sheffer was a coxswain at Columbia in the early 1930s, recruited during the first days of his freshman year because he was small. He joined not even knowing how to swim. He attended the Law School, fought in WWII and worked with the U.S. Olympic Committee to sell sponsorships and advertising to support American athletes around the world. Sheffer married Betty Rabinowitz in 1947 and moved to Westport, where he served in a variety of elected and appointed positions, most notably as moderator of the Representative Town Meeting. Sheffer’s name is carved in the wood paneling of the Columbia boathouse in honor of his rowing accomplishments. In 2002, the Columbia rowing community named the newest boat in its fleet in his honor. Sheffer’s wife predeceased him; he is survived by three children and five grandchildren, including Brian Reich ’02, who was a coxswain for Columbia’s heavyweight crew. Sheffer’s brother, Eugene, was a professor of French at Columbia and director of the Maison Française.

Aunt Susan in the NY Times

Aunt Susan is shown in today's NY Times wedding section, attending the wedding of Carolyn Ginsburg and Mark Stern

Eduard's Shirt

I sent Eduard this shirt a couple of weeks ago after he called to report a particularly brilliant incident that he was involved in. The quote is his, and while I certainly don't think it is true, it was far too funny to pass up making a t-shirt of it and sending it to him at school. Mom sent these fun photos of him wearing it before heading back to school after his Thanksgiving break.

Uncle Doug in Our Town

The Aspen Times has a great feature on Uncle Doug today, Starring in ‘Our Town’ ... nobody. We're all heading to Colorado on Wednesday to see him the production! Congrats Uncle Doug -- and break a leg!

Mb Alternatives

Good luck this week to S who is presenting at the 2006 Annual International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reductions in Orlando, Florida.

This conference is devoted to the sharing of information on current and ongoing research into methyl bromide alternatives. Attendance in the past has surpassed 400 researchers, growers, and interested persons, with a significant level of international participation. The conference will feature concurrent sessions concerning research on alternatives to methyl bromide for preplant, post-harvest, and structural uses.

On Monday he'll be presenting "Strawberry Yield and Weed Control with Alternative Fumigants Applied in Combination with Metam Under Various Tarps" and on Thursday he'll be talking about "Strawberry Production and Weed Control in Soils Treated with BASAMID and Chloropicrin."

Romanian Hay

Alan has the photos and essays from his recent trip to Romania up on the Hay in Art site! I think the ones of the Merry Cemetery of Sapanta with the painted headstones are my favorites.

(I'll get the database updated sometime this weekend...)

Woog's World

Dan Woog wrote a lovely piece about Grandpa for the 10/20 issue of the Westport News: Ralph Sheffer: A Man And His Town.

Here's a copy of the column in case the other sites stop archiving it:

In the fall of 1953, Ralph and Betty Sheffer’s third child, Jonathan, was born. Ralph stayed up all night, then took the train to New York City to work all day as an advertising executive. That evening he attended a coffee for candidates for the upcoming Representative Town Meeting election.

“In those days, lots of people ran in every district,” his daughter, Ann Sheffer, recalled last week. “There were 15 candidates, and everyone spoke for two minutes. When my father got up to talk, he fainted. I think he got the sympathy vote from all the women.”

Ralph Sheffer won that election. He went on to serve 16 years on the RTM, 10 of them as moderator. He chaired the Nike Site Committee, which developed the North Avenue property where Staples High School and Bedford Middle School now sit. As moderator he also helped the town of Westport purchase Longshore Club Park.

Sheffer – who died last month at age 93 – did much, much more for his adopted hometown. He was a driving force behind the Westport Public Library, Westport Arts Center and the Westport Historical Society. He helped build Coleytown Elementary School. He even donated his talents to the “Coleytown Capers,” a PTA fundraiser starring enough entertainment professionals to stock a Broadway show.

All those accomplishments have been highlighted in the weeks following Sheffer’s death. But underlying his half century of devotion to Westport is the question: “Why?” What makes such a high-powered man – a Columbia University rower, Iwo Jima hero, Madison Avenue businessman and fundraiser extraordinaire for the United States Olympic Committee – devote so much time and energy to causes like local government and an elementary school?

“After World War II, a lot of our parents got married and decided they wanted a different type of suburb than where they grew up, in New York and Long Island,” Sheffer’s daughter Ann said. “Something about Westport attracted them. It had a bit of an edge. I can’t imagine what the old Yankees who were here for generations thought.”

Westport was not unfamiliar to the Sheffers. Betty’s parents, Aaron and Clara Rabinowitz, came here in 1928 to join their friend, social reformer Lillian Wald, whose South Compo Road home Eleanor Roosevelt often visited. When Ralph and Betty got married in 1947, the Rabinowitzes gave them a five-acre plot on Bayberry Lane (the site today of the Westport-Weston Health District). The Sheffers built a summer home there, and became full-time residents in 1951.

“As often happens with newcomers, the men got pulled into suburban life by their kids,” Ann said. “All week long, the town was filled with women and children. The men were in New York from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Family life was packed into the weekends.”

Despite their long hours at work, and aboard the less-than-glamorous New Haven Railroad, the men of Ralph Sheffer’s generation found time for civic involvement. For some, it was both an extension of their day jobs – a competitive, masculine environment – and a chance to make an immediate impact.

It was also a challenge. “When my father ran for moderator, the RTM was pretty partisan,” Ann said. “The Republicans – Herb Baldwin and his kitchen cabinet – ran the town. Then all the young Democratic liberals came in and tried to change things.” RTM meetings ran until 3 a.m. Members debated issues like saving Cockenoe Island from a nuclear power plant, recalling Board of Education chair Joan Schine, even whether the U.S. should withdraw from Vietnam.

“Westport has always been a contentious place,” Ann Sheffer said. “But out of that contentiousness comes amazing action.”

Her father, she said, “found something in Westport that motivated him. He loved selling, and succeeding. Raising $5 million to build the library was challenging. He didn’t care about the credit; he just wanted to get it done. The Olympics were rewarding, but he really liked using his skills to help the town. I think selling Westport meant more to him than selling cars or soda.”

Ralph Sheffer was not the only man who dedicated himself to this town, of course, and he did not work only with fellow Democrats. Ann Sheffer said that for years, her father and Republican town attorney Ed See worked together to set the RTM agenda. Allen Raymond, another Republican, was president of the library board when Sheffer ran its capital campaign. “They were very different people, but they worked together well. They each knew what they were good at, and appreciated other people’s skills.”

Ann Sheffer also credited “old, thrifty Yankee Republicans” like Herb Baldwin and John Boyd for their contributions to Westport. “They were used to getting their own way,” she said. “But they accepted anyone who wanted to work on projects to help the town.”

Ralph Sheffer’s generation – which includes women like Shirley Land – helped lay the foundation for the current crop of civic volunteers. “There are lots of wonderful people here who put enormous time and energy into Westport,” Ann Sheffer noted. However, she said, the RTM – one of her father’s passions, and a body on which she herself served – has seen a drop-off in interest. “A lot of members now are retired people. I understand – it can be draining. It’s tough if you’re out in the world all day, and have a couple of kids.

“Sometimes I think people’s motives are more personal today. But then I look at someone like Rick Benson. I disagree with him politically, but he does so much for the town. He’s involved in the Rotary Club, he helped build the Compo Beach playground – he’s doing what he’s good at, just like my father and all those other people did.”

Ann Sheffer sees parallels between the Westport her parents found in 1950, and the town she still lives in nearly 60 years later. “For years this has been a place that cares,” she said. “We tackle big causes and important projects. If people choose to live here, they ought to take advantage of Westport. For the new people here, we have to find a way to celebrate all the fun and the good things we’ve done in the past, and make it clear there’s a lot more for everyone to do. This is everyone’s town.”

Ralph Sheffer certainly made that clear, in his six long, productive and very important decades here in Westport.

Brian on the Move!

Looks like Brian is taking on a fantastic new job as Director of New Media at Cone!. It sounds like a fantastic company and a great opportunity! He'll be starting there around his birthday...

DIRECTOR of NEW MEDIA
Description

Cone, a brand strategy and communications agency in Boston, is looking to hire a Director of New Media for its Brand Marketing Group. The ideal candidate will have spent significant time spearheading and activating online communications strategies and have case studies to share of strategic and successful programs he/she has developed.

The Director of New Media will be the responsible for monitoring and identifying emerging technologies and playing the primary leadership role in the positioning, strategy development and implementation of these technologies for communications programming for the agency. The technology focus will be specifically related to emerging products and processes that will enable Cone to engage in leading-edge communication channels with consumers and other stakeholders. He/she will play a key role to educate internal staff in the use and application of these new technology services.

The Director of New Media will also take on an external role, serving as Cone’s expert at client meetings, speaking opportunities, and other related market environments as needed. The Director of New Media will also be the primary resource to identify and build strategic alliances to assess, cultivate, and develop new resources and potential business opportunities.

The Director of New Media will be also asked to identify appropriate partners and other vendors to help take advantage of resources that will keep Cone abreast of emerging technologies for potential use in communications programming.

The early focus of this position will be to develop the user-generated media product offering (blogs and other online communications), refine the role of technology to help hone the Cone one-to-one influencer website, identify new resources and positions regarding best practices in online measurement of public relations programming, and identify technologies and services that competitors may be using to gain market share.

Brian in NYO

Brian's in the New York Observer in an article about "Angry Data Nerds Rain on Democratic Parade." He writes about it on his blog

“If we don’t win back Congress, we’re unbelievably dumb,” said Brian Reich, senior strategy consultant with Mindshare Interactive Campaigns and a former briefing director for Vice President Al Gore. “But we are not, in fact, going to be winning back Congress: We are inheriting the results of the Republican Congress’ failure to keep a majority.

“The Democrats are only going to take the House by a seat or two,” he continued, “because the Republicans have picked out the critical districts that they need to keep the majority, and know how to get voters to come out.”

Family Dinner in Santa Cruz

We went down to Santa Cruz for a lovely evening with Margaret, Alan, Alan, Andrea and Sacha. We even got a sneak peak at Alan's amazing hay photos from their recent trip to Romania (can't wait to see those posted on his site!) and some spirited conversation around the baseball game.

Congrats to Aunt Susan

As seen on Westport Now: Longrtime Westport artist Susan Malloy was among those honored at today’s Westport Town Hall 13th annual Westport Arts Awards celebration. She received the Patron of the Arts Award-2006 for her support of the arts in Westport.

And more remarks

Here are Uncle Doug's remarks from the Memorial Service for Grandpa. Others can be found here and here

(Note: I ended up losing some of the nice comments people left recently about the service)

Opening Remarks

(Strike gavel)

Be it RESOLVED that THE meeting of this community of Ralph’s friends shall take place at the Westport Town Hall ¬– 11:00 am Monday Oct 9th, 2006 lasting a period of 1 hour. During said time, interesting facts shall be presented, won derful stories and memories shared and beautiful music created in honor of one RALPH SHEFFER.

All in favor of this RESOLUTION signify by raising your right hand and say AYE !

I always wanted to do that, all those years my dad moderated the RTM

My name is Doug Sheffer and I’m Ralph’s middle son, here today to preside over these proceedings.

During our time together, you will hear from seven (7) people:
3 from my dad’s distant past
3 from his less distant past
and 1 from his more recent past
I’ll let them decide where they fit into that scheme

BILL HEINEMAN – an old FRIEND (with the emphasis on the word friend)
ALAN RABINOWITZ – my uncle, Ralph’s brother-in-law, originally from Westport
ALLEN RAYMOND – fellow RTM member and TOWN HISORIAN
DOUG SHEFFER – your “presider” of today
DIANE FARRELL – immediate former 1st SELECTWOMAN
BRIAN REICH – Bostonian grandson
JONATHAN – Ralph’s other son

I would like to also point out other family members who are here today but will not be seen speaking: my aunt Susan Malloy, sister Ann, brother-in-law Bill Scheffler, wife Barbi, friend Christopher Bailey and honorary stepmother Lois Schine. Brian will introduce the grandchildren of his generation.

NAVY FACTS:

Entered service 1 JAN ‘43
Shipped out on destroyer GWIN 7 APR ’43
GWIN sunk 13 JUL ‘43
Shipped out on battleship North Carolina 29 JUL ‘43
Disembarked North Carolina 15 SEP ‘45
Discharged 15 FEB ‘47

Ralph Sheffer
as remembered by son Doug

Simply put, my Dad was a complex guy with a myriad of interest and talents. Yet in the complexity of his daily life he had just a few simple passions.

He was passionate about his town, his country, his friends, his wife Betty, his family, later Lois Schine and her family and SPORTS..

Whereas Betty was the athlete of the family and mother of our childhood, Dad was both the grandpa and grandma of our adult life as well as THE SPORTS FAN. There was a time in his life where he was a walking encyclopedia of sports trivia and statistics, storing hundreds of players batting, running, pitching, jumping and kicking records in his head.

From Baldwin, LI to NYC to Westport, he studied Law, excelled in the field of Sports Advertising and the business of building a town.

A private person with a public persona.

The man Paul Newman played in the movie “Rally ‘Round the Flag”

A Naval officer, a coxswain and a sailor. He once told me a story about WWII which went something like this: (torpedo in moonlit night on USS North Carolina)

My dad was sunk once downed once in an airplane, drowned once and revived in that War. All this from a guy who really wasn’t much of a swimmer and didn’t particularly like to be around the water.

As a coxswain at Columbia, he discovered the shocking news that he would have to learn how to swim in order to graduate. Not an easy task at that age. Although he never surpassed Jonnie Weissmuller’s records, he tried and did manage to pass Columbia’s swimming test.

Here are some other rapid-fire impressions of my Dad:

An adman - could turn a phrase
An organized guy - the sock drawer
Simple tastes - drove a Plymouth
A solid citizen - RTM, Historical Society, The Arts Center, The Library
A moderator - lived life by Roberts Rules of Order
A loving, devoted husband - proud father
An educated guy - Columbia at an early age
An executive type - the ubiquitous yellow pad
A guy with high expectations of people, causes and projects
A guy who liked a job well done
A guy who liked a good laugh and to be well entertained

It’s interesting that golf Legend Byron Nelson passed away on the exact same day as my Dad. Byron Nelson was the Tiger Woods of his day achieving an astounding11 tournament winning streak in 1945 which stands to this day as the most remarkable year in the history of Golf.

Dad once wrote a pamphlet on Golf as part of a promotion package. It was entitled “Play it Pro” and I still have a copy in my golf bag in Colorado.

In one of Byron’s last interviews in 1997, he had this to say about his life.

I don’t know very much
I know a little bit about Golf
I know how to make a stew
And I know how to be a decent man

Sounds a lot like my Dad

Well maybe not the part about the stew.

I’d like to personally thank all the caregivers, other than immediate family members, who were around my dad in his later years.
Gem, Kofi, Joan, Lois Schine, and Jimmie.. and his cat Mittens.

You were a big part of his life, a second family

In closing, Winston Churchill once said:

You make a living by what you get
You make a life by what you give.

That sounds more like my Dad.

Baseball Brian

Brian's featured in today's Billy Ball daily newsletter:

Bottom of the 3rd OUR MAN ON THE SCENE Brian Reich filed this report –

I was sitting next to the players wives and I should also note, as an aside, that the rally cap really does work. When the Cardinals were giving away the farm, run after run with no out, I flipped my hat around and inside out, the inning ended. Then, with the rally cap still in place, the Cards started to make a comeback. But I think the baseball gods knew I was a visitor and when only a few rally caps popped up in the crowd, the momentum stopped.

Jim Edmonds fulfilled the ultimate defense/offense great baseball moment... A fantastic over the shoulder, Willie Mays style catch in center, then a homerun the next inning.

The Mets shortstop, Jose Reyes, tried a little trickery - 'flubbing' a liner from, I think, Scott Rolen, in an attempt to force a double play. The umpire used good discretion in calling it an out and we all got a good laugh out of it.

With the rain today, the local news is already saying that the game may not start today until 10pm (11pm EST) - if major league baseball wants to start a game at 10pm. Otherwise they would obviously lose their travel day - play tomorrow then go to NYC.

Good fans, but a lot of them left early when the Cards got down. That's sad - this is the playoffs, not just some ordinary game. Maybe I don't have the perspective these guys in STL have, because my team, the Mariners, aren't in the playoffs every year. But I think every game in October is special, every inning provides new life - even in a game as lopsided as the one last night became. But the stands should have been filled to the end and they weren't.

Thanking you, Brian.

He also writes about his Latest Sports Adventure on his blog.

More remarks

I'm collecting the remarks made at yesterday's memorial service for Grandpa. Brian's can be found here, Uncle Jonathan's, Uncle Alan's and Allen Raymond (Westport's Historian)'s are below:

Jonathan's remarks:

First, I want to echo what has been said already, and to thank you all for being here today. The response of friends and family to this occasion has strengthened all of us, and we thank you for that. I suppose there is nothing unusual about children and grandchildren speaking about their loss, but it doesn’t make it easier. Doug and I both found that we had been thinking about what we might say today for a long time. Still, the moment is here now, and grief is always surprising, now matter how well you prepare.

Our father lived a long life, didn’t he? 93 years is a long time. I think this surprised him, because he had a superstition about living longer than his father did. Once he passed 60, I think he really believed that the rest of his life was a gift. Maybe that explains the equipoise that settled over him in the last period of his life; maybe it was a lot of things. If his last years taught us anything, it was about his resiliency. His was a life of accomplishment, but also of great sadness; yet he always managed to survive the terrible events of his life and invent newer, better ones.

Samuel Ralph Sheffer was born in Baldwin, LI, and grew up over his father’s dry goods store. Oh, perhaps you didn’t know he had his name legally changed before he graduated from Columbia. I found his high school yearbook when I was 12 while snooping around the house. I stared at what was clearly his picture, and his nickname, “Sammy.” I was stunned. When he returned home from NY in the evening, I yelled out, “Hey, Sammy!” I think that night was when his hair started to turn grey.

A few years ago, when he was getting a little vague about what really happened and what sounded like a good story, he told me that the reason he was born in L.I. was that the family had to leave 138th St. and Grand Concourse in the Bronx because his sister, Isabelle, had fallen madly in love with a gentile. A few years ago he told me he met Gertrude Stein once. Who’s to know now, anyway.

My father had three older brothers, Harry, Simon and Eugene. “Simmy” as he was called, had swallowed one of those hissing whistles you put on your tongue, and to remove it, his thyroid gland was also removed. As a result, he never grew taller than about 4’10”, and I wore his cast off suits when I was a teenager.

My Uncle Gene played an enormous role in our lives. He contracted dystonia as a teenager, which caused his nervous system to degenerate into violent spasms that he endured his entire life. I called him “Uncle Wiggley” when I was a kid. Gene lived with us on and off during periods of convalescence, and despite this, was a hugely popular professor of French at Columbia, and had a lively off-campus life at his bungalow in East Hampton in the 1950s. He was a powerful presence in my father’s thought. Having Gene around made us a better family, and this quality of determination and grace that seemed to be a Sheffer trait, was shared by my father.

Although Dad didn’t discourse endlessly about himself, he never seemed to get to the end of a story in a hurry. I remember one Thanksgiving at which he took so long to tell a joke that many of the guests simply left the table. His Moses-like slowness of speech leant a certain gravity to his words; it probably also prefigured the silence of his last few years.

Being rendered nearly mute was just the last challenge of a life filled with dramatic difficulties. Dad saw the breadlines of the Depression as a teenager, and emerged from college and law school with a lifelong anxiety about money. As he became successful in sports advertising, he became a wealthy man always who felt himself to be poor.

My father wasn’t one of those veterans who go on about their service; in fact I learned about it only second hand. It’s impossible for me to imagine the devastation of being bombed into the wild, wide ocean, yet it doesn’t surprise me that he returned a battle-weary man. This part of his life was usually told to me by one of his oldest friends, the late Ruth Lipton, with whom I lived when I moved to NY in 1975. She said he used to stare out the window of their apartment for hours, finally forcing himself to get back into the swing of life.

Everything we are we get first from our parents; the rest is just chasing our own dreams. Whenever I think about music, I’m thinking of my mother. Whenever I watch sports on television, or even hear the drone of a sports announcer on a distant TV, I will always think of him. You’ve heard how much sports meant to Dad, from his days as the little man on the championship Columbia rowing team, to his career raising corporate support for the Olympics.. He played tennis on weekends, although “played” is perhaps not the right word to describe the men’s game that terrorized the suburbs. It was more of a pitched battle between men who never wanted to lose their competitive edge. It’s no wonder none of us ever took up tennis. Who could ever compete with that?

Even if they were not the ones he might have wanted for me, who else put those dreams there? He left us all with plenty to ponder. From my father I learned how to be short in the world; and how to charm women. I must have learned ambition from him as well, and what it means to try and rule your own world. Dad’s life was about conquering the terrible odds put in his path. As easy as my life has been in many respects, his was marked by some fairly awesome difficulties.

After the War, he found his calling professionally and built his family with my mother. The years rolled out, commuting daily on the train to NY, weekends of tennis and football and baseball on TV, and eventually his local political career. Home movies recorded children’s birthdays, marching bands on Main Street, graduations, and the rare vacations we all took together. It was all pretty much according to some unspoken plan, at least until my mother’s death in 1977.

His biggest struggle came in the years after my mother’s death. We all felt isolated in our grief, and Dad had to learn how to live without the world he so depended upon. I began to notice a change here and a change there, as he tried to connect to our mother through the things that she loved. He became so much more aware of things, like the fact that the house had a kitchen. One time I brought some friends from NY by, and somehow we ended up in my mother’s closet trying on her dresses and wigs, which were still hanging there. I found it very therapeutic. Dad called me the next day, convinced that one of my college friends, Peter Kazaras, had stolen a silver spoon from the kitchen. Peter and I both lost parents young: he used to call the decor of his apartment, “early dead mother.” We joked about the spoon for years; I told him last week he could keep it. We laughed.

In addition to discovering the kitchen, my father continued the subscriptions to the Boston Symphony that my mother attended religiously for years. Fortunately for me, his whole focus shifted in the last 25 years of his life, and he became much more aware of things like concerts. He loved coming in to Eos events in NY, and the night the orchestra performed for the Clintons and a distinguished audience at the White House in 1998 was a proud moment for him, a night of a lot of glamour, and a lot of forgiveness.

So many moments I remember: he once said to me while I was laboring through my Bach as a child, “You know, guys who play boogy woogy at parties are very popular.” I remember stuffing envelopes for his RTM campaigns, and I remember going to the meetings, so proud that my father was the one who got to tell Republicans (and some long-winded Democrats) to sit down. I remember him flexing his biceps when I was a kid, and when he was older, grabbing his fat stomach and bemoaning his lost abs. I remember fights in the car on drives to NY to see musicals, and the Darwinian struggle to find a parking place in Manhattan. I remember going to Yankee Stadium and getting the royal corporate treatment as we watched Mickey Mantle hit home runs, and Y.A. Tittle pass for the Giants. We were at his last game, when he knelt, exhausted in the end zone, his helmet off and his forehead bloodied.

Last, I want to acknowledge his genteel kindness to my partners. Christopher said last week that my father always made him feel welcome, even loved. Loss makes us all recall the joy and sadness of life. I want to thank my sister for her vigilance over the past years, which allowed me a measure of freedom. And Jamie, his most devoted helper for the last three years. Today we all recall him in our own ways, our words creating newer, fresher memories that others will pass on for us. In this way, we may live forever.

Alan Rabinowitz's Remarks:

draft October 5, 2006 for the October 9th Town Hall meeting

Greetings to those of you who knew Ralph as one of the grand old men of Westport. I thought it would be appropriate to add a bit of family folklore about the time, soon after World War II, when he got married to my oldest sister Betty and shortly thereafter moved to the community that I had known in my boyhood as a town of about 2,500 people. Ralph became a member of our Rabinowitz family just 60 years ago as my first brother-in-law. How I looked forward to having another male in the family, for I had only two older sisters and acres of older first cousins on my father’s side, all girls except for one male my age living far away. And both Ralph and I were, technically, Navy veterans, but I was still in training and he was home from the wars, laden with real stories of combat, the likes of which had not been heard in our house before. Beginning in the late 1920s, my parents spent three or four summer months in Westport, Dad with a daily commute to Manhattan. In the 1930s, they bought the Reynolds farm on Crosshighway and Bayberry Lane, for Westport then was full of farms. In fact, during the war I worked for Bob Warner on his Blue Ribbon Farm, plowing with a team of horses on cornfields he leased on North Avenue, fields that later became the site for Staples High. So it fell to Ralph and Betty to be the ones to teach my family of Manhattanites what it meant to be part of the national march of the GI Generation to the suburbs. Part of the land my parents owned became the site of Betty and Ralph’s first house of their own in Westport, and another part became a radar site during the Cold War. And there my stories can end, for there are folks here who know the reality far better than I do of the way in which the farms disappeared and the way suburban entrepreneurs like Ralph, commuting to the daily strife on Madison Avenue, developed the representative town meeting as a new form of governance and converted the Westport of my youth not only to the Westport of “Rally Round the Flag” but to the Westport of a great library, great schools, and great civic spirit. My thanks to you all.

Allen's Remarks:

Ralph Sheffer Memorial Service
Westport Town Hall

October 9, 2006

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen:

This is an amazing event, and it is being held in a remarkable room.

During Ralph Sheffer’s 16 years of service on the Representative Town Meeting – ten of those as the RTM’s Moderator – Ralph made history in this room, because this is where the RTM holds its monthly meetings.

And today, in this room, you and I are also making history.

We have come here from all walks of life, and all political persuasions. And we are – you and I – united as one as we gather in this room to honor Ralph.

I suspect that each one of you has a story to tell about Ralph, and I have a suggestion: When this memorial service is concluded, why not mingle with Ralph’s friends and perhaps ask a complete stranger, “What did Ralph Sheffer mean to you?”

Some will answer, “Ralph had the patience of Job,” and by that they’ll mean Ralph could keep his cool when all about him were losing theirs.

Others will answer – as they have to me when I ran into them this past week at a Rotary luncheon, or at a meeting of the Flood & Erosion Control Board, or as we talked on the telephone – that Ralph was “a really nice man.”

It doesn’t get any better than that.

I know each of you has stories you could tell us about Ralph – stories that invariably highlight his kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness. For me personally, Ralph put himself on a pedestal when, in 1957, as a fellow RTM member, he became the architect of my campaign to become Moderator, succeeding Herbert Baldwin, who had just been elected First Selectman.

(Incidentally, two years later Ralph Sheffer succeeded me as Moderator.)

You may reply, “There is nothing remarkable in Ralph helping you to be elected Moderator – that’s just Ralph being Ralph.”

True, but there was more to it than that; there was a twist. I was a 34-year-old, wet-behind-the-ears campaign manager for Herbert Baldwin – a Republican – while Ralph was a prestigious 42–year old Westport community leader – and a Democrat.

And so, in 1957 when the RTM members were voting to elect a new Moderator, Ralph, as my campaign manager, was asked to help count the ballots. When he had finished – but before the results were announced – he slipped into the seat next to me and whispered, with a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, “You got it!”

What a friend! I have never forgotten that smile, nor those joyful words from Ralph – “You got it.”

That was the beginning of a long civic partnership between Ralph and me, a partnership that culminated in the construction of the new Library.

If you happened to read my comments abut Ralph in the newspaper last week, you know that as president of the Library during those tumultuous years – tumultuous because we were building it on a dump, for goodness sake – I indicated we never would have raised enough money without Ralph.

That’s true – he was magnificent.

He asked…and invariably, he got.

He convinced one donor to turn his $25,000 pledge into a $300,000 donation. He convinced another donor to match that gift.

He negotiated the sale of the old library for $2,800,000, and smiled while the partners in that deal – whenever they saw Ralph or me – would hold their heads in their hands, as if to imply, “Why have you done this to us?”

Well, those are my stories, and I have a zillion more.

But you have your stories, too, and when this memorial service is concluded I hope, as I suggested earlier, that you will mingle with each other and compare notes on the Ralph Sheffer we all knew and respected.

And finally, before we leave this remarkable building and this remarkable event, it seems fitting that you and I have the last word.

And so, with tears in our eyes but joy in our hearts, we say…

…goodbye Ralph – and thanks for the memories.

Allen Raymond

Photos from the Memorial

Here's the first set of photos from today's memorial.

Liz took these:

These are from Dave Matlow

Memorial Today

11 a.m. – Town Hall Auditorium – Memorial Service for Ralph Sheffer

Brian's speaking on behalf of the grandchildren and sent me a copy of his remarks (as prepared, no doubt he'll adlib)

Hopefully they'll send me some pictures later.

Brian's remarks:

Good morning.

Ralph Sheffer was my grandfather. He was a great man. And I miss him.

And by the turnout today, I know I am not the only person who thought that, nor the only one who misses him. Thank you all for being here today and for your love and support of my family.

I have the privilege of representing Ralph’s grandkids. There are five of us in all: me, my older sister Emily, my younger sister Betty and younger brother Eduard, and my cousin Brooke, who is here today. I also want to recognize Liz and Annie, my two step-sisters, and Lois Schine’s eight grandchildren. My grandfather loved each of them like his own and I know they would say they are lucky to have had him, as Lois’ granddaughter, Cody, liked to say, as their ‘Spare Grandpa.” And, I want to introduce my wife, Karen. My grandfather absolutely adored Karen – he immediately welcomed her into our family and lit up whenever she entered the room – as do I.

When a person dies we have an opportunity to remember what made them special and the contribution they made to each of us. I have had the opportunity this past week to remember my grandfather, to read some of his papers, recall his jokes, and hear stories from friends and family.

In all that I have read and heard, something has become clear to me: I am on a path very similar to the one my grandfather took in life. My grandfather devoted a substantial part of his life to politics and public service. I too have the caught the political bug. My grandfather was a salesman and an advertising executive. And though the technology has changed some, I now work in the same field. And my grandfather was a generous husband, a caring father, and friend to many. I certainly hope that the trajectory of my life will follow that course as well.

But really, it was sports that that has always connected us. Let me share a few quick stories:

I attended the University of Michigan, and in 1997, my freshman year, the Wolverines went undefeated and were invited to play in the Rose Bowl. I immediately made my plans to attend. A few days before I left on my trip, I got a package from my grandfather in the mail. On the cover of the envelope he scrawled in his shaky handwriting “Brian – I was a senior when I made my first visit and you will do it when you’re a freshman.”

My grandfather traveled to Pasadena, California in 1934 to watch his Columbia Lions upset Stanford University 7-0. The game is considered the greatest sports upset in the last 100 years and remains Columbia’s only bowl victory in their history.

I believe that game served as inspiration to my grandfather, who went on to be an executive with the Spencer Advertising Company and helped to sell sponsorships, and develop programs for sports teams and events, including the Rose Bowl.

When I opened the envelope my grandfather had sent me, I found the official program from the 1965 Rose Bowl between Michigan and Oregon State, which my grandfather had helped to produce. Michigan went on to win that game, and the national championship.

I left Michigan after my sophomore year and a few years later, found my way to Columbia to finish college. My first order of business upon arriving on campus was joining the heavyweight crew team --- as coxswain. And two years later, in March of 2002, I helped honor my grandfather for his contributions to Columbia by leading a new boat, the Ralph Sheffer ’34, into a race on the Harlem River.

At the time, I wrote this for Columbia’s student paper:

My grandfather was a coxswain here at Columbia in the early 1930s. He was recruited during the first days of his freshman year because he was small -- his weight was just shy of 100 pounds at the time -- and joined not even knowing how to swim. By the end of his four years, he helped to lead what the yearbook described as "the finest long distance crew Columbia has had since the Championship 1929 eight” – a team that won the IRA Regatta, our sport's national championship.

Together, we swap stories about rowing. He tells me of the time that he was thrown into the Harlem River after a race, only to spend the remainder of the semester in bed recovering from pneumonia. He speaks fondly of the rowers from the crew his junior year who went on to represent the United States at the Olympic trials.

My grandfather's name can be found carved into the wood paneling of [the Columbia] boathouse, along with other rowers and coxswains who have proudly worn the "C" into battle. I proudly join that battle. Like he was, I am the smallest member of the team by far, and of course, the coxswain. I am the guy in the back of the boat who yells "stroke" and is thrown into the water after winning a race, just as he did more than seven decades ago.

My crew failed to win the inaugural race with the new boat, but the sleek yellow Empacher shell that bears my Grandfather’s name has delivered some key victories for Columbia and remains one of the jewels of the Lions’ fleet.

And lastly, there is my grandfather’s deep love of baseball – which I most definitely share.

In 1997, when I made a pilgrimage for baseball – driving the country and visiting all the major league baseball stadiums, the hall of fame, the all star-game, and even throwing out the first pitch at a minor league ballpark in Birmingham, Alabama – it was my grandfather who most understood the importance of the quest, and whose sponsorship made it possible.

You see, for many, baseball is just a sport, a form of entertainment. For my grandfather and I, the game of baseball is something more profound. Just as religion provides a structure and form to many people’s lives, baseball served as the foundation that my adult relationship with my grandfather was built on and the prism through which we viewed life together. To us, baseball was a religion.

True baseball fans are so consumed by the game [that] they devote their lives to their favorite teams, as parishioners do to their congregations. They read the daily sports pages in newspapers, devouring reports and features about their favorite teams and players as the devotedly read and re-read their holy scripture each day looking for guidance. They learn to speak the language of baseball, to dissect box scores of games, and to re-create narratives of at bats, innings, and series', just as the faithful tell of their religion's triumphs while evangelizing to the masses.

Of course, my grandfather worshiped at the House that Ruth Built – pouring his energy and focus into the Yankees more than any other team, in any other sport. All 26 of the Yankees championships came during his lifetime, and I am confident he watched every single one of them unfold. In fact, it seemed at times that he watched every game their ever played. Perhaps that is one of the reasons he liked my wife so much – Karen is a big time Yankees fan. Me? Not so much. But, even I would have welcomed a 27th championship for the Bronx Bombers if it meant my grandfather could have experienced that wonderful sensation one more time.

I only remember attending one game with my grandfather: a contest against the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium on a beautiful, and bright, Sunday afternoon. But nearly all our visits and phone calls were consumed with talk about baseball. Sports provided us with a shared sense of meaning and a common language. Each season, each time I visit a ballpark, every championship the Yankees win in the future will provide me with a chance to remember my grandfather and the time we had together.

I am grateful to all of you for being here today. And thank you for helping to celebrate the wonderful contribution my grandfather has made to each of us, and this community. We will all miss his humor, his wonderful stories, and his passion for life. I hope that you all find a little something in his life to carry with you, to use as inspiration when you get up in the morning and go forward. I know I will.

Thank you.

Hi Emily: My 98-yr-old mother was a friend of Ralph's in Westport. She is now in a skilled nursing facility here in Grass Valley, and she wanted me to find out all about Ralph's service for her. Of course I went right to your website. Thanks for the news coverage for those of us who couldn't be there today. I'll check back again for more photos.
Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Peach at October 9, 2006 06:10 PM

Hi Emily,It was a very wonderful memorial.Johnathans programs were perfect,very classy.All the speakers were so touching and lots of humour but Johnathan seemed to really let his feelings surface and I felt tears when he broke briefly.His music was beautiful,Doug commented that music like that should precede all such events as everyone had a chance to just listen to something so beautiful and reflect.Your family was amazing,your mom set the standard being so beautiful and composed. We had lunch at Brookside before heading home,once again your mom knew how to handle weary travelers.Lisa and John got on the 6a.m. ferry from the vineyard and made it just in time.The hall was absolutely full of people that your grandfather touched,I was proud to be there. Love,Linda P.S. We had our aging Bella when Dinah joined the family as the tiniest kitten .Bella was furious for days but they ended up being inseperable.
Posted by: linda at October 9, 2006 06:21 PM

It was a fabulous event ... Later, at lunch withe some of the out-of-towners we had a chance to tell Ralph stories .. I told a bit of your mom's story, nancy, so you all were there in spirit.
Posted by: lisa kimball at October 10, 2006 07:33 AM

Westport Now and Other Writeups

By request, here's another link to the Westport Now write-up of Grandpa, and a copy of the write-up in PDF

Here's what the Westport News had to say: "In a town with a long list of luminaries over the years, Ralph Sheffer, who died Tuesday at the age of 93, shined more brightly than many." Plus an obituary published there.

Also, this appeared in the NY Times on 9/27:

SHEFFER--Ralph. We mark with sorrow the passing of our beloved uncle and brother-in-law. We will miss his warmth, kindness and sense of humor. We will miss him terribly. With our love and respect. Susan Malloy, Jennifer Malloy Combs, Timon Malloy and the entire Malloy Family
Published in the New York Times on 9/27/2006.

I believe there were two others in the Times, but they're not appearing in their web search.

Plus I found this nice piece from 2002 that Brian wrote for the Columbia paper, Two Coxswains, One Legacy

And a random quote: "The fact is that you are concentrating, and the adrenaline is running like mad at that moment when you are in combat. It’s exciting, and you just have to be so damned alert."
- Ralph Sheffer, Battleship North Carolina, Oral History

Photos

Mom and I gathered together a bunch of old photos and scrapbooks for people to look at last night. Here's a few shots of what we assembled.

Grandpa

I can't even begin to write about this yet, but since many of you who read my blog know me and my family (or, more likely, are people in my family), I wanted to let you know that my wonderful grandfather passed away this morning. I'm heading home to CT tonight to be with my Mom. I'll be back in California Sunday night.

As you know, he just turned 93 last week and had a long and interesting life with many people who loved him.

I feel incredibly blessed that he was there dancing with me at my wedding in March.

Update: Jonathan sent this photo of him, Christopher and Grandpa taken yesterday:

Update: Westport Now piece on Grandpa (copy available below)

Well Known Westporter Ralph Sheffer Dies at 93

Ralph Sheffer: shown celebrating his 92nd birthday last year. WN File photoRalph Sheffer, a key figure in the arts, politics, education, and business of Westport in a career that spanned 60 years--including a record 10 years as moderator of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) from 1959 to 1969--died today at his Westport home, his daughter, Ann Sheffer said.

Sheffer, who turned 93 last week, had been in declining health for some time.

“Westport has lost a leader and a treasure,” said First Selectman Gordon Joseloff, who ordered town flags flown at half-staff in Sheffer’s honor. “He truly was one of the ‘town fathers.’ We are deeply saddened by the news and extend our sincere condolences to the Sheffer family.”

Ann Sheffer said the family will be sitting shiva Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at her home at 19 Stony Point Road. A memorial service has been scheduled for Westport Town Hall on Monday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Westport Public Library.

-------

A war hero, successful advertising executive, fund-raiser and philanthropist, Sheffer long was one of the most active members of the Westport community in the second half of the 20th century.

He served in a variety of elected and appointed service positions as the town’s population boomed, going from a small town of 11,667 in 1950 to a bustling suburb of just under 26,000 at the turn of the century.

His passions were many--town government, the Westport Public Library, the Westport Historical Society, the Westport Arts Center, and the New York Yankees, among others.

“I can’t think of an important Westport cause or organization that Ralph Sheffer and his family did not support with unbounded enthusiasm over the years,” said Joseloff, who upon stepping down as RTM moderator last year equaled Sheffer’s 10 years in that position.
Gordon Joseloff and Ralph Sheffer chat in the fall of 2005. Both men served as moderator of the Representative Town Meeting for 10 years, sharing a record for length of leadership of the town’s legislative body. Sheffer served from 1959 to 1969 and Joseloff from 1995 to 2005. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) WestportNow.com photo

Westport’s history over the past half century and Sheffer’s involvement were almost synonymous.

Shortly after his election to the RTM in 1953, he chaired the Nike Site Committee which dealt with the federal government’s ownership of the site off North Avenue—later to become home of Bedford Middle School.

A 1958 film that brought Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward to Westport, “Rally Round the Flag Boys,” portrayed the town’s troubles dealing with the Nike Site and its amorous GIs.

Sheffer was particularly pleased that Newman’s character in the film—a harried account executive--was based on him.

Sheffer was a member of the Coleytown Elementary School Building Committee when the school opened in 1953, the first year he was elected to the RTM.

Later, he and his wife Betty were supporters and participants in the school’s highly acclaimed amateur theatrical show called “Coleytown Capers.” It was run mostly by show business professionals who happened also to be Westport parents.
Ralph Sheffer and Westport friend Lois Schine greet Pope John Paul II in Rome in 2004. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

In 1959, Sheffer was elected as RTM moderator and a year later sat on the committee which negotiated the acquisition of what is now known as Longshore Club Park.

The property today is widely regarded as one of the town’s “crown jewels” and its purchase one of the town’s most prescient real estate buys.

In later years, the soft-spoken Sheffer, with his ever present smile and twinkle in his eye, said serving on the Longshore committee was one of the proudest moments of his Westport civic service.

In a 1961 letter to RTM District 8 constituents asking for their vote, Sheffer explained his desire to serve his town.

“My reason for wishing to represent you stems from a continuing desire to protect and improve for all of us those things which make Westport such an attractive place to live—the quality of our schools, the pleasure of our recreational facilities, the value of our homes, the availability of town services, etc.,” he wrote.
Ralph Sheffer celebrates his 93rd birthday earlier this month with (l-r) Lois Schine, daughter Ann Sheffer, Susan Malloy, and Maxine Bleiweis. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

Reflecting years later on his service on the RTM, Sheffer told an interviewer: “It was the greatest form of democracy since the Greek Senate. I used to say that and I believed it. All the people in the RTM—you can ask anyone—they all felt I was fair.”

There were three commissions in the 1970s and ‘80s to revise Westport’s Town Charter. Because of the widespread respect he had earned in matters municipal, Sheffer was named to chair all of them.

“The Charter is the law of this town,” Sheffer said of the document. “I regard my work on the commissions as most significant.”

Upon his retirement as moderator of the RTM in 1969, an editorial in the Westport News said: “The loss of Mr. Sheffer’s expertise in town affairs and his adroit control and guidance of the town’s legislature will be felt deeply by those familiar with the municipal workings of Westport.”

Not only did Sheffer make history, he recognized the need to preserve it. In 1980, he joined the Westport Historical Society Board of Directors and for the next quarter century supported the organization with money and time.
Ralph Sheffer gets some kisses from wife, Betty (l), and daughter, Ann, upon his retirement as RTM moderator in 1969. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo

In 2003, he celebrated his 90th birthday there as the Society dedicated its new Betty and Ralph Sheffer Hall.

Support of the Westport Public Library was especially important to Sheffer. He was chair of the library’s capital campaign from 1983 to 1985, a trustee from 1983 to 1990, and president of the library board from 1989 to 1990.

Sheffer played a major role in sale of the old library on Post Road East, now home of Starbucks, and its new construction on Jesup Road. He liked to recall that people didn’t think he’d get more than $1.1 million for the old building but ended up selling it for $2.8 million.

In the 1990s, he devoted many of his efforts to the Westport Arts Center and used his considerable fund-raising skills to help save it. He served as president and chairman of the board.

“I am particularly interested in art and music,” he told the Westport News in 1996. “My entire family can be ‘blamed’ for that.”

Sheffer’s son Jonathan is a composer and symphony orchestra leader. His late wife Betty played the piano and loved music. Her father, Aaron Rabinowitz, was a shareholder in Carnegie Hall, among his other interests.

Son Doug is an actor, producer, independent school board member as well as a skier and helicopter pilot, Daughter Ann is known for her philanthropic and charity work as well as promotion of the arts.

Aaron and Clara Rabinowitz had come to Westport in 1928 to join their friend, the famed social worker Lillian Wald, who had been Aaron’s mentor at the Henry Street Settlement in New York.

Born in Baldwin, N.Y., on Sept. 13, 1913, Sheffer was raised in New York City where he majored in pre-law. He attended Columbia and New York University Law Schools, receiving a law degree in 1937.

During World War II, Sheffer served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific on a destroyer and battleship and saw action at Iwo Jima and Tarawa.

Sheffer and Betty Rabinowitz married in 1947 and soon after built a house in Westport where they first spent only summers. The five-acre plot next to Betty’s parents was a wedding present. Today it houses the Westport Weston Health District.

In 1951, the Sheffers decided to make Westport their year-round home and Sheffer became a full-time commuter to his Manhattan job at Spencer Associates. The advertising and marketing firm enabled Sheffer to become involved in the U.S. Olympic movement.

In 1966, Sheffer became chairman of the Corporate Participation Division of the U.S. Olympic Committee and raised megabucks for the committee. He sold his interest in the firm in 1977 following the death of his wife.

In addition to daughter Ann and sons Jonathan and Doug, Sheffer is survived by five grandchildren: Emily, Brian, Betty, Eduard, and Brooke.

Alexis' Sabattical

You can follow the adventures of my cool cousin on her year-long culinary (and other) adventures around the world: The Sabbatical.

VH1 Save The Music Foundation Board of Directors

Congrats to [Uncle] Jonathan who has been appointed to the VH1 Save The Music Foundation Board of Directors.

According to the press release, "The VH1 Save The Music Foundation has appointed men's fashion designer John Varvatos and acclaimed composer and conductor Jonathan Sheffer to its board of directors, it was announced today by Tom Calderone, Chairman, VH1 Save The Music Foundation and General Manager, VH1."

The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving elementary school children of all backgrounds and diversities. In its capacity as a public charity, the Foundation operates in affiliation with, but separately from, VH1 the cable music channel.

Brian in WSJ

Thanks to Karen for sending this one along.

Where Did That Video Spoofing Gore's Film Come From?
By Antonio Regalado and Dionne Searcey
Wall Street Journal
August 3, 2006

YouTube has an estimated 20 million viewers daily, but with thousands of videos on the site, it can be difficult for marketers to reach their audience, says Brian Reich, a consultant for Mindshare Interactive Campaigns, who helps nonprofits and political candidates learn to use YouTube and other video sites effectively. "You still have to micro-target your information and make it compelling and relevant and timely to get people to pay attention," he says.

Update: looks like it was picked up here in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (so you can read the full text without having to log in to the WSJ)

Congrats to Dad & Jane

Wow -- congrats to Dad and Jane who appear to be movin' on up to a deluxe condo just minutes from Pike Place Market with a lovely view of the Sound. Dad's been in that house for the last 30 years or so, so packing up and moving should be interesting... Hmm... we should try to plan a trip up to Seattle before then (or perhaps to help out...)

Gone with the Zephyr

Mom and Bill swing back through town on their way back from the Great Autos of Yesteryear Car Club's Gone with the Zephyr car show, and brought some of their photos from the event (It was a Gone with the Wind theme party) John and Jon won for Best Lincoln and received a lawn jockey trophy.

July 3

Some photos from the street party downtown, and our chairs set out (with hundreds of others) for tomorrow's parade.

Brian on Video Ads

Brian's in an article on the ClickZ Network today: PointRoll and Others Reach Out to Undecided Political Market

Speaking generally about online video advertising, Brian Reich, director of Boston operations and senior strategic consultant for Mindshare Interactive Campaigns, said that he recommends the format to his clients. Still, he's skeptical that those clients will achieve a significant return on video ads until all technology providers recognize the differences between political and commercial ad objectives. "Selling consumer goods is very different than selling issues," he asserted.

Jealous

I'm so jealous that everyone got to see Hanna and Albert on Sunday! We're still hoping to get to London in December if we can swing it, so hopefully we'll finally get to see them then!

Jane in PI

Family press clippings today featuring Jane who was quoted in a Seattle PI story about the closing of the MLK Elementary School:

End of MLK era marked by tears
Elementary school likely will not reopen in the fall
By Paul Nyhan
P-I Reporter

"I feel really sad for the kids who already have so much disruption in their lives already," said Jane Reich, who volunteered at the school for the last six years.

New England Mille

Best of luck to Bill who is off tomorrow to ride in the New England Mille in a '71 maserati. Apparently they drive 1000 miles from New England to Quebec City and stay in really nice hotels. Sounds like a tough trip :P

Weekend Photos

A few photos from our weekend with Dad and Jane. We had lunch Saturday downtown at Just Breakfast and dinner with some colleagues of S's down in Prunedale. Sunday we saw the Davini Code, explored the mushroom festival some more, went out to Super T for dinner and watched some movies on tv. Monday we slept in, toured one of S's strawberry fields, had fish & chips and things in Moss Landing, and hit some of the garlic and fruit stands (including the Giant Artichoke, the Cherry Hut and Garlic World) and the jelly belly outlet on the way back home.

Laurel's New Film

Thank you to Jane for sending along this clipping about Laurel's current documentary project:

No. 1,096: 'You can't think about death.'

Patricia and filmmaker Laurel Spellman Smith are now editing the second in the series, "The Corporal's Diary," which focuses on Jonathan's videos and diary excerpts, read by his brother Jared.

Brian and Karen visit Albert

I'm so jealous that Brian and Karen got to see Albert (and his parents of course) on their London visit! Hanna sent along these great photos:

Brian in London

The first clippings of Brian in London are coming in...

We Media, Me Too Media and Them Media

In the middle of each panel discussion, the moderator would cut away to Brian Reich , who was monitoring what people were talking about online in the We Media chat room and on other blogs. Reich mentioned at various points that people online were calling panelists “elitist” and “smug,” and while the panelists and moderators tried to laugh it off, the points were made. Again, it had a contrived feeling to it, similar to what you see on CNN and their blog reports, but it was at least a nod to the real world outside that was not always looking at the conference kindly.

Arts Meeting

Nice photo of Mom looking very serious at this arts meeting featured on WestportNow: Arts Community Gathers for Discussion.

Ann Sheffer, who is involved with a number of arts-related organizations, said there could be a system like the Town Hall e-mail list, which sends meeting notices to those who are interested.

“Not everyone looks at a Web site every day,” she said.

It’s a question of how to reach those who are the busiest, she said.

“They are too busy and don’t read the newspaper or get to it days later,” she said.

I hope they remember to add in an RSS feed for the site -- you shouldn't have to go to look at a web site every day. You should be able to subscribe to it and have the information you want automatically come to you (and not just in your in-box because some of us refuse to sign up for any more email news alerts since our in-boxes are already overrun with spam and we'd much rather get the updates in our feed reader -- Bloglines for me!)

Dad in the news again

Thank you to Jane for sending along a new press clipping featuring Dad. He was interviewed for this article and is quoted extensively: How to punish young killers is an agonizing dilemma

Those involved in these two current cases can't talk, even about the philosophical issues, while trials are pending. So I asked Seattle lawyer Jay Reich what he thought.

Reich, who is in private practice, was once the chief criminal deputy of the King County Juvenile Court. And he helped to write the current code under which we prosecute kids.

Congrats to Betty

Congrats to Betty who just got an internship at the Smithsonian in donor relations! It sounds super cool -- that must be one of the all time coolest places to get a job!!!

Dad in the news

Jane sent along this photo of Dad at a recent bill signing with the WA gov:

and while I was poking around seeing if I could figure out what bill it was for, I found this article quoting him:

New tax break gives lift to state’s cities, businesses
the newstribute.com, 3/19/06

Cities are finding they simply have to be more entrepreneurial to stimulate the tax base,” said Jay Reich, a Seattle attorney who has worked on similar legislation for more than 20 years. “There are a number of cities out there that need to redevelop their downtowns – University Place, Kent, Burien, Renton – but need tools to do it.”

Another night, another dinner

Tonight we showed the future in-laws a traditional American dinner -- take out Chinese food.

The rest of the gang arrives tomorrow!

Another Meeting

S just sent this photo of tonight's dinner with Dad and Jane meeting Shula, Ran and Sharon in New York.

Leader for the Future

Karen sent along this great clipping about Brian! She writes:

I thought you might like to see (and I wanted to share) Brian in the March issue of BlackBook magazine. He is called out as leader for the future. What is Black Book? This is what they say in the “About Us” section of their Web site (www.blackbookmag.com): There are magazines, and then there is BlackBook. Sophisticated, intelligent, visually striking, BlackBook stands out from the crowd by amplifying the most daring and inventive impulses in pop culture, and exploring the space where the underground meets the mainstream. In the decade since its launch, BlackBook has established itself as the preeminent voice of progressive culture, and a magnet for some of the most exciting, dynamic and innovative artists, writers and thinkers of our time.

I can't open the attachment she sent, but I'll see if I can track it down...

Meeting of the Moms

In the first of many opportunities this week to introduce our families, we had dinner in NY tonight with S's mom, sister and sister's boyfriend Ran (a frequent commenter here on the blog!)

Old Photos

Mom's been sending along some old photos... here's my grandfather on a trip to Israel:

Lori in the Times

Thank you to Karen for pointing out today's family NY Times spotting... cousin Lori is quoted in In Baby Boomlet, Preschool Derby Is the Fiercest Yet

Lori Malloy, who lives on the Upper West Side, watched friends try to get their children into preschool last year, and she remembered thinking, "I'm not going to get stressed out like the rest of these ladies." But when Ms. Malloy, a federal prosecutor, applied for her twins, a boy and a girl, she asked her husband to write the application essay.

"I was so nervous," she said, "and I'm someone who took the LSAT, who's written for the federal judiciary and in law review." The family applied to four schools.

"There's not a week that goes by that I don't regret that I didn't apply to three or four more," Ms. Malloy said.

Peter in The Times

Cousin Peter is in the NY Times today talking about snowmobiles in Yellowstone!

Dr. Peter Rabinowitz a specialist in occupational and environmental medicine at Yale who assessed noise levels for snowmobile opponents, said in a December 2005 letter to the park superintendent that noise levels even from the newer snowmobiles were dangerous to riders, who risked "permanent hearing loss."

"It is important to emphasize this fact," Dr. Rabinowitz said, "since the public may have been led to believe that 'Best Available Technology' is synonymous for 'safe' (it apparently is not) and consequently may not be aware of the risk to their hearing from snowmobile use."

Thank you Mom for the tip.

Saturday afternoon walk

Jonathan sent me this very nice photo of him and my grandfather out for a walk this afternoon. Looks like most of the snow has melted there...

Mom On The Verge

Great quotes about Mom on Westportnow today as part of the promotion for the Playhouse's upcoming production of On The Verge (which we saw years and years ago and loved -- and I'll get to see this production when I'm there in a couple of weeks.)

“Joanne and Ann are very representative of the three exceedingly bold and courageous women in this play,” said Thompson.

“They are also ‘intrepid trekkers,’ who are unafraid of going against the wind and demonstrating their freedom to choose. They are both exemplary models of socially, politically and civic-minded citizens of Westport.

Dinner in Santa Cruz

Aunt Susan is in town visiting (she was at a film festival in Santa Barbara and popped up to Norcal for a couple of days) so we used it as an excuse to head over to Santa Cruz after work and have dinner with Margaret, Alan, Annie and Harold.

XL

Congrats to all my Pittsburgh relatives and condolences to the Seattle side of the family. Sigh.

Brian on Sausage

Brian's blogging over on Morph: The Media Center conversation about politics, the media, sausage, etc.

All packed up

Tomer's all packed up and ready to head home tomorrow. It's been fun getting to know him!

Tomer's Here!

Shachar's brother Tomer arrived today (he was due in yesterday but got an unscheduled night in Newark). We took him to Cosco (where they were selling lifesize Santas). They're heading down to Disneyland tomorrow.

Congrats to Brooke!

Congratulations to my cousin Brooke who just got into Skidmore (where my friends Hanna and Carrie and Stephanie and a bunch of others went and all seemed to enjoy despite being as different as people can be :)) Brooke is an amazing arist and will fit in wonderfully there as well! Its a fantastic school in a very cool town.

Yay! Congrats!

Jonathan and Puppets

Coverage of Red's new show in the Akron Beacon Journal:

A new -- and different-- Amahl

Thursday and Saturday, Red will perform the production for puppets, vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra at Masonic Temple in Cleveland.

...

The whole point of Red is to shake orchestra concerts loose from their regular old formats. Sheffer, has reconceived his Amahl in a homeless shelter (``the equivalent of Biblical poverty'') peopled by life-sized puppets. In the update on Gian Carlo Menotti's 1950s children's opera, the young boy Amahl lies down on a cot in a church basement and dreams a contemporary parable.

As both the conductor and the stage director of Amahl, Sheffer is in the unusual position of controlling both aspects of the production. ``I love the idea of being able to direct and conduct. This gives me a chance to blend musical impulses and dramatic ones. When I'm in the theater, I think I know when the (music) director has had an effect on the staging,'' Sheffer said before Monday's rehearsal.

Four puppets for `Amahl,' how they work

The puppets that Basil Twist has created for Red's new Amahl are life-size, and then some. King Balthazar, dressed in an African-inspired gold-trimmed purple robe and matching cap, has an enormous head.

And to accentuate the fact that King Kaspar is deaf, this dignified figure, dressed in black tuxedo, red sash and many medals, has one oversized ear.

In a clever detail suggested by Jonathan Sheffer, Twist built stacking drawers into King Kaspar's chest. The king can pull them out when he offers to show young Amahl the treasures he is carrying.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

picked up a mention of Jonathan in the Plain Dealer:

Be There Do That
Saturday, November 05, 2005

Red (an orchestra). Jonathan Sheffer conducts a program, "In Mahler's Shadow," of music by Alma Mahler, Debussy and Gustav Mahler, with mezzo-soprano Linda Pavelka and baritone David Adam Moore. $15-$110. 440-519-1733. 8 p.m. Masonic Auditorium, East 36th Street and Chester Avenue, Cleveland.

Update: and a longer piece reviewing the performance (thanks to Mom for forwarding it along):

Alma Mahler sets inspiring stage for meaty, compelling season debut
Monday, November 07, 2005
Donald Rosenberg
Plain Dealer Music Critic

Lightening up Saturday at Masonic Auditorium after a meaty program with Red (an orchestra) revolving around Gustav, artistic director and conductor Jonathan Sheffer sat at the piano to sing and play Lehrer's witty ditty.

We can feel empathy for "Gustav and Walter and Franz," as the lyric goes, while thanking the gods that Alma lived such a colorful and interesting life.

And we can be grateful to Sheffer and Red for opening their fourth season with such a compelling program, "In Mahler's Shadow." Along with music, the concert featured now-familiar Red commodities as actors and theatrical effects. Not everything worked, but Sheffer's ability to tie so many elements into a coherent package made the evening a real event.

Sheffer's premise focused on Gustav Mahler's widespread influence. Most of the night's pieces were chamber versions of famous works orchestrated for a private Viennese performance society by Arnold Schoenberg, a Mahler acolyte who would become a musical revolutionary in his own right.

Shaved Head?

Eduard sent this photo of himself to the family last night without a note. Perhaps he's trying out for the water polo team? Looks pretty studly!

Moderators

Mom sent this photo of the two longest running moderators of the Westport RTM, Gordon, currently running for first selectman, and Grandpa.

More on Red

Jonathan and his orchestra Red are back in the news:

‘Red’ director prepares for heady new season
Cleveland Jewish News

Artistic director Jonathan Sheffer is himself a marketing vehicle for Red. Dressed in crimson tennis shoes, the young, stylish New Yorker in his mid-40s gushes about all things musical, Red or otherwise.

Hmm... I seem to remember hearing about his 50th birthday party...

Brian Recorded

Beth Kantor blogged a clip (and a photo) of Brian speaking at NTC Boston, the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network's 2005 Boston Regional Conference (agenda) Not only did he present, but it looks like Brian organized most of the conference sessions. Way to go!

Book Signing

Mom sent these photos tonight with this note: "Aunt Susan had a book signing party for her book about her parents today at the Historical Society -- with a great exhibit of old toys in the background -- and even Grandpa came! There she is signing a book..."

Happy New Year from S's Family

Watch a lovely new year's greeting from S's mom and sister! They're so cute!

http://www.chocolatespoon.com/musings/toShacharAndEmily.avi

Shana Tova to you too!

Saved Comments:

Because of the QuickTime 7.0 plugin required to see
the film, OS under Win2000 cannot watch this.

I'd suggest you put the file for download or use another streaming mechanism.

P.S I'm suggesting it only because on this one I was on the right side of the camera...
Posted by: Ran at October 1, 2005 02:03 PM

Thanks Ran (nice video, btw)

Here's the link in case anyone else can't see it with the plugin

http://www.chocolatespoon.com/musings/toShacharAndEmily.avi
Posted by: Emily at October 1, 2005 05:00 PM

Sorority Liz

Congrats to Liz who is now officially a Delta Delta Delta at BU!

Visiting Grandpa

Here's us visiting Grandpa yesterday:

Positive Directions

Congratulations to Mom & Bill for being honored today by Positive Directions, The Center for Prevention & Recovery. We all went to the luncheon.

Here's Mom & Bill plugging Sunday's car show on Westport Now. Gordon Joseloff, editor of Westport Now (and candidate for First Selectman) introduced them at the Positive Directions lunch.

Rabinowitz Family Reunion

Just got back from dinner at a wonderful family reunion in NYC. Amazingly, two (third?) cousins who I had never met mentioned having visited my blog to check out the family history materials that I've been posting here. So I got up in front of the group and gave out the URL to the site, so hopefully some of them will pop in and say hello here. [Note: to say hello, scroll to the bottom of this entry and fill out the comment form --- please disregard the error messages you get after filling out the form, it probably will post, it just gives errors