Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announces Allingtown business owner Sammy Rivera as West Haven’s Hispanic American of the Year at City Hall on Friday. Rossi and the West Haven Hispanic Heritage Committee will honor Rivera, the owner of Budget Transmission Center and Budget Car Wash on Route 1, at noon Friday in the Harriet C. North Community Room on the second floor of City Hall. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Sammy Rivera named West Haven’s Hispanic of the Year

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 23, 2021 — Sammy Rivera, a prominent Allingtown business owner known for his big heart and generous spirit, will receive West Haven’s Hispanic American of the Year award at the third Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

Rossi and the West Haven Hispanic Heritage Committee will fete Rivera, a native of Cayey, Puerto Rico, at noon Friday at City Hall, 355 Main St.

The committee bestows the award annually on a Hispanic resident or couple who personifies service in the city’s thriving Hispanic American community. Last year’s ceremony was postponed because of the coronavirus.

“I am very honored, very appreciative (of the award),” said Rivera, who has owned Budget Car Wash at 936 Boston Post Road since 2017 and Budget Transmission Center, an automotive repair shop at 950 Boston Post Road that specializes in transmission repair, replacement and maintenance services, since 2005.

Rivera added: “This honor makes me feel like I’m appreciated by the mayor, who is completely business-friendly and is a friend. This recognition is something I will appreciate for the rest of my life.”

Rivera, 44, will honor his Puerto Rican lineage with dozens of friends and loved ones, along with an array of dignitaries and descendants of folks from Puerto Rico and Latin America.

Committee members and West Haven officials led by Rossi will escort Rivera to the Harriet C. North Community Room on the second floor of City Hall for his special recognition. A Latin-flavored lunch will follow.

West Haven’s diversity is its strength, Rossi said, and Rivera is a testament to the American dream.

“I am happy to recognize a West Haven business owner and a resident whom I also consider to be a friend,” Rossi said. “Sammy is the embodiment of the contributions Hispanic Americans make to our communities. He’s a hard worker, a family man and a generous person with community spirit.”

In observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15, West Haven recognizes the important legacy of Hispanic Americans and the inspiring contributions they have made to the culture and history of the United States.

Hispanics have had a profound and positive influence on the civic and cultural life of America through their strong commitment to faith and family, hard work and public service. They have enhanced and shaped the national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which traces its roots to 1968, begins each year on Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence days during that period.

The term Hispanic refers to Puerto Rican, South American or Central American, and other Spanish cultures or origins regardless of race. On the 2020 census form, people of Spanish, Hispanic or Latino origins could identify themselves as Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or “another Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.”

Rossi said Rivera epitomizes the noble qualities of serving his vibrant community and carrying on the proud traditions of Puerto Rico.

Rossi lauded the civic-minded Rivera, whom she called a man of faith and family, for his wholehearted devotion to the city and its robust Hispanic American community.

At the event, Rossi will present him with a Puerto Rican flag and a mayoral citation for his good works.

Rivera will also receive an embroidered “Hispanic American of the Year” jacket.

The cultural event will include remarks by Rossi and her executive assistant, Louis P. Esposito Jr., the master of ceremonies. It will also include the singings of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Puerto Rican national anthem, “La Borinqueña.”

Rivera was born in Cayey, a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico, and moved to New Haven’s Fair Haven neighborhood with his mother and brother in 1981 at age 4.

He attended public schools in the Elm City, including Wilbur Cross High School.

Rivera moved to West Haven in 2005 when he purchased Budget Transmission Center.

His contributions to the city include serving as an alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and a member of the Redevelopment Agency.

Rivera lives with his wife of six years, Mallery, and their two children on Hamilton Street in Allingtown. He also has three children from a previous marriage.

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Members of the 8th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, Company A are participating in the West Haven centennial exhibit, “Hubbard Farms,” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in Hubbard Farms Park on Hubbard Road. The exhibit will celebrate the legacy of the Hubbard family and farm with a Civil War encampment, children’s activities, food and live music. (Contributed Photo/8th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, Company A)

‘Hubbard Farms’ exhibit featuring Civil War encampment

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 21, 2021 — A West Haven centennial exhibit will celebrate the legacy of the Hubbard family and farm with a Civil War encampment, children’s activities, food and live music.

The “Hubbard Farms” exhibit is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in Hubbard Farms Park, a 7.6-acre park with walking trails in West Shore’s Hubbard Road neighborhood. The rain date is Sunday.

Parking is available at Pagels Elementary School, 26 Benham Hill Road. People can access the park through a gate behind the school next to the playground.

Parking is also available on side streets and part of Hubbard Road. Police will close Hubbard Road from Honeypot to Jones Hill roads for the duration of the event.

The exhibit, presented by Hubbard family member Steven Johnstone, is part of the West Haven Centennial Celebration, a six-month series of free events commemorating the community’s 1921 birth and its incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest municipality.

Classic rock band The Navels will kick off the festivities from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., followed by Top 40 music played by guitarist John Ciambriello from 2-3 p.m.

Children’s activities, sponsored by the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee, will include balloon making and face painting by Picasso Parties of West Haven.

The encampment will feature a display of Civil War relics collected by the 8th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, Company A, a Union Civil War living history and reenacting organization in Greater Connecticut.

Johnstone said members of the regiment will reproduce an authentic Civil War-era campsite in the wooded park and take questions and photos. At 3:30 p.m., the regiment will perform a musket salute — the event’s finale, he said.

According to Johnstone, the park property was a dairy and hay farm from the late 1700s until 1973, when his family sold the land to a local builder, who was unsuccessful in developing the property — the last remaining part of the farm that was not sold and developed. In the late ’70s, the property was sold to the city, which made it into a nature center in the mid-’90s, he said.

The Hubbard exhibit will include farm antiques and heirlooms handed down from generation to generation, as well as photos with descriptions chronicling the family farm and ice skating pond.

Along with Hubbards in the military, the exhibit will showcase reunions, including photos from the family’s 150th annual gathering in 2006, and last year’s extensive park restoration.

After a five-month cleanup led by Johnstone, the park, formerly the Hubbard Nature and Education Center, was officially renamed Hubbard Farms Park and reopened Sept. 29, 2020.

“A lot of people are going to be surprised when they show up this weekend,” said Johnstone, the president of the Hubbard Family Association. “During the entire park revitalization, dozens of people have approached me on how they grew up here skating on the pond. It’s not exactly the same of what people grew up with, but it’s a great improvement of what’s been here the last 20-plus years.

“It’s going to be a flashback in time for many between how much of the park has been cleaned and the history exhibits themselves. The other thing I'm looking forward to is that this is going to be the first event for the West Shore as far back as I can remember. It’s a chance for districts 9 and 10 to really come together and celebrate the rich history that the land has that many are unaware of.”

All labor and materials to reestablish the park’s trails, clear brush and debris, add new and refurbish existing fencing, and beautify the main entrance were provided by sponsors at no cost to the city, said Johnstone, who owns Hubbard Farm’s Wood and Snow LLC of West Haven.

In addition to the sponsors’ support, more than $11,000 of in-kind and monetary contributions were made by over a dozen businesses.

Johnstone noted the restoration was also made possible by three dozen volunteers who contributed more than 350 hours to the park’s rehabilitation.

Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, the centennial committee’s honorary chairwoman, said the exhibit will join a long list of special events observing West Haven’s secession from Orange a century ago, including the Centennial Boat Parade in June, the Centennial Savin Rock Festival in July and the Centennial Fireworks on Sept. 3. The rural and residential sections of Orange separated in 1921 when the residential part, West Haven, became the state’s youngest town.

Johnstone and executive chef Dana Loehn, a West Haven resident who owns Creative Kitchen & Catering of Shelton, have created a centennial- and farm-themed menu featuring a variety of made-to-order items, including The Hub, a jumbo hot dog heaped with pepper relish, spicy brown mustard, chili, cheese and onion crisps for $8.

Other items prepared by Loehn will include District 10 — a hand-formed beef patty set over lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle and heaped with American cheese, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup and garlic chips for $10 — and The Centennial, Creative’s slow-braised brown sugar pork heaped over smashed potato, topped with coleslaw and crowned with corn muffin for $8.

Creative will offer a $5 kids meal — a hot dog, hamburger or cheeseburger with chips and a juice box — as well as an all-beef hot dog for $4 and a hand-formed smash burger with American cheese, lettuce and tomato for $6.

Creative will also offer $4 desserts — The Strawberry Patch, a strawberry parfait, and The Brown Cow, a chocolate parfait — along with soda, bottled water and candy for $1.

The exhibit and food tents are sponsored by the Yale University West Campus.

In the spirit of West Haven’s birthday, committee Chairwoman Beth A. Sabo will sell centennial coins, lapel pins and WestHavenOpoly, the centennial version of the board game Monopoly.

All merchandise proceeds generated by the committee will offset expenses and support the $50,000 centennial budget approved by the City Council, said Sabo, the city’s commissioner of human resources.

For other centennial merchandise, visit the official Online Store.

The store, hosted by West Haven vendor West Shore Associates, sells such centennial-branded merchandise as long- and short-sleeved T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, stainless steel tumblers, stemless wine glasses, insulated beverage bottles, ceramic mugs, retro sunglasses, canvas and cotton tote bags, eco-performance face masks, and pigment-dyed twill and mesh trucker caps.

A portion of the vendor’s merchandise proceeds will support the centennial account, Sabo said.

For a complete list of centennial events, see the Schedule.

Doobie Brothers tribute band What a Fool Believes perform one of many crowd-pleasing hits in Old Grove Park on Sunday. Billed as “a Doobie Brothers experience,” the two-hour show capped the West Haven Centennial Concert Series. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Doobie Brothers tribute rocks Grove; watch on YouTube

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 21, 2021 — What a Fool Believes, the incomparable Doobie Brothers tribute band, came rocking down the highway and took it to the streets of West Haven on Sunday.

Well, more like Old Grove Park — dubbed “China Grove” by the New Hampshire-based group, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Doobies’ 1973 rocker.

After a trio of rain postponements, the six-piece band performed a hit-packed set of the Doobies’ signature chords and harmonies in front of a vibrant crowd of about 1,000 concertgoers in the 151-year-old Grove overlooking Long Island Sound.

Billed as “a Doobie Brothers experience,” the two-hour show capped the Centennial Concert Series as part of West Haven’s 100th anniversary festivities.

Radio personality Brian Smith, the evening’s master of ceremonies, entertained the gathering between sets with bursts of quick-witted humor.

The show, presented by the City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee, was part of a six-month series of free events commemorating the community’s 1921 birth and its incorporation by the General Assembly as Connecticut’s youngest municipality, said Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, the committee’s honorary chairwoman.

What a Fool Believes’ fun-filled, high-energy performance celebrated the Doobies’ 50th anniversary and covered both the Tom Johnston and Michael McDonald eras.

With many people on their feet and some dancing, the band played such timeless songs as “Listen to the Music,” “Long Train Runnin’,” “Black Water,” “Takin’ It to the Streets” and, of course, “China Grove.”

They were anchored by the smooth-sailing yacht rock classics “Minute by Minute,” “What a Fool Believes” and “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near),” McDonald’s 1982 solo output.

The show was sponsored by West Haven Vietnam Veterans, of which several members attended and were acknowledged by Smith and the grateful crowd.

A row of food and dessert trucks served up eats and sweets on Palace Street, including Franco’s Fried Dough-Licious, Mister Softee and West Haven Ices.

The concert joined a long list of special events observing West Haven’s secession from Orange a century ago, including the Centennial Boat Parade in June, the Centennial Savin Rock Festival in July and the Centennial Fireworks on Sept. 3. The rural and residential sections of Orange separated in 1921 when the residential part, West Haven, became the state’s youngest town.

In the spirit of West Haven’s birthday, committee Chairwoman Beth A. Sabo sold centennial coins, lapel pins and WestHavenOpoly, the centennial version of the board game Monopoly featuring prominent locations in the community.

All merchandise proceeds generated by the committee will offset expenses and support the $50,000 centennial budget approved by the City Council, said Sabo, the city’s commissioner of human resources.

For other centennial merchandise, visit the official Online Store.

The store, hosted by West Haven vendor West Shore Associates, sells such centennial-branded merchandise as long- and short-sleeved T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, stainless steel tumblers, stemless wine glasses, insulated beverage bottles, ceramic mugs, retro sunglasses, canvas and cotton tote bags, eco-performance face masks, and pigment-dyed twill and mesh trucker caps.

A portion of the vendor’s merchandise proceeds will support the centennial account, Sabo said.

Watch the concert on West Haven YouTube.

For a complete list of centennial events, see the Schedule.

About 1,000 concertgoers gather in the Grove. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

From left, West Haven Vietnam Veterans member Phil Erff, Treasurer Steve Carney, President Dave Ricci, and members Kevin Sullivan and Howie Thomas. The organization sponsored the show. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Mark Franco, the owner of Franco’s Fried Dough-Licious, shows a homemade fried dough with Chloe O’Connor inside his popular food truck. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Marissa and Mark Franco and Chloe O’Connor are all smiles while serving hungry customers. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Kristen Teshoney, of West Haven, buys a coconut ice at the West Haven Ices cart. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Mister Softee ice cream truck owner Tarik Saray serves a customer. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Radio personality Brian Smith, the master of ceremonies, jokes with the crowd. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

People dance to the music of What a Fool Believes. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

What a Fool Believes keep the party going. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

A full moon rises above the stage. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

UI sets next phase of tree care program in West Haven

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 21, 2021 — United Illuminating will begin the next phase of its tree care program to reduce the amount of vegetation that UI says threatens power lines during storms.

UI’s tree service contractor will increase the distance between vegetation and power lines by targeting trees and limbs in and around the center of West Haven along Campbell Avenue and Main and Center streets, said city Tree Warden Leo Kelly, who reviewed and approved the project.

Kelly said the circuit area provides electrical power to downtown businesses and City Hall.

The contractor, Lewis Tree Service Inc., will focus work on UI’s “Utility Protection Zone,” which extends 15 feet above, 8 feet below and 10 feet to the side of power lines, he said.

According to UI, the Orange-based utility will designate trees for pruning or removal if they pose a threat to power lines or risk falling into or encroaching on the Utility Protection Zone, causing damage to the electrical system or outages due to their height and growth pattern.

People can direct questions to Kelly at lkelly@westhaven-ct.gov.

Adams representing state in Ms. Senior World pageant

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 17, 2021 — (Pictured): Ms. Senior World Delegate 2021 Noreen M. Adams is congratulated by state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, left, and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi on the steps of City Hall on Sept. 10.

Adams, of West Haven, will represent Connecticut in the Ms. Senior World pageant from Nov. 6-10 in Biloxi, Mississippi. She will compete in the 70s age category.

According to the pageant’s website, the event “brings women ages 50-79 together to boost confidence, have fun and make new friends,” as well as “allows mature women an outlet to share platform issues that are important to them with the other delegates and with the world.”

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Adams and Arlene DeGrand Painter, the manager of the West Haven Veterans Museum & Learning Center, on Sept. 11 flank a wedding dress made from a World War II parachute. The nylon gown is among an arsenal of military relics since the Revolutionary War on display in the 9,000-square-foot museum at 30 Hood Terrace. (Contributed Photo/Frank Chasney)

#FunFactFriday coming to West Haven centennial Facebook page

Every Friday is #FunFactFriday on W. Haven centennial Facebook page

WEST HAVEN, July 29, 2021 — The City of West Haven Centennial Celebration Committee has launched a new series called #FunFactFriday to promote the community’s 100th anniversary this year.

Every Friday, the committee will post tidbits celebrating historical events, people and places in West Haven from the past 100 years on its official Facebook page, City of West Haven Centennial Celebration - 1921-2021.

The page is administered by the city and edited by Dan Shine, one of the foremost authorities on West Haven history. Like the page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CityofWestHavenCentennialCelebrationCommittee.

The historical facts are compiled from various West Haven Library references by staff members Taylor Cordova and Kiana Arevalo under the supervision of Executive Director Colleen Bailie.

The committee is planning a number of commemorative events, starting this month, to observe the 1921 birth of Connecticut’s youngest town.