Press Release

The Stamford Advocate

NORWALK - Whenever they moved to a new town, Chris Gorman and Michelle Morfitt liked learning about its past and sharing the stories with their children.

A year ago, the enterprising couple came up with the idea of writing local history books geared toward young people

They set to research Rowayton, where they've lived for two and a half years, and hired an illustrator through Craigslist who turned maps and photographs they took of the area's landmarks into vivid drawings. They created their own publishing company.

A few days ago, they returned from a vacation to find boxes filled with 1,000 colorful books on their doorstep.

The couple's first 40-page book, Our Place, Rowayton, will be officially released Saturday morning at the Rowayton Library.

Similar books on Darien - where Gorman grew up - Greenwich and Westport are on the way. A golden retriever named Jack narrates all the books, throwing in a few dog-centric facts, such as how many fire hydrants the town has, a fact that Gorman and Morfitt confirmed with the local fire marshals.

They're hoping Rowayton's 4,000 residents will respond.

"It's been a bit of a labor of love," Gorman said. This isn't the first business venture for the husband-and-wife team, who consider themselves "serial entrepreneurs." In October, the boxing fans organized a night of amateur fights at the Stamford Marriott, as a way to bring the sport someplace local.

In July, after 10 years as a commodities trader, Gorman left the field to focus on the publishing company and other ventures full time. Morfitt, who grew up in England, had worked in advertising for the Washington Times newspaper, and the couple lived in Rockville, Md., for eight years before moving to Connecticut.

Gorman and Morfitt have started to research Fairfield and New Canaan, and are planning to write books on Wilton, Weston and Ridgefield.

"We're trying to keep it in local, small communities rather than big cities," Morfitt said.

In researching Rowayton, the couple used historian Frank Raymond's Rowayton on the Half Shell as a major source. They contacted the Rowayton Historical Society after they had written a draft of the book to confirm facts they gathered.

The books are a mix of history, geography and ecology lessons, along with other things that make the towns special. Our Place, Rowayton includes a passage about the Siwanoy Indians, who called the area Rooaton, information on the local flora and fauna, and a description of the village's popular Memorial Day parade. The couple also included illustrations of Rowayton's much-used dog park and restaurants such as Rowayton Pizza and Brendans 101, an ice cream shop.

Wendell Livingston, co-president of the Rowayton Historical Society, said the book will complement the work her group already does.

"Our focus on education for the most part has been on elementary and junior high-aged children," Livingston said. "The beauty of this book is it can reach a wide range of ages. It's something that's a little more tangible to younger people in that just the visuals alone make things recognizable to children."

The books feature a few facts that may not be widely known. Gorman set out to discover why Darien High School's sports teams are referred to as the Blue Wave. He used an article in the local paper to track down a former athlete from years ago, and learned that a coach in the 1940s told the football players to swarm the other team like a big blue wave.

While Gorman already knew about Darien hot spots such as the Sugar Bowl restaurant and Uncle's Deli, he and Morfitt had to ask around to learn about popular places in the other towns. They heard that they had to include Westport's Sherwood Diner and the Compo Barber Shop.

The covers of each book feature artwork submitted by local elementary school students, and the couple plans to donate $1.75 for every $18.75 copy sold to local organizations. The couple had local officials, including Judith Pandolfo, the assistant superintendent for elementary education in Darien, write forwards for each book.

Gorman and Morfitt have read the Rowayton book to their three children, Calvin, 5, Cassidy, 2, and Isla, 6 months.

"We read every night to our children, "Gorman said. "It's nice to read a book where we learn something, too."

The couple hopes to cast their publishing net wider and have dreams of taking on small towns in Europe.

"Because we've enjoyed it so much, and it's a very positive thing to do, we're just going to keep writing," Morfitt said.

- Staff Writer Lisa Chamoff can be reached at lisa. chamoff@scni.com or 750-5348.