Norwalk’s History Through Film — “The Sexy Six: A Story of Lifelong Friendship”

A local-born filmmaker’s project tells a captivating local tale

Compiled by Candi Sterling, Librarian

Five of the six friends having fun at Calf Pasture Beach in 1951. Photo courtesy of Jean Rogowski Drasky.

This May, the Norwalk History Room is thrilled to contribute several historical photos to an upcoming film project titled, “The Sexy Six: A Story of Lifelong Friendship.” The short documentary, created by fourth-generation Norwalker Kathy Drasky, tells the story of six women from the “Whistleville” neighborhood in South Norwalk.

The tale takes us back to the 1930s and 1940s, to the then predominantly Hungarian and Italian section of the city, then travels with the friends as they maintain close ties.

With Norwalk as the place that started it all, their story spans eight decades and features several photos of Norwalk provided by the Norwalk History Room.

The Volk Hat Factory in Norwalk, early 1900s. Photo courtesy of the Norwalk Public Library History Room.

South Norwalk, near the railroad station, early 1900s. Photo courtesy of the Norwalk Public Library History Room.

According to Drasky, the film captures “life on Ely Avenue, Lexington Street, Bouton Street, Flax Hill Road, South Main Street and Washington Street during that time, as well as in the years before when the Sexy Six’s grandparents and parents worked in local factories, bought live chickens and fresh baked bread from the neighborhood butchers and bakers and knew where to get fresh vegetables and wine and whiskey made in backyard barrels from the farms near Soundview Avenue known as ‘Hunky Hill’.”

For the film, Drasky created a two-minute “mock” newsreel of South Norwalk history from the mid-1800s through the early 1920s, with help from the Norwalk Public Library History Room.

Drasky, who visits her hometown of Norwalk regularly, is an award-winning filmmaker who now resides in California. Her documentary-making style combines “present-day interviews and footage shot on an iPhone with family photos and home movie clips as well as vintage historical images and found footage,” as described by the film’s website. She reached out to the Norwalk History Room for photos because she believed historical images would enhance the project.

A postcard depicting St. Joseph’s Church and rectory, circa 1906. Image courtesy of the Norwalk Public Library History Room.

In the midst of an unprecedented time, “The Sexy Six” documentary strives to deliver a “feel-good” tale with the intention to complete and fully release the film in Norwalk and other venues to further share this capturing of local history… all through the perspective of six women who cultivated a friendship that lasted a lifetime!

If you wish to find out more about the Norwalk History Room, please go to our webpage on the NPL website: http://www.norwalkpl.org/162/Norwalk-History-Room

Come and visit us online! Learn more about your hometown!

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A note from Kathy Drasky, the filmmaker. “We are currently raising funds to complete this short documentary via Indiegogo. Everyone who backs the film by making a contribution will get a link and password to view the film’s rough cut before it heads to post-production.”