February 25, 1994

A couple living close to the site of a proposed South Main Street office building told Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission members February 17 they object to the proposed construction project. Stacey and Steve Belair of 58 Peck’s Lane outlined their objections at a public hearing on owner Larry Edwards’ proposal for South Main Office Complex at 185 South Main. “This building will not be in harmony with the neighborhood,” he said. Office construction would decrease property values, Mr Belair said. The office project would be built on a 1.2-acre lot in an M-2 industrial zone. Four offices would be constructed in an 8,000-square foot, two-story rural Colonial saltbox style building on a concrete slab. Parking would be provided for 30 vehicles. Mr Edwards said he would provide the P&Z with more details on the project concerning traffic and heating plans. P&Z members did not act on the proposal.

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W. Eric Schult of Danbury recently placed third in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest. His prize is an outright cash grant of $500 and an invitation to the annual L. Ron Hubbard Awards event, all expenses paid, to be held later this year. Mr Schult is a former reporter and editor who left the “glamour side” of the newspaper business to eke out a more substantial living managing the “machinery” of newspaper publishing. A graduate of Ridgefield High School and Bethany College in West Virginia, he has been a reporter and editor for local newspapers, before becoming production manager at Acorn Press newspapers, where he coordinates the layout, plating, printing and distribution of seven weekly papers. Mr Schult lives in Danbury.

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Shuttered for nearly seven years, the white frame building which was the long-time home of the Hitching Post Inn has reopened as the new home of Basil’s Pizza & Pasta. And just like Hilda Moyle Schultze knew it was the right move when she transplanted her Bridgeport restaurant to Newtown in 1964, Lulu Anello is confidant that the property at 91 South Main Street is the right spot for Basil’s new home. Basil’s made a name for itself too after it opened three years ago in Ricky’s Shopping Plaza. Its popular gourmet pizzas and pastas drew a steadily increasing clientele and Lulu and her husband, Sal, decided that they needed more space. “In our new location we are able to seat 60 people and were able to hire a chef and significantly expand the menu.” But Basil’s hasn’t changed, the Anellos promise. “We are still the same owners and still the same food — we just added a lot more,” Mrs Anello said.

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Loose Legends and Fractured Fairy Tales, an original play written by Joanne Greco Rochman specifically for the Read-In, a Literacy Volunteers fundraiser to be held at C.H. Booth Library on Saturday, March 5, 10 am to 2 pm, features many members of the Newtown community. The titles alone promise a side-splitting time for children and adults alike. Just watch what happens when librarian Janet Woycik drops a tome of children’s literature and children’s librarian Sheila Kahn attempts to set her straight. Taking part in this romp through children’s fairy tales will be Mae Schmidle as Little Red Hood and orthodontist Dr Gellert as Wolf. First Selectman Bob Cascella will do what he does best in Jack and the Bean “Talk.” Dancer Marsha Mark and her husband Bob are cunningly cast as Gold E. Lox and Bagels. Truly serendipitous is casting Lyndon Thomas as Hansel and Mary Thomas as Gretel Wollstonecraft Steinem.

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Friday, February 11, was cold and snowing fast and furiously. At companies across the state, workers left work early to get home while they could. It was no different at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, where Andre Simonpietri was one of the people leaving early. When he left at noon, though, it wasn’t to drive home to Newtown. He was headed further north to New Hampshire and the area around Mt Washington. Driving so far through such a storm was something some people thought was crazy, acknowledged Mr Simonpietri. But he wasn’t going to keep weather conditions keep him from his annual winter outing with fellow retired officers of the US Navy Reserve. Until the past several years, these fellow reservists served together at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., functioning as a think tank that helped formulate naval and national war-fighting strategies. Ms Simonpietri, a retired commander, said he and his fellow officers enjoyed each other’s conversation and company, and have continued their friendships through these annual outings.

February 28, 1969

The Planning and Zoning Commission has unanimously rejected the 22-acre Luf property as the site for a new elementary school. The acreage is a part of Deer Hill subdivision owned by Frederick N. Luf Jr off the upper end of Head O’Meadow Road. The decision was made known in a letter to Harry Greenman, Public Building Committee chairman. In reaching its decision, the commission consulted with Dr Thomas Draper, Newtown Health Officer; Vernon Williams, sanitary consultant; David Thompson, US Soil Conservation Service; Merrill Lincoln, Technical Planning Associates; and Thomas Ryan, engineering consultant. Briefly, these experts found that the soil would "present severe difficulty in installing a septic system... The main consideration would be the widening of Castle Hill Road, Great Hill Road, Taunton Hill Road, and Head O’Meadow Road … the new town road ordinance requires major collector streets to have a minimum right of way of 80 feet and a pavement width of 30 feet … The sight line on the roads does not meet the standards set by the state or Newtown ordinance.” Other sites should be considered with Class B soil, 50 acres or more, and adequate access to major collector roads.

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The physical appearance of a distressing number of young people today has become more than a topic of casual conversation. While appearance is disturbing to their elders, the behavior of our young people is, much too often, a disgrace to themselves... Meanwhile, disturbances on college campuses all across the country have become a cause for alarm, if not a national disgrace. It is assuring, therefore, to find that a firm hand is being exerted at a growing number of colleges and universities, in order to maintain law and order and prevent disruption. Perhaps the most outspoken academic leader dealing drastically with campus chaos is the Rev Theodore M. Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame University. He is closely matched by President Nathan M. Pusey of Harvard University. Father Hesburgh put it well when he reminded his readers that he is committed to the survival of his university “as one of man’s best hopes in troubled times.”

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The spring school recess vanished at the Board of Education meeting Tuesday evening, February 25, but two long weekends were added to the schedule. School will be in session the week of April 20 but it will be closed Thursday and Friday, April 3 and 4, for a four-day Easter and Passover recess. Again, the Memorial Day weekend will be lengthened, with school closed Thursday, May 29, as well as Friday, Memorial Day. Graduation will be moved from Monday, June 23, to Wednesday, June 25. The moves are occasioned, of course, by the need to make up days lost to snow. Should there be more snow days, the board’s intention is to keep the school open two days after graduation, rather than cut either long weekend. It’s hoped that the weather will be cooperative.

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TAN DANCE SATURDAY: Teen Action Newtown will present Teddy Birch and The Comet, formerly The Burnt, at its weekly dance this Saturday evening, March 1, at 8 o’clock at the Edmond Town Hall. Admission is $1.50 for all Newtown teen-agers. TAN membership cards or other proper identification is required. Guests must be accompanied by a Newtown TAN member and only one guest per teen will be admitted.

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MOONSHINERS BOWLING: Saren’s Drive-In was in first place in the Moonshiners Bowling League and Newtown Rexall Drug was second, following play this week. Agway came in third, Lou’s Diner, fourth; Timertarial Park, fifth; Capri Pizzeria, sixth; Trade Well, seventh; and Jowdy’s Inc, eighth. Individual Helen Musnicki was high scorer with 231. Marion Chalifoux led the series, with a high score of 593. Capri Pizzeria was high team series winner with 2,114.

March 3, 1944

War, its casualties and mishaps were brought home tragically Wednesday afternoon in the Still River section of New Milford at 2:15, when a Navy Corsair Chance-Vought plane crashed, imbedding itself in a bank, killing the pilot and wrecking the plane. Believed to be a final test pilot trip before turning over to the Navy, this Corsair, piloted by Willard Boothby, developed mechanical trouble, catching fire in mid-air. After the pilot had bailed out, the plane tail-spinned into a dive, trailing a smoke screen, and wildly crashed with terrific force within 400 feet east of Route 7, along the dirt road leading past the residence of Benjamin Stone. A six-room residence, unoccupied and owned by Robert Osborne, simultaneously caught fire, and at the time The Bee’s representative, Michael Pruchnik reached the scene, minutes after the crash, flames seemed to burst from within the house. Perceiving that little more was to be learned at the scene of the crash, Mr Pruchnik circled the area near the Still River, hoping to find the pilot. He was overtaken by Philip Worley driving the New Milford Ambulance which had been notified that the body of the pilot had been found roughly a mile from the crash. Though the parachute cleared the plane and proceeded to descend, something went wrong. Whether it was the concussion or whether the pilot thought he would land in the lake, Boothby was barefooted, a mystery which may go unsolved forever.

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A series of talks on current events, open to the public, will be held at the Fairfield State Hospital, Stratford House, at 8 o’clock on Tuesdays, March 14, April 4, and April 18. The speakers will be Danbury State Teachers’ College faculty members. The first subject will be “Geographic Background of the News,” presented by Dr Grant Finch, followed by Professor Jessie H. Brill on “Economic Background of the News,” and Dean Ruth A. Haas on “Political Background of the News.”

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On Friday, March 10, at 3:30 pm, H. Wallis Steck, local resident and well-known landscape architect, will present a talk at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library on the subject "Food and Flower Gardens." This feature will conclude the final week of the Garden exhibit currently on display. Mr Steck, a graduate of the Connecticut Agricultural College, has done a considerable amount of work in landscape architecture for moving picture people in Hollywood. His talk will certainly be of interest to Newtown people, and it is hoped that those who have previously not seen the display of garden books will “come early” to enjoy it as well as the lecture.

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Through the columns of The Bee we wish to express our deep gratitude to our neighbors and friends who have helped us in so many ways, not only during, but since the time fire destroyed our home. Their many acts of kindness are greatly appreciated. While there is so much cruelty going on in the world, it is good to know that in this land of ours, kindness and generosity are still its chief characteristics. We also thank the Newtown Fire Department for its quick response to our call for help. —Mr and Mrs Joseph Lawrence, Walnut Tree Hill, Sandy Hook.

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There were five tables of bridge in play at the contract bridge party held at the Newtown Country Club on Monday evening. Mrs Florence Burroughs was high lady for the evening, and George H. Vello took that honor for the gentlemen. High scores for the month of February went to Mrs Ernest Fenn for the ladies and to Mr Vello for the gentlemen, prizes were awarded to these two members.

February 21, 1919

Microfilm for the January 17 through April 18, 1919 issues of The Newtown Bee are not available. It is unclear why New England Micrographics, Inc in 2000 was not able to produce film for these dates. Based on the poor quality of the early January issues, the film for which reveals torn and damaged originals, the newspapers for these dates may have been destroyed.

Please consider sharing your old photographs of people and places from Newtown or Sandy Hook with The Newtown Bee readers. Images can be e-mailed to kendra@thebee.com or brought to the office at 5 Church Hill Road to be scanned. When submitting photographs, please identify as many people as possible, the location, and the approximate date.