April 1, 1994

CASCELLA DECIDES EVERY DAY SHOULD BE FLAG DAY: Are you looking for a novel gift? First Selectman Bob Cascella has the perfect answer. In a move designed to help send the high school band to the Rose Bowl, the first selectman has decided to make every day “Flag Day” in Newtown. For $5 he will fly the American flag at the Edmond Town Hall in honor of your special request. “Each participant will receive a proclamation from the first selectman stating that the flag was flown on your chosen date and that you helped the high school band march in the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, Calif., in January 1995,” Mr Cascella said. “Having the band go to the Rose Bowl is like going to the Olympics — it’s something great that doesn’t happen very often.”

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Potholes, puddles and sand piles — signs of spring. During what seemed like the longest winter in years, road crews worked overtime to spread 14,000 yards of sand on slippery Newtown streets. On Monday, they will begin to sweep it up. To many motorists, the hazards of skidding on sand are miniscule compared to the annoyance of suddenly discovering a pothole. For Public Works, both problems are part of an annual springtime headache. “The crews have been out for weeks already patching potholes and will continue doing that until spring rains stop,” said Public Works Director Fred Hurley. “On Monday our contracted street sweeping begins. The worse the winter, the bigger the sand problem. Not only do the streets have to be swept, but sand also must be removed from catch basins, outlets, and ponds."

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Which American president is considered to have been responsible for the spoils system? Who was the leader in the fight against the United States in Vietnam? What is the term for the final market value of goods and services produced in a nation’s economy in one year? These questions were among those asked of area high school students at the Citizen Bee competition Tuesday at Newtown High School. (The answers were Andrew Jackson, Ho Chi Minh, and gross national product.) The 33 students competing were asked questions from the Manhattan Project, the Scopes Monkey Trail, and the Peace Corps to microeconomics, gerrymandering, and the XYZ affair. For the third year in a row, this regional competition was won by Steven Hill of Greenwich High School, who jokingly describes his three regional victories as “the Citizen Bee hat trick.” A senior planning to study political science at Harvard University, Steven said he finds politics and history interesting, and describes himself as “probably the only kid who watches C-span.”

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The Job Bank Program of Newtown Youth Services has announced that Melanie Loyzim has been selected as the March “Youth Employee of the Month.” Melanie has been a member of the Job Bank since the beginning of last summer. She was recognized this month for excellence in house cleaning by Mae Schmidle, who said, “Melanie is an outstanding and very capable young woman.” Melanie is a sophomore at Newtown High School and has a love for horses. She is one of 113 youths registered with the program. Participants range in age from 13 to 17 years old, and are also experienced in various odd jobs such as babysitting, yardwork, and animal care.

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A Southbury woman intends to sue Newtown for a motor vehicle accident which she was involved in on January 9. In a letter received by the town clerk’s office this week, Attorney Philip A. Giordano of Waterbury said his client, Sarah C. Bell of Oakdale Road, Southbury, was injured in a one-car accident on the corner of Elm Drive and Brushy Hill Road. Mr Giordano said his client was attempting to negotiate a turn when her car “slid into a guardrail on the southbound shoulder, then crossed Elm Drive and went off the road into a stream below the bridge.” The attorney alleged that the accident was due to “an accumulation of ice and snow and the defective state” of the road. He said the intersection was hazardous because there were no guardrails over the bridge. Mr Giordano said his client suffered injuries, missed work and her car, valued at $5,800, was destroyed. The notice of intent to sue, which is required by state law, does not specify the amount of damages sought.

March 28, 1969

A rain which got off to a good start late Monday night deposited more water than most brooks and streams could cope with, spilling over the banks onto lawns, lots, roads, and into cellars. Sump pumps were kept very busy and in many cases firemen were called out for extra help when contents in the basement started floating about. The area received from 1½ to 2 inches of rain and this, combined with the melting snow which was left, made for lots of water.

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A spanking new ambulance was delivered to the Ambulance Association on Thursday morning at the Edmond Town Hall. With the latest equipment, it can carry four persons horizontally and is ready to go into action at a moment’s notice.

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Saturday, March 22, the Sandy Hook School was a hive of activity, as more than 470 Girl Scouts from all over Newtown gathered for their annual rally. Brownies, Juniors, Cadettes, and Seniors were happily involved in many projects. The rally this year was a series of workshops in hand arts, camp crafts, dramatics, and folk dancing and singing. The Hand Arts Workshops were engaged in making stencils and silk screen posters on the Junior and Cadette level, and string painting and stamp printing for the Brownies. The Dramatics Workshop helped the girls develop vocal and pantomime skills, while on the Cadette level, the girls received instruction on the use of theatrical makeup. These talents were used to produce two theatrical skits. The highly successful program concluded at 3 pm, and by 4 pm the Sandy Hook School was all tidy and ship-shape again, with only a lone Brownie beanie on the gym floor to testify to the fact that the Girl Scouts had a grand day!

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David Davis of Huntingtown Road is currently showing a small group of his work at the McLachlan Agency at 6 Queen Street. Mr Davis is a graduate of Cornell University, College of Architecture. A landscape architect by profession, he also worked for many years as an architectural delineator. A native of Texas, he has made Newtown his home for the past 18 years. He is a member of the Newtown Conservation Commission, having served on that body since its organization since 1963. In recent years he has devoted most of his time to landscape painting, working in tempera or gouache.

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Volkswagen brings you an exciting old idea. We don’t expect a standing ovation. But we do think our belated automatic transmission deserves at least a smattering of applause. After all, it does let you drive without shifting and still get up to 25 miles to the gallon. (You know what ravenous appetites other automatics have.) It does have the fewest moving parts of any 3-speed automatic. (You know how depressing transmission repair bills can be.) And where can you find our latest triumph? In the Volkswagen Squareback Sedan and the Volkswagen Fastback Sedan. Now do you feel like applauding? Thank you, thank you very much.

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“The Foaling Mare,” a silent movie made at the University of Connecticut, will be featured Friday, March 28, at 8 pm, at the Fairfield County Extension Center, Bethel. Dr Willard Daniels, Extension Veterinarian, will show the film and speak on the subject. There will also be a 4-H demonstration on buying a horse and feeding a horse by the Stamford Trailblazers. The program, sponsored by the County 4-H Horse Committee, is open to all people with horse and riding interests. Refreshments will be served.

March 31, 1944

Last Thursday night’s break-in at Hawley School was not exciting and, from the intruder’s point of view, must have been considered pretty unsuccessful — only seventeen dollars in loot. Nor will the town of Newtown go broke repairing the doors, windows and desks and providing a new filing cabinet for the principal’s office. However, the break-in might have been more costly, we happen to know, had the culprits looked in the right places, and serves to indicate that Newtown is pretty much open territory for night prowlers who take it into their heads to enter our homes or businesses. In other words, proper police protection is needed now, and in the future, and no good will ever come of always ducking the issue. It is a problem for the whole town, just as much as roads or schools. We all stand to benefit, once we have it. Meanwhile, The Bee hopes no one family or business concern will lose too much. Prevention is always cheaper than cure.

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Lieutenant Charles Colt U.S.N.R. is on furlough from his Naval duties, which have taken him for the past several months over much of the Pacific war zone. He is spending a few days this week at his home on Taunton Hill Road and on Friday goes to Washington DC to report to operations and be assigned to further services. He believes that Japan’s days of aggression are ended, but she is now waging a defensive warfare in which she will not easily be quickly defeated.

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The editor of The Bee is indebted to Mr and Mrs M.J. Swetland of Los Angeles, California, for a copy of the March issue of “Our Magazine.” This particular issue was edited by Mr Swetland as a “man’s number,” all of which makes most interesting reading, although The Bee tactfully refrains from any comparison with previous issues, produced under the feminine editorship of Mrs Swetland. Friends will be interested to know that they are both well and busy.

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The Newtown Country Club held its regular Monday night contract bridge at the club rooms that evening, with a good number in attendance. Miss Gertrude Endemann was high scorer for ladies of the evening, and Arthur Judd Smith took the honor for the gentlemen. Mrs R.O. Judson of Woodbury was leading lady for the month of March, and Mr Smith the leading gentleman. Mrs Florence Burroughs and Miss Clair Endemann very delightfully entertained. Next week, Mrs Frank Mitchell and Miss Isabell Bartman will be the hostesses.

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High praise for the Red Cross comes first hand from Mrs Peter R. Lawson, who is now doing Red Cross work at Lovell General Hospital, Fort Devens, Mass., in a letter to Mrs John N. Bovle, part of which The Bee is privileged to print as follows: “The Bee arrived today and I see that our quota is only 50 percent reached. So, I am making my small contribution to help get us over the top. I know it will come back into my hands in the form of those wonderful articles which it is my privilege to hand to the men who are doing their nasty work for all of us and see their delighted expressions.”

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A cablegram received by Mr and Mrs Wilton Lackaye of Sandy Hook reports that Corporal Roswell Tilson is spending this weekend with the Perrys, friends of Mr and Mrs Lackaye at Old Tamhouse in Bray-on-Thames, just outside of London. The Cablegram reports that “Ros” is well and happy.

March 31, 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.