A funny thing happened to Hawley Warner on his way to dinner out on Sunday, May 7. Someone suggested stopping by a friend’s house on Riverside Road first, “for some stupid reason,” according to the longtime keeper of Sandy Hook’s famed Brick Store. Hawley was even more confounded when the family insisted on stopping at the Sandy Hook firehouse “because the friends might be there.” What with the parking lot practically jammed solid, and his daughter, Anne, shoving him out of the car, it began to dawn on Mr Warner that someone was putting something over on him. “Someone” was his assistant in the store, Jean Watkins, who had managed without his knowledge to assemble 250 people, a buffet dinner, libations, musicians, and even a speech or two in celebration of Mr Warner’s approaching retirement.

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Newtown’s Planning & Zoning Commission gave approval May 4 to the Legislative Council’s proposal as to the disposition of 16 round portable classroom units which the Board of Education has determined are no longer needed because of the opening of the Head O’ Meadow Elementary School this year. The portables were purchased by the town in 1974 to alleviate overcrowding in the elementary schools. The Legislative Council came up with a plan for the portables after consultation with the school board, park and recreation, and other officials. The council recommended on a planning referral to P&Z that three portables be left at Sandy Hook School, two at Hawley School and two at Middle Gate.

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Peter Jarrett of Bradley Lane, Sandy Hook, has been awarded the Jean V. Johnston Prize in Chemistry at Connecticut College, New London. Mr Jarrett graduates later this month and will begin work on his doctorate program in chemistry at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, in September.

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On Saturday, May 27, at 8:30 pm in the Newtown High School auditorium on Route 34, Billy Fellows will be doing what Billy Fellows does best: entertaining a full house. He comes back to Newtown again this year for “Billy Fellows in Concert,” donating his considerable talents under the sponsorship of the Newtown Indian Boosters, who support the interscholastic athletic program at the high school, and he comes having traveled an eventful show business route.

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Rev John Michael Scott, MM, of Newtown, will be ordained to the missionary priesthood on Saturday, May 20, at the Maryknoll Seminary near Ossining, N.Y. His Eminence, Terence Cardinal Cooke, Archbishop of New York, will be the ordaining prelate.

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Green Giant footprints? Yes, everywhere…leading to fun, prizes and surprises at the Sandy Hook PTA’s Green Giant Fair. This Saturday, May 15, make plans to visit the Sandy Hook School, located on Riverside Road, just a few hundred feet from the Sandy Hook Center traffic light.

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Following the resignation two weeks ago of Howard Kemmerer as chairman, the Newtown Conservation Commission has turned to another veteran member to take over the chairmanship. Julia Wasserman, a member of five years, was unanimously elected when the commission met May 10, nominated by Ted Whippie and seconded by Murrell Ober and David Smith.

MAY 15, 1953

A hearing was held in Hartford on Tuesday afternoon before the committee on Cities and Boroughs on the bill which has been entered in the State Legislature by the Town Development Committee, creating a means to provide zoning for the Town of Newtown.

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The members of Pohtatuck Grange, men and women alike, pitched to with a will last Saturday, May 9, to lay a Kentile floor on the first floor and ante room of Grange Hall.

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The 75 members and guests of the Newtown Chapter of the United World Federalists who attended the chapter’s annual dinner last Friday evening, May 8, at the Yankee Drover Inn, heard a plea for a strengthened United Nations as the best world measure for peace, by the Rev Donald Harrington, pastor of the Community Church, New York City.

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At a special assembly held in Newtown High School last Friday, May 8, honor students of the graduating class this June were announced as follows: valedictorian, Holly Johnson; salutatorian, Jeffrey Westcott; third honors, Rose Urbanovsky.

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Colonel James A. Tobey of Sunset Hill returned to Newtown on Sunday after participating in the war maneuvers known as Logex 53 at Camp Pickett, Va.

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Coach Harold S. DeGroat has announced that Plastic Molding will furnish a team for the Newtown Softball League, which brings the total number of teams to three, the Newtown AC and Fairfield Hawks being the other two.

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Vocational agricultural students of Newtown High School made a respectable showing in the livestock, milk, and poultry judging and dairy showmanship contest for state high schools held at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, last Friday, May 8. The strongest showing by Newtown was made in the dairy contests with the team placing first in milk judging and in dairy showmanship. Robert McCarty was the highest individual in the former event while Alfred Michel was high in the latter. John Grady placed sixth in dairy showmanship.

MAY 11, 1928

The Paul Markl farm of 36 acres in Zoar District, was sold the past week, to John Schooner of Mt Vernon, N.Y., through the W.B. Bentley Real Estate Agency.

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The Newtown School Board has asked the selectmen to call a special town meeting for the purpose of approving the purchase of the former parochial school building at Sandy Hook. Ever since they visited the outlying school last year, the school board has been working on this problem of giving adequate modern graded teaching to as many pupils of the eastern part of the town as possible.

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The chicken pattie supper served at the firemen’s hall at Hawleyville, Wednesday night, for the benefit of the Hawleyville chapel was largely attended and a pleasant social success. Among those present from Newtown and Sandy Hook were Mr and Mrs Newton Curtiss, John J. Northrup, Mrs Frances Schermerhorn, John A. Northrop, Miss Cora Northrop, Mr and Mrs W.A. Honan, Allison P. Smith, Miss Hazel H. Smith, and Martin K. Donahue.

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A.E. Brinton, who is a real artist when it comes to the culture of any kind of flowers, is laying out an old-fashioned garden south of his house.

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Judge Oscar Pitzschler was in Hartford Wednesday attending a quarterly meeting of the State Probate Assembly.

MAY 15, 1903

The horses attached to W.C. Johnson’s ice wagon became frightened Monday night, while standing in front of attorney W.J. Beecher’s residence, and made a wild dash up the street. No great damage was done, and after the first quarter the horses stopped of themselves.

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William Ryan will move from Mr Haugh’s house to the late Henry Botsford place as soon as it is vacated by Harry Coger, who will soon move to Newtown Street.

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Someone threw a stone through a large pane of glass in the front of the Sandy Hook shoe store, Sunday night, completely wrecking it.

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John H. Frank of Huntingtown has a fine brood of 300 chickens, all of them hatched by hens. His neighbor, Jesse James, has an equally large brood hatched in the same manner.

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P.H. McCarthy and Miss Margaret Houlihan were among the teachers who went from Newtown to attend the teachers’ convention in Bridgeport.

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A party of young people of this town drove to Monroe on last week Thursday and attended a dance given at the Town Hall there. They report a delightful moonlight ride and an enjoyable time at the dance. Those making up the party were Misses Alice Beers, Florence Warner, Laura Mitchell, Bertha George, and Messrs Louis Briscoe, John Beers, Will Curtis, Hobart Warner, Frank Blackman, Wallace Williams, and James B. Nichols.