Gone, But Not Forgotten At The Village Cemetery

By Kaaren Valenta

Most Newtown residents know that Mary Elizabeth Hawley inherited millions of dollars and left her imprint on the community through such gifts as the Hawley School, Edmond Town Hall, and the C.H. Booth Library.

But few may have known that her great-grandfather, Judge William Edmond, operated on his own leg when he was hit by a musket ball during the American Revolution and later went on to become a member of Congress.

Or that Caleb Baldwin II got into trouble for knocking over outhouses as a youth, but grew up to the town clerk of Newtown and a tavern keeper on Main Street.

Their stories, and the stories of seven other Newtown notables, were portrayed last Saturday at costumed reenactments, “Newtown Notables, Gone But Not Forgotten,” that took place at their gravesites at the Village Cemetery on Elm Drive. Tarps, erected as shelters because of the threat of rain, were not needed; only a few drops of rain fell minutes before the tours started at 2 pm. Then the sky cleared and the sun came out.

Sponsored by the Newtown Historical Society to celebrate the town’s 300th anniversary, the tercentennial event featured actors Dot Wenblad, Bart Schofield, Dick Hubert, Peter MacCarthy, Nanette Maturi, Ray Horvath, John Renjillian, Nelson Tamakloe, Bill Timmel, and Gordon Williams portraying Newtown notables Katherine Camp, Ezra Levan Johnson, Judge William Edmond, Henry Sanford, Mary Elizabeth Hawley, Rev David Judson, Thomas Tousey, Alfred Jefferson Briscoe, Rev John Beach, and Caleb Baldwin.

Patty Graves was the event chairman; Diane Everett the costumer. The guides included Shari Rowe, Sally O’Neil, Sylvia Poulin, Colleen Glaser, Jim Roodhuyzen, Adam Horvath, and the Booth Library Young Adult Group.

Mr Williams, who is the historical society’s president, said the reenactment was so well received that it may be repeated indoors in a program in the fall.

“The actors were wonderful and really seemed to fit their parts,” said Brenda Aurelia as she finished the tour. “My husband’s family has lived here for three generations and there is still a lot to learn about the town’s history.”

Lee and Linda DeLucia agreed. “We loved it,” Lee DeLucia said. “It was amazing.”