Residents Rally Around Roosters, Celebrate Newtown

By Kendra Bobowick

Stepping back from his acrylic painting Saturday, June 13, David Merrill shook his head. “I am used to working inside,” he said. With arms crossed, he glanced at his Newtown Meeting House rooster covering the off-white canvas. Although he admitted his work was “coming along,” the wet weather this weekend had kept paint from drying, leaving damp brush strokes.

Along the crosswalk across the street from Edmond Town Hall, Mr Merrill shared a patch of lawn with students David Swigart and Kiersten Lynch, both bringing their imaginations to the Newtown rooster at the June 13 Rooster Rally.

Coordinator Mae Schmidle and publicity chair Michael Cech stood centered on the fieldstone path leading to the town hall’s steps: the crowd moving in groups around them trading pieces of discussion, stray notes of laughter, and conversations that faded as speakers moved away.

The weekend’s artists’ showcase focused on roosters: on canvas, shaped with cloth and crafts, tall and small, flat and three-dimensional, all flanking Main Street to celebrate the town’s mascot.

Heading toward a flat golden rendition, Ms Schmidle added a sliver of history — Robert Halleck added the silhouette of a rooster to the town’s seal in 1955, making it the logo’s centerpiece. In 1956, for the 250th anniversary celebration of the town’s founding, he also drew a rooster patterned after the weathervane topping the Newtown Congregational Church. Behind her, Republican Board of Selectman candidate Will Rodgers spoke with Democratic State Representative Chris Lyddy, who had defeated Mr Rodgers for the post. Fellow State Representative DebraLee Hovey spoke with Pat Llodra, Republican candidate for first selectman. At a booth along the sidewalk talking together were Democrats Joe Hemmingway, campaigning for the Board of Selectmen, and Democratic Town Committee Chair Jim Juliano.

Also mixed into the activity was a table supported by Newtown’s Cultural Arts Commission and members Jennifer Johnston, Emily Howard, Jennifer Rodgers, Linda Watson, and supporter Amanda Watson. Cluttering their booth were information flyers for getaways and attractions. Vacationing anyone?

Across from the General Store and catching motorists’ eyes was a six-foot Fanci Fowl of Newtown, made of cloth and creativity, with multicolored materials adding to its plume and lashes, with eggs at its feet. Keeping a watch were artists Lorraine Yakush and Alice Falkowitz, who both agreed that they had worked “feverishly” for the event, Ms Yakush said.

As the 11:30 to 2 pm event drew crowds and slowed traffic, a number of guests got to know their town and mascot. Among the artists and roosters were local groups with rooster-related items for sale, rooster items, weathervanes, and historic notes, maps, and collections.