The town of Newtown received a gift from the government of France recently when Richard Lenkowski, who played the Comte de Rochambeau in the Monday Rochambeau March reenactment here in Newtown, gave a medal to Town Clerk Mae Schmidle. The medal and a laminated copy of the General Assembly resolution recognizing the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Route through Connecticut will be on display in the Town Clerk’s office throughout Bicentennial Week July 5 through 9.

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 It was quite a day in history for Newtowners as they had a chance to glimpse some history which had been and also was in the making when Rochambeau’s Army paid a return visit here after 200 years. The day was full, from the time the troops marched into town over the Rochambeau bridge early in the afternoon, until the time when they successfully routed the members of the British sympathizers in Delancy’s Brigade, right down to the final moments of the memorable event, the sending aloft of the Connecticut State Balloon.

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Newtown members of STOP (Stop Transportation of Pollution) Mitzi Bowman, Joanne Zang and Sue Wravel, attended two hearings held by the Temporary Nuclear Power Evaluation Council in Hartford on June 28.

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The way for communities to maintain local (land use) control is to take the initiative to pioneer and experiment in land use planning. And time is short. This was the message of a conference on housing organized by the Associated Religious Communities of greater Danbury and attended by about 75 local people in the undercroft of Trinity Episcopal Church Wednesday, June 25.

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It came as a surprise to Newtown, but the state Department of Transportation, as of Thursday, June 24, was going ahead with plans to close to traffic sections of Riverside Road and Alpine Drive starting the following Monday morning. This would have meant that for three days, school bus routes would have had to have been changed and children in the Center Street area would have had to walk half a mile on winding, narrow Underhill Road. But, even worse, since First Selectman Jack Rosenthal had not been notified of DOT plans, the road closing would have come as a surprise to the school bus drivers or to the police, firemen, or ambulance drivers if they had been responding to an emergency that morning.

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It has been a Bicentennial project of the Newtown Historical Society to mark with dates the oldest houses in Newtown through the Revolutionary War period. A fine list of old houses has been compiled by Mrs Raymond Hall, and the Society has arranged to have signs of uniform size painted for those home owners who wish to obtain them.

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The third town meeting of the year, on June 24, gave birth to a $10,550,293.63 budget for the 1976-77 fiscal year, which began Thursday, and it appeared as The Bee went to press that – finally – Newtown indeed has its budget. As the Legislative Council set a tax rate of 29 mills for the fiscal year on Monday night, word had already been received that the Concerned Citizens of Newtown Committee, despite statements by some members immediately after last Thursday’s town meeting that another referendum would be called, had decided against doing so.

JULY 6, 1951

An estimated crowd of 600 witnessed the fireworks display on Taylor Field Wednesday night in celebration of July 4th, an event that had the support and collaboration of the Newtown Volunteer Fire Companies, the local Boy Scouts, Troop 70, the Newtown Recreation Department, and the firm of Edward Waltman, Inc., of Hartford, fireworks manufacturers.

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Eight members of the Senior Boy Scouts Pine Tree Patrol, with Scoutmaster Paul A. Cullens and Ned Platt, assistant, will take off from the Scout cabins this Sunday afternoon with two cars and an equipment-loaded trailer for their annual canoe trip to the woods and lake country of southern Quebec Province.

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Anticipating the 175th anniversary of the independence of the United States, the Declaration of Independence was read at the Monday meeting of the Newtown Rotary Club. Nathan Avery, maintenance manager of the Southbury Training School, gave the reading along with remarks and a brief history of the epoch-making document and its authorship.

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Visiting The American Ten exhibition at Addison M. Metcalf’s North Main Street gallery on Tuesday evening were Miss Marian Anderson, the singer, her husband, O.H. Fisher, and her niece and a few local friends. Miss Anderson, only recently returned from a three-month concert tour of South America, expressed great admiration for the Newtown show and its purpose.

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Legal notice appears elsewhere in this week’s Bee relative to the sale of town-owned lots, all of which are located in sight of or in the vicinity of Lake Zoar. According to First Selectman A. Fenn Dickinson, Tax Collector Robert N. Camp, and William W. Holcombe, chairman of the Board of Finance, sealed bids will be received at Mr Camp’s office in the Edmond Town Hall until the close of business on Friday, July 20.

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Announcement has been received that Holly Johnson, daughter of Mr and Mrs Hoyt Johnson, Mile Hill Road, has taken second prize in Connecticut in this year’s nationwide VFW essay contest on the subject, “Freedom’s Open Door.” In Newtown schools the contest was sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Charles Howard Peck Sr and Jr Post 308, with Mrs John Qubick as chairman of the essay committee.

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At Trinity Church, Newtown, on Sunday, July 1, the rector, the Rev Gordon D. Pierce, was assisted by his son-in-law, the Rev R. DeWitt Mallary, who preached the sermon and assisted in the administration of the Holy Communion. The occasion was of special significance as it was the first time the Rev Mr Mallary had assisted Dr Pierce or assisted in the Holy Communion since his recent ordination as a deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church.

JULY 2, 1926

The married men and the single men had their game at baseball last Saturday afternoon. Manager Johnston for the married men and manager Treat for the single men had their forces out on the field and the slight rain storm that came just before the game made it very bad, for the ball was sticky and wet most of the afternoon.

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Adolph Urban has purchased a Ford touring car.

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William Stevens of Mile Hill has sold his farm to William Primrose of New Rochelle, N.Y.

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John Keane of Newtown has bought out the business of the Golden Peach, and will take possession shortly after July 1.

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Birdsey H. Sniffen sailed on the steamer Bremen, of the German-Lloyd line, for Paris, France, where he will study for six weeks.

JULY 5, 1901

Henry G. Curtis is having good success in his new industry at Berkshire, making paper boxes. He is now employing a half dozen hands and has put in the most up-to-date machinery. Men of Mr Curtis’ calibre are what this town needs for its industrial development.

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At the annual meeting of the Taunton School district on Thursday evening last Chester Northrop was elected committee, J. Botsford Fairchild, clerk, E.C. Platt collector, and S.B. Camp, treasurer.

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Alva Longstreet of Hawleyville, while bathing at Taunton Lake on Friday evening, injured one foot and ankle quite severely. It is supposed that in the forward stroke while using his leg as a steam dredge, he struck a rock he was unable to bring to the surface. Dr Schuyler attended to his injury.