A huge thank you this week to Shane McCarthy, who immediately recognized last week’s Way We Were photo. The photo showed Newtown Boy Scout Troop 270. Many members are holding American flags, which should have clued us in to when and why the photo was taken. Shane is near the center of the photo, back row, with a backwards baseball cap. He thinks the photo was taken in June 2004, “during our end-of-year camping trip at Cherry Grove Farm (back when it was privately owned),” he said via email. “Every June we would host a campout where we invited parents and family members for dinner and skits. As part of the ceremony, we would also collect worn out or soiled flags from the community, which we would ceremonially retire through the traditional method of burning as per US Flag Code guidelines,” he added. (The Newtown Bee has been honored to attend some of those ceremonies and they are indeed respectful, and very inspiring to watch.)

While Shane did not want to name anyone else in that photo without their consent — which we understand — he did mention that “at least six of the boys shown,” including himself, went on to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

A reminder this week that Newtown Hardware will be hosting a Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday. After you stop inside 61 Church Hill Road and get what you need from Mike Sorrentino and any of his staff members, stop by Full Bloom Catering’s setup outside the store for a breakfast sandwich with coffee, tea, or a bottle of water. After 11 am, Dennis Bloom and crew will switch things up and move from breakfast to lunch with hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as bags of chips and bottles of water.

Newtown will again be joining over 38 million neighbors across 16,000 communities from all 50 states, US territories and military bases around the world when it participates in National Night Out (NNO) next week. Newtown Community Center, in conjunction with Newtown Police Department and Newtown Prevention Council, will host this year’s event on Tuesday, August 1, from 6 to 8 pm, in the western parking lot of the community center, 8 Simpson Street. Community center staff, members of Newtown PD and other Newtown and regional first responder agencies will all be there to welcome visitors of all ages for games, touch-a-truck opportunities, K-9 demonstrations, music, bounce houses, crafts, face painting, Dunk-A-Cop, giveaways, and other family fun. Admission is free to community members and no registration is required.

It’s no secret Newtown Congregational Church has been regularly hosting blood drives since early 2020. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that year, the West Street house of worship and Newtown Lions Club made a concerted effort to host at least two blood drives each month to continue building and maintaining blood donation levels. The blood drives have continued, occasionally with as many as four drives in a single month! According to some information recently published by the American Red Cross, the folks who are donating at NCC are making a difference. As of the end of June, 511 blood donations had been made at NCC alone since the beginning of the year. At least 14 additional drives have already been scheduled at the church, including four in August. Check our Community Calendar, in print and online, for details, or go straight to redcrossblood.org for the opportunity to see all local blood drives and donation specifics.

The title for this year’s Outdoor Movie Night at Fairfield Hills has been announced: Parks & Rec and Newtown Community Center will co-host a screening of Luca on Wednesday, August 9, at dusk. The family friendly event will return to the soccer fields along Keating Farms Avenue, and everyone is welcome. Pack blankets and/or chairs for seating, some snacks (and bags to take home your trash in), and enjoy the show.

Congratulations to the parishioners who recently organized the St Rose of Lima Catholic Church Parish baby bottle drive. Parishioners donated over $7,500 to help young mothers and their families. Those funds were split evenly and donated to Birthright of Danbury and Sisters of Light.

On the opposite end of the news spectrum, organizers of History Camp were very disappointed this year when they were unable to fill a roster for this year’s program. Gordon Williams reached out last week, so unhappy that for the first time in 18 years he and others did not welcome children to The Matthew Curtiss House. I know there is a lot of competition out there in the summer camp program, including many new recent additions to that scene, as readers have seen in our pages in recent weeks. It was still very disheartening to receive this sad news from our friends at the historical society.

Real Food CT Garden Days continue at the local organization’s two volunteer locations. Through the end of August the current schedule is seeking volunteers to collect harvests Monday through Friday between 7-10 am. The organization is based on Huntingtown Road, where one Giving Garden is located. It is also sowing a second Giving Garden in the center of town. The two gardens are less than one acre, but the space is large enough, thanks to efficient work, to produce 15,000-20,000 pounds of fresh produce without much overhead. All of the food produced in these gardens is donated to regional food pantries. Want to be part of this program? Contact founder Sean Fitzpatrick at 917-575-6811 or sean@realfoodct.org or visit realfoodct.org and click on Get Involved.

I’m no fan of summer. Even in days when we’re not setting heat records, this cat is not one to lay in or anywhere near the sun. Give me a quiet corner in the shade, and I’ll curl up and purr like a kitten. Like many, I’m already counting the days until autumn. You know who else is also looking forward to the first day of the new season? Newtown Underwater Search And Rescue! Plans are underway for the Second Annual NUSAR Dive-A-Thon. The local volunteer search and rescue dive team will be returning to Eichler’s Cove on September 23, when they hope to beat last year’s inaugural total of nearly $14,000. The team is planning to dive from 10 am until 6 pm. Donations before, during and after this year’s fundraiser will be earmarked to improving the team’s headquarters. NUSAR hopes to add a larger bay, which would allow faster dispatches in emergencies. Additional details will be announced during the next two months. Early sponsors will be noted within the event program book. Interested? Contact NUSAR Assistant Chief Dr Mike Cassetta at 203-650-1682 or info@nusar.org.

With the Reverend Matt Crebbin currently on sabbatical, the pastor of Newtown Congregational Church was unable to participate in the recent Newtown Ecumenical Workcamp Servants service trip. …or was he? In an adaptation of Where’s Waldo?, campers this year were joined by a laminated cutout photo of Rev Matt, who popped up at most work locations and evening events, and of course multiple photos. Young adults and chaperones spent a week in rural Kentucky earlier this month, where they did home renovation projects for a few families.

Among the projects, in fact, was a bathroom remodel for one person who hadn’t had hot water for eight months. As part of that project, the workcampers bought and installed a water heater that was paid for with funds raised by Abby McManus when she hosted a drive-in screening at Edmond Town Hall a few months ago. Readers will hopefully remember that story: Back in May, the NEWS workcamper and Newtown High School senior worked with the town hall staff to schedule a screening of Footloose. All funds, she promised, would be donated to NEWS. Well done Abby, along with those who supported her project.

According to a new study by Total Shape, the favorite forms of exercise in Connecticut are, in descending order, boxing, Pilates, and dance. They obviously didn’t check with my contemporaries because I don’t see napping there or anywhere in the top five. I’m going to try to wrap my little head around that anomaly. I hope you’ll wrap your mind about coming back next week to … read me again.