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THE WAY WE WERE

JULY 12, 1974

Joanne Kemmerer, president of the Newtown League of Women Voters, told the

members of the Republican Town Committee on Monday night that she was giving

them "the opportunity to show some leadership and to exercise the democratic

process."

Mrs Kemmerer sought to have the committee recommend adoption of a code of

ethics for town officials and employees along with formulation of a board to

enforce the code, to the Charter Revision Commission, where the matter is

stalemated. After at times heated debate a swift motion to adjourn killed

discussion and the Town Committee took advantage of neither of the

opportunities offered them by the LWV president.

It was 1905 when Walter Sherry, of Great Quarter Road, last gathered chestnuts

in Newtown, but he has high hopes that the aroma of roasting chestnuts will

fill his home again before too long. The American chestnut tree has been

fighting an uphill battle against blight for the better part of this century,

according to Mr Sherry, who has been keeping a careful watch over the dozen or

so chestnut trees in Newtown. His pride and joy is a 21-year-old chestnut tree

on Route 34 between Zoar Road and Bennett's Bridge Road. What is so special

about this particular tree? Well, it seems to be surviving. Mr Sherry

explained that it is a rare chestnut tree that manages to survive 20 years,

adding that signs of blight on a chestnut tree should be evident long before

its 15th year. The tree on Route 34 shows no signs of disease. He noted that

although the tree has been blooming for several years, a substantial fruit

yield has yet to come.

"I have thought about the problem about as much as anyone in the last ten

years," said Howard Kemmerer of Newtown, "and I don't see any simple solution.

The problem is much too complex." The problem is how to preserve the ever

decreasing acreage of prime agricultural land in Connecticut. The Governor's

Task Force for the Preservation of Agricultural Land had a public hearing in

Trumbull Town Hall on Tuesday, July 2 to share ideas with farmers and town

officials about how to keep Connecticut's farm land in production. According

to chairman Charles Stroh, himself a dairy farmer, food production is the main

concern of the task force. Created by the Governor in April, the task force

has a year to come up with recommendations. However, said Mr. Stroh, because

of the pace of farmland loss, the task force hopes to have recommendations to

give to the Governor by January.

Mental Health Commissioner Ernest A. Shepherd announced this week that all

three of Connecticut's state hospitals have been granted accreditation,

meeting "new and higher standards of combined national certifying medical and

hospital agencies." Commissioner Shepherd said the official word from the

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals "gratifyingly culminates a

year's major effort in improving care and treatment programs which included

adding more than 500 personnel to the staffs of Connecticut Valley, Norwich

and Fairfield Hills Hospitals."

The Newtown Exchange Club held their annual election of officers at the

Alpenhof Inn on Thursday evening, June 25. Michael Cacioppo was elected

president, succeeding John D'Addario. Richard Sturdevant was elected vice

president; John Stiles, secretary; and Frank Lyon was re-elected treasurer.

Without fanfare, the Conservation Commission, on Wednesday, July 6, revised

and adapted its inland-wetland regulations to take care of some of the

suggestions made at the June 24 public hearing and voted unanimously to send

them to the Department of Environmental Protection for approval. Outside,

fireworks blazed and thunder rolled, but the commission, assisted by its

attorney, Samuel Chambliss of Easton, quietly changed the wording to allow

itself full discretionary powers on what information to require from

applicants, and added two new sections dealing with amendments to the

regulations and map. The regulations have yet to be approved by the DEP,

though that department has already indicated its acceptance informally. Just

when DEP will approve the regulations is up in the air.

At its meeting on Monday night, July 8, the Republican Town Committee

nominated a slate of candidates for local offices in this fall's election.

Nine-term State Representative Sarah Frances Curtis of the 106th General

Assembly District, which covers all of Newtown and a part of Redding, was

nominated for another term unanimously after Stephen Cerri, chairman of the

candidates committee, said she was the sole applicant.

Mrs James Bishop, Mrs Harold Carey, and Mrs John Gerger have been named

chairmen of the Breath of Life Campaign in Newtown in the Borough, according

to Ann Washburn, president of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Cystic

Fibrosis Research Foundation.

JULY 15, 1949

The almost universal appeal of a parade was demonstrated last Thursday night

when Newtown's four volunteer fire companies staged a carnival parade with

many local and out-of-town organizations in line and several hundred volunteer

firemen taking part. From the monument at the head of Main Street all the way

down to Yale Field opposite Lovell's Garage, cars of sightseers were closely

parked on both sides of the street, and porches, lawns and windows of

residences along the route provided vantage points for other onlookers.

Newtown will participate in "Operation Lookout," a 10-state aircraft detection

exercise to be held in September under the sponsorship of the Air Defense

Command assisted by the Office of Civil Defense Planning. Thousands of

citizens throughout the area lying between Portland, Maine and Wilmington,

Delaware, will man 1300 ground observation posts for the operation. In Newtown

First Selectman W. C. Holcombe has appointed Comdr. W.W. Bayley, USN (Retired)

as local coordinator. Walter Los will be supervisor of the observation post,

with Fred Bauer and Harold F. Smith as assistant supervisors.

An application has been filed with the State Liquor Commission at Hartford by

George Trull of the firm of Knapp and Trull for a permit to open a package

store, using the north wing of their present store on Main street. In this

connection, a meeting of the Church Council of the Newtown Congregational

Church was held on Sunday, when a motion was passed to instruct the secretary,

Mrs Jerome P. Jackson, to write to the chairman of the Liquor Control

Commission, protesting the issuance of a package store license to Mr Trull.

Objection was based chiefly on the location of the proposed package store,

which would be situated between the Edmond Town Hall and the new Church House

which the Congregational Church has just built at the rear of its parsonage

property.

A volunteer fire company for Botsford is in the process of formation and all

residents of Botsford, Huntingtown and Hattertown have been invited to attend

its next meeting. The meeting will be held at The Pines Inn on Route 25

through the courtesy of John Hansen, who has provided a room for past meetings

and for those to be held in the future.

Mrs Willis F. Arndt of Taunton district became the happy winner of four

valuable prizes, as the result of her entry on the "Grand Slam" program over

radio station WCBS at 11:30 am on Thursday, July 7. She won a Tappan gas

range, 12 pairs of Mojud nylon hosiery, a Farberware electric broiler and a

Petal camera (world's smallest camera). The prizes are due to arrive in a few

more days. In the contest, Mrs Arndt submitted five musical tunes to be

guessed by her studio opponent. Her theme song was taken from South Pacific,

"I'm Going To Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair." Her studio opponent guessed

only one of the five titles, which entitled Mrs Arndt to her four prizes.

Saturday night the gym of the Edmond Town Hall was the scene of a reception

honoring Mrs Myrtle Way Smith, past matron, and Aksel Jensen, past patron, of

Mirah Chapter, No. 113 O.E.S., who were the first officers of the newly

organized chapter in 1947 and served with the associate officers for two

years.

JULY 11, 1924

Sunrise hotel at Botsford Hill is at present entertaining about 110 guests,

and has been filled to capacity since the Fourth.

A big truck belonging to the Keystone Trucking Company of New Haven went

through the fence at the turn on the Lake hill on the Newtown-Danbury state

road, Tuesday morning.