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THE WAY WE WERE

JANUARY 25, 1974

Providing housing for the elderly in Newtown was the subject of a joint

meeting between the Board of Selectmen, the Planning and Zoning Commission,

Commission on Aging, and Newtown Housing for the Elderly Inc on Tuesday night

at the Town Hall. Representatives from the Department of Community Affairs

(DCA) spoke of the state funding plan and alternatives, and a key issue of the

evening was whether enough information had been obtained on various programs

to allow the Board of Selectmen to appoint a housing authority for Newtown to

apply for funds for low-rent facilities for the aged.

After the January 22 meeting of the Route 25 Impact Study Committee had ended,

one reporter summed up the sense of intellectual excitement in the room by

saying that it would have been worthwhile attending the meeting even if

admission had been charged. Dr. Charles Stokes, professor of economics at the

University of Bridgeport, and urban planning consultant, who has just returned

from a study of Latin American cities, put the Route 25 issue in an area,

state and national pesspectiveHto demonstrGte way the highway has to be built,

while outlining some of the options available to Newtown for guiding and

controlling and benefiting from the inevitable changes the highway will bring.

Connecticut, he explained, like New Jersey and Delaware is naturally a

corridor state; the corridor being the most important and heavily used one in

the world, from Washington to New York to Boston. Besides being just an amount

of distance separating two important terminals, Connecticut, and Fairfield

County in particular, is one of the fastest growing areas of the country.

Town meetings in Newtown of late have usually turned out to be interesting and

sometimes heated forums for debate, especially in cases where monies were

involved. Wednesday evening, January 23, there was a town meeting, and it

proved to be very unusual and rather stunning to those 70 persons present. In

only one half hour, voters approved a total of $86,080 in special

appropriations without having any discussion or asking any questions. It all

started when moderator David Larson asked for a motion, second and discussion

on $36,500 for the police department, but there was no discussion, so the

motion was moved and approved with no dissenting votes. So went the other two

requests: $1,580 for the Registrar of Voters, and $48,000 for the highway

department.

A proposal to introduce an additional step into the land use review procedure

which culminates with decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission was

discussed by the Conservation Commission at its January 21 meeting at Edmond

Town Hall. The step would consist of a site development plan preparation

emphasizing the environmental best use of the proposed development worked out

between the Conservation Commission and the developer in question.

Back in December the Newtown Lions Club members had a gala dinner dance at the

Curtis House in Woodbury. The cause of the celebration was to commemorate the

25th anniversary of the chartering of the Newtown Club, and 73 Lions and

ladies enjoyed an evening of dining, dancing and reminiscing. Included among

the guests were Past President Jack Murphy and wife, Rosemary, from Danbury.

They were there to bring the congratulations and extended good wishes from the

Danbury Lions Club, which was the sponsoring club for Newtown in 1948.

Newtown has been invited to join Bethel and Danbury in a state funded program

to provide hot meals at conveniently located centers to elderly citizens, Miss

Asenath Johnson, chairman of the Commission on Aging, revealed at the January

17 meeting of the Commission in Edmond Town Hall. The proposal, prepared by

Community Action Committee of Danbury, and forwarded by First Selectman Frank

DeLucia for recommendations to the Commission, utilizes a $79,600 grant from

the state for cooking 143 meals a day, which will be transported via Red Cross

to meal centers in each town.

The Newtown League of Women Voters has embarked on an action campaign to

inform Newtown residents of present school conditions. The Superintendent of

Schools, each school principal and PTA members were interviewed during the

week of January 14. The present pupil enrollment in Newtown Public Schools is

4,570. The projected 1977-78 enrollment is 5,087 pupils. This will mean a 14.2

per cent increase in pupil enrollment over the next four years in grades K-12,

according to the Connecticut Public Expenditures Council. The information

regarding present school conditions obtained by the League plus this

enrollment increase strongly indicates the need for a new elementary school in

Newtown. The pressure on the High School and Middle School could then be

relieved by placing the 9th grade in the Middle School and placing pupils in

5th and 6th grades in the elementary school. Presently Newtown High School

contains grades 9-12, Middle School, grades 5-8, and each of the three

elementary schools, Hawley, Middle Gate and Sandy Hook, have kindergarten

through grade 4.

The next meeting of the Newtown Bicentennial Organizational Committee will be

Tuesday, January 29, at 8 pm in the Alexandria Room of the Edmond Town Hall.

The topics to be discussed will include the formation of an executive

committee, the organizational structure of Newtown's Bicentennial Committee, a

proposed calendar, and the establishment of a nominating committee. An

application has been filed with the National Bicentennial Commission

requesting that Newtown be designated as a Bicentennial Community. This would

make the town eligible for federal funds.

JANUARY 28, 1949

Over 150 persons gathered on Saturday evening at the Alexandria Room, Edmond

Town Hall, to enjoy a highly successful dinner dance featuring the

presentation of the permanent Charter to the newly organized Lions Club of

Newtown. The program was called to order by Charter Night chairman, Ray

Trimpert, and tribute was paid to the Danbury Lions Club for their important

services in sponsoring the local organization. Invocation was offered by the

Reverend Paul A. Cullens of the Newtown Congregational Church. After an

excellent dinner catered by Mrs William A. Bowen of the Hawley Manor, Mr

Trimpert introduced the toastmaster of the evening, Judge Paul A. Cavanaugh.

It was a sincere pleasure for the many friends of Judge Cavanaugh to welcome

him back in his first public appearance since his recent illness. The

masterful manner in which he conducted the festivities proved that he has lost

none of his skill or wit.

Beginning this Friday a series of three dairy meetings will be held in the

Edmond Town Hall. This was recently announced by LeRoy M. Chapman and Raymond

J. Platt, Fairfield County agricultural agents.

Another landmark and one that has seen much service is soon to disappear. This

is the steel railway bridge over the Housatonic River between Sandy Hook and

Southbury, property of the present day New York, New Haven and Hartford

Railroad. Oldtimers will remember it as the old New England Division and still

think of it in those terms. Plans call for not only the dismantling of the

bridge but the tearing up of all tracks along the obsolete route. This work is

now under way. Beginning on the Southbury side of the river, the wrecking

engineers, Lipsett, Inc. of New York City, have cut the first span of the

bridge and dropped it to the eastern bank where it is being cut up into small,

transportable sections. The center span, which bridges the water from massive

stone piers, will be similarly dropped. Workmen think that they will have

reached the center span by late next week. Tracks will, of course, be torn up

the length of the line, which will include dismantling of the narrow underpass

near the Wheeler Glen Lodge in Sandy Hook. According to Leslie Tyler of the

New Haven Railroad's New Haven office, one portion of the stone abutment will

be removed to permit the widening of the highway at this point, a part of

Route 6 that has long presented a traffic hazard. The State Highway

Department, under Commissioner G. Albert Hill, has announced plans for the

relocation of Route 6 and the construction of a new highway bridge to replace

the present one which parallels the railroad bridge now being dismantled.

Engineers engaged in the work estimate that about 325 tons of scrap metal will

be realized from the operation.

Many Newtown friends of Miss Andra C. McLaughlin, daughter of Mr and Mrs

Charles H. McLaughlin of New York, Colorado and Newtown, will be interested to

learn that she sailed this week on the Queen Mary for London where she will

prepare for the World's Figure Skating Competition to be held in Paris on

February 15, 16, 17 and 18. The 15-year-old American skating star is the niece

of Mrs Alexander McQuillan of Newtown, and her grandparents lived for many

years in Hanover district.

Two representatives of the Newtown Parent Teacher Association attended the

meeting of the Newtown Board of Education held in Hawley School last Friday

evening, January 21, at 8 o'clock. They were L.E. Pelletier, president, and

Richard Hibbard, chairman of the hot lunch research committee. Findings of the

committee to date were reported to the board, the issue of enlarging the

school lunch program discussed, but no action was taken. The board instructed

Superintendent Carroll F. Johnson to institute a survey in Newtown to

investigate the community's long-range school needs. Raymond L. Hall and John

Holian were appointed as a committee to investigate possible high school

building sites in Newtown. The following school buildings were voted to be

turned over to the selectmen for disposal: Head O'Meadow, Taunton, Gregory's

Orchard (Hattertown), Hopewell and Palestine.

Try-outs for "Juno and the Paycock," the play to be produced by Town Players

on March 16 and 17, were held at the home of the director, Ruth Baridon,

Monday, January 24. Over twenty people were present and read parts. Mrs

Baridon will not announce the cast until next week, as she still has to hear

people for parts who were unable to attend the regular try-out meeting. Mae

Loewe will be the producer for the play, with Eberhard von Jarochowski stage

manager.

A regular meeting of the Newtown Ambulance Association will be held Friday

evening, February 4, at 8 o'clock in the Edmond Town Hall. Drivers

particularly are requested to be on hand. Two speakers are scheduled for the

evening's meeting, according to A. Fenn Dickinson, president, one being Lynn

Mathewson of the Fairfield State Hospital staff, who will discuss emergency

first aid. The other will be a State Highway patrolman who will report on the

rights and privileges of volunteer ambulance drivers.

Plans have been completed and the finishing touches added to the testimonial

dinner to be given this Saturday evening in honor of Hawley High's

championship football team. The feature of the evening will be the

presentation of a trophy to the celebrated team, winners of the Housatonic

Valley Schoolmen's League championship.