Full Text:

THE WAY WE WERE

JULY 27, 1973

In the wake of another serious accident on Main Street, Newtown police set up

a spot check at the intersection of Routes 25 and 202 (now 302) on Monday and

in a period of six hours ticketed 31 drivers for speeding and running the red

light. Of the 31, 22 were operating cars, eight were driving trucks, and one

was operating a motorcycle. On Wednesday, a radar trap was set up to catch

motorists traveling at least 40 mph in the 30 mph zone on Main Street. More

than 50 drivers were pulled over, some of whom were travelling more than 50

mph. Newtown residents also are helping by taking down the license numbers and

noting the names of every company that has trucks speeding through this area.

There won't be an Exxon Station on Church Hill Road. In August 1971, Humble

Oil & Refining Company (Exxon Corp) went to a public hearing to seek approval

of the Zoning Board of Appeals for variances to allow the construction of a

service station on Church Hill Road across from eastbound exit and entrance of

I-84. The Board disapproved the variance and the company took the matter to

the Fairfield County court of Appeals in Bridgeport. This week Judge Norton

Levin handed down a decision in favor of the ZBA's rejection of Exxon's

appeal. The court found that the plaintiffs, Exxon and property owner Noie

Richards, have created their own hardship by the lease of the property to

Highway Cleaners, which created problems with the front and side yard

setbacks.

Residents of Toddy Hill Road will have some relief from the truck traffic

which has been plaguing them for months. On August 1, Frank D'Addario and

representatives of his company, D'Addario Sand & Gravel, met with First

Selectman Frank DeLucia and Police Chief Louis Marchese and volunteered to

take all trucks off Toddy Hill Road while school students are off for summer

vacation.

Vincent Gaffney, who retired in June from the Newtown School District where he

had been a teacher for the past 37 years, died this week. As a teacher he gave

countless students his time and dedication, first in the Vo-Ag program and

then in the math department. He was an agent for the Family Farm Insurance

Company, Pohtatuck Grange and Farm Bureau member, and blue ribbon-winner for

agricultural displays at the Danbury Fair. Mr Gaffney, who was affectionately

known as "The Boss," also served as Newtown's first air pollution control

officer.

Richard H. Sperling of 2 Elizabeth Street is eligible to win a free trip to

Scotland and $1,000 in cash as a result of scoring a hole-in-one at the

Newtown Country Club this week. Mr Sperling's ace qualified him for the Rusty

Nail Hole-in-One Sweepstakes, a national competition sponsored by the Drambuie

Company of Edinburgh, Scotland. The winner will be announced early next year.

Road oil seems to be as scarce as gasoline and fuel oil this year, if not more

so, and the town is having difficulty getting enough of it in time to keep the

summer road maintenance program on schedule, First Selectman Frank DeLucia

said this week. Oiling finally began Monday on Farrell Road and Currituck

Road. If enough oil is delivered soon enough, the program should be completed

in a couple of weeks, but at the present rate of deliveries, it might take the

whole of August. During the procedure, six sand trucks work in pairs behind

the oiler. Each pair of trucks can cover about 100 yards of freshly oiled

pavement before going back to the sandpile on Philo Curtis Road for fresh

supplies.

Newtown boys and girls are enjoying a summer track and field clinic sponsored

by the Bethel Bananas Track Club and the Newtown Park and Recreation

Commission. The next meet will be on Saturday, August 11, with the

championship meet on August 18. All meets are at the high school.

A head-on crash on I-84 on July claimed the life of a 55-year-old Woodbury

resident who attempted to pass another car in the construction area of the

highway and hit an oncoming truck. The interstate is being widened into a

divided highway in that area because of so many head-on collisions.

August 6, 1948

A petition has been submitted by the Non-Partisan Education Committee to the

Board of Selectmen to call a special town meeting to vote on whether Newtown

should continue to be part of the district formed to construct a regional high

school. The committee, headed by Herbert J. Janzer of Huntingtown Road, also

includes H.H. Cutler, William Cutler and Raymond L. Hall. The purpose of the

opponents of the school in calling a meeting at this time appears to be that

if they can get a negative vote, they can halt the work of the Regional Board

until the State Legislature is in session again, when it is their hope they

can cause legislation to be passed to dissolve the district. The opposition to

the plan has come up with no substitute plan for the regional high school

except to express the desire that at some time in the future Newtown may be

able to construct a comparable high school of its own. They admit this would

be impossible at the current time because of the financial position of the

town and the town's legal limit of indebtedness and the present $300,000 bond

issue for the addition to Hawley School.

Mrs Timothy Reardon of Hawleyville has been credited with saving the life of

Peter Sabol after his State Highway Department truck left the highway, hit a

tree and burst into flames. Mr Sabol was thrown from the truck by the impact.

Mrs Reardon, who lives across the street from where the accident happened,

rushed to the scene and wrapped the burning man in a blanket, extinguishing

the flames. The other occupant of the truck, Anton Pavao, 37, of Danbury, is

in critical condition and on the danger list at the Danbury hospital. Both men

are employees of the State Highway Department. The truck was totally destroyed

by the fire that followed despite the effort of the Hawleyville and Newtown

volunteer fire companies to save it. The accident was investigated by State

Policeman Edward McMahon and Edward Meagher, who as yet have been unable to

determine its cause.

A five-state search for a Newtown nurse, Ruth Eisenberg, 22, of Newark, N.J.,

by police and relatives is still underway. Miss Eisenberg, who has been

employed as a child's nurse in the home of Mr and Mrs Peter A. Drury of

Palestine Road, has been missing since she left Newtown July 20 for a five-day

vacation in Maine. Since the search began, authorities throughout New England

have tried to pick their way through a maze of conflicting clues, but to no

avail. Miss Eisenberg is the daughter of Ephriam Eisenberg, principal of the

East Side High School Annex in Newark.

Two former residents, Mr and Mrs Harry Lee Jennings, have just been named

directors of the Fort Myers (Florida) Little Theater for the coming season.

Mrs Jennings, the former Anne Hillhouse, was an early member of the Newtown

Town Players group.

John Angel of Sandy Hook entertained some 75 friends at his home on Sunday

afternoon. His guests had the pleasure of seeing in his studio the Majastas

model for the central portal for the west front of the Cathedral of St John

the Devine in New York City. This huge model, cast in plaster, is being

shipped this Friday to New York. Mr Angel also had on display full size

models, in clay, for the bronze doors of St Patrick's Cathedral in New York.

Last Thursday, July 29, might have passed unnoticed as just another work day

for Arthur T. Nettleton had not friends and associates at Newtown Savings Bank

paused to congratulate him on his birthday. The Bee joins those, who, through

the years, have watched his influence and service to the community grow, in

saying many happy returns.

Arthur Page of the Berkshire district of Sandy Hook has sold to Francis

Bresson, also of Sandy Hook, an attractive colonial house and about two acres

of land. Mr Bresson is making plans to occupy his new house in the near

future.

To date $515 has been contributed toward Newtown's established quota of $900

in the 1948 Connecticut Children's Aid Drive for funds. The Newtown Auxiliary

hopes this will be a reminder to all those who received appeals to send in

their contributions, large or small, to Mrs George Trull, treasurer.