September 4, 1988

HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER of Mark Werden.

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A Pennsylvania trucker was killed in an accident in which his tractor-trailer truck loaded with food careened off Interstate 84 and into a ravine early on the morning of August 28. State Police said trucker James E. Wilkerson, 55, of Harrisburg, Penn., was driving a 1989 Peterbilt eastbound in the right lane of two travel lanes on I-84 west of Exit 10 about 4:25 am, when for an unknown reason the truck veered to the right and exited the travel portion of the highway. The tractor-trailer hit a flexible metal guard rail, crashed into two light posts and then fell onto its right side, slid down an embankment and into a ravine, where it continued sliding forward until the truck’s cab hit a concrete headwall and became wedged inside a culvert that carries a brook under Church Hill Road. Most of the truck’s cab disappeared into the culvert.

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The Booth Library’s Music Department will be the beneficiary of a $14,500 grant the library recently received from The Praxair Foundation. The grant, funded by Praxair, Inc of Danbury, will be used for establishment of a music collection to be located on the second floor. The library has set aside 650 square feet of space and furnishing to house the music-related collection.

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Staff members at Garner Correctional Institution, the state’s high security prison on Nunnawauk Road, look at gang affiliation as an addiction in seeking to rehabilitate the crime gang members incarcerated at the sprawling facility. On September 1 Garner Warden Remi Acosta and Major Ray Rivera explained to Garner Public Safety Committee members the psychology of gang members and what Garner staffers do in trying to reform them into useful members of society. “This is something that’s not going to go away. When you talk about gangs, they’ve been here since the late 1800s,” Warden Acosta said of crime gangs’ presence in American society.

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Alison Healey brought more than her tennis skills with her into last weekend’s finals of the 25th annual Bertram A. Stroock Tennis Tournament. The longtime Newtown resident also brought along her guardian angel, Gabriel, which she had pinned to her shirt. It was more than enough. The 18-year-old took home a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Teresa Kennedy and became the Strook’s youngest singles champ since Patty Murren, who was crowned at age 11 back in 1985. Eric Putnam, 17, also etched his name into the local tennis history books with a three-set victory over Bob Gabor in the men’s title tilt, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

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The Visiting Nurse Association of Newtown, Inc, elected and installed new officers for 1988-89 at its annual meeting at The Villa Restaurant in Sandy Hook on Tuesday. Officers include Mae Schmidle, president; Christine Wiemels, first vice president; Margareta Kotch, second vice president; Bea Gellert, treasurer; Carole Polecyn, corresponding secretary; Elizabeth Meter, recording secretary; and directors Mary Starr Adams, Joyce Biscoe, Nancy Brady, Luise Calderbank, Barbara Finnell, Paula Hopper, Dora Liza Isgut, Mary Lou Kelly, Maryann Kiely, Nancy Larin, Joan Maher, Maureen McLachlan, Anita Rebong, Rita Roman, Christine Rostafin, Rebecca Smith, Charlene Swanson, Betty Warner, and Patricia Wrinn.

August 31, 1973

The Newtown schools will open next week under the guidance of a new superintendent, Dr Albert R. Brinkman of Glen Cove, N.Y. Dr Brinkman’s appointment ends the Board of Education’s search for a new superintendent to replace Dr James Boyd, who resigned in June. The Board was assisted in its search for a new superintendent by a screening committee made up of residents and professional educators in Newtown, and Dr Brinkman was one of the finalists recommended by that committee. The Board’s decision to appoint Dr Brinkman was confirmed at the Board’s meeting August 28. Dr Russell Strasburger, chairman of the Board, said that he and the Board members were pleased to have found an educator with the depth and breadth of experience which Dr Brinkman has.

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The town pool at Dickinson Park will be open for swimming through Labor Day, September 3. After that date, there will be no swimming. The park will remain open for picnicking and tennis past Labor Day.

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Friday night, August 24, in Edmond Town Hall the Planning and Zoning Commission and consulting engineers Sam Giavara and Mike Miller sat down to discuss the road study and traffic circulation plan which Mr Giavara’s firm prepared for the town earlier this year. At times the talks grew heated as Commission members questioned some of the engineering data contained in the study. The traffic circulation study presents a loop system that travelers might take to avoid using Route 25 and Church Hill Road to get through town. The loop consists of Taunton Hill, Hattertown, Castle Meadow, Huntingtown, Meadowbrook, Toddy Hill, Glen, Black Bridge, Albert’s Hill, Sanford, Hanover, Pond Brook and Obtuse roads. According to the study, these roads would be upgraded so drivers would find them more attractive and avoid the state roads. Residents fear improvements would mean high speeds on those roads.

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Rafael Gonzalez of Mexico is the Newtown Rotary Club’s exchange student for 1973-74. He was introduced to his host club at its regular Monday evening meeting of Rotary on August 27.

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Not so many years ago Mary Brey, Newtown’s new social worker, was an oceanographer working for the Hudson Lab at Columbia University and doing research on sea water. Since that time, however, Mrs Brey has earned her MSW at UConn, done volunteer work with a community health program, and even worked with Nader’s Raiders as part of her Masters Degree requirement.

August 27, 1948

All residents of Newtown will receive in the mail this week a “Statement and Appeal” issued by a committee acting on behalf of the trustees of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library. The statement explains graphically how today’s high costs, plus the reduced returns from investments which all privately-endowed institutions are experiencing, have combined to present the trustees with a severe problem in meeting the current expenses of the Library and providing for future expansion of services. The statement includes an appeal to all users and friends of the Booth Library to contribute in any amount to a special fund, such contributions to be sent to Herbert C. Hubbell, Newtown, or left with him at the Newtown Savings Bank.

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On Sunday afternoon, August 15, at 2 o’clock, Miss Rose M. Wall, daughter of Mr and Mrs August Wall of Stadley Rough road, Danbury, was married to Raymond Pierce, son of Mr and Mrs Franklin Pierce of Mountain Spring Farm, Hawleyville, at the Methodist Episcopal church, Danbury, The Rev Eugene W. Shrigley performed the double ring ceremony. … Mr Pierce had as his best man, Franklin Pierce, his brother. The ushers were Robert Pierce, brother of the groom, and Kenneth Pierce, cousin of the groom. A reception was held immediately following the ceremony at the home of the groom’s parents in Hawleyville. Both Mr and Mrs Pierce attended Danbury High school and are now residing on Mr Pierce’s farm in Pond Brook district, Hawleyville.

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Rear Admiral Thomas M. Shock, USN, Ret, was the guest speaker at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club held Monday evening, August 23, at 6 o’clock at the Parker House. Admiral Shock was a member of the Rotary Club of Peking, China, where people of many nationalities shared membership. He spoke of his experiences, before and after Pearl Harbor, as commander of the cruiser “Chester” which did convoy work in the South Pacific during the war.

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The Newtown Bees clinched first place in the Pomperaug Valley League in defeating Oxford, 13-3, on Taylor Field Sunday afternoon. John Kocet went the distance, allowing seven scattered hits, while his mates collected 15 hits off two Oxford pitchers.

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A new Combination pumper and chemical firefighting apparatus, which was purchased recently by the town for use in the Hawleyville area and throughout the town in emergencies, was delivered at the Hawleyville firehouse Wednesday. Equipped with a booster tank of 300-gallon capacity and other gear to meet modern fire-fighting requirements, the new apparatus was received officially by First Selectman William W. Holcombe and the Board of Fire Commissioners, and was turned over to Chief Peter Feli of the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company. The apparatus was tested Wednesday before State Underwriters representatives.

August 24, 1923

(unavailable this week)

September 2, 1898

A good audience gathered in the Congregational church last Sunday evening to hear Miss relate her experiences in home missionary work in New England. The only pity is that the church was not filled; such a speaker deserves the largest audiences that ever gather wherever she goes. She has a commanding presence, her hearers miss not a word, her descriptions sparkle with many a bright side. She portrays life as she finds it; and because the description is recognized to be so true, it awakens the keenest interest. Miss Moffatt told of work that had been done in out-of-way districts in New England, where people through lack of contact with the outside world had vegetated, grown narrow in their own conceits and prejudices, and became utterly warped and twisted in their conception of the church and its relation to them.

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Despite the threatening weather of last week Thursday, a large number turned out for the picnic of Trinity Sunday school at Putnam Park. This pleasant resort gains in popularity, and Trinity people were pleased with their trip. All have a good word for the gentlemanly and obliging keeper of the grounds, Thomas Delaney.

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Mrs L.J. Richards and daughter, Miss Lillian, of Springfield, Mass., are the guests of Mrs A.P. Smith at Sunset Cottage.

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The big road machine, under the direction of Messrs Isaac and Asa Hawley of Hawleyville and Charles Glover of Hanover, was operating in Newtown Street on Tuesday.

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Thomas Murphy caught a bull head on Charles Warner’s pond weighing two and a half pounds.

Do you have photographs of people or places in town from a bygone era? The Way We Were is the perfect landing spot so that your photographs can be enjoyed by Newtown Bee readers. Images can be e-mailed as attachments to shannon@thebee.com, subject line: Way We Were photo. When submitting photographs, please identify as many people as possible, the location, and the approximate date. If you live locally and would like to loan a photo/photos, please give us a call (203-426-3141) to let us know when you will be visiting.