September 11, 1998

HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER of Greg McAvoy.

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Newtown’s 37th Annual Labor Day Parade filled Main Street, September 7, with bands, floats, and marching units, while thousands of spectators crowded Main Street, Glover Avenue, and Queen Street to watch the spectacle. As usual, the Newtown High School Band headed up the procession.

PARADE WINNERS: Best Musical Entry, Sons of Portugal; Senior Runner-Up, Connecticut Firefighters Pipes & Drums; Best Musical Entry, CWV Drum Corps; Junior Runner-Up, Grassy Plain Drum Corps; Best Float, Children’s Adventure Center; Runner-Up, Women Involved in Newtown; Best Fire Company, Sandy Hook Vol Fire & Rescue; Best Musical Non-Entry, Newtown High School Marquettes; Runner-Up, Pyramid Temple Motor Patrol; Rooster Award, Tim Murtha; Best School, Sandy Hook School.

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A Southern New England Telephone employee, putting in long hours to cover shifts normally worked by striking union members, was on his way home shortly before 10 pm Wednesday night. As he sat on Mile Hill Road waiting for the traffic signal on Route 25 to change, a utility pole keeled over, dragging a tangle of wires into the intersection in front of him. Then, despite his best efforts to flag down an oblivious motorist heading south on Main Street, he watched as the car drove into, and up, cables that ascended another pole across the intersection. The car flipped. The driver, a 41-year old male from Trumbull, was not injured.

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Long lines of people awaited the opening of the Booth Library’s annual book sale Saturday morning at Bridgeport Hall on the former campus of Fairfield Hills Hospital. The lines ran down the walk from the door and along the road. Some people, mostly dealers, bought presale tickets last Friday so as to be guaranteed a place in the front of the line. Over 100,000 books and recordings were offered at the sale. Once the sale opened, shoppers quickly found their respective sections of interest. Children sat on the floor in the children’s section, reading books while their parents browsed elsewhere. As of Wednesday, proceeds from the sale had not been determined, but it was expected that this year’s would be higher than those of last year, when the sale brought over $50,000 to the library’s coffers.

September 7, 1973

Although it will not be official until September 23, summer’s end came unofficially on Labor Day, and a big parade in Newtown helped shoo it out. Fall was definitely not in the air as the hot spell continued, but in spite of temperatures hotter than the hinges of the nether place, spectators and parade participants survived the morning, with the spectators getting the better end of the deal. At least they were not looking forward to cool foot baths at the end of the parade route.

WINNERS: After it was all over, winners of the parade were announced in the following categories: Musical — Best Overall, Mattatuck Fife and Drum Corps; Best Musical, Connecticut Rebels; Best Appearance, Upper Guerseytown Pipe Band; Non-Musical — Best Overall Float, “Moby Dickinson,” Park and Recreation Commission; Most Original, “A Club for All Seasons,” Winterset Ski Club, and Beechwood Drive’s “Housatonic Railroad”; Most Appropriate, “A Tip of the Hat,” Newtown Jaycees and Jaycee Wives; Horses — Dodd Farm, first; Rockingham Riding Academy, second; Decorated Bikes — Best Overall, “A Bicycle Built for Two,” James Rogers and Debbie Shreders; Most Original, “Sailing Vessel,” Andrea Orlowski; Most Unusual, “Large Chicken,” Susan Berkowitz; and Clown Division winners were Beth Rudolph, first, and Amy Williamson, second. Trophies were presented to the Newtown High School Band, The Royal Guardsmen, and The Newtown Belvederes for the excellent performances over the years in the Summer Festival Labor Day Parade.

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The first formal step toward organizing Newtown’s participation in the 1976 Bicentennial celebration was taken September 4 when the Newtown Summer Festival Inc was designated to represent the town in dealing with federal and state Bicentennial Commissions. The designation was made by a unanimous vote of the Board of Selectmen after it was proposed by David Larson, chairman of the Festival’s advisory board.

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The contract between the Town of Newtown and the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 337 has been ratified by the Local and the Board of Selectmen. The contract, which is a two year one, became effective as of July 1, 1973 (retroactively), and will run through June 30, 1975. The contract is basically the same as the previous one, but one major change is a new article listed as “manpower.” This article contains two sections with the first carrying the guarantee that there will be a minimum of two cruisers on patrol 24 hours a day. It also says that there will be a patrolman or a dispatcher assigned to the desk and that all shifts shall have a supervisor with the rank of sergeant or higher.

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School doors opened on Wednesday for Newtown’s students and the reduced bus routes were in effect. Besides hitching a ride with a friend or parent, some young people walked. Raymond Raid saddled up to make the trip.

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The Old Rock Road Corporation has taken its racetrack away from Newtown, but the land they wanted to build it on is still here, and last week the same group of investors, with the help from a few others, took title to almost all of it. The total purchase price, as recorded in the Town Clerk’s office, was $832,000, and the total land area was 365.321 acres. Title was taken in the name of Newtown Real Estate Investment Trust, Burton J. Jacobson Trustee. What the group plans to do with the land remains to be seen, but their council, Daniel E. Brennan of Bridgeport, indicated the decision will mainly depend on what happens to the proposed Route 25 expressway.

September 3, 1948

The Newtown Bee won multiple prizes in the 3rd Annual Newspaper Contest, sponsored by the Connecticut Editorial Association among the weekly newspapers in the state. Awards were made at Saturday night’s banquet of the Association, held at The Norwich Inn. The Bee received first prizes (plaques and trophy) for Best Editorial, Best Feature, and Mechanical Excellence; and second prizes (certificates) for Community Service and General Excellence.

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Amateur theatrical history was made in Newtown on Wednesday evening when Town Players, the local little theater group, presented Sophie Treadwell’s two-act comedy, “Highway,” for the first time on any stage. It played to a packed house and, for the most part, to a most responsive one in the Edmond Town Hall theater.

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James Nevins Hyde, a member of the United States Mission to the United Nations, spoke last Tuesday to a large group of members of the Newtown League of Women Voters and their friends of “The United State Position as to Strengthening the United Nations.”

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Addison M. Metcalf of Main street, who left on August 14 with the 963rd Field Artillery Battalion for two weeks training period at Camp Edwards, Mass., returned home this past week-end.

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Mrs L.I. Grimes and the Misses Gertrude, Claire and Elsa Endemann, returned home on Wednesday from a six weeks’ sojourn at the Langsford House, Porpoise Point, Maine.

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Miss Mary Starr Smith, daughter of Mr and Mrs Paul S. Smith, returned home on Tuesday from her summer’s camping at Camp Kuwiyan on Lake Winnipesaukee at Meredith, N.H.

August 31, 1923

The Forestry meeting held Tuesday afternoon on the attractive grounds of the estate of Dr Charles H. Peck was a successful and enjoyable function. Ninety people were present, and at the conclusion of the meeting a Newtown Forestry Association was organized and officers elected.

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E.J. Hall is installing a Boughton furnace for Arthur Beard.

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Francis Troy has entered the employ of Ezra J. Hall.

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E. Ward Ireland, regions supervisor for the State Board of Education, will have the supervision of the Newtown schools the coming year. Frank Johnston, who has been the supervisor of the Newtown schools for three years, will supervise the schools in Woodbury, Southbury, Bethlehem and Beacon Falls. Mr Johnston will continue to reside in Newtown, a fact his many friends will be pleased to learn.

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To my many friends who by loving deeds and words and through the message of flowers expressed their sympathy in my recent loss, I say, “Thank you.” God never gave me so precious a gift as when he said “Behold in you a true friend.”—[May Eveline Hoyt.

September 9, 1898

Despite the boiling weather of Monday afternoon quite a party gathered at the Fair grounds at St Rose’s picnic to witness the ball game between the Sandy Hook boys and St Peter’s YMCA team of Danbury. Everybody expected that the home boys would pull out the victory and they were not disappointed for they did excellent team work and few errors could be charged to the account. The Danbury team also did some very clever work at times but at some other times errors piled up thick and while they were all chasing the ball the Sandy Hook boys would be chasing around the bases in a lively manner. … Every member of the team got a good one, two or three bagger to his credit before the game was finished. … The final score was Sandy Hook 12, Danbury 9.

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HATTERTOWN: Mrs S. Belfield of Hartford has been the guest of her mother, Mrs A. Booth, for a week. | Dr C.A. Benedict of Bridgeport has spent part of her vacation in this place. | Mr and Mrs Ralph Keeler of Trumbull have been guests at Charles Thorp’s. | The two bridges in this village have been repaired by Messrs Benedict and Thorp. | Miss Elma L. Warner of Brooklyn is a visitor at the home of C.D. Stillson. | Patrick Lynch, a town charge, is quite sick at the home of Charles Thorp. | Mr and Mrs Fowler of Shelton have visited at O.N. Platt’s.

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The members of THE BEE force are indebted to Mr and Mrs Norman Northrop of Sugar street for a large basket of luscious fall apples. They were greatly appreciated, as was also the kindness of heart which prompted the gift. Mr and Mrs Northrop have always had an encouraging word for THE BEE and its workers, which is as much (and more) appreciated than the kindly remembrances sent to the office.

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.