WAY WE WERE for 10-22

 

OCTOBER 25, 1974

The Board of Trustees of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library decided to invite and encourage interested citizens to form an association of “Friends of the Library” at a special Board meeting on October 22 at the library. Newtown’s rapidly increasing population has affected the library and is reflected in the following figures: In 1961 there were 3,442 cardholders as compared to 10,009 in 1974. Books circulated in 1961 numbered 46,601 and in 1974 the figure is 89,421. With the present number of staff members and the increased business, it is not possible to provide “extras.” Therefore, the board feels that a Friends group could prove to be very beneficial at this time.

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Eagle Hill, the proposed treatment center for alcoholics, received a unanimous five to zero disapproval from the Planning & Zoning Commission in the early hours of Saturday, October 19. The vote to disapprove came after a lengthy discussion by the commission in which its members went down the list of nine requirements governing granting of special exceptions under the Newtown zoning regulations. Official wording of the reasons has not yet been voted on by the commission; however, the negative vote was based primarily on the P&Z members’ feeling that, due to the density of the land use, the soils would not be able to safely handle the effluent which would be produced. The commission will meet this Friday night to vote on the wording of its official reasons.

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Twenty-five residents of Newtown turned out on Monday night to hear about the design of the new elementary school proposed for the Boyle site on Boggs Hill Road. The presentation was made at a public hearing jointly sponsored by the school building committee and the Board of Education. Presiding over the hearing was Board of Education Vice-Chairman Lester Burroughs, and giving the presentation on the plans to date were architects Richard Butterfield and H. Bryce Roberts, the Butterfield Partnership Architects who have been hired to design the school.

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Mrs Jane Sharp was voted into membership of the steering committee of FISH of Newtown, Inc, at the last committee meeting on October 21. FISH is now planning holiday activities for patients in the Danbury Pavilion and Buckingham Gardens, as well as for people who are confined to their homes.

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Newtown Housing for the Elderly Inc met briefly Monday night, and its president, Stanley Main, reported that “basically we’re waiting for Shepherd to write to Frank DeLucia.” A. Searle Pinney, chairman of the Fairfield Hills Hospital Advisory Board, has written to Department of Mental Health Commissioner Ernest Shepherd advising him that his board approves of transferring 20 acres of state-owned land off Nunnawauk Road as a site for a 40-unit elderly housing project, to be funded by a $750,000 loan from the Farmer’s Home Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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“Do you guys know what you’re doing to the trees?” developer George Afaras asked the Conservation Commission members in jest after he had agreed to bring in more specific maps indicating changes the commission suggested as the town’s inland-wetland authority. Commission Chairman Ted Whippie had just told him he should submit five copies of each of his maps. Mr Whippie added Mr Arfaras would need a similar number of maps when he brought his plans for his Cider Mill Farm development to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

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More than 65 members of the Garden Club of Newtown met at the Hawley Manor Restaurant in Newtown for their annual meeting and luncheon on October 22. This gathering initiated the Club’s 20th anniversary year. The Award of Appreciation, a civic award, is given each year for beautification in the town of Newtown or for noted contributions to conservation of our natural resources. Each year there are many public sites in town evaluated by the civic committee, which votes on the most outstanding area of improvement. The recipient of this year’s award was Mrs Irma Plocke for her plantings at the United Methodist Church of Newtown. Mrs Plocke, an avid gardener, is not content to rest on her laurels. She plans additional plantings of evergreens and spring flowering bulbs.

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Of the ten questions Newtown voters will find on the ballot on Election Day, November 5, the one placing the greatest degree of responsibility upon a single official is the proposed charter change establishing the office of Financial Director. Duties outlined for this official, and the terms under which he or she would be employed by the town, occupied a major portion of the Charter Revision Commission’s work sessions and reflect some of the recent changes in community affairs that have prompted proposal of this post.

OCTOBER 28, 1949

The Lions Club of Newtown is sponsoring the purchase of portable sectional bleacher seats to be presented to the Hawley School. These seats will be available for indoor as well as outdoor use. Each section will accommodate about one hundred persons.

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Hawley’s second night football of the 1949 season has gone down into history. It was played Monday night at Taylor field, having been postponed from Saturday night because of the weather. For the second time in two years the Bethel six-man team was the opponent of Hawley School in a night game. This year the Bethel lads carried off the honors in great style. The Newtown boys seemed unable to get started but in defeat they showed ability.

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The work of providing a memorial building for the use of Newtown veterans has progressed to the point where the Newtown Veterans Memorial Building committee is inviting all Newtown residents this Sunday to visit the nearly completed structure that has risen opposite to the Newtown Country Club on the road leading to the Fairfield State Hospital. As a new project, the building proposal was presented at a public meeting held in Edmond Town Hall early in July, 1947, with strong support from William k. Daniells, then commander of the Charles Howard Peck Post, VFW, and from Judge Paul V. Cavanaugh. The then Acting Commander Gordon Williams of the American Legion Post was also present and in the audience were many veterans, non-affiliated and members of both posts, and business men of the town.

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At the meeting of the Newtown Board of Education held last Friday evening at Hawley School, Mrs Horace Sanford of Riverside was elected to the board, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of H. Edward Vollmers.

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The regular weekly meeting of Troop 70 was held last Tuesday, October 25, at 7:30 pm. There were 13 new Scouts graduating from the Cub Scout Pack. They were Bruce Palmer, William Whittle, Hugh Brodie, Samuel Scott, Preston McCain, James Curtis, Richard Whalen, Fred Seman, Peter Underhill, Keith Bresson, Steven Jones, Ross Hill and David Los.

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The annual meeting of the corporators of the Newtown Savings Bank was held at the bank on Tuesday afternoon, with Arthur T. Nettleton, president and treasurer, presiding. Mr Nettleton gave his 51st annual treasurer’s report, following which William A. Honan, Sr, was elected a corporator to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the late Hervey Wheeler. The present officers and trustees were elected for another year, as follows: president, Arthur T. Nettleton; vice presidents, George M. Stuart and Robert C. Mitchell; treasurer, Arthur T. Nettleton; secretary, Herbert C. Hubbell; trustees, Arthur T. Nettleton, Herbert C. Hubbell, Robert C. Mitchell, S. Curtis Glover, George M. Stuart, Nelson G. Curtis, Walter A. Reynolds, Robert J. Clark, Newton M. Curtis and John J. Keane.

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OCTOBER 24, 1924

S. Curtis & Son are very busy at their factory and are now working a night shift.

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A most successful meeting of the Hawley School PTA was held last evening at the school auditorium, with about 75 in attendance. The following officers were elected: President, Mrs P.H. McCarthy, Vice President, Mrs O.S. Stoddard, Secretary, Mrs Mary K. Hayes, Treasurer, Mrs. John Carlson.