October 15, 1999

HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER OF Monica Defeo.

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EDITORIAL INK DROPS — NO NEED FOR FURTHER DELAY ON QUEEN STREET: Not too many towns own their own little neighborhood, but last July 11 the Town of Newtown took title to a row of vacant houses on about 15 acres on the east side of Queen Street. Since that time, nothing has been done with the land and buildings purchased from the state for $1.2 million. First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said this week, however, that his board will take up the Queen Street issue once again next week. The selectmen will consider, among other things, appointing an ad hoc committee to study the properties and make recommendations on their eventual disposition. … Newtown’s selectmen are perfectly capable of making a few decisions about the sale of the Queen Street properties on their own without creating yet another ad hoc committee to pre-masticate yet another local issue for them. Ostensibly, we choose our elected officials because they are intelligent and capable. When there is so little left to be decided about the Queen Street properties, we don’t see why the decisions should be put off any longer.

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Newtown resident Mike Fitzsimons is no stranger to the cramped passageways and the cold, green, riveted steel of the B-17 bomber. And as the combat beast belched gray smoke in preparation for takeoff this week, he sat in an ovular compartment with a weathered tan seat belt cinched tight across his waist. It is the third year in a row that Mr Fitzsimons has been aboard the B-17 Flying Fortress during its only area flight. As the plane prepared to take off, exhaust seeped up into the bomb bay and ball turret. The low hum of the taxi was replaced by a cacophony of hydraulics kicking over. The plane was airborne. Mr Fitzsimons promptly instructed the pilot to head toward Newtown.

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The police department has outfitted and repainted a former Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps ambulance for use as a multi-purpose police vehicle. Police use the truck as a mobile office at major accidents and crime scenes. The vehicle is garaged at the Fairfield Hills firehouse.

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Dan Winsett has issued a challenge. Winsett — a physical education teacher, coach, and longtime supporter of Newtown High School athletics — has issued challenges before. To his students and to his players. But now Winsett has put up $10,000 of his own money to help kick off the Blue & Gold Booster Club’s final stretch drive to pay off the mortgage of the new press box/concession stand at the refurbished Bruce Jenner Stadium and challenges local residents, organizations and businesses to match and even better that donation. … According to B&G Booster Club President Mike Kelley, about $70,000 is still owed on the new facility.

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Sean R. Tobin, a 1999 graduate of Newtown High School and one of the captains of the 1998-99 football season, has accepted the call to serve a mission in Tampico, Mexico, for the next two years. Tampico is in northeastern Mexico along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. A devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mr Tobin has postponed his college education, after being accepted to Southern Utah University, to serve his mission. When he returns in two years he will be allowed to enter Southern Utah University to study criminal justice.

October 11, 1974

Mrs Socha Larsen, president of the Pootatuck Park Association, informed The Bee last Friday that the Town, in a cooperative agreement on costs with the organization, has begun work on roads in the private development in Sandy Hook. Mrs Larsen, Association secretary Mrs Trudy Willenberg and treasurer Hazel Ford, plus members of the Association’s road committee, met with the First Selectman and the Highway Superintendent recently to work out final agreements on the road work, which was begun on Friday morning, October 4. The roads to be initially worked on are Edgelake Drive, Far View Drive and Brookbridge Road.

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With a worried eye upon the estimated $150,000 the Town will have to spend to buy a parcel of land for location of a new town garage-maintenance facility, the Newtown Public Building Committee seems ready to unsheathe its paring knife to cut costs from its plans. The Committee members had attended a Board of Finance session last month and discussed the cost in general terms of $600,000. The finance board recommended the Committee submit both the building costs and the land price as a package.

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Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection Douglas Costle and his associates ventured into Newtown Tuesday night for a well-attended public hearing on the proposed lease by DEP of 610 acres of land located in three towns for the purpose of hunting. A large number of people jammed the gymnasium of Edmond Town Hall to give the state officials their views on the lease of the land, which is owned by the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company. The at-times emotional testimony given indicated overwhelming opposition to the plan based on fears for the safety of area residents.

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Hawley School “Doli” Bluebirds began their year of Camp Fire Girls’ activities by planting chrysanthemums at the Children’s Adventure Center on Church Hill Road. The group of third grade girls has adopted the Center as their choice for community service, and the flowers they planted there last Spring are still blooming. Plants were donated by the group’s sponsor, Payne’s Nursery.

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First Selectman Frank DeLucia; Joseph Bogdan, the Town’s negotiator; the entire membership of Newtown’s public works department union and their negotiator, Damon Shingleton, were scheduled to meet at Edmond Town Hall this Thursday for renewed negotiations on their contract. In an agreement reached last week, all union members as well as officers will attend the session, so they can witness first hand the negotiating. The hope is votes may be taken right at the meeting to facilitate agreement on the stalled contract talks, and possibly avoid going to a lengthy fact finding procedure. The meeting occurred after The Bee’s press deadline this week, and next week’s issue will report on the results.

October 7, 1949

EDITORIAL INK DROPS — FREEDOM GOES WHERE THE NEWSPAPER GOES: This year marks the tenth anniversary of the National Newspaper Week. It is being observed from October 1st to October 8th. The slogan, “Freedom Goes Where The Newspaper Goes,” has been appropriately created for this year’s observance. Quite obviously, columns could be written on the Bill of Rights, the value of our free press and its importance in the building of this great nation. More columns could be written on the service rendered by the newspapers of today and the significant role which they fill in the loves of their own home-town communities. … As for The Bee, we make a very serious effort to serve the best interests of the towns in Western Connecticut where the bulk of our readers, numbering more than six thousand, are located. … If The Bee can fill a useful function in preserving the basic traits of American life among the thoroughly American citizens in the territory hereabouts, that will be satisfaction enough and a spur to our paper’s continued endeavor. That, in brief, is our message, and our pledge for National Newspaper Week.

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Monday’s annual town election in Newtown was featured by a record number of split tickets and a record number of total votes cast in a local election. 1,974 ballots were counted, with 598 straight Democratic votes, 562 straight Republican votes, and 694 split tickets. There were 86 absentee votes. Forty-seven ballots were rejected. As a result of the balloting, A. Fenn Dickinson, Democratic candidate for First Selectman, was successful in his third attempt for that office, defeating Walter L. Glover, the Republican candidate, by a count of 1,007 to 899. Edward E. Knapp, Republican candidate for Selectman, polled 1061 votes, defeating Frederick Bresson, Jr., Democratic candidate, who received 819. The incoming Board of Selectmen will, therefore be composed of Messrs Dickinson, Knapp and Glover.

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The Newtown Board of Education held its organizational meeting on Wednesday night at Hawley School, when William A. Honan was re-elected as chairman and Raymond L. Hall as secretary. The resignation of H. Edward Vollmers as a member of the Board was received and tabled until the next meeting. Mrs Ralph Knibloe was appointed to membership on the Regional School Board, replacing Robert Clark of Hawleyville, whose term has just expired.

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Harry Judson Beardsley, Waterbury, 292nd district governor of Rotary International, made a visit to the Newtown Rotary Club Monday evening and discussed with the members in an open meeting present activities and plans for the coming year. Chairmen of leading committees told of present and projected work, and policies favored by the board of directors were brought up for open discussion. Governor Beardsley stated that with Rotary International established and co-operating in 83 nations throughout the world it may well be setting a pattern that can later be followed by the United Nations.

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Mrs Thornton A. Proctor, who has been absent from her post at the Newtown post office for several months, returned to her position on Monday of this week.

October 3, 1924

Russell Wheeler and Herbert Beers, youths of Newtown, Connecticut, ended a transcontinental trip in a Ford at Stockton, Calif., on September 23, when they sold their automobile and decided to return to their home on the Atlantic seaboard by rail. The boys are visiting here at the home of Edward C. Wagner. The travelers and Mr Wagner’s son were friends while attending the Pratt Institute in New York City. … The two boys left Newtown early in the summer and leisurely visited the leading cities of the country, arriving at Seattle about two weeks ago. They worked their way down the coast, spending an enjoyable few days at the Wagner camp among the redwoods in Humboldt county.—[Stockton (Cal.) Independent.

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The electric lights throughout Newtown went out suddenly about 5.30 p.m., Tuesday, but the Danbury & Bethel Street Railway Co., soon had a gang of workmen out on the line, the trouble was located and the lights flashed on again about 7.30 p.m. It was a piece of good work as it was rather difficult to locate the break in the darkness.

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Benjamin Bassett, the hustling Hopewell painter, has completed a repainting contract on the Woolworth property on Mt Pleasant, and is now working on the Richard Kindle residence in Palestine and the Milo Osborne buildings in Redding.

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Francis Johnson King, son of Mr and Mrs Soreno F. King died on September 29, following an illness with whooping cough and convulsions. The child was a beautiful boy, 11 months old. Funeral services were held on Wednesday afternoon from the residence of Mr and Mrs Charles B. Johnson, grandparents of the boy, Rev Dr Richmond H. Gesner officiating.

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John A. Carlson has taken the agency for the Nash cars for the town of Newtown, Southbury and Woodbury. Mr Carlson will have a touring demonstration about October 6, to show to prospective buyers. He is selling the Nash through the Lake Auto Co., of Danbury. He will be at the Nash exhibit in the auto show at the Danbury Fair. Mr Carlson can also sell you a Ford or Chevrolet.

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A very pretty wedding was solemnized, on Saturday afternoon at Trinity church, the happy couple being Miss Victoria Augusta Martin of the Boulevard, and Charles Blackman Ferris, son of Mrs Bertha Ferris of Sugar street. The bridal party entered the church to the strains of the Wedding March played by Mrs Carl Johnson of Detroit, Mich., sister of the groom, who presided at the organ. The Rev Dr Richard H. Gesner, rector of Trinity church, performed the ceremony. The bride wore a gown of gray canton crepe trimmed with lace and rose buds and wore a large picture hat of gray velvet to match and carried a shower bouquet of bride roses and lily of the valley. … The bride and groom were the recipients of many beautiful gifts including gold, silver, china, cut glass and checks. Mr and Mrs Ferris left by motor immediately following the wedding ceremony for a wedding trip and upon their return will reside in Newtown, where both are active in the social life of the younger set.

October 13, 1899

(This issue is missing from the Library of Congress archives, which we use for Way We Were segments of 125 years ago.)

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