We heard from Will Heise last week, calling from northern New England to tell us he recognized most of the men in a recent Way We Were photo. Will’s father Otto is the man on the left, and he had a longstanding relationship with the bank, according to Will. Next to Otto is Lewis Shea, the president at that time of Connecticut National Bank. Will did not know the name of the man standing second from right, but the man on the right, he said, is Nelson Denny, head of the Queen Street branch. “I was so surprised to see them,” Will said. “They all look so dapper.” We appreciate Will’s call, and continue to keep the invitation open to anyone who recognizes people in our Way We Were photos. If you know who the fourth person in this photo is, contact Associate Editor Shannon Hicks at 203-426-3141 or shannon@thebee.com. Meanwhile, take a look at page B-9 for this week’s Way We Were column, the latest look through our archives.

Lorenzo’s Restaurant, at 1 Center Street in Sandy Hook, reached its milestone 95th anniversary in 2021. Current owner Laurie McCollum runs the restaurant with her daughter, Meriah Tani. According to The Newtown Bee’s 2016 article, “Family-Owned Lorenzo’s Restaurant Celebrates 90 Years,” McCollum’s grandfather, Louis Lorenzo, established the business in 1926 and it has expanded over the years.

Toot toot! Yeah that us, tooting our own horn. If you missed the story online earlier this week, check the feature in this edition of The Newtown Bee to read all about the results of the Second Annual Newtown Parks & Recreation Scarecrow Contest. Haven’t heard the news? We’ll give you a hint: we won Newtown Pride. Again! That’s two years in a row for our team in that category. Scott Baggett, Jill Baimel, Sue Leniart, Lynn Remson, and Jeff Williams coordinated this year’s Bee Publishing effort. We’re very proud to call them members of this company’s team. And really, congratulations to all of the teams, businesses, and families who built scarecrows this year. They were so creative — from funny and silly to downright scary. We heard from many readers last week who had been to Fairfield Hills to see them, and then sent us notes or stopped in the office and mentioned the work they saw. We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with for next year.

Do you think seeing flowers without their petals is unsightly? If so, try looking at them from the perspective of an insect or bird. Many species of wildlife benefit from seed heads left up during the fall and winter months, because seed heads provide food and shelter. So be sure to leave the pruning until springtime and enjoy the rustic beauty of leaving up plantings with seeds, such as this beebalm seed head seen by reporter Alissa Silber.

Here’s a reminder now that it's November: the 2021 Newtown Turkey Trot, a Thanksgiving morning 5K race to benefit C.H. Booth Library, is scheduled for Thursday, November 25, at 7:45 am. The race start times may be staggered to avoid crowds, and the race and 2.5K walk start and end at Newtown Middle School. Cost is $30 and there will be no race day registration, which will close on November 24 at noon. Visit https://runsignup.com/Race/CT/Newtown/NewtownTurkeyTrot to sign up. We’re counting down, too, with Newtown Bee Editor John Voket will be providing sound and entertainment support and at least one member of our Editorial department planning on participating again this year.

We send our thanks this week to Vicki Boccuzzi, who shared a very sweet gift with us: a bouquet of her mom’s mums. What makes this so special is the pretty pink-magenta-colored blooms came off a plant started by Vicki’s mother 60 years ago. Vicki hosted members of The Garden Club of Newtown at her home on Tuesday, when they began working on many of the decorations that will be incorporated into next month’s Holiday Greens Sale. As each member left following the work party, Vicki offered a bouquet of flowers to them. She also shared a bouquet with Associate Editor Shannon Hicks, who stopped in to take photos for the club.

Congratulations to Newtown High School student Anthony Crisci. I hear that after NHS computer science teacher Kristin Violette challenged her students to take part in a CyberStart America cyber security challenge last school year, students competed in as many challenges as they could. Students could then opt to continue on their own to possibly become eligible for more competitions. Anthony was eligible to compete and went on to be named a National Cyber Scholar, earning $2,500 for a scholarship, in June. And now I hear that Anthony entered a Virginia Cyber Ranger Capture the Flag event recently, securing second place out of 500 competitors. Excellent job. Keep up the work, Anthony.

Does your child have an upcoming birthday? Submit their photo, name, and date of birth for our Birthday Wishes announcement, published weekly in the Education section. The weekly deadline to submit a birthday announcement for a Newtown or Sandy Hook child is generally Tuesday at noon, and every child submitted for Birthday Wishes has a chance to win an ice cream cake from Ferris Acres Creamery. To include your child in Birthday Wishes, send their name, address, phone number, age, and birthday, along with an original head and shoulders photo to Birthday Wishes, The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown CT 06470, or e-mail information and a JPG photo to eliza@thebee.com. Please send the photo as an attachment to the e-mail. Birth dates must be within one month of submission.

The Newtown Bee will have early deadlines next week due to Veterans Day. Remember to submit anything you want potentially included in the paper a day earlier than normal. Like a Birthday Wishes submission? Next week the deadline is pushed up one day to Monday. If you ever have a question about how to submit announcements or Letters to the Editor, make sure to check our Contact Us page online at newtownbee.com. Not only is the contact information listed for all my (human) coworkers, we also share how to submit things like birth and wedding announcements, photographs, and press releases. And if you like what you are reading, there is information on how to subscribe too! Subscriptions to The Newtown Bee are $47 per year — less than a buck per issue, $82 for two years, or $180 for five years; student and 6-month subscriptions are also available for $38. To subscribe or to report problems with mail deliveries, call 203-426-3141 and ask to speak to someone in Circulation, or send an e-mail to subscriptions@thebee.com.

Here is another thing to remember: Don’t forget to fall back this weekend as Daylight Saving Time is set to begin this Sunday, November 7, at 2 am. So be sure to change the clocks before heading to bed on Saturday.

Even if you do oversleep, I’ll still be here as long as you promise next week to... Read me again.