***

The Board of Selectmen in their last regular meeting chose a Danbury insurance agency as the town’s carrier of record and filled several vacancies despite First Selectman-elect Jack Rosenthal’s request that they postpone the appointments until after he takes office on January 4. The Thomas A. Settle Agency was chosen after a brief executive session following presentations by the Danbury agency and Ray Gold of Newtown. The choice was based on the Settle Agency’s long experience with commercial and some municipal accounts and the number of agents and employees who would be available and qualified to provide service to the town.

***

 The town has received a $430,958.95 Christmas gift in the form of an audited surplus for the fiscal year 1974-75, which is the biggest in Newtown’s history. According to William Hanlon, financial director, “We got lucky all at once.” Usually, year end surpluses are between $100,000 and $200,000.

***

Seagrave Fire Aparatus Inc. of Clintonville, Wisc., has been awarded a $125,400 contract to build and deliver Newtown’s new aerial ladder truck within the next 12 to 14 months. Bids from three companies along with two no-bid responses were opened on Friday, December 12, in Financial Director William Hanlon’s office. The Board of Fire Commissioners met Monday night to pick a bidder, and the contract was signed Tuesday morning by Mr Hanlon and the Seagrave representative.

***

Most members of the Charter Revision Commission which proposed the establishment of a Board of Ethics to receive and investigate complaints about town officers, officials, and employees find the effect of one of their criteria for membership on the board to be more prohibitive than they had expected, and think a future charter commission should try to modify the provision. The provision is one which has caused two appointments to the board to be declared void by Town Counsel Paul Pollock and another prospective candidate to be declared ineligible to serve on the board. It states that no elector may serve on the Board of Ethics who has served on a town board or commission or as an employee of the town in the three years previous to the appointment.

***

Republican members of the Legislative Council caucused on Tuesday evening at the home of James Severnak, third district council-elect member, and by the end of the evening had voted to place the name of Robert Hall in nomination for the council chairmanship. W.W. Holcombe will be recommended as vice-chairman. The council will elect its officers at its first official meeting, January 6.

***

Members of the Newtown Historical Society spent an enjoyable two hours at the Matthew Curtiss House on Sunday afternoon at the President’s Tree Trimming Party. A handsome white pine tree, donated by Mr and Mrs Malcolm McClintock, started to receive its old-fashioned ornaments at 4 o’clock, and by 6 o’clock was as gaily and appropriately decorated as a tree of 200 years ago might have been dressed for Christmas. Mrs Hastings Blake and Mrs McClintock supervised the placing of the tree ornaments brought by the members. The entire Curtiss House was attractively garbed in decorations for the Christmas season by members of the Town and Country Garden Club.

***

Traffic signs – the constant replacement, repair, and request for them – offer the members of the Newtown Police Department a large headache, and the topic of these painful problems came up at the Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting Monday evening. The subject comes up at every meeting, with the chief announcing that the department has received request upon request for special signs, such as “children playing,” “dangerous intersection,” and so on. Then there is the problem of vandalism to or theft of stop signs. This goes on continually, and the men in the department are hard pressed trying to fix mutilated signs and seeing to it missing ones are replaced.

DECEMBER 22, 1950

Much to the enjoyment of Newtown’s young people, the Hawley School Student Council is making plans to revive the Romp, a Friday night social dance that at one time had a great popularity. The Romp, which means Recreational Opportunities for Many People, was discontinued when Saturday night dances drew the interest away from Friday evening events. A recent demand for the renewal of the social event has set the wheels turning.

***

Local organization for Civil Defense is being stepped up in the closing weeks of the year. Comdr Warner W. Bayley, director of Newtown Civil Defense, has called a meeting of the Newtown Civil Defense Advisory Council to be held in Edmond Town Hall on Wednesday, December 27, at 8 pm. A meeting of the State Police Auxiliaries, being organized as part of the state and local Civil Defense programs, was held in the Bethel High School last Monday night. At the Bethel meeting, approximately 150 members of state and local police auxiliaries attended in addition to town auxiliaries and other units for defense in this area.

***

Laughs, spills, and good ball playing marked the fourth annual basketball classic between the Boys SAC Midgets and the girls Bobbysockers played Wednesday night of this week in the gym of the Edmond Town Hall. In a fast game that provided many thrills for the small crowd of enthusiasts that watched, the Midgets outshot the Bobbysockers to win five points and to chalk up their fifth straight win this season. The final score was 30-25.

***

The store of Knapp & Myers on Newtown’s Main Street has been undergoing alterations the past two weeks, as shoppers know, changes the proprietors feel will offer the combined advantages of self-service and personalized attention. The new arrangement does not convert the store into an exclusively self-serve market, as in the supermarket type. It simply enables the customer to shop in any fashion he pleases, whether he wants to make a purchase and get out in a hurry or take his time.

***

Eighteen names have already been submitted to the Charles Howard Peck Post, VFW, for use in the proposed permanent honor roll of local men and women now in service and for those soon to be in service. A blank was published in the November 24 issue of The Bee to be filled out by each eligible man or woman or by some member of the family.

***

Benjamin D. Smith was elected worshipful master of Hiram Lodge No. 18, AF and AM, at the annual meeting held in Masonic Temple, Sandy Hook, Wednesday night. Other officers elected were Hoyt C. Johnson, senior warden; Lynn W. Mathewson, junior warden; Ronald A. Olson, senior deacon; Alfred W. Nelson, junior deacon; Albert W. Rasmussen, treasurer; John A. Carlson, secretary; senior steward, Arthur B. Smith; chaplain, Rev Paul A. Cullens; tiler, Eugene M. Peck; organist, Herbert H. Cutler.

***

Organized about two months ago, the Newtown Toy Clinic has already delivered more than 300 toys to less fortunate children in orphanages. On one of their most recent trips, the members made a group of children very happy by delivering a large number of toys to the home where they lived. Mrs W. Cranston Brewer is chairman of the clinic, and assisting on her committee are Mrs William A. Honan, Jr, secretary; Mrs Edmond E. Neary; Mrs Allen Northey Jones; and Mrs Morton Baker.

 

DECEMBER 18, 1925

There will be a dance, Saturday evening, December 19, at the residence of Thomas Hopkins, Botsford, and every two weeks until further notice.

***

A member of the family informs The Bee it was in error in announcing the engagement of Miss Dorothy Bartram to a Bridgeport gentleman.

***

The hours of service at Sandy Hook Post Office on Christmas day will be from 8 until 11 am. The office will not be opened to the public on the afternoon of Christmas day.

***

Charles F. Beardsley and Frank Wright have been appointed appraisers on the estate of Amos T. Camp.

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The Newtown Savings Bank is distributing to its patrons copies of the always handy Farmers’ Almanac for 1926.

DECEMBER 21, 1900

Joseph Bussar had a calf escape from his yard about a month ago. Parties were out the first of the week trying to find it. Though they could find now and then tracks where it had been, they were not able to see or get near it at all.

 

***

James Angevine, the purchaser of the David Warner place, has taken possession, moving in the first of the week.

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The December meeting of the Men’s Club was held on Monday evening at the Grand Central Hotel, Dr Edwards M. Smith being the host. A lively debate followed on the trust question. Henry G. Curtis and Mr Hewit were guests of the club.

***

Mrs Martin Collins has recently purchased a very fine new Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine.