Full Text:

Newtown Winds Up Summer With A Salute To The Flagpole

(with 2 pages full of photos)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

The cat appears to be out of the bag -- Newtown truly is the place to be on

Labor Day.

First off, according to weather reports, it was the only place in the area

that wasn't wet at around 10 o'clock Monday morning. Despite the threat of

rain, the 37th annual Newtown Labor Day parade got underway beneath clear

skies and comfortable temperatures -- perfect weather for the town's biggest

event of the year.

The good weather had parade co-organizer Kim Stendahl feeling a bit

sentimental as she made her way up from Queen Street to Main Street in the

moments before the parade began.

"Everyone was smiling, sipping their coffee and eating their donuts. The kids

were running around and everyone seemed to be having a good time," she noted.

"I thought it was a perfect day."

It was a perfect day as far as the parade was concerned. However, the skies

opened up about an hour later, putting a damper on dozens of post-parade

parties.

Leading the parade this year was Lt David Lydem of the Newtown Police

Department, this year's grand marshal. He has been maintaining the flagpole on

Main Street for nearly 20 years. Having him as parade marshal was a no-brainer

since this year's theme was "Newtown Celebrates the Flagpole."

Behind Lt Lydem was what is believed to be the largest procession of

politicians ever seen in town. This is a political year, so they all got into

the act, smiling, waving and shaking hands. And there were zero no-shows,

although the start of the parade was held up for 20 minutes because Sen

Christopher Dodd was having trouble making his way up from Exit 10.

Newtown appears to have cornered the market on Labor Day Parades, reportedly

holding the only one in the state. First Selectman Herb Rosenthal was among

just a small handful of marching politicians who was not up for election.

Following the politicians were nearly two hours' worth of marching bands,

banners and balloons, a cavalry of horses, a cluster full of clowns and dozens

of large men in miniature cars.

Striking union workers from Southern New England Telephone (SNET) made a

surprise showing, somehow joining the parade march despite not being on the

line-up list.

Another unidentified man was forced to steer his car around bands and floats

to reach his wife, who called to inform him she was, quite aptly, in labor.

There also seemed to be an abundance of candy this year. Almost every unit had

some sort of offering, usually a sweet. Bib Hickey of Hickey Septic said he

threw out more than $100 worth of candy.

Parade organizers, also known as the Newtown Summer Festival Committee, will

take a few months off before they begin planning for next year's event.

However, there is already talk of having a "New Orleans -- Mardi Gras" theme.

That should spice things up a bit.