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Conservationists unanimously granted an inland-wetlands license to Greenhouse Associates to develop 30 acres off of Route 25 for a shopping center. The 158,000-square-foot shopping center, tentatively titled “Sandhill Plaza,” would house a grocery and department stores, plus about 20 smaller retail shops.

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Hawley Celebrates Its 65th Anniversary and Honors Its Principal: It was a perfect day for a celebration and hundreds of students clad in green and white T-shirts at Hawley School took advantage of bright sunshine, mild temperatures, and a brisk breeze. A little past 1 pm, students sang happy birthday for this town’s oldest school now in use. Then the 10th anniversary of the principalship of a very surprised Doris Bushaw was celebrated. In 1952 the last senior class, with 27 members, was graduated. The next year, what is now the Middle School on Queen Street was opened and housed grades seven through twelve. Grades K-6 were housed at Hawley. A $125,000 three-room free-standing addition is scheduled to be constructed this summer at the rear of the current building in order to house the projected 416 student enrollment.

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“There’s only one way to describe her… Wunderkind.” That comment by Mort Bloomberg, co-director of the Danbury Tennis Open, neatly summed up Patti Murren’s play in last weekend’s finals. The 13-year-old Newtown resident swept the singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles titles. In the singles, Murren, who captured her first national junior event earlier this year, was nearly invincible, losing only one game in her four matches.

June 15, 1962

Driver Theodore Braun was only slightly injured when the brakes failed on his school bus Tuesday afternoon and the vehicle crashed into the side of the junior high school wing, damaging the bus, the side of the building, windows and some desks. The bus was empty and the teacher, Miss Giselle Van Damme, and a student, Maureen Hennessey, saw the bus coming in time to leave the classroom.

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Commencement exercises for Newtown High School will take place at Edmond Town Hall on Thursday evening, June 21, at 8 o’clock, when 85 seniors will receive their diplomas and hear Mortimer B. Smith of Sandy Hook and Washington, D.C., executive director of the Council For Basic Education speak on “Education For Privacy.”

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A word of caution is being given for all townspeople by Edward J. Coleman, chairman of the Newtown Parks and Recreation Commission, to take care of wallets and handbags while in the Dickinson Memorial Park. The commission regrets this is necessary, but pilfering in automobiles has been reported and the responsibility of taking care of valuables rests with the individual.

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Members of the first eight grade graduating class at St Rose School, capped and gowned, posed on the church steps with the pastor, the Rev Walter R. Conroy, and Sister Anthony, the school principal. Caps and gowns for the girls were white, and for the boys, green.

June 11, 1937

Tickets have been on sale since the first part of the week for the Colonial Calico Ball which will be sponsored by the Newtown Country Club at the Edmond gymnasium on Saturday evening, July 3, from 9 to 1 o’clock. Committee members headed by W.M. McKenzie, who have charge of the affair and sale of tickets, report that trade is brisk and there will doubtless be an attendance of more than 300 couples at this Terpsichorean festival which is being arranged as the town’s big social event for the Fourth of July weekend.

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The soft ball diamond at the Newtown Country Club was a little too wet, after the heavy rain of last Sunday morning, for Captain “Pete” Lawson to put his men through the season’s first warming up. Consequently the game was postponed until Sunday afternoon, June 13. Sunday will find Harry Hillhouse behind the bat and “Doc” Desmond on the mound.

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The Bee Scribe was a caller at the home of W.H. Chase on Mt Pleasant on Tuesday evening and had the pleasure of inspecting Mr Chase’s fine garden. Some of the outstanding vegetables are peas, with pods almost filled, large Bermuda onions, beet tops large enough for greens, cabbage that has started to head and spinach that has harvested three bushel to a 43-foot row. The real high spot is a tomato vine with ripe tomatoes on it. The scribe was given the pleasure of picking one of the ripe ones, and another one is still on the vine for further proof that this is undoubtedly a record never before equaled in this section.

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Of particular interest to Newtown garden lovers is a book recently published by Thomas Y. Crowell Company of New York, entitled “As One Gardener To Another,” by Lucy M. Ellis. Mentioned in the book in numerous places is a garden located in Newtown, which the author describes with much enthusiasm. The Bee, after a little fancy detective work, has discovered that the garden is located in Taunton and is owned by one of the town’s author residents, Mary Alden Hopkins.

 

June 14, 1912

The meeting at the Town hall, Saturday evening, in the interest of Women’s Suffrage, was largely attended, and those who promoted it may well be pleased with its success. Rev Alexander Steele, pastor of the Congregational church, presided, and made a brief and felicitous speech. Mrs A.L. Livermore was the first speaker. Edward Porritt was the next speaker. Mrs Edward Porritt was the last speaker. At the end of the speaking slips were circulated and 65 signed stating that they believed in Women’s Suffrage.

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Newtown High Defeats the All-Stars 29-10. That was certainly a great game, and the All Stars need practice more than anything else, for the way the ball went through the field, no matter which way it went, proves the fact. The game was played on Glover’s lot, at the foot of the Street. The spectators were few in number but they stuck it out to the finish. It required two and one-half hours to play the game.

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Homer E. Clark of Zoar is improving his house by having a wide veranda built across the front side. He also had new roofs put on the house beside several other repairs and improvements made on his house. Botsford Brothers of Botsford have the contract for doing the work.

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One of the fashionable weddings of season in Catholic circles was solemnized, Wednesday morning at 11 o’clock in St Rose’s Church, Newtown, when Margaret Mary, the eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Sylvanes S. Hayes, became the bride of William Arthur Honan. The groom is one of Newtown’s popular young men, for 12 years or more head clerk for Levi C. Morris of the Broadway store, and favorably known as a funeral director. The bride is one of the highly esteemed young ladies in St Rose’s parish and for several years has held a responsible position in the Park City. The wedding gifts were both numerous and costly, including a handsome silver service from the Hillside Club, showing the popularity of the young couple.