December 16, 1994

Red Elf Meets His Biggest Fans. Bernadette and Wayne Addessi of Old Farm Hill Road, Sandy Hook, invited Santa to the neighborhood Sunday, December 11. Because there is no snow, Santa could not arrive by sleigh, so Newtown Hook & Ladder volunteered to transport him. The 25 families who participated in the event each made a donation to the fire department.

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Safety In Numbers. A large flock of wild turkeys has been spotted around Newtown in past weeks. Jim Hoey of Mt Pleasant managed to get a picture capturing most of the 20-bird flock walking in formation. The photo was taken the day before Thanksgiving.

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Peculiar Petunia apparently agreed with the Chamber of Commerce slogan “Nicer in Newtown.” The two-year-old Chinese Shar-pei spent nearly three weeks on the run in town despite the efforts of police and dozens of people to track her down and return her to her owners, Jane and Jim Amon of Richmondville, N.Y. The Amons were visiting a niece, Colleen Ryan, at her home on Silver City Road on Thanksgiving Day when the sound of a gunshot in the woods nearby apparently spooked the dog. “Petunia just took off,” Mrs Amon said. “Unfortunately, she doesn’t come when she’s called. She never has. She is a very independent dog. That’s why we call her Peculiar Petunia.” The Amons made the six-hour round trip to Newtown five times since the dog disappeared, each time hoping to find her. But each time the dog picked that day to rest and lie low. Caroline Jessup, who lives near Colleen Ryan, owns Shar-pei Rescue, a group headquartered in Plainville. She was contacted to assist in the search. “This isn’t unusual behavior fro a Shar-pei,” Ms Jessup said. Patty Conger, a waitress at Pizza Palace saw Petunia about midnight Saturday, after she left the restaurant. She stopped and almost coaxed Petunia into her car but the dog ran off when another vehicle approached. School bus driver Diane McIlrath saw Petunia as she was making her morning run. “First I saw the dog walking along Route 34, every time a car would go by she would cringe, so she looked like a lost dog to me.” After dropping the kids at school, she stopped for gas and went grocery shopping before heading home. “I came down my road and there was the dog. I grabbed a pound cake that I had just purchased and tried to offer it to her. She looked at me and ran in the other direction.” She went inside to call Ms Ryan when she saw the dog in her backyard. “I kept throwing chicken at her for a half-hour.” Jane Amon and Colleen Ryan arrived. Jim Amon also soon arrived and drove his car up and called to the dog, offering her some of his breakfast. “She came right to me,” he said. “I am not sure if it was the bacon or the fact that she recognized me.”

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Newtown author Justin Scott, who has written an updated version of Treasure Island, will be at the Book Review/Cup & Chaucer Café, Sand Hill Plaza, Main Street South in Newtown on Sunday, December 18, from 2 – 3 pm, to meet fans and sign copies of his new book. Everyone is invited.

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The Indian chief who used to watch Newtown High School basketball games from the center of the gymnasium floor has been jigsawed out has been made into a poker table. The Newtown Blue and Gold Booster Club will either auction or raffle this table at an upcoming fundraiser.

December 12, 1969

SANTA IS COMING! Direct word comes from the North Pole that Santa Claus will come to Newtown on the morning of December 20. He will visit with all his little friends at the Edmond Town Hall at 11 o’clock. Full details will be announced through the Chamber of Commerce in next week’s Bee. Meanwhile, boys and girls, arrange with mother and dad to get you to the town hall on time on Saturday, December 20. Santa Claus is coming to town!

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The flagpole in the center of Newtown has finally received a bright coat of white paint, just in time to look nice for the holidays. The job was done on Tuesday by Coast to Coast Construction of Long Island and the paint for the task was donated by the Newtown Exchange Club. Well done.

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Fire Hits Solly’s. A fire was brought quickly under control that started in the kitchen of Solly’s Wayside Inn on Dodgingtown Road Wednesday night. Five pieces of equipment responded to the call that came into the switchboard at Edmond Town Hall at 10:30 pm. Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company, under the direction of Chief Edward Peterson responded along with Hook & Ladder. Jack Richardson was on the Dodgingtown pumper, Lou Lewis and Thomas Anderson were on Engine One, Clint Stevens on the tanker, and George Mayer and Lee Glover on Hook and Ladder. Frank DeLucia, son of the owner, Alexander DeLucia, said that damage was slight and confined to the kitchen. There were no plans to close the restaurant, and work is underway to repair the damage, mainly caused by smoke. Fire Marshall James Cavanaugh said the cause of the fire is unknown.

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The informal basketball program, sponsored by the Park and Recreation Department, will begin this Friday night at the high school gym and is open to all men in Newtown. The program will last for 2 hours starting at 7:30. For further information contact Charles Chamberlin, recreation director.

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Mead and Albert Treadwell are both now back in school after spending a week in the hospital in Springfield, Vt., after a toboggan accident.

December 8, 1944

Sunday’s low temperature was a small handicap to “Doc” Corrigan and H.C. Honegger who, in close to mid-season form, enjoyed four sets of tennis on Sunday, played on the Honegger court on Walnut Tree Hill, and, to be true sportsmen about it, they phoned Ernest Angell and Arthur Hansl of New Milford, the team which defeated them in the finals of this year’s Honegger Cup Tournament, to warn them that, they too, had better commune with the snowbirds if they hold any hope of winning next year’s tournament as well. Incidentally, the Editor of The Bee, when told how well “Doc” Corrigan’s chop was chopping, had reason to believe that the corpulent dentist and his affable partner might be persuaded to play on skates in January, both men mentioning the fun to be found in winter sports and the possibility of holding a skating carnival on the pond of Otto Heise in Palestine district. However, skates or not, it takes a good constitution to play tennis in December.

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A successful card party was held at St John’s Church in Sandy Hook, on Tuesday evening, sponsored by the men of the parish, for the benefit of the church. The committee in charge of the affair included Rev. John W. Mutton, Austin E. Dinkler, Julian K. Drew, and Albert Kuhne Sr.

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Sgt. Hiram M. Perry, who has been stationed in Newfoundland for the past 22 months, is enjoying a 30-day furlough with his mother, Mrs William C. Perry of Botsford Hill Road, Sandy Hook. Sgt Perry made the trip down by plane in five hours. Friends are glad to see him again.

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A Happy Shopping Season To All. In many ways Christmas of 1944 will be different. Storekeepers and those who have been on shopping expeditions need not be reminded that the matter of gift selections is more difficult than ever. Storekeepers have done their best to stock their shelves with items in usual demand. In many cases, however, these items, because of the war, simply cannot be obtained, and we hope shoppers will accept the situation in good grace. We hope Christmas crowds will be considerate of the merchants and their clerks. It is a fine time to test one’s self for traits of patience and good humor and other qualities which, if possessed in good measure, make life happier for all.

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A number of Newtown residents attended the lecture given by the Right Rev Monsignor Fulton J. Shean at the Elk’s Auditorium in Danbury, Friday evening. The lecture was sponsored by Rev John D. Kennedy Assembly, Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus.

December 5, 1919

Rev. E. O. Grisbrook is driving a Briscoe touring car, bought of James B. Nichols.

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Charles F. Beardsley is on grand jury duty in the United States district court at Hartford.

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Mr and Mrs Ernest Wilson of New Haven and Mr and Mrs A.D. Fairchild of Taunton called on Mrs H. B. Northrop of Palestine, Friday.

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Abraham Kline has sold his property in Sandy Hook to Mr Knapp of Springdale, Fla. The sales were made through the agency of Stanley Hotsford of Stepney Depot.

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Albert and Frederick Harris expect to move to Providence, R.I. inside of a month.

Please consider sharing your old photographs of people and places from Newtown or Sandy Hook with The Newtown Bee readers. Images can be e-mailed to kendra@thebee.com or brought to the office at 5 Church Hill Road to be scanned. When submitting photographs, please identify as many people as possible, the location, and the approximate date.