Don’t forget to “Experience Newtown” through March 1. The event — co-created by Newtown Parks & Recreation and Newtown Economic & Community Development — will benefit local businesses throughout Newtown. It encourages residents to visit local businesses for an interactive passport raffle experience. To participate, go online to newtownsandyhookeats.com/experiencenewtown for details and to get a passport. Then visit as many participating restaurants, boutiques, spas, and more as possible. Each participating business will validate the passport. Then bring the passport to the Parks & Recreation office, 8 Simpson Street, by March 3, or drop it in the box in the vestibule. Completed passports will be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a family pool/beach membership. What a wonderful way to support local businesses.

Speaking of events, St Rose Home School Association had a good February Bingo outing, and is hoping to see crowds return — and maybe even grow a little more — with the next event. Mark your calendar for March 11, for the next Friday Bingo Night at St Rose of Lima Monsignor Weiss Gathering Hall. Doors open at 5:45 pm, game packet sales begin at 6, and then games run from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. Admission is $20 per person, which covers all regular games. For additional information call St Rose School’s administrative office, 203-426-5102.

Have you accepted the C.H. Booth Library’s Armchair Travel Reading Challenge for Adults yet? It is a year-long reading challenge for adults to “travel” around the world by reading. Participants can enter a year-end raffle. According to an announcement from the library, patrons can pick up a reading log at the circulation or reference desk, print one out online from chboothlibrary.org, or request one via the library’s curbside pickup. Participants are challenged to commit to reading one book related to the chosen destination of the month. Audiobooks, e-books, and DVDs all count toward the effort too. January was Southern Europe, and February is South America. Once a book is completed, bring the reading log/passport to the library to earn a stamp. The library also has a Read Around the World program for children ages 4 to 12. It also offers a reading log/passport and a raffle to win prizes. Oh the places we go when we read. If you need reading inspiration, check out the adult challenge’s reading suggestion list here: chboothlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/January-RC-2022.pdf.

Newtown High’s track teams had quite a showing at the State Open on February 19. The girls’ 4x800 relay team won the championship and reset the school record, and the boys’ 4x800 team also set the school mark in a seventh-place finish. On the wrestling mats, Newtown placed third in the Class L championships, led by Luca Manfredi’s weight division title and seven other top-five performances. Get all of the details in this week’s sports section.

Our thanks this week to a few readers, each of whom helped solved some identification mysteries in recent weeks. Early last week we heard from Sheila Gervais and Chris Thompson, who both felt that the house pictured in the February 4, 2022, Way We Were column can still be found in town. Both said the house is on Huntingtown Road. Sheila remembers it from “years and years” of living on nearby Brushy Hill Road, she said, “but the trees have all grown up around it.” Chris thought the farm was a vacation camp or resort in the early 20th Century, “which would explain why there is a postcard of it.” An email sent to the business now located where Chris thinks this house is located was not yet answered as of earlier this week.

This week we heard from Mary and Lyndon Thomas and Vivien Ciavara, this time for the February 18, 2022 Way We Were photo that depicted four people rehearsing or performing for Town Players of Newtown. The only person we recognized in the photo was Ellen K. Fahrenholz Parrella. Mary and Lyndon — who met through the local theater company in 1969, Mary shared — recognized the one man in the photo. Mary said his name is Nick Stangl; Vivien said Nick’s last name was spelled Stagel. So we’re getting closer on the names of those in the photo. Vivian said Nick was “a lovely guy,” who was very active in the town’s community theater during the 70s. She thinks the photo dates to the late 70s.

We also heard from another reader on Monday, who helped identify three men in a photo of four in last week’s paper. Alan Shepard sent a note in reference to “The ABCs of Newtown: G is For General Store,” by Shannon Hicks. “The caption for the photograph said “four unidentified men,” but the identity of the men are Levi Morris (left), Rodney P. Shepard (second from the left), and I believe Albert Knapp (farthest right). Rodney was my Great Uncle and that was who the store was named after when it was Morris & Shepard.” We very much appreciate that information, and will add it to our files for future reference. The caption for that photo was also updated when Shannon’s story about the history of Newtown General Store was published on our website this week.

Finally, thank you to Kai Fahrenholz for the latest batch of historic photos for our archives. Kia stopped in last week with some wonderful images from the original Newtown Arts Festival (early 70s), Town Players of Newtown cast members, an undated Newtown Little League team photo and — perhaps our favorites — a whole collection of Middle Gate School class photos, circa late 1960s-early 1970s. Many of these photos will make appearances in Way We Were columns in upcoming months. They will then join other photos in our permanent photography file.

It is funny to think, but our online photo gallery will also one day be historic. We post a new gallery weekly of staff photos taken for that week’s print edition of The Newtown Bee. That’s also where you can order prints of all the photos we capture. Are you or your kids in our photos? Browse weekly to see what we see. The site is online at photos.newtownbee.com/Journalism.

I promise to share what I see and learn in my travels as long as you promise next week to... Read me again.