A Botsford smelter has been ordered by state environmental officials to stop polluting area waters with the by-products of its aluminum recycling operation and to determine how much pollution it has already generated. The Charles Batchelder Company was issued the order in late November by Stanley J. Pac, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

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To say that Hawley School students and staff were excited this Tuesday would be colossal understatement! Hawley School students and staff were glowing, ecstatic, over-whelmed, to learn that an envelope of Christmas cards sent to Iran by John Bird’s fifth grade class had reached the United States Embassy in Tehran. A United Press International photograph in The New York Times, Daily News, Waterbury Republican, and other newspapers throughout the world, showed the first bundles of Christmas mail being delivered to the Embassy and one of the envelopes clearly showed that it was coming from John Bird, c-o Hawley School in Newtown, Conn. Mr Bird’s fifth graders have been studying the Iranian situation since the beginning, have been clipping daily newspaper articles and posting them on a bulletin board, and have been watching a daily TV program geared toward students which deals with current world events.

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On December 14, the members of the police force and the employees there sent off a message to the hostages. Sgt David Lydem spearheaded the effort, which was to send some sort of a message showing what type of a community Newtown is.

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Although it appears that group vigils were not observed in the Town of Newtown on Wednesday, November 19, at 6:30 pm as requested by Governor Ella Grasso, the American hostages being held in Iran were not forgotten by the town. Governor Grasso designated this day and hour as a day of Silent Vigil in Connecticut and participated in a silent vigil at the Old State House in Hartford during this time. As far as the silent vigil is concerned, very few school officials or clergy had received word in time, but many already planned their own methods of paying tribute to the captured hostages.

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Tracy Teichert hit a career-high 21 points to power the Newtown girls basketball team past Central Catholic, 57-49, last Friday in Norwalk.

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The Conservation Commission got an unusual request at its meeting Monday, December 17. Instead of asking for approval of an application to conduct wetlands regulated activities, attorney Sutherland W.G. Denlinger urged the inland wetlands agency to reject it.

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A great gal was honored at a luncheon at Edmond Town Hall’s handsomely refurbished Alexandria Room Tuesday as her fellow employees in Town Clerk Mae Schmidle’s office surprised retiring Assistant Town Clerk Gertrude Petrus with the noon affair. Mrs Petrus, known for her sense of humor and long years of dedicated service to the Town of Newtown, will officially close her nearly 14 years as an assistant clerk on January 7.

DECEMBER 24, 1954

Acting on resolutions to create a park commission and to accept a gift of $50,000 for park use, approximately 100 Newtown electors and property owners passed both resolutions in a special town meeting held last Friday evening, December 17, at the Edmond Town Hall.

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The March of Dimes will begin in Newtown and elsewhere in the nation on Monday, January 3, to seek contributions during the month to help finance the work of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis against poliomyelitis. Heading the drive will be attorney John F. Holian and Mrs Thomas Goosman, serving again as co-chairmen.

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The Community Music Association, a group of parents and friends interested in the growth and progress of the musical program throughout the Newtown schools, will sponsor its “Mile of Pennies” fund drive starting Monday, January 3, and continuing for three weeks. The increasing interest of children participating in the varied musical activities, and the correspondingly increased costs of music and instrumental aids has spurred the association into a vigorous plan of action for the coming campaign, patterned on last year’s successful drive.

The Newtown Post Office processed the largest volume of Christmas mail in its history this year, according to Postmaster Albert H. Nichols. Both outgoing and incoming mails were well above the quantities of previous years, he said. The rush of outgoing mail, as gauged by the post office’s new canceling machine, began on Monday, December 14, when 9,500 pieces of mail were cancelled. The peak of 17,500 pieces was reached on Monday of this week, and the volume had dropped to 12,000 on Wednesday.

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On Thursday, December 16, an audience that filled comfortably the Alexandria Room of the Edmond Town Hall received with enthusiasm the piano concert presented by Miss Ann Raynolds. It was at once evident as the program opened with the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue of Bach that the golden-haired Miss Raynolds, a delight to the eye in a beautifully draped gown of pale blue taffeta, is a serious and dedicated artist who has already achieved a splendid technical mastery of her medium that gave authority and sincerity to her performance.

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Pvt James Carroll of the USMC and stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., is home to spend the Christmas holidays with his parents, Mr and Mrs Patrick A. Carroll of Meadow Road.

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An informal meeting of residents of Hattertown, Dodgingtown, Huntingtown, Middle Gate, Palestine and Head O’ Meadow districts was held Sunday afternoon at the home of Miss Anna Lord Straus on Castle Meadow Road, to discuss several matters of community interest. Chief among these was the need for a representative planning board with sufficient jurisdiction to make its decisions effective.

DECEMBER 20, 1929

The Men’s Club held a very interesting and profitable meeting at the Parker House Tuesday night with E.M. Conger as host. Frank H. Johnson was the speaker of the evening, giving a very able and scholarly paper on “Theodore Roosevelt.”

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Miss Esther Moller went to New York City Sunday night and on Monday joined the nursing staff at the hospital connected with the Rockefeller Institute.

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A large truck belonging to Allan K. Beardsley of Sandy Hook, while parked in front of Fall’s Garage on Taylor Avenue, Tuesday noon, took fire, destroying the engine of the truck and setting fire to the building. When the blaze was discovered, the truck was towed away from the building and volunteers with the aid of chemicals and a small hose extinguished the blaze.

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Rev Paul A. Cullens occupied the pulpit of the Congregational Church in Foxboro, Mass. Sunday morning, while his father, Rev Archebald Cullins of Foxboro, Mass. preached at the Newtown Congregational Church.

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William H. Strong, older son of Mr and Mrs William M. Strong, will sail for Panama on Thursday, December 19. Mr Strong has accepted a position as a junior official in the branch of the National City Bank at Colon, Panama, having been in training with this bank for two and one-half years in various branches in Cuba up to August 1, 1929.

DECEMBER 23, 1904

Thomas Lillis of Dayton Street has taken a position as brakeman on the New York and New Haven road.

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C.D. Ferris, who has been in Buffalo, N.Y., returned home last week Thursday with a car of cattle.

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Miss Agnes Platt will go to New York early in January to continue her study of vocal music under Prof Van York, the well-known teacher of voice culture.

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John C. Beers has a fine new cutter, purchased of A.M. Briscoe & Son.

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Austin N. Botsford has rented the mill of C.F. Blakeman in Palestine and will accommodate the farmers by grinding all kinds of grain on Tuesday and Friday of each week.

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The ticket office in the passenger depot is being enlarged and improved. The office has been extended as far north as the door leading out of the north part of the station. The north window will be used for Adams express matter and the south window for the ticket office. The interior has been painted a handsome green.

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P.F. Crowe is putting in a large new hydraulic press for pressing hoofs, at Keane’s button shop, and is building an addition on the north side of the shop, 28 x 20 feet, to make room for the new press. Botsford Brothers are doing the carpenter work.