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GENNEWS / LIBRARY

with cuts: Oral Histories Are Putting A Human Face On Newtown's Story

B Y J AN H OWARD

Glimpses of Newtown as it was in the past, of events that took place here, and

the people and places that were a vital part of the town's history are

unfolding through the personal memories of some of its longtime residents.

Their memories of a way of life in what was once a small rural community will

be able to be relived by today's residents through a continuing oral history

project being conducted by Town Historian Daniel Cruson and resident Andrea

Zimmermann.

The oral history project is co-sponsored by the Newtown Historical Society and

the Cyrenius Booth Library.

Mr Cruson and Ms Zimmerman hope to finish 20 oral histories by June or July.

Fourteen interviews have been completed to date with Vern Knapp, Tommy and

Lilly Goosman, Sarah Mannix, Virginia Lathrop, Gene Cox, Russell Strasburger,

Ed and Judy Dick, Junior and Ellie Dreher, Jerome Mayer, Eleanor Mayer,

Margaret McCarthy, George Clark, Helen Northrop Elyea and Bill Honan.

The ages of those interviewed run from the late 50s to 90, with most in their

70s and 80s, Mr Cruson said.

Memories

During the interview process, Mr Cruson and Ms Zimmermann said they are

learning things about the town they may have had only sketchy information

about before.

"We're learning little details of the community you can't find in newspapers

or town records," Ms Zimmermann said. "We're learning more about the people

who played important roles in town."

"We didn't know these people were so involved," Mr Cruson said.

Many of the residents interviewed were instrumental in founding several

organizations in town, such as the Botsford Fire House, Newtown Ambulance, the

Lions and Rotary clubs, the Lathrop School of Dance, the first veterinary

clinic, and the Men's Literary and Social Club. Others served on boards and

commissions or were involved in local political parties.

"These are people who have seen the town change," Ms Zimmermann said. "They

were here when the town had more cows than people."

Mr Cruson said they learned that the Palestine area had no electricity until

1940. "They were still doing things the way they had done years before," he

said.

They have also received a great deal of information about local one-room

schoolhouses. Mr Cruson said, while these schoolhouses often received

criticism, people who attended them said repetition of lessons, from one class

to another, reinforced education.

"The schools were not as bad as they were made out to be," Mr Cruson said.

There are also stories about games children played, such as using a stick to

keep a hoop rolling and Duck, Duck, Goose.

"We're getting nice descriptions of the town, such as who on Main Street had

what dogs and what their names were," Ms Zimmermann said.

They are also getting a first-hand glance at social customs of various eras,

such as leav ing a card when calling on someone.

They are also learning about relationships between people, Mr Cruson said. "We

hear about the inner conflicts and political differences that never get

mentioned in other places."

He said anti-semitism was "done quietly, not shouted, but it was obviously

here."

Residents also remember the kindnesses shown. In one case, when Pond Brook

Road was not plowed after a storm and a resident was short on heating oil,

neighbors rolled a 50-gallon drum out to Obtuse Road to have it filled and

rolled it back two or three times so she would have heat for her house.

There are stories about cottage industries that flourished in town and a comb

factory on a local farm off Palestine. While Mr Cruson said he knew of other

button and comb shops in town, "I was unaware of any factory there."

Some residents remember the LaRonda, a night club that was located on Route

25, and the Silver City Dude Ranch on Hanover Road.

The La Ronda's proprietor was Enric Madriquerra who, with his wife, Pat

Gilmore, bought the old Minkdale Farm on Orchard Hill in 1947. They opened the

supper club in 1952 after rebuilding the stone barn that had formerly housed

goats, and creating a long driveway from Route 25. The club, which had a

Spanish Colonial ambiance, was remembered as having a revolving stage.

The Silver City Dude Ranch had a real frontier town, which offered stagecoach

rides, and a Native American village.

"They would have wild west shows every Sunday," Mr Cruson said. In 1971, two

buildings burned, and the property later became a housing development.

The Sunset Hotel, which was located on Toddy Hill Road, apparently had been

through several phases, Ms Zimmerman said, and at one time was leased by the

railroad to house railroad workers. Some of these workers were known as "gandy

dancers", she said, because of the movements they made with a tool used for

packing down spikes on the tracks.

Village Coffee House

In 1939, the Village Coffee House, located on the corner of Queen and Church

Hill roads was a gathering place. Originally called The Kegs, it was later

operated as the White Birch Inn.

In her oral history, Virginia Lee Lathrop remembers how she and her husband,

Mack, became involved with the restaurant at that time.

"Andrew Poe came to the house one night and he said, `Mack, I have got

something for you. This place down on the corner, The Kegs.' I said, `Mack,

you wouldn't even look at that place.' And he said, `Why not? I am going

down.' So we went down with Andrew. It was the greasiest place I have ever

seen. It was dirty. And they were having hay rides down there. And this big

group came in from the hay ride to have coffee or whatever, and I said, `Oh

Mack, you wouldn't do it.' And he said, `Let's think about it.'"

"Andrew said, `Mack, I will take this place, bring in a crew, clean it all up,

change the seats to all red leather,'...do this, do that. And Mack bought it.

I said, `Let's go down one night and let me wait on the tables.' And I did. I

loved it; it was such fun. What a dump, though...."

"Anyhow, Andrew cleaned it up. He really did. He stripped it, put all new

seats in, and floor boards and counters and everything, and we went in, and

guess who wound up in the kitchen? Me. In the kitchen! I didn't even cook in

my own house. Nick Cerolli was working with Andrew at the time and he said,

`My wife will cook.' I said, `Great!' And she came down, but she said, `Gin, I

cannot be here all day. You have got to help me.' And I said, `What do I do?'

She said, "All you have to do is make hamburgers and hot dogs...." And that is

all we served - hot dogs, hamburgers."

Dance Team

Ms Lathrop relates how she met her late husband, Mack Lathrop, and formed a

lifetime partnership. She had been in vaudeville with Gus Edwards' Revue, but

after he retired, she went home to Boston to be with her family and her aunt,

who managed the State Theater in Waterbury.

"I was home and my aunt said, `Why doesn't Virginia come down and stay with me

for a while.' I did, and I used to practice at the theater. She had this

friend who was an agent, Charlie Yates, and he stopped by one time and he

said, `What is Virginia doing?' And she said, `Nothing at the moment.' And he

said, `Bring her into New York, I have a man who is looking for a girl because

the girl that is in his act is leaving to go into George White's Scandals.' It

was the Lathrop Brothers - Mack and Chuck. I went in and I auditioned for

Mack. He sat there very importantly, and my aunt was with me, and she acted

the same as Mack...it was a little like a little sparring thing. He said,

`Yea, she would be perfect for the part.' And of course my aunt had to

negotiate. `Well, what are you going to give her? I am not too thrilled with

having her travel around the country with two men.' It was fun, and anyhow, he

hired me. That was in 1936...Mack and I married the next year."

The Upham Tea Company

Gene Cox remembers how his mother worked for the Upham Tea Company in

Hawleyville.

"This was a company that supposedly invented the tea bag or tea bag machine,

actually. And she worked over there for a while. After I was born, she thought

she should be home with me, and so Mr. Upham used to give her the big box of

tea and tea bags and stuff and she would come home and actually sew them on

the sewing machine. She got paid by the piece. Once or twice a week she would

get somebody to drive the [finished] tea bags back over and he would give her

money for them. She would bring more tea and the cloth back. The cloth was

simply cheesecloth. She actually was making a big tea bag, which they use for

making ice tea - the bags were probably 5" x 5".... It was made for making a

big pot of tea that you would convert into iced tea later on...."

"At one point in time, Mr Upham loaned her one of the tea bag loading/filling

machines so she could actually use the machine instead of having to do it by

hand. She had that at home for a while. It was set up in the living room, and

she would get up in the morning, and after she took care of the animals and my

sister and me, she would go in there and work. She used a foot powered pump

sewing machine; I still have that sewing machine.... She would get up at five

in the morning, and she would go to bed at 10 o'clock at night, and she

basically was working the whole time... I can't remember how many tea bags she

could turn out, but as a young kid it seemed like a lot. She did that for

many, many years..."

An Interview A Week

The oral history interviews are continuing, and it is hoped they will be

completed by June or July.

"Dan and I are shooting for an interview a week," Ms Zimmermann said.

According to Mr Cruson and Ms Zimmermann, these 20 initial oral histories

provide a sampling of the community.

"These 20 we felt were important because they gave a variety of impressions of

the town," Mr Cruson said.

Each interview generates several tapes, according to Mr Cruson. Mary Maki and

Karen Gabriel are doing the transcriptions. Ms Zimmerman is editing them so

there is a continuous narrative, "taking out our questions and comments," she

explained. "Dan is doing the footnoting as we go along, and indexing and

layout will be at the end."

Ms Zimmermann said photographs will be scanned at The Newtown Bee, which will

also provide its expertise for layout.

The final version will be reviewed by the interviewees for accuracy. They will

also be sent a release form giving their permission for the oral histories to

be made available to the public.

It is expected bound volumes may be completed by mid-summer.

The oral histories will not be offered for sale. Multiple copies will be

available at the Cyrenius Booth Library, Newtown Historical Society, The

Newtown Bee , and The Bee's Antiques Reference Library.

Mr Cruson said he sees the oral history project as a continuing one. As

further donations are received, he and Ms Zimmermann will do additional

interviews.

In October, the project received two donations to augment the original $5,485

from the Meserve Memorial Fund. The Friends of the Library and the Newtown

Historical Society donated $5,500 and $5,000, respectively, to the project.

According to Mr Cruson, if there is sufficient funding, the oral histories,

including photographs, will be put on CD roms, which will also be available to

the public.

Donations earmarked for the oral history project can be sent to the Newtown

Historical Society, Box 189, Newtown, CT 06470.