Savings Bank Of Danbury Donates—

Seat By Seat The Lions Stalk Their Goal

By Dottie Evans

Someday soon, thanks to the Savings Bank of Danbury, one more person will be able to sit down in plush comfort and enjoy the show at the Edmond Town Hall Theatre.

Seat by seat, the daunting goal set by the Newtown Lions Club of replacing all 411 downstairs theater seats in time for the tercentennial is being met, and the Savings Bank of Danbury is the latest corporate sponsor to support the cause.

That’s 105 seats already paid for and 306 to go.

On Monday, April 25, a check for $300 was handed over to Lions Club member Jim Larin by bank assistant vice president Donna B. Williams, who is also manager of the Newtown branch located at 20 Church Hill Road.

“Both the Savings Bank of Danbury and Edmond Town Hall are rich in history. We are proud to support the efforts of the Lions Club in preserving this famous Newtown landmark,” said Ms Williams.

The Lions Club has collected 25 percent of the total needed to pay for replacement of each seat. When the full amount is raised and the new seats are installed, plaques will be attached with donor or other memorial information included. The new seats will be plush cushioned, they will partially recline, and they will have raisable armrests with attached cup holders.

Anyone who has tried out the demonstration seats located near the ticket window in the town hall lobby must realize they will be a vast improvement comfortwise over the current seats. Though not original to the building, the present seats were installed in the 1960s and have seen hard use over four decades.

According to Lions Club member Gordon Williams, donations have been coming in at a steady rate since the campaign began and some have been “quite remarkable.”

He spoke particularly of the “huge gift” by the Newtown Junior Women’s Club of 16 seats.

“We have received smaller donations that bring the total up to 30 percent,” Mr Williams added.

He explained that though the smaller contributions were not enough to pay for individual seats, they would be combined and used to support renovations and repairs when the project is actually underway.

“At this point, we’re not attempting to replace the seats in the balcony. Those go back to the 1930s and because they are not used that often, they are in pretty good shape.”

Anyone wishing to support the Lions Club Tercentennial Campaign for the new Edmond Town Hall Theatre seats should call Gordon Williams at 426-6443, or send a check made out to the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers, and write “theater seats” on the memo line. Checks should be mailed to Newtown Lions Club, Attention: Gordon Williams, PO Box 218, Newtown CT 06470.