October 8, 1993

A Southbury farmer has sued the town, seeking to overturn a Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) decision that concluded he violated town zoning regulations by selling produce from a farm stand on Church Hill Road. In a lawsuit filed September 23 in Danbury Superior Court, farmer Robert K. Mitchell, III, seeks to be allowed to sell farm produce from a stand at 75-77 Church Hill Road, near Edmond Road. Mr Mitchell owns and operates the 400-acre Mitchell Farm in Southbury on River Road near Shepaug Dam. Mr Mitchell and his father have grown and sold their produce at various spots along the state highways in Newtown for the past several years. Last summer, the farm truck occasionally parked at 75-77 Church Hill Road to sell produce. On July 8, town zoning enforcement officer William Nicholson issued a cease-and-desist order to Mr Mitchell which alleged that selling produce there violated zoning regulations because Mr Mitchell was “vending farm produce not grown on the premises and without a permit.” Mr Mitchell appealed the order. A ZBA hearing on the appeal was August 4. At that hearing, Attorney Robert Hall, representing Mr Mitchell, said that the farm stand sales are permitted under the town ordinance “Venders, Hawkers, and Peddlers,” adopted in 1958. Mr Hall also argued that Mr Mitchell had a right to sell produce under Chapter 408 of the Connecticut General Statutes. The ZBA upheld Mr Nicholsons’s cease-and-desist order on September 1. Mr Mitchell claims the ZBA acted illegally and arbitrarily. At the August 4 hearing, residents told the ZBA that Mr Mitchell’s sales are worthwhile because they provide a source of fresh produce. The town is scheduled to respond to the lawsuit in Danbury Superior Court on November 9.

***

SMOKEY NEEDS A HOME: Smokey is looking for a home before cold weather sets in. The friendly black male cat with yellow eyes has been living outside at The Village Square Shopping Center for the past three months, begging for food from the neighbors. If you have room in your hearts for Smokey, call Debbie evenings at 270-9253, or leave a message.

***

To The Editor: I would like the thank Anna Wiedemann for writing so thoughtfully about our town. She expressed many of the feelings I have had over the past year or so regarding all the negativity which seems to be thriving here. I am In complete agreement with her statements, and I hope it will make many of us stop and think about how we view our town. I also encourage anyone who has ideas or wants to change the negative things, please get involved and give of yourself to make things better. It works! Sincerely, Pat Linnell.

***

The state Department of Correction reports the escape of a female prisoner from the Western Substance Abuse Treatment Unit on the Fairfield Hills Hospital grounds. A DOC spokesman said a 22-year-old woman from Somers apparently left the minimum-security prison through a first-floor dormitory window sometime between 1:30 and 2 am on October 2. She is described as white, 5’7” tall, weighing 220 lbs, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was serving a two-year sentence for violation of probation. State police were notified of the escape and brought tracking dogs to search for her, according to DOC. The escape marks the most recent of several escapes from Western since it was converted into a prison for women. DOC plans to complete security improvements by the end of December.

***

A wine and cheese reception will be held on Tuesday, October 19, at Galerie Van O’s to open an exhibit of David Merrill’s paintings and introduce his first limited edition lithograph, a vignette of Maine lighthouses. Gallery owners Ann and John Osborn organized the show of two dozen commissioned original paintings by Mr Merrill, the artist well-known for his murals in the stairwells at Edmond Town Hall.

October 11, 1968

Fires of suspicious origin plagued Newtown’s firemen over the weekend. The first call came in last Friday, October 4, at 9:30 pm, when an abandoned car was reported on fire at Pootatuck Park. The car was a total loss when the Sandy Hook Company and Engine One arrived. At 1:19 am, Saturday, October 5, Sandy Hook Company, under Chief Herbert Lewis was again called out in response to an alarm that the barn on the former Bridge End Farm property on Walnut Tree Hill Road was on fire. The barn was totally involved by the time firemen arrived. Set afire three times before, this time the barn was completely destroyed. Firemen used a line from the Pootatuck River to battle the blaze. While firemen were busy with the barn blaze, a person or persons, set the unoccupied farmhouse across the road on fire, damaging a small room at the back of the structure. Firemen extinguished the blaze and the house is still standing. According to Chief Lewis, the house had already been considerably damaged by vandals. Fire also gutted the former Stepney Camp main building on Toddy Hill Road on Saturday. The three-story structure in the Botsford district was run by the East Side Settlement House of New York City as summer camp for underprivileged children.

***

A policeman’s job is varied, and no one knows better than Officers Wrabel and DeJoseph as they went to the rescue of a skunk on Tuesday morning. The cute little creature had evidently wanted to lick a bottle clean and got its head firmly stuck. The skunk wandered from one side of Sugar Street to the other in and out of the bushes. After many plans of attack were considered, the skunk was lifted by the tail in a position that left him without fire power, and the jar was pulled free. Officers walked away richer for a good deed done, but happily scentless.

***

The Newtown High School Student Council will present a movie, Slender Thread, with Sidney Poitier and Ann Bancroft on Thursday, October 17, at Edmond Town Hall. Tickets will be at the door, donations $1.

***

A used tanker truck, suitable for conversion into firefighting equipment, has been donated to the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Company by the Dan-Ridge Chevrolet company, White Street, Danbury. According to Joseph C. Schaad, Sandy Hook company president, the truck is now being converted for firemen’s use. It will be housed in the new Sandy Hook substation on Route 34. Work on the new substation is on schedule. As part of the continuing fundraising effort for the new station, firemen will conduct a door-to-door turkey raffle, with 15 turkeys as prizes prior to Thanksgiving.

***

Two persons were hospitalized when their car slammed into the flagpole on Main Street in the early morning hours of October 4. Miss Emily Lucsky and her passenger, William Grumbo of Danbury, remained in Danbury Hospital earlier this week. The 15-inch brass ball at the top of the flagpole sailed into the street as a result of the impact. It now rests dented on Officer Harry Noroian’s desk at the Newtown Police Office.

October 15, 1943

The Editor of The Bee was pleased to receive a letter on Tuesday from Pfc Harold Morgan who wrote in part: “I have been overseas almost nineteen months and have been receiving The Bee regularly, which I enjoy reading very much. It sure does seem good to read my hometown paper. Hope everything is going fine in town. Tell my friends I was asking for them.

***

That old bugaboo, late copy, has been a bother at The Bee office in recent weeks. Hence this more than gentle reminder: News, advertising copy, and classified ads, must reach our office EARLY in order to insure publication. While 10 o’clock Thursday morning is the deadline for classified ads, we much prefer to receive them on Wednesday. Not later than Wednesday also applies to everything else. We know that forgetfulness and procrastination are still part of human nature. On the other hand, there are no Houdinis on The Bee staff to do the impossible with late copy.

***

How many friends of Private FC Hawley Warner will be interested in the following letter written to The Editor of The Bee. The letter is unusually interesting, due to the fact that it is written on the thinnest kind of rice paper, across the top of which appears writing in Japanese. Evidently, Hawley found his unique stationary among the spoils left by the Japanese in the Northwest Pacific where they once held control but have since been driven out by American forces. While we cannot read the Japanese, we are sure that Hawley gained pleasure in his use of this purloined in this bit of paraphernalia. Maybe he will send us some of Tojo’s personally engraved letterhead next time. We hope so!

***

Copies of The Life of Ole Bull have just come from the Princeton University Press, containing the first full-length biography in English of the great Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, written by Mortimer Smith of Sandy Hook. The author is to be highly complimented for his fascinating word picture of this nineteenth century colorful character, taking his readers from the days of Ole Bull’s boyhood in Norway through his tours of gilded opera houses in Europe, where he delighted the most critical audiences with his performances as a master violinist. Ole Bull then came to America, Mr Smith telling how he captured New York and Boston, and the American West, where he performed in all sorts of halls and theaters. Varied adventures are told of Ole Bull’s attempt to establish a Norwegian colony in the mountains of Pennsylvania, where he met with little success, the artist returning to Norway to found a national theater and foster the literary efforts of such writers as Ibsen and Bjornson. He later returned to America and remarried, his colorful career finally coming to a close in his beloved Norway on August 17, 1880.

***

Edward R. Olmstead of Taunton district, who is undergoing treatment at Danbury Hospital, continues to show steady improvement and it is hoped that he may be able to return home soon.

October 11, 1918

The Sandy Hook Library will be closed until further notice, as a precautionary health measure.

***

A. S. Newburn has bought out the market of Paul Cavanaugh at Sandy Hook. Orders will be taken and delivered, and he will aim to conduct a market that will please and satisfy his patrons.

***

Preparations are being made for entertainment to be held at the High School in the near future. Special music will be prepared by the orchestra, by the boys’ quartet, and by mixed quartet. Essays and orations on topics of vital importance will complete the program. The first debate was held at the High School last Friday. Seniors and juniors debated on the subject “Resolved That All Immigrants Should Be Required To Take Literary Test.” As this debate was extemporaneous, each class member was allowed to express his opinion on the subject. Strong arguments were put forth on both sides. The freshmen and sophomores met in the assembly hall Friday afternoon, and endeavored to decide in an extemporaneous debate whether or not it would be for the best interest of both countries that Mexico be annexed to the United States. The arguments pro and con were forceful and well phrased, showing cleverness and keenness on the part of debaters.

***

Rev O.W. Barker was greeted by a good-sized congregation at the Congregational Church Sunday morning, and gave a most hopeful sermon on the “Law of Sacrifice.” In the evening at the Liberty Loan service at Trinity church, he gave a most interesting address.

***

Interesting Letter From James W. Crick. August 4, 1918. Dear Mrs Hard: Just a line to let you know I am well and everything is all right with me so far. I had a fair trip coming over. The ocean was very calm most of the way, but a little rough the last few days. The ship was quite a large one and must have been a pretty nice liner before she was a transport. I slept out on the deck most every night as it was quite warm inside. The trip was a little exciting some of the time. Uncle Sam has a great head, believe me. The scenery was most beautiful when we were coming into port. There is not much for me to write to you just now as you know we are only allowed to write about certain things. So I will close for this time. With love and best wishes for all.—James W. Crick. Motor Truck Company 465, Motor Supply Train 417, AEF. PS, you can give the rest of the folks at home my address.

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.