May 28, 1993

This long weekend we celebrate Memorial Day, borrowing an extra day from the regular work week to unofficially launch the summer season three full weeks before the summer solstice. While the holiday has traditionally has been a time when we remember our war dead and reflect on the freedoms we have derived from the sacrifice of others, it has also become a time to gather family and friends together just once before they head off in all directions pursuing the attractions of summer. We have always been keenly aware of the emotional contrasts of Memorial Day... How does one reconcile the revelry with the reverence for the dead on Memorial Day?

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Residents aired their views on the Planning and Zoning Commission's, (Pandamp;Z) proposed town plan of development at a May 20 public hearing, and parishioners from St Rose church were particularly upset by a planning concept that might result in a road being built across church property. The proposed road would cross would cross church property between the church offices and St Rose school. In a May 19 letter to Pandamp;Z, Father George Birge, St Rose pastor, expressed "deep concern" about a road possibly crossing church property. Borough Zoning Commission chair Robert Connor said the borough zoners had little participation in formulating the planning concept. Were such a loop to ever leave the conceptual stage and become a construction proposal, borough zoners would have the final say, Mr Connor said.

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The club's seal says it all. The rooster symbolizes Newtown, the clasped hands are for friendship, the book indicates intellectual pursuits, and the crossed brushes stand for culture. Since its inception in 1968, The Newtown Woman's Club has stood for all of these things. On May 20, about 80 members, former members, and guests gathered at a luncheon at The Fireside Inn to celebrate the club's 25th anniversary. State Federation President Salli Ouellette attended the Newtown club's silver anniversary luncheon. Of the club's ten founding members, three were present. They were current members Lorraine VanderWende, Coke Cramer, and Margaret Julien, who moved out if town in the 1970s.

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A MEMORABLE PROM: To The Editor: We congratulate the school administrators, teachers, class advisors, chaperones and students for the successful 1993 Newtown High School prom. We know the event will be a positive highlight to remember for all who attended. Sincerely, Gerald and Caryl Killing, Walnut Tree Hill Road, Sandy Hook, May 24, 1993.

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The town of Newtown is receiving $7,846 in federal emergency management funds to help pay for its road-clearing and other costs from March 13-17, in connection with the blizzard.

May 31, 1968

The June meeting of the Newtown Historical Society will be held on Tuesday evening, June 4, at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library at 8 o'clock. Highlights will include a presentation of slides by Edwin Storrs, the society's vice president. Mr Storrs has prepared slides from a collection of old glass negatives from pictures of various buildings, scenes, and events in Newtown, many of which were taken by the late Fred Sherman of Monroe. There will also be a business meeting with reports on the Middle Gate and Land's End one-room schools. The Middle Gate school restoration is progressing nicely, with contractor John Sefanko in charge of work.

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Saturday, June 8, is the date set for the Newtown Bicycle Rodeo. This event is part of a safety campaign which is being conducted by the Jaycees, PTA, Lions Club, Cub Scouts, and other civic groups. Fred Parr and Owen Gallagher are responsible for safety education in the schools, including distribution of safety literature and showing of movies. The rodeo will feature a driving course to test a rider's skill in maneuverability and knowledge of safe bicycling practices. The Jaycees will also conduct free safety inspections. The Newtown Bicycle Rodeo is part of a nationwide safety program conducted by the US Jaycees to reduce the number of children killed and injured annually in bicycling accidents.

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The Little Theater stage on Orchard Hill Road in Newtown is undergoing a drastic change, from a bachelor apartment in New York to a room in a country estate home, for the play The Chalk Garden, which will open June 14 to a benefit for St Rose Home and School Association and continue on June 15, 21-22 and 28-29. Bethel High School teacher David Brown has designed and built both of these sets. This time he has been assisted by Fred Nelson, Peter Thompson, Bill Wieler, Bob Fahrenholz, John Anderson, and Travers Clement. With set construction well on the way, painters and decorators are preparing their brushes. But what is a set without proper lighting? With Bob Paige as consultant, high school boys Gary Adams and Doug McDonald are going to be in charge of lights and special effects.

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Friends of Philo D. Botsford of Newtown will be interested to know that he plans to retire at the end of the school year from teaching music in the public schools of Springfield, Ohio. He accepted his first teaching job in Springfield in 1930 and has been prominent and active there ever since. For 30 years he directed the high school band, and in 1960 he retired to teach instrumental music in the public school system. On May 19 the bands form the North and South High Schools in Springfield, with former students, presented a concert in Mr Botsford's honor. The two schools felt that this was only a small way to honor a dedicated music educator who has taught so long and done so much for the schools and people of Springfield.

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Troop 2419 of the Senior Girl Scouts of Southbury, Seymour and Oxford embarked on a trip on Lake Zoar, up to Shepaug Dam via the Pomperaug River, and thence return to Kettletown Park to camp. Tents have been set up in the park, and the girls cook their own food and sleep outdoors overnight.

June 4, 1943

As the war effort continues, it is disturbing to a great many people to see the widespread curtailment which seems inevitable, sapping the very life-blood of so many American institutions. This week's issue of The Bee, for instance, carries news that the Curtis School in Brookfield and Wykeham Rise in Washington - two fine school steeped in New England tradition - will not open in the fall. And PTA and Boy Scout ball games are sacrificed. It is most disconcerting, as is the do-nothing attitude which so many people are taking, in combat of which The Bee urges the public to prop up its chin and carry on.

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On Monday Frank Parker, popular singing star of radio, had as his guest on his daily radio program, "Home Front Reporter," Mrs Eddie Rickenbacker and Mrs Jimmy Doolittle. Mr Parker is one of Newtown's residents.

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Once again, an appeal for funds is being made by the Newtown Scholarship Association. The money raised is used to aid some graduating student from Hawley School to continue his or her education. Memberships in the association are $1.00 per year, or larger contributions will be gratefully accepted. Anyone interested in this worthwhile cause should make checks payable to Mrs Jerome Jackson, Sandy Hook, Conn. Or leave donations with H.C. Hubbell at Newtown Savings Bank.

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A meeting of the Newtown Brotherhood Committee was held at the Edmond Town Hall last Friday afternoon, when arrangements were discussed for a community meeting, which it is hoped can be held on July 4. Herbert L. Seamans of New Haven, regional Director of Christians and Jews, attended the meeting and afforded the members an enlightening and inspiring talk on the work being done by the Conference throughout the country, especially the program being conducted in many Army camps at the present time. Further July 4 meeting details will be announced once arrangements are completed.

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GEMS OF THOUGHT: How much easier our work would be if we put forth as much effort trying to improve the quality of it as most of us do trying to find excuses for not properly attending to it. -George W. Ballinger.

May 31, 1918

Members of the Woman Suffrage Association and their friends are bombarding Senators Brandegee and McLean with telegrams and resolutions calling for early and favorable action on the Susan B. Anthony Federal Amendment. That woman suffrage is inevitable the world around is readily admitted in all circles, and so, the ardent workers ask, "Why delay? Great Britain and Canada have enfranchised their women. Why? Because they recognize and appreciate the very essential work that is being done by their women to help win the war. Surely," they say, "America must likewise recognize and appreciate the work the women of this country are doing. Our government calls upon the women to give their all toward a war for democracy: it cannot, in justice, deny them the vote, the symbol of democracy at home."

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The Abraham Sherman place in Huntington district was burned to the ground on Sunday night at 11 o' clock. There was a small insurance on the house, but nothing on the furniture or contents. The family has been living in Bridgeport for a time.

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The Editor of The Bee acknowledges an invitation to the review and drill of the Clason Point Military Academy, Clason-on-the-Sound. There will be a review of the battalion by Major-General William A. Man, commanding the Department of the East, on Sunday, June 2. C. McLaughlin of Newtown is a sergeant there.

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A splendid program has been secured for the moving pictures at the Town hall this Friday evening, including Francis Bushman in Pennington's Choice. This feature is furnished by the American Feature Film Co. and is the first appearance of their films in Newtown.

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Arthur L. Peck, Jr., was so unfortunate as to sustain a fall at the railroad station, Thursday, cutting a bad gash in his head. He was taken to his home and is now confined to his bed. Dr. W.H. Kiernan is attending him.

Please consider sharing your old photographs of people and places from Newtown or Sandy Hook with readers of The Newtown Bee. 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.

[naviga:img class="aligncenter wp-image-321465" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/way-we-were-May-25-2018.jpg" alt="way we were - May 25, 2018" width="600" height="992" /]

"Pulling out an old pole," are the only words written on the back of this undated Bee file photo. The photo is likely from the early 1980s, as it came from a pile of photos also from those years.