Evelyn Urban called with some info about a photo that ran recently in the Way We Were column. The photo of the children lined up in front of the old Hattertown Gregory’s Orchard School was taken in 1924, not 1915, she said. Evelyn’s dad, Nikolas Urban, is one of those children, Evelyn told me, as is Emma Sartine. It was Emma’s daughter, Beverly Dachenhausen of California (Evelyn’s friend and still a Bee reader) who spotted the error in the date. It’s always good to make our history of Newtown a little more accurate, so thank you to Evelyn and Beverly!

I’m already getting excited about the upcoming tree lighting on December 5 at Ram Pasture. The honor of throwing the switch that lights the nearly 1,700 lights goes to Sean and Barbara Patrick, and their children, Colin, Ryan, and Madeline, this year. The Patrick Foundation, which honors Sean’s grandfather, donated $5,000 to help with the move and upkeep of the spruce that was moved from the property of Wayne and Bernadette Addessi this fall to Ram Pasture. When the huge spruce that had been the centerpiece of the Ram Pasture for more than two decades blew down in the storm last March, the Patricks knew that they wanted to do something to keep the town tradition going. I think they should all get an extra cup of hot cider and a round of applause. Put your mittens together.

There is someone in Newtown who thinks Jim Berliner is a “Good Egg” and so do I! Jim is a Lions Club member, I’m told, who does a lot of things, but mainly he is one of two people who does the scheduling of the showing of the Mustang that is raffled off every fall. “It’s a huge event,” says Jim’s fan, “and the Mustang is shown to people from May to October.” The Lions also have a direct mail campaign that has grown from a few dozen letters to more than 900 letters. Jim puts all the postage on the letters and sends them out, taking care of the whole thing without a word, and never takes a cent. Now that’s a Good Egg, and Jim is getting this month’s “Good Egg” award from me.

If you know of a “good egg” in town who has not been recognized for their quiet deeds of goodness, let the Bee know at Nancy@thebee.com. The more good eggs in the carton, the better, I say.

Someone else in town has had his good deeds celebrated. Congratulations to Jerry Cole who was honored by the Lions for his many contributions to AmeriCares and rebuilding homes near and far — as far as Biloxi, Miss. If you know Jerry, you know that he is always willing to lend a helping hand when the need arises. A more dedicated guy is hard to find, so I say, “Three cheers for Jerry!” And I have to mention, that his wonderful wife, Sheila, son Matt, and daughter Liz can usually be found close by, as well, providing plenty of community support.

I’m purr-fectly happy that I saved last week’s Bee supplement for holiday shopping. With my belly full of turkey and dressing, I’m ready to go out and support the many local businesses who offer some fantastic gift ideas — and I avoid the trek to the crowded malls. It’s a plus for everybody.

Newtown’s children are reminded that while they are working their way through all the Thanksgiving leftovers this weekend, they can start thinking about sending their Christmas letters off to Santa any time now. One of the elves from Newtown Post Office gave me a ring last week (hey, if I can write a column every week, who says this cat can’t also use a phone?) to tell me that Santa has opened his Newtown post office box for the season. Address those letters to Santa at the North Pole, and don’t forget to include your name and mailing address on your letter so that Santa can drop a note back to you.

Better late than never. Marilyn Alexander’s sons made a point of returning to Newtown for a surprise (enter number of your choice) birthday party for her the beginning of the month. Marilyn tells me that she thought it was a little odd when she arrived at Edmond Town Hall — on a trumped-up errand, of course — and saw all of the cars parked up and down the street. “I really thought someone had died and there was a wake at Honan’s,” she confessed. All of the cars, of course, belonged to the 100-plus well-wishers gathered in the Alexandria Room to sing “Happy Birthday.” The best gift, says Marilyn, was having all of her family there.

Looks like Bee Extra layout man Frank LePac will be taking a course in Putting Together 101. Rumor has it he decided to find out why his radial arm saw wasn’t working so well, dismantled it, and now is in that “What the heck is this little thing for?” phase of reassembling it. I’d put in my two cents worth, but it would involve reading the manual, and he is a guy….

Other than dabbling my paws in the goldfish bowl, I’m not much on fishing. But the 2009 Farmers’ Almanac contains some interesting fishing lore that may be of aid to those who actually plan to angle for their dinner this winter. Dropping the line in the water one hour before and one hour after high and low tides increases the odds of coming home with a full catch, as fish are influenced by the tides, the sun, and the moon. A full moon, as a matter of fact, makes fish feed more often, as does sunrise and sunset. Watch for the barometer to rise before planning your fishing trip, another indication that fish will be entering a feeding frenzy and find your worms just the tasty treat they have yearned for. Of course, I really find it hard to believe that any creature is going to stir long enough beneath the frozen surface to find a little hole drilled in the ice…

I won’t be stirring much, either, if the prediction of a cold and snowy winter is accurate. But I hope that next week you stir up enough energy to… Read me again.