Standing on the well-lit porch of the white two-story house at 34 Church Hill Road, the demolition man, Ray Foster, mused, “This must have been a nice place. It’s going to take a bit of doing to get it down.” The house, built in 1923, needed to be leveled because the property owners want to build a new building. The house was the homestead of John Holian’s family.

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Twelve Newtown residents and one former resident gave up a good night’s sleep and braved freezing temperatures on Sunday, March 23, to view Halley’s comet. Silver Beach in Milford was chosen. Through the early morning mist 10 degrees above the horizon in the southeastern sky, Lenore Nespoli, with the help of her binoculars, found a blur of nebulous white gas dancing in the sky. The excitement grew as one by one, each member of the group located Comet Halley.

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Plans are proceeding nicely for the construction of a float which will represent Newtown in the state’s 350th anniversary parade in New Haven on April 19. The theme of the float is “Newtown: More Than a Flagpole” and honors the town’s over 100 volunteer organizations.

April 7, 1961

Work on Interstate Route 84 through Newtown is resuming after a several months’ layoff due to cold weather. This week workmen of Arute Brothers Construction started in on the bridges. Arute Brothers hopes to complete its part of the highway, approximately 17,600 feet, and the seven bridges involved and leave by Labor Day.

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Church services in Newtown on Easter Sunday morning, like everywhere, drew record attendances. Early morning worshippers found the day sunny and reasonably warm and then by late morning some snow flurries had occurred and the sky was overcast intermittently all day. Noteworthy were all the chic Easter bonnets and lovely corsages worn by the ladies.

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The Glee Clubbers, a chorus of 16 Cub Scouts from Newtown Pack 70, has been invited to sing at the Scouts in Action show of the Pomperaug Council to be held April 28-29, at Klein Memorial in Bridgeport. This unique singing group, under the direction of Den Mother Mrs Alex Sarjeant, was organized over a year ago to sing at a special Scout church service, and because of the enthusiasm of the boys the pack decided to continue and enlarge the chorus.

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Paralleling the remarkable advances of medical science in the last 75 years has been the concern of Danbury Hospital leaders to bring the benefits of these discoveries to the people of the area. This is the theme of the 75th anniversary report of Danbury Hospital issued this week under the title “A Lifetime of Service.”

 

April 3, 1936

The entire Bee office plant has been newly re-wired by Benjamin Smith and his assistant, Harry Lord. John Curran of the Danbury Gas and Electric Light Company laid out the lighting outlets and furnished the fixtures. The plant how has the very latest in lighting facilities.

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Newtown and vicinity will be glad to hear the Newtown Orchestral Society is once again in harness for its next concert. It has been nearly seven months since the orchestra was heard in concert in Newtown. As Brights said, “The usual unusual weather has been more unusual than usual this winter.” But, regardless of blizzards, bad roads, floods, flu epidemics, tonsils, adenoids, Hitler and Mussolini, the orchestra has been faithfully rehearsing and “soaking in” a varied and interesting program

***

A.F.A. Konig of Minkdale Farm now has 18 goat kids at the farm which are very amusing and interesting to watch. Anyone interested in seeing them is welcome to pay Minkdale Farm a visit. Mr Konig is always very gracious in showing callers about.

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On Saturday, April 4, members of the Dodgingtown Fire Company will take a Packard chassis to Providence, R.I., where it will be completely overhauled. It will be equipped with a new pump and booster tank and will be ready for duty when returned. A telephone has been installed in the firehouse and the number is 53-5.

 

April 7, 1911

Sanford Underhill is building a cottage on the land he owns in Taunton near W.C. Turner’s place, which his son-in-law will occupy as soon as it is completed.

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Two State Road contracts are now in process of construction, one from the Sandy Hook bridge to Bennett’s Bridge, the other from W.H. Wakeley’s house to a point a mile east. For some reason or other the commissioner has left out about a three-quarter stretch from Mr Wakeley’s house to the Samuel Post place. It is a sandy stretch, a hard road to travel. We suggest that while at work on the stretch at the Sand Hook bridge east, they continue their good work up the sand hill to connect with the other state road job.

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P.H. McCarthy is having hot and cold water put all over his house and is also having an up-to-date bathroom installed in the house. E.J. Hall is installing new bathroom facilities in the residence of Henry G. Curtis.

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Birdsey Parsons bought a donkey in New Britain. He drove the stepper from New Britain to Waterbury and then put him aboard a Highland division train and transported him to the Sandy Hook station.