ETH Benefits From Mannix Memorial Contributions

By Steve Bigham

While Mary Hawley will always be remembered for her financial contributions to Edmond Town Hall, Sarah Mannix will go down in local history as the woman who contributed both time and services to the facility. Even in death, Mrs Mannix is doing her part.

Mrs Mannix died December 26, and since then many citizens have been making contributions in her memory to the Edmond Town Hall Kitchen Fund. The building’s kitchen, sorely in need of an upgrade, has been out of commission for several years. The town hall board of managers was unable to come up with the funding, prompting local organizations like Newtown Rotary to get involved in the cause. But the biggest boost to the kitchen’s plight may very well come from the money raised in memory of Mrs Mannix.

“We’ve received a significant amount of money already this week from individuals sending donations in her name,” reported Theater Supervisor Tom Mahoney this week.

Mrs Mannix served for 38 years on the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers. She spent most of those years working alongside close friend Betty Lou Osborne. The two names have become synonymous with service to Edmond Town Hall over the years.

The Newtown Rotary Club started the kitchen drive last year and managed to raise $2,800. The total cost to upgrade the kitchen is in the $100,000 range.

It has been nearly 17 years since a meal was cooked in the antiquated kitchen in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall. All cooking, frying, baking, and boiling was halted in 1983 after an inspection revealed the facility did not have the proper fire prevention mechanisms. A lack of money has prevented the Town Hall Board of Managers from upgrading the facility.

Once a year, the town fire marshal’s office does allow the Rotary Club to put on a pancake breakfast using a portable stove outside the kitchen. However, the absence of a hood over the existing stove has made the Town Hall’s a cook-free kitchen.

High on the list of things needed is a hood over the kitchen’s stove. As assistant fire marshal Bill Halstead points out, if a stove fire ever started, a hood would force the flames upward rather than allowing them to spread throughout the kitchen. A hood also serves as an exhaust system and filters out grease. All restaurants and delis are required to have hoods above their cooking areas.

According to Mr Mahoney, the Town Hall Board of Managers has been aware of the kitchen’s shortcomings. It has simply been a question of money – or the lack of it. “That’s the bottom line,” he said.

Those who rent the Alexandria Room usually get around the no-cooking rule by simply having their events catered. The Board of Managers also hopes to install a new stove to replace the 40-year-old existing one. The kitchen also needs a freezer.

Contributions to the kitchen fund in Sarah Mannix’s name can be sent to: Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470.