February 8, 1991

The highlight of ceremonies marking the completion of renovations to the Newtown Meeting House last Sunday afternoon was an appearance by the Second Company Governor's Horse Guard, which moved their stables to Fairfield Hills last year. The Horse Guard was formally welcomed to town, and in return Connecticut's best known cavalry unit demonstrated some maneuvers on Main Street in front of the Meeting House.

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A study of the upgrading and future use of three state mental health hospitals and surrounding state property has been made public after 3½ years in the making. Fairfield Hills Hospital's portion of the study provides a detailed breakdown of preferred and alternate options for upgrading and consolidating modern psychiatric care there. The study also outlines how remaining state-owned acreage can be parceled off for other state and public uses, including elderly and affordable housing and open space. Consultants Lozano & White of Cambridge, Mass., recommended the state hold title to the land it now owns but lease it for future uses.

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Commencing Monday, February 11, members of the Newtown Police Department will wear red, white, and blue ribbon pins to honor our troops serving in the Persian Gulf. The ribbons were given as a gift to all members of the department Newtown Police Union Local 3153. According to Newtown Police Chief Michael DeJoseph, the ribbons will be worn for a week, at which point he hopes to obtain metal US Flag pins to replace them.

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After winning the Parochial League title with a 13-1 regular season record, the St Rose boys' basketball team stormed into the year-end tournament at Immaculate High School in Danbury and won that, too. For the second season in a row, the St Rose boys took home both the Parochial League and tournament championships.

February 11, 1966

A recent study on the growth of Newtown by the Hook & Ladder Company has pointed up the need for additional life saving equipment and resulted in the purchase of a new E&J Lyport Resuscitator, with inhalator and aspirator. The unit, made possible through donations to the yearly fund drive, will be carried on the H&L truck and used wherever needed in town.

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Christ the King Lutheran Church now has a bell to go in the tower of its proposed church. It all began when Capozziello Brothers began to demolish the former Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in [Bridgeport]. The church had been bought by the wrecking company for salvage because it was in the path of the new Route 25 expressway. Mrs Arthur Schipul of Bridgeport was covering the demolition with her camera and was instrumental in procuring the bell for the Newtown church. The solid bronze bell weights about 4,000 pounds and has a diameter of 55 inches. The bell was given to Christ the King Lutheran Church as a memorial to Marie and Fred Schulze, charter members of the congregation.

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"Coach" is resigning. The news was announced with great regret after the February meeting of the Newtown Park and Recreation Commission. Coach Harold S. DeGroat plans to leave Newtown after 22 years. "Coach" came to Newtown in 1944 after teaching physical education in a number of schools. He was director of physical education in the Newtown school system until his retirement, in 1963, when he took on the "part time" job of town recreation director. As most of Newtown knows, the "part time" which Coach put in was more than many full time jobs would ask.

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The Brookfield High School basketball team traveled to Newtown Tuesday night and received a substantial defeat at the hands of the Indians, 91-53. However, despite the one-sided score, the Brookfield team played hard to the end and never slowed the pace.

February 7, 1941

The realization of the A.C.'s dreams have at last come true. With the generous cooperation of electricians and Ervin Stickles and Ben Smith, and the small group of industrious A.C. workers, lights were finally ready for operation at the skating rink, early last Saturday evening. The rink which is a local project, is open free of charge to all residents of Newtown and their friends, but it is not in tended for general use by people from other towns and neighboring cities. It is hoped that local children will make generous use of the rink.

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The tempo is increasing in the number of men called for one year's military training under the Selective Service Act. The Newtown men called are "Dave" Crouch and Walter R. Richards. On the 26th of the month, twelve more men will be sent from this district, including four from Newtown - Claude J. Perdreaux, William J. Brown, Thomas D. Howson, and Harold E. Morgan. The men go first to Hartford for final physical examinations and then to Camp Devens to be transferred from there.

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Notification has been received at the Selectmen's office from the Acting Supervisor of CCC Camps that an intermediate selection period will be held from February 21 and 28. Young men between the ages of 17 and 23 are eligible to join and can obtain application blanks from Alvin Coger at the Selectmen's office at the Edmond Town Hall.

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Readers of The Bee are indebted to Mrs. H.R. Wilde of Newtown for the opportunity to read the following letter, written in London on January 5. "… I didn't send any cards or anything this year as the difficulties and obstacles were too great… The shop people just laugh at you if you asked for cheese, of any kind, or marmalade, or several ordinary things… I didn't have any eggs for about three weeks. But all these are just minor difficulties. I have been in London right along… I would rather be here than somewhere off in the country… Of course, I would probably change my tune if I were bombed, but so far 'touching wood' have escaped, though we've had one or two narrow squeaks… Our worst experience, so far, was when a land mine, pretty things that descend slowly by parachute, landed on the fire escape of the back of the block of flats back of us so that it wasn't more than 20 feet away from the corner of our block, and by some miracle didn't explode. We were advised to go at once to our flats and pack a bag… and then everyone was ordered out of the building… Next day, the Marines and Royal Engineers came and the following day it was rendered harmless… Another time we had a good many bombs round us and our water was cut off for four weeks. It is a very strange existence and I am quite interested in my own reactions to it all. If anyone had told me at the beginning of the war that I would be sleeping on the seventh floor with all this bombing going on and fairly unperturbed, I wouldn't have believed it possible."

February 11, 1916

D.C. Johnson of Little Brook Farm is happy over a very successful hatch of chickens from his incubator on January 28. This is the first hatch we have heard of from machines, this year.

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To Editor of The Newtown Bee: Dear Sir: I see according to the Kellogg street news in February 4, 1916 edition of The Bee that I am married. Alas! And alack-a-day! Grievous error has pervaded the otherwise veracious pages of the estimable Bee. I'm not. I'm a bachelor, luckily or unluckily, I'm not certain which. I expect to have a discussion in my Grange shortly on the subject, "Is Marriage A Failure?" when I expect to get some light on a subject about which I profess profound ignorance. However, it wasn't such a heinous offense, so I'll forgive the editor this time. Yours respectfully. Granvill D. Stubbs, Danbury

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Friday evening a party of young people, most of them NHS students, enjoyed a sleigh ride to Danbury, where they attended a "movie" show. Although they enjoyed the ride, the boys strenuously objected to walking up every hill, but their protests were in vain. Mr Stevens' team took the girls over and also gave the boys a "lift" now and then.

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The pool contest at Thrall's in Sandy Hook between the Sandy Hook and Machinist teams is nearing the end. The Sandy Hook's are 28 balls in the lead, with two more games yet to be played.