Paul Gehrett was kind enough to drop by The Bee late last week with yet more information on the Way We Were photo that ran in the paper March 19. The purchase of an ambulance for Newtown was only the second project on record for a newly founded Rotary Club back then, he reports. The campaign was most likely launched at the urging of Dr Clifford D. Moore. The goal was to raise $3,000, $500 of which would go to maintenance of the new vehicle. A house-to-house campaign raised money to supplement the Rotary Club’s $250 seed money, and a demonstration ambulance was put on display at Edmond Town Hall. The campaign actually raised $4,200 and the Rotary Club was able to present the new emergency vehicle to the Newtown in December 1941. Thanks for the additional input, Paul.

The Newtowners who responded in such number to Alisa Farley’s plea in January 2009 when the apartment building in Danbury owned by the Farleys burned to the ground will be pleased to know that the Farleys have begun rebuilding. “It will be modular, so it goes up in blocks,” Alisa says. “Very cool, actually.” They hope to have the building completed by this summer. The fire displaced 13 families, and when Alisa sent out an email to her friends and local churches, clothing and other goods for those families were collected in such quantities, within hours of the fire, that the Red Cross actually had to plea for the donations to stop.

Newtown resident Phyllis Cortese has created a program for CommunityVision 21 (Channel 21), the community access channel for Charter Communications, that might help folks who are considering becoming a host for The Fresh Air Fund. The organization is dedicated to enriching the lives of inner city children by placing them with volunteer families for nine days during the summer. FAF spokesperson and Brookfield resident Janine Gibney talks with Phyllis about the program’s positive benefits to the community, the visiting children, and the local families who participate. In addition, she discusses how easy it is to become a Fresh Air Fund sponsor family and how other members of the community can get involved. Local Edition with Phyllis Cortese: The Fresh Air Fund will air Sunday, April 11, at 4 pm; Tuesday, April 13, at 8 pm; Sunday, April 18, at 4 pm; and Tuesday, April 20, at 8 pm.

The Bee’s very own copy editor is one of three featured riders in the Official Program and Ride Guide for the TD Bank 5 Boro Bike Tour. Janis Gibson returned to her childhood love of bike riding last spring to do the NYC bike ride in the pouring rain, loved it, and went on to win a trip to Tuscany through another bike group. The program/guide editors contacted her and wrote up a little blurb for the program this spring, because come May 2, Janis plans to once again be in the swarm of bicyclists surging through the streets of the City, this time doing the ride to benefit City Harvest. The agency collects excess food from all segments of the food industry, each week helping more than 260,000 hungry New Yorkers find their next meal. For more information or to support Janis’s efforts, visit www.CityHarvest.org/jgibson. Go, Janis, go!

I like to view a blog now and then, and NHS Principal Dumais’ blog is always filled with newsy items about the high school happenings, and the amazing students who go there. On March 30, I noticed a landmark number on his blog, http://dumais.us/newtown/blog. The blog has hit its 1,000th post. In that post Mr Dumais thanked those who have contributed to the content so far, and wrote, “As we move into our next thousand posts, we would like to expand our coverage of student achievements and student work. So many students do something unique and interesting outside of school. Don’t be shy — please take a moment to share it with the principal.”

Brookfield voice teacher Pamela Hoffman is sending out an invitation for singers to join in the Gala Spring Concert being planned to celebrate that Newtown Meeting House is officially handicapped accessible. A handicapped accessible elevator, installed earlier this year, is due in great part to the efforts of Newtown resident Mary Mitchell, who donated the seed money, and Pamela, who arranged musical fundraisers. The Gala Spring Concert is dedicated to the memory of her late husband, J. Michael Hoffman. If you can carry a tune and can dedicate your time to three rehearsals (Sundays, April 11 and April 25, each at 2:30; and a final rehearsal Friday, April 30, at 7 pm, all at the meeting house), contact Pam at pamela_j_hoffman@yahoo.com for more information, or call 203-775-0388. She promises it will be a lot of fun, with a lot of great music, under the direction of Gwynne Wittman. If you can’t sing, circle the date on the calendar to attend this free community concert at 2 pm, Sunday, May 2, and bring a friend.

Want the real dirt on good soil? Join Newtown gardener and owner of Heirloom Gardens Brid Craddock when she is the guest speaker for Redding Garden Club on next Monday, April 12, for a program on developing an organic garden, beginning specifically with healthy soil. Brid is actively involved in sustainable landscape design in Fairfield County, among many other horticultural positions. The Redding Garden Club meets monthly and always welcomes guests and potential new members to attend ($5 fee). The meeting begins at 11:30 am with a light lunch and business meeting, followed by the program at 1 pm. Call 203-268-3577 with questions or for more information, or visit the club’s website ReddingGardenClub.org.

Crocuses… returning rains… both signs of spring, right? So was the quiet reopening of The Ice Cream Shop last weekend. I spotted the familiar hues of florescent yellow while driving up Church Hill Road last Sunday night and while it was a little rainy and cold for me, there were a few people standing in line for their first ice cream of the year, a sure sign of spring in Newtown!

Meanwhile, work continues on the expansion of Ferris Acres Creamery, which hopes to follow their Church Hill Road ice cream neighbors by opening for the 2010 season by the end of the month.

Speaking of seasonal treats, I heard that Peter Cottontail was hopping down lots of bunny trails this past weekend, providing fun for a number of area Easter egg hunts. How nice was it for the rainy weather to hold off, too, until all of the holiday festivities were over? It’s always lots of fun to watch kids scramble for the colorful eggs, but I still find myself scratching my head: Bunnies? Eggs? Bunnies delivering eggs? A most mysterious combination, to a cat’s way of thinking. Oh, well. Happy Easter, everyone!

I’ll be hopping off, too — to find more news, that is, so that next week you’ll…. Read me again.