First Selectman Jack Rosenthal recently told The Bee he has no intention of issuing any list to the Board of Ethics indicating which town officials and employees are allowed to take town equipment home with them. “Actually, one highway department employee takes a pickup home in case of emergency, and I take my car home for the same reason,” Mr Rosenthal said, “and no other officials or employees have permission to take town-owned cars home.” Asked about Recreation Director Lee Davenson, who frequently goes from his home to other parts of Newtown to supervise activities on evenings and weekends, Mr Rosenthal said the rule against taking cars home even applies to Mr Davenson. “Freedom from criticism is worth the slight inconvenience to people who may have to come back to the Town Hall from home to get town cars for after-hours work,” Mr Rosenthal maintained. However, he did not think the Board of Ethics needed a checklist against which to monitor the activities of town officials and employees.

***

 The legal proceeding to settle the land price for the school on Boggs Hill Road has begun. Town Clerk Mae Schmidle has been summoned to appear in Fairfield County Superior Court, Bridgeport, at 10 am on May 26 to “testify what you know in a certain action pending…” between Thomas Cheney, trustee, plaintiff, and the Board of Education of the Town of Newtown, defendant, in a civil action.

***

It looks as though it is pretty much official that Don Imus will be the graduation speaker for the class of  ‘76’s commencement exercises on June 26. Although Imus has told the Newtown High senior who invited him to speak in the first place, Adolph Dreher, he would definitely be coming a few weeks ago, the school administration still was counting on an official acceptance. Up until this week, no word has been received from Imus at the school so, on Tuesday morning, Bill Manfredonia, senior class advisor, took matters in hand, called Imus, and got verbal confirmation. Also the disc jockey has been putting Newtown over the airways on his morning program by mentioning his upcoming speaking engagement here.

***

Twelve girls of Cadette Girl Scout Troop 564 of Newtown are collecting signatures on their troop flag which will accompany them on their trek to Wyoming. The girls will leave Newtown on July 10 and will travel to Girl Scout National Center West in Ten Sleep, Wyo. Some of the activities in which the girls will participate include backpacking trips, horseback riding, archaeological digs, and various other outdoor activities.

***

Miss Faith Gulick has been elected to the Board of Governors of the Newtown Scholarship Association. Miss Gulick, daughter of Karl Gulick of Church Hill Road, Newtown, has been actively interested in education for many years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College at New London, where she majored in music; she received her master’s in dance from Mills College in California.

***

The members of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Company proudly showed off their handsome new firehouse on Riverside Road to an interested crowd of residents on Sunday, May 16. The event took place from 2 to 5 pm with a steady flow of people being given guided tours of the new facility all the while and then enjoying refreshments served up by the Sandy Hook Ladies Auxiliary and the volunteers under the guidance of assistant chief William Halstead. By the end of the day, the guest book showed a long list of names of visitors. Included among them were First Selectman Jack Rosenthal, chiefs and volunteers from the other fire companies in town, State Rep John Anderson, and members of the Board of Fire Commissioners.

***

The Newtown Bicentennial Committee is still seeking to have residents fill out time capsule forms in order to gather a synopsis of citizens’ information and opinions about the history and present conditions of Newtown as well as the state and nation.

MAY 25, 1951

With next Monday, May 28, set as the formal opening date of Newtown’s new shopping center, which will be known as the Wheeler Block, the Queen Street development project becomes a reality. Begun in September of last year by George F. Wheeler, after two similar projects had been turned down, the building is now partially rented and already occupied by a number of tenants. No formal ceremonies have been planned for next Monday, according to Mr Wheeler, but each of the business establishments located in the new block has individual plans for welcoming residents of the area.

***

With a threatening international situation rapidly augmenting the roll of American veterans, and names being added daily to the list of war dead, Newtown’s public observance of Memorial Day will be limited to simple rites in charge of the Charles Howard Peck Sr and Jr Post 308, VFW, with the American Legion Post 163 participating, together with the auxiliaries of both posts, and all veterans, servicemen and women urgently invited to take part.

***

Edmond Town Hall theater has been reserved for a mass Civil Defense rally for all Newtown residents on Thursday night, June 7. Plans for the meeting were completed at a gathering of the Newtown Civil Defense Advisory Council held in the selectmen’s office last Friday night. At the mass meeting, a council member will briefly outline the Newtown setup, and department heads will sketch the functions of their individual units. Before the close of the brief meeting, the government sponsored film You Can Beat the A-Bomb will be shown. All residents are invited.

***

Included in Newtown’s observance of Memorial Day has been the decoration with American flags of the Newtown graves of the nation’s war dead of all wars. Also decorated in Newtown cemeteries are the graves of some of the French soldiers who fought and fell for US independence under their Lieutenant-General Rochambeau. First Selectman A. Fenn Dickinson appointed for this service a town committee composed of William A. Honan, Jr, and Richard Lane of the American Legion, and Charles Neilson and George A. Jackson, Veterans of Foreign Wars. They have been assisted by Robert D. Fairchild and Frederick Harris.

***

A capacity audience in the Edmond Town Hall theater greeted the Lowell Thomases, father and son, Wednesday night and viewed the technicolor film Out of This World, showing a land, a people, and a mode of living that might well have been located on another planet.

***

“Hank” Taylor, son of Mr and Mrs Henry Taylor of Mt Pleasant, who is a student at Berkshire School, Sheffield, Mass., has just been elected secretary-treasurer of his class.

***

A special town meeting will be held at the Edmond Town Hall this Friday evening at 8 o’clock, to act upon a resolution rescinding previous regulations regarding the sale of fireworks, together with new provision that the sale of fireworks be limited in town to member fire companies of the Newtown Fire Department, selling under supervision and control of the Board of Fire Commissioners. New regulations will be presented governing the sale and use of fireworks under this proposed new arrangement. A second special town meeting has been called to follow immediately after the first meeting. The purpose of the second meeting is to authorize the first selectman to apply for a state grant toward the cost of the proposed new junior-senior high school.

 

MAY 21, 1926

Mrs Mary Morrison of Botsford has sold her farm to Edwin A. Rahm of Bridgeport.

***

A fair sized crowd attended the auction at the Stuart place in the Street on Saturday. C.F. Beardsley was on the auction block and the goods found a ready sale under the spell of Beardsley’s persuasive eloquence.

***

Mr and Mrs L.C. Brown will move next week from their home in Gray’s Plain district to the Charles R. Beardsley house. They wish to announce that they will hold their last dance at their home this Saturday evening.

MAY 24, 1901

It is reported that Rev J. Addison Crockett, well known in Newtown, has lately fallen heir to a fortune of $250,000 by the death of a relative, all of which is highly interesting, if true.

***

The new carrier on RFD route No. 34 will be James B. Nichols, who will enter on his new work, June 1.

***

Hon Charles Briscoe and wife of Thompsonville arrived at the Bradley homestead, yesterday.

***

Charles Congo has moved into the old Payne house near the Monroe line.

***

Ralph Benedict, Jr, cut his foot badly with an ax, recently.

***

A new guide post has been erected at the four corners, near George R. Parmelee’s, by John H. Summers.