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A celebration will take place at the Newtown Senior Center on Wednesday, May 30, and center director Marvi Fast hopes townspeople — especially senior citizens — will drop by the Riverside Road facility and share the excitement. The festivities are being planned to mark the tenth anniversary of the establishment of a senior citizen program in Newtown.

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An Alberts Hill Road grape grower can convert a building on his land into a winery and sell the wine produced there at wholesale, according to Planning and Zoning commission Chairman Theodore Whippie. “There will be no on-site sales at this time,” said Otto Romanelli, secretary of McLaughlin Enterprises, the company that owns the vineyard.

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At its meeting May 17, members of the Sandy Hook Organization of Prosperity (SHOP) discussed plans for encouraging Sandy Hook businesses to put up flower baskets. Barbara Wadleigh of Put-N-Take, the SHOP member in charge of the flower campaign, said she has collected prices and information on various flowers, flower boxes, and barrels which can be used as containers.

 

May 29, 1959

The old Sandy Hook School was sold at auction in the Selectmen’s office Monday to Taunton Construction, Inc, when Harry Risher and Isadore Brier, acting as agents, entered the high bid of $7,100. At an earlier auction that resulted in an agreement that was not consummated, the price for the building and grounds was $5,000.

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Newtown’s playground will open Wednesday, June 24, to start its 15th season. Miss Kathleen McMahon and her two assistants, Ann Coleman and Susan Parker, will make up the staff on Taylor Field back of Hawley School. Miss McMahon will have a planned program that will assure interesting days on the grounds.

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Plans are moving rapidly for the observance of the centennial of St Rose of Lima Church, which will take place during the week of August 24 to 29. A very interesting booklet, Pictorial History of One Hundred Years of St Rose Parish, compiled and edited by John Ross, will be published in conjunction with the centennial.

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The West comes alive again this Saturday, May 30, when the 126-acre Silver City Ranch opens its gates deep in the heart of Newtown. Silver City, billed as “The Old Wild West of The East,” is a children’s mecca, a paradise for would-be Lone Rangers, Wild Bill Hickoks, Matt Dillons, Roy Rogerses, etc.

May 25, 1934

Friday afternoon the roof of the store of Morris & Shepard was discovered on fire by A.J. Smith, Jr. The pumper was quickly run out and the blaze was extinguished in a short time without serious damage. With three members of the Newtown Hook & Ladder Co. in and about the store, they were assured and had expert service in a few minutes’ time.

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Michael Scanlon, employed by the Newtown Coal & Grain Co, has established a reputation as the prize trout fisherman of the town. On Sunday he landed five of the speckled beauties measuring 13 inches. The five tipped the scales to six pounds.

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St Rose’s Casino was well filled on Saturday night to greet Leo J. Coleman and his Pennsylvania Red Cap orchestra and quartet in a program of dance music of unusual quality. Gen W.H. Egan, to whose generosity their appearance is due, was on hand as master of ceremonies and was cordially greeted by hundred of his old friends.

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At the May meeting of the School Board the following petition was received: “We, the People of Flat Swamp District, Town of Newtown, do hereby petition that the town keep open and maintain the said district school.” After hearing parents and taxpayers at each meeting the board voted to keep the school open.

 

May 28, 1909

One of our local superintendents is said to be training for a Marathon race. He goes without a hat and is showing all the symptoms of being very speedy on the road.

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The Men’s Club had a very pleasant and profitable meeting, Tuesday night, held by courtesy of the Hillside club in the latter’s rooms over the store of Henry Rupf. The subject of the “Advantages and Disadvantages of Rural Life,” continued from a previous meeting, was taken up and discussed by a number of speakers.

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The entertainment given by the girls of the High School at the Town hall on Tuesday evening was a very pleasant occasion, serving to bring out the friends of the school in large numbers. The people took advantage of the social hour to quickly buy all the ice cream and candy offered for sale and the evening pleasantly closed with dancing. The affair netted about $40.

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Citizens who have flowers they wish to devote for decorating the soldiers’ graves, Memorial Day, Monday, are requested to leave them at the residences of Charles Hawley and Charles M. Parsons. The veterans are requested to meet at the Sandy Hook Postoffice for the purpose of visiting the local cemeteries to decorate the soldiers’ graves.