Newtown High School celebrated its annual Awards & Scholarship Night last Thursday, and one family had something very special happen. When NHS junior Duncan Kolb received The Rensselaer Medal, he became the third generation in his family to be presented with that award. His father Eric Kolb and grandfather Norman Kolb are also Rensselaer Medal recipients. The Rensselaer Medal is a prestigious merit-based scholarship and academic honor awarded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to outstanding high school juniors who excel in math and science. Well done Kolbs!

Another fun tidbit arrived early last Friday afternoon, when Bridget Demand called to identify the three women in last week’s Way We Were photo. The photo showed then-First Selectman Jack Rosenthal standing in a stairwell at Edmond Town Hall, presenting a proclamation to three women. In addition to Jack’s name, the only other information we had for the photo was the date, 1984.

Bridget called as soon as she saw the photo last week. She was so excited, she said, to tell us we’re looking at, from left, Becky Smith, Kate Simoneau, and Laurie Philips. She and Laurie are still friends, Bridget also mentioned. Well Bridget, this week you’re my new BFF. Thank you for taking the time to update the notes on that photo.

Becky’s identity was reconfirmed a few hours later, when Geoff Dent sent an e-mail early Friday evening to tell me he too recognized his friend. After missing us on Friday afternoon, Colleen Honan called again on Monday, when she provided additional details. In addition to confirming Becky (who used to live in town and was very involved with Newtown Scholarship, Colleen noted) and Kate, Colleen added the women were all in the now-defunct Newtown Junior Women’s Club. Colleen joined the club a few years after the photo was taken, but she remembered all three women and believes they were receiving a proclamation from Jack Rosenthal. Ellen Speirs also reached out, saying she recognized two of the women and stating the three were members of the Junior Women’s Club “back in the 1980s.”

Trinity Church’s Little Pantry is growing. The small pantry located in the southern area of the Main Street church’s parking lot is refilled every day by volunteers, according to a recent note from the church office. The Pantry is doling out an average of 1,000 items a month, the note continued. The Little Pantry is open to all who need it. Its motto is “Take What You Need, Leave What You Can.” As of May 28, volunteers are hoping to restock the pantry with open-and-serve foods (think Chef Boyardee), pasta, spaghetti sauce, and breakfast foods. Financial donations, including grocery store gift cards, are always gratefully accepted too. If you’d like to learn more, contact the church office at 203-426-7060 or trinity@trinitynewtownct.org.

Here’s a fun fact: When Laura Lerman mentioned during the recent Newtown 250 Committee meeting that this year’s Newtown Arts Festival will open with a concert by the State Troubadour, my kitty whiskers began quivering. I already knew Charlie Widmer as the name of the current Connecticut State Troubadour, but that name felt very familiar the more I thought about it. It took a minute but I figured it out. Do you remember the performance by On The Trail hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church just a few weeks ago? That’s one of Charlie’s projects! Charlie is a co-founder and the singer-guitarist of the award-winning bluegrass band that just performed in the beautiful historic church on our Main Street. I’m so pleased the lifelong (so far…) Nutmegger will be returning in a few months for a solo show to open our arts festival.

Laura also noted during that recent meeting that not only is Connecticut still the only state with an official State Troubadour, she joked, “How else could there have been a Gilmore Girls?” She’s not wrong! The writers got a lot of things correct about Connecticut and some of our idiosyncrasies, and I can’t imagine that show without the small rotating collection of troubadours who always seemed to be playing near the center of Stars Hollow.

The Newtown 250 meeting also included mention that the America 250 flag would be raised this week at Fairfield Hills; at least one additional location in town will also host the national design. Another flag was raised at Fairfield Hills this week, and I think it’s the first time this has happened. A Pride Flag is now flying outside Newtown Municipal Center, where it will remain through the end of the month.

The end of this week will mark the return of Sandy Hook LobsterFest, and for the first time we can remember we’ve not only sold dozens of tickets for that fundraiser, we’ve had a secondary benefit. Three people who visited our office also purchased a subscription to The Newtown Bee. Now that’s what you call one-stop shopping.

I’m going to stop writing for now and shop around for the best nap spot I can find. I hope you remember to stop what you’re doing around this time again next week, when it will be time to … read me again.