Happy 150th Birthday Main Street Flagpole!

The flagpole’s appearance dates to 1876. To celebrate the nation’s centennial, a two-part flagpole was erected smack dab in the middle of Main Street, West Street, and Church Hill Road on July 4, 1876. According to an essay by the late Town Historian Dan Cruson, “The town’s leading men had gotten together to determine how best to celebrate this event.” A liberty pole was decided upon and residents were invited to contribute.

Wallace H. Mitchell reportedly cut the pole from wood within the Shady Rest section of Sandy Hook and then dragged it to Main Street with several yoke of oxen. The cost to purchase the centennial pole and its top mast, and to install the pole, was $131.65, Cruson noted in one of his essays. That first flagpole, originally called the Liberty Pole, looked like a ship’s mast, and stood at least 70 feet tall. That first pole’s pieces, Dan also noted, “were square hewn” according to tradition. Give an extra honk as you safely maneuver through that intersection this weekend.

And Happy Birthday America, of course. We have reached the acme of America 250, and I truly hope everyone will take time this Independence Day to remember the birth of our country. There is one special event happening in town, myriad things happening across the state, and two things happening concurrently across the country that can be done from anywhere on Saturday. If you haven’t already done so, check our calendar listings and this week’s editorial.

Happy Birthday Independence Day babies! I know of at least two children in town who are celebrating their birthdays on Saturday — one young lady turning 7 and one boy who will be 5 as of July 4. I imagine there are others in Newtown and beyond who will also be having a grand old birthday party this weekend. Happy Birthday!

Best wishes this week to Maria Neufeld, whose last day at Newtown Community Center is today. She and her husband are semi-retiring and moving out of the area. Maria confided recently that it’s been a difficult decision for both of them, and she will “truly miss this wonderful community and all of the amazing people who have been a part of it.” I’m sure I’m not alone in sending best wishes to the Neufelds, wherever the road and their next chapter take them.

Readers may have recognized a new byline in the paper last week. Emily Braun has also written a story for this week’s paper, and we hope to share her byline regularly during the next few months. Emily is spending part of her summer with us, interning between her freshman and sophomore years at Fordham University and trying to further hone her writing skills with every assignment we send her way.

Emily’s second feature is in this week’s paper (and online tomorrow), previewing Ben Cruson’s lecture planned for July 9. Our current town historian will be speaking on “Newtown in the American Revolution.” You’ll definitely want to read Emily's story, and then hopefully go see what Ben has to share about our hometown during that historic era.

We’re about midway through the annual Temporary Donations Pause by Friends of the C.H. Booth Library. I mention this now because we had press releases in the paper and online a few weeks ago ahead of the pause, which began on June 22, and I just want to make sure people aren’t leaving items out that will not be accepted. The Friends conduct this pause ahead of their Annual Book Sale each year because it gives their volunteers time to focus on setting up, working at, and then breaking down that massive fundraiser.

Anything left at the library or the off-site Friends storage facility is discarded during this pause, so it would be a shame if your good intentions went to waste. The Friends just don’t have the time to deal with anything new right now, and that’s fair. If you have something you want to donate, please hang on to it for just a little longer. Books, jigsaw puzzles, LPs, CDs, DVDs, etc will all be welcomed again come Monday, July 20.

We’re hopefully more than halfway through the awful heat wave that reached us at the beginning of the week. Andrea Zimmermann was at Fairfield Hills Monday morning, trying to get a walk in before the temperatures rose, and she spotted these two kits near a tree. It was during “that terrifically foggy morning, along the Fruit Trail,” said Andrea, who was captivated by the young foxes at play.

Reporters Sam Cross and Jenna Visca returned to the office a bit warmer than usual Tuesday afternoon. Despite the heat, the two decided to make the short walk to Big Y and Dunkin, where they found employees playing frisbee in the parking lot. I couldn't quite see the game from my favorite window in the front office, despite the short distance between here and there, but I heard all about it. Apparently, Sam used to be on an ultimate frisbee team in college before the pandemic, so she decided to join in for a couple of throws. She said she put her vintage Coach bag on the pavement to run after the disc but missed. Jenna and Sam returned to the store after wrapping up their errand and found the two employees back at work. The game was cut short because one of them had cut his finger while running after the frisbee. If any readers see them out and about, be sure to say hello, order a coffee (or a glass of milk), and throw the disc a few times before heading to the next task.

I can’t order you to come back for another collections of news, but I do hope you’ll find your way here again next week, when it will be time to … read me again.