Full Text:

Newtown's Agrarian Heritage To Be Celebrated

(with cut)

The streets of Newtown will once again resound with the chug of antique farm

equipment as members of the Housatonic Antique Tractor Club (HATC) join forces

with the Newtown Historical Society to present a living history demonstration

on Sunday, May 16, from 1 to 4 pm.

The goal of the program is to celebrate Newtown's agrarian heritage.

The Matthew Curtiss House will provide guided tours led by costumed docents.

The barn in back of the Curtiss House will be open to allow visitors to view

the Historical Society's tool display. Weather permitting, the Curtis

(Packaging) freight wagon, a surrey, and Albany Cutter sleigh will be on

display. All pieces date from the 1880s and are restored.

The tractors and other equipment will be on display in the former Yankee

Drover parking lot just south of the Newtown Meeting House on Main Street.

The Antique Tractor Club numbers some 20 individual members and nearly 40

pieces of venerable equipment. While a majority of the members collect

McCormack-Deering or International Harvester (M-D's successor) "Farmall"

tractors, other marques ranging from John Deere to Ford are represented as

well. All equipment is runnable, much of it is still in daily use, and ranges

in age from 25 to just over 50 years old.

Members of the club will be available to answer questions about the machinery

and rural agricultural life.

For more information on the HACT and membership, enthusiasts may contact David

Kendall at 426-2024 in the evenings between 6 and 8:30 pm. The club meets the

third Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm in the Hook & Ladder company's

firehouse behind Edmond Town Hall on Main Street.