Date: Fri 03-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Old-State-House-parade-rooster

Full Text:

w/photo: Newtown Will Help Connecticut Celebrate

An eight-foot-tall rooster, which once was part of the Danbury Fair, and a

replica of the Newtown flagpole will portray the themes of Newtown's float in

the "Celebrate Connecticut" parade in Hartford on Saturday, May 11.

Signs reading "Newtown - Something to Crow About" and "Newtown - Home of the

Famous Flagpole" will identify the float, which will be decorated with

replicas of the town seal.

The parade is part of the day-long Old State House 200th birthday celebration

and grand reopening. It will begin at 10 am at the State Capitol and will wind

its way through city streets, past the Memorial Arch in Bushnell Park to the

Old State House.

Sallie Meffert, the local parade chairman, and Mae Schmidle will be joined by

Legislative Council members Joe Mahoney, Bill Brimmer, and Gail Halapin as

walkers, all dressed as Indians, symbolizing the Pootatuck Indians who sold

the land to colonial founders of Newtown.

Mrs Schmidle said all 169 Connecticut towns will be represented in the parade

in the order of the year they were incorporated so Newtown will be the 45th

entry. But only about a half dozen entries, including Newtown's, have been

tapped to be displayed around the reviewing stand at the Old State House after

the parade, she said.

The parade gives Newtown "an opportunity to talk about things important to our

history as well as a chance to participate in a major historic event in

Connecticut," Mrs Schmidle said. She said she chose the rooster because it

symbolizes so much in Newtown, appearing on top of the Meeting House, the town

seal and the seal of the Newtown Historical Society.

Mrs Meffert, who is chairman of the historical society, said the flagpole and

the rooster are both connected with Newtown as far as people from across the

state are concerned.

The enormous rooster - 8-feet long, 8-feet tall and 4-feet wide - has been

stored at the Newtown Park & Recreation Department office since it was

obtained from the Danbury fairgrounds after the annual fair ended in the early

1980s. The float will be carried on a flatbed truck supplied by Ernie Badillo

of Pacific Plumbing.

The Old State House, completely renovated and on a new, stable foundation, has

been fully restored. Even the 1834 fence with gas-lit lanterns has returned.

The $12 million renovation of the building, designated a National Historic

Landmark in 1962, was begun in 1992.

The bicentennial celebration also will feature a re-dedication ceremony at

noon and an afternoon of music, dance and entertainment showcasing Connecticut

artists and entertainers. Governor and Mrs John G. Rowland are the event

chairmen.

A permanent Connecticut Historical Society exhibit, "Discover Connecticut,"

will open later this year in the new area beneath the Old State House grounds.