Date: Fri 13-Jun-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Men's-Literary-Club-Smith

Full Text:

Newtown Street Regulars: A Meeting Of The Minds At Men's Literary and Social

Club

(with photos, graphics)

BY ANDREA ZIMMERMANN

Newtown has no official Who's Who, but if you want to know who the movers and

shakers were during the past 103 years, take a look at the membership list for

The Men's Literary and Social Club of Newtown Street. The group, which just

held its 1,000th meeting, has changed little since Newtown Bee editor Allison

Smith founded it during the Victorian era.

"The object of this club shall be to enlarge the social and intellectual life

of its members, to foster a kindly feeling and fellowship among them and to

promote public welfare," stated its constitution. And, at that time, the group

extended its influence outside of its membership to promote policy, stage

public plays, perform civic functions such as erecting the third (and tallest)

flagpole at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Main Street, and offer

lectures about timely topics such as tuberculosis, which was the leading cause

of adult deaths through the 19th century.

Patterned after a club of Amherst College graduates, The Men's Literary and

Social Club has maintained a membership of 20. Its meetings, held each month

September through June, always include dinner provided by the member hosting

the event and a presentation of an intellectual or entertaining nature

provided by the designated essayist. Throughout its history, the club has

included women in various ways - during its annual Lady's Night, and more

recently as speakers.

"In its early heyday, a lot of what went on in town was the subject of

discussion and worked out in the Men's Club, and then went to the town,"

explained Town Historian Dan Cruson, who is a member of the club. "[The club]

does not form town policy anymore. That's one reason it has survived - a woman

is not being denied a political position in town."

Early on, the club did a tremendous amount of work, but now it is "basically a

dining and literary group," according to Mr Cruson. "The only other thing that

changed is that they don't distribute cigars at meetings any more," he said.

And the attendees retire a little earlier these days.

In addition to Allison Smith, the fourteen other charter members include

Robert H. Beers, Frank Wright, Dr Edwards M. Smith, Arthur S. Hawley, Edgar F.

Hawley, Rev Otis W. Barker, George F. Duncomb, John J. Northrop, Arthur J.

Smith, Rev George T. Linsley, C.M. Penny, Charles H. Northrop, professor

Pennington E. Cliff, and Michael J. Houlihan.

Those who completed the first 20-man roster were professor Charles S. Platt,

F.S. Andrews, Dr Paul Suderland, Daniel W. Kissam, and W.H. Hoyt. For many

years, successive ministers at the Congregational and Episcopal and Catholic

churches were members of the group.

Mr Cruson did extensive research on the club for his presentation at the 100th

anniversary meeting, a catered affair, held at Dick Gretsch's home. "The Men's

Club so often had brilliant speakers at its meetings that The Bee's detailed

front-page coverage of the meeting topics became a standard feature until the

1930s," wrote the historian in a printed history of the club.

Public lectures were sponsored by the group, which sought "someone who has

looked out upon the great world beyond us to come here and tell us what he has

seen and how the lines of progress are moving with the rolling of the years,"

Mr Cruson's research indicated.

According to the historian, "One of the most spectacular of these occasional

programs was held on December 12, 1902, when Mr Herbert Bridgeman, Secretary

of the Peary Arctic Club, lectured on Peary's Progress to The Pole. Bridgeman

was not only an official in Peary's organization, but he was also the

commander of the 1899 expedition of the Diana and the 1900 expedition of the

Erik , both of which took Peary ever deeper into the Arctic." Perry finally

reached the Pole on April 6, 1908.

Fundraisers for "public good" that were held by the group included plays using

local talent. The 1906 Scenes in The Union Depot , and 1908 Ye Little Old

Folks' Concert turned out to be great successes, both benefitting the Newtown

Library Association. As time passed, the club became even more creative with

its fundraising.

"At the beginning of 1929, the club began meeting more or less regularly at

Upham's Tea Garden in Hawleyville. William Upham was an internationally

recognized food packager and inventor of the tea bag," wrote Mr Cruson. "It

was [in the tea garden] that he proposed to hold a mock trial with himself as

the criminal defendant and the Hawleyville Fire Department as the

beneficiary."

The group continued to meet at the tea garden until the business failed in

1933. One thing they seemed to particularly enjoy was the miniature golf

course that Upham had built in August of 1930. "On January 23, 1931, it was

recorded that, `...For the first time in its history, the literary program was

dispensed with and following a splendid dinner an evening of fun, golf, and

pingpong was enjoyed,'" noted Mr Cruson.

Political debate was commonplace within the club. "In March of 1908 ... the

club appointed a committee to draw up and circulate a petition to lower

telephone rates, ... especially to places such as Bridgeport where the rates

had just been lifted from 10 to 25 cents for a five minute call," wrote the

historian. Although the club did not get exactly what they wanted, an

unspecified accommodation was made.

The club functioned as a Board of Trade and formally became such in 1915.

"Over the first two decades of the 20th century, the club also pressured the

railroad companies that served the town to increase freight service, construct

a new freight depot, and electrify their facilities. They even concerned

themselves with improving passenger service for the benefit of the town's

principal hotels and inns," explained Mr Cruson. "[An example of] the club's

political action can be seen in the May 1913 discussion about the routing of

the new state trunk road ... The road to connect Newtown to Danbury was to run

along the route of modern routes 25 and 6, over Mt Pleasant and down the hill

to Stony Hill. Peck's ammendment would have rerouted this road to run along a

more southerly route, roughly along modern Route 302. The Men's Club

successfully convinced the lower house of the legislature that this lower

route was inimical to the best interest of Newtown and its citizens, and the

amendment was killed...

"There was also an attempt to improve the town hall by raising it and putting

a proper lock-up beneath, and to see an end to the beer parties which were

being held illegally in that same hall on Saturday nights. In these ...

matters they were somewhat less successful than usual. During the years of

World War I the club was also instrumental in planning a town memorial for the

men who had been in the armed services. They even subscribed to National

Geographic Magazine for the town library," Mr Cruson wrote.

The Men's Club planned and staged the town's bicentennial (historian Ezra

Johnson was a club member at the time), and helped preserve the flagpole,

erected the third pole in 1914 after convincing the State Highway Commission

that it should remain at its original location despite their concerns about a

traffic hazard. The group raised all the money for the new pole. "Without the

efforts of the Men's Club this Newtown landmark would have ceased to exist in

1912," wrote Mr Cruson.

"After the Second World War [the club] became exclusively a social and

literary club. The mercantile welfare activities had been delegated to the

Chamber of Commerce, the successor of the old Board of Trade, and the public

service activities had been left to the growing number of service clubs in

town such as the Rotary and Lions clubs," noted the historian.

"You name it, we've had it," said ten-year member Bill Honan. "For example,

we've had judges speak. Next week Dr Strasburger's son is going to show us

some magic. And we've had relatives who had a story to tell."

Fred Parrella, past president and current club secretary, maintains a list of

meeting topics that goes back to 1983. Diverse presentations by experts during

that period include: Recent Developments in Robotics (Joseph Engelberger),

Stories of a Country Doctor (Waldo Desmond), 47 Years in Argentine With

American Express (Roy Dean), Poetry Reading and Poetry Publication (Polly

Brody), Hydrologist Work in Yemen (Russell Slayback), Trying To Open A

Broadway Show (Hoagy Carmichael, Jr), Good News About Aging (Charles Russell),

Treatment of Substance Abusers (Sally Kruel), Happenings at the State

Legislature (Rep Mae Schmidle), Tracing the Roots of the Studley Family

(Donald Studley), Mary Hawley and Her Family (Dan Cruson), Conducting The New

Haven Symphony (Michael Palmer), Navy Experience and the Naval War College

(Cdr Paul Schmidle), Review of German Education (Dr John Reed), O.J. Simpson

Trial Procedure (Attys Harold Schwartz, Robert Hall, and Judge William

Lavery), Delivery of Medical Service (Dr Robert Grossman), and Anatomy of a

Morning Radio Talk Show (John Harper).

"The Men's Social and Literary Club of Newtown Street is among the last of a

breed of exclusive men's clubs that thrived in the Victorian era," said Mr

Cruson. "It's low key, but not a secret organization.

"It's companionship with a few men, we talk, have a drink," said Mr Honan. "If

we were women, we'd call it an Old Hen Party."