Date: Fri 25-Oct-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Newtown-Wales

Full Text:

Newtown, Wales, Hopes To "Twin" With Newtown, USA

NO PHOTO/POSSIBLE ILLUSTRATION FROM NEWSPAPER CLIPPING

In Search Of -

Newtown, Wales, Unanimously Votes To Pursue "Twinning" with Newtown,

Connecticut, USA

B Y A ps7>NDREA Z IMMERMANN

Some people believe that everyone has a look-alike, or twin somewhere on this

planet. Others, like members of the new executive twinning committee in

Newtown, Wales, are actively seeking those who resemble them - at least in

name. And our very own Newtown is at the top of their list.

"Newtown could be twinning with a town of the same name...in Connecticut,

USA," reported The County Times & Express & Gazette in its October 4 issue. "A

recently held public meeting voted unanimously to continue to look for

somewhere to twin despite the break down of the proposed link with a town in

Ireland... To help the committee with their work, the Town Council agreed at

Monday night's meeting to allow the executive committee to use the council

chamber free of charge for meetings and to donate 100 pounds towards the

investigation's cost."

The twinning committee in Wales will look at several other possible link-ups

with towns in Europe, as well as "Newtown in the USA." But it would be

appropos if Newtown, Conn. became the twin, because long time resident Beryl

Harrison has close ties to the Welsh town.

"My father came from Newtown, Wales. He was the youngest of 14 children and he

was the only who left [the town]. He emigrated to Canada and then moved to

Pittsburgh," said Beryl. "Twenty years ago, when my husband and I were moving

here from Pittsburgh, Jack was driving around looking for a place for us to

live. One day he told me, `I drove through this really neat town. There's this

ship's mast (the flagpole) in the center of town. It's in this little town

called Newtown. It looks really nice.'"

Beryl felt it was a good omen to find a town with the same name as her

father's birthplace. A year after moving here, the couple visited their first

cousins, Nesta and Bill Purnell, in Newtown, Wales. Jack Harrison suggested

they visit the local newspaper and tell them about Newtown, Conn., and give

them a copy of The Bee , but the family didn't seem to think the idea held

much value. This week, though, Beryl received a letter from these same cousins

with two newspaper clippings about the search for a Newtown twin.

"It would be a relatively good match," said Beryl. "I think it's a town of

about 20,000. It's very picturesque. The countryside is just gorgeous; it's

like a patchwork quilt, with sheep dotting the landscape...They've torn down

some old buildings, and actually have some supermarkets - they've come into

the 20th century. They give money out to small businesses and try to encourage

local craftsmen to come in. They're promoting tourism; I'm sure that's what

this is all about."

The town in Wales does have a much more expansive history than we do. Beryl's

cousins live in a house built before our Revolution, and they consider it

relatively new. The church down the road, built in the 13th or 14th century,

they say is old.

But the townspeople in both towns seem to have the same concerns: unchecked

development, economic growth, and the support of the arts. The residents and

government officials in Newtown, Wales, applaud good sportsmanship when the

final score shows a loss, try to enforce laws preventing "pooping canines"

from visiting public areas, bemoan fines on overdue library books, and

maintain old high school friendships by organizing reunions. In twinning,

Beryl sees the possibility of productive exchanges between schools and

libraries through the Internet, as well as other opportunities to share.

Although an agreement to "twin" would probably be arranged by officials on the

governmental or municipal level, Beryl and Jack Harrison would gladly be

couriers for an exchange of formal documentation. The couple last visited

Newtown, Wales in 1991, when they attended the Welsh National Sheep Dog

Trials. Mr and Mrs Pernell last came to visit Newtown, Conn., on their 50th

wedding anniversary in July of 1992.