Date: Fri 31-Oct-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SS

Quick Words:

Pleasance-Lovell's-Smith-Bee

Full Text:

A `Pleasance' Takes Shape At A Newtown Crossroads

(with cuts_

"That fountain would look nice at the Lovell corner," Helen Smith said as she

zeroed in on a three-tier cast iron Fiske example at the outdoor Wilton

Antiques Marketplace last summer. The next day Don Heller, a dealer from

Portland, Me., was in Newtown unloading the fountain from his truck, and

suddenly a major project was in the making for The Bee Publishing Co.

Attention had to be first given to the condition of the fountain. It had not

been used for many years and had grown a healthy crop of rust in areas where

an orange colored paint had worn off. Professional help was badly needed and

found in the person of Chris Bowman, a blacksmith of many talents working in

Shelton. Within a week the fountain was back to its former self, clean of rust

and dirt and painted with a gray primer. The sandblasting process took away

the grime and now the small turtles and frogs which line the rim of the bottom

pan of the fountain are sharp and distinct.

Once the location of the fountain was determined, Kim Proctor, a local garden

designer, drew up a plan for the area bounded by Main Street, Route 302, and

the right-of-way which runs beside Town Hall South and curves out to meet

Sugar Street. She was asked to incorporate a few gardens, a gazebo, a path

which would lead walkers through most of the lot, and steps where the slope of

the land was steep. A planted berm here and there would be needed to enclose

the property, and a bocci court was thrown in for good measure.

With some modifications along the way, including changing the shape of the

gazebo, which came from The Barn Yard in Brookfield, her plan proved to be

successful, pleasing to the eye, and functional.

The talent needed to move from the drawing board to the actual work was found

through the firm of Sinopoli Mason Contractors of Southbury. Under the

direction of brothers Vincent and Anthony Sinopoli, the fountain was installed

first and then painted lines appeared all over the lot outlining the walkways,

steps, gardens, bridges, and the stone-lined swale which was designed to carry

the rain water from the adjoining town-owned parking lots through a pipe and

out into the wetlands.

Yellow machines were soon everywhere, bringing in topsoil, removing large

hunks of cement which were once part of the foundation of Lovell's Garage, and

placing slabs of granite to form three sets of steps on the south side of the

lot. Work progressed from Main Street down the hill, until a row of boulders

was placed along the right-of-way on Monday, completing the project.

After they saw what was going on at the corner of Main and Sugar Streets, a

few people stepped forward with contributions of their own. Tom Draper donated

ten lush hemlocks from his Deep Brook Road property, Tom Johnson of Lexington

Gardens contributed an ornamental tree which now sits by the gazebo, and

Wendell Stonaker brought some plants from his garden just down the road on

Sugar Street to fill in some of the holes.

Along with Kim Proctor, Billy Albers and Scott Baggett bent their strong backs

to the considerable task of getting all the plants in the ground.

And while all this was going on, Bob McCarthy of Roxbury, the owner of

Artistic Irrigation, installed a water system to insure the future growth of

both the grass and the plants. Frank La Pak, a retired employee of The Bee,

gave the fountain its final coat of paint, and now the final stage of the

operation, electricity, is in the hands of CL&P and Losito Electrical

Contractors. When completed, lights will be in the gazebo and around the

fountain.

In due time a sign will be placed on the property, announcing "The Pleasance,

A Garden for the Enjoyment of the People of Newtown, owned and maintained by

The Newtown Bee ."

When people have been told that the property will be named "The Pleasance,"

few have been able to come up with the real meaning of that word. Depending on

the dictionary consulted, the definition is "A place laid out as a pleasure

garden or promenade," or "A secluded garden or landscaped areas, a source of

pleasure."

Next spring when the early rhodos come into bloom, and the daffodils show up

in many of the gardens, The Bee hopes that it will be a source of pleasure to

all who not only pass that way, but for those who take the time to stop and

enjoy.

-R. SCUDDER SMITH