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WAY WE WERE FOR MARCH 21, 1997

MARCH 24, 1972

A fire which gutted a cottage on Lakeview Terrace on March 17 claimed the life

of the owner, Neil Reilly, 60. The structure was fully involved with fire when

17 volunteer firefighters from Sandy Hook, Newtown Hook & Ladder and Botsford

arrived after having been summoned by a neighbor at 10:58 am. Firefighters

found Mr Reilly sprawled half in and half out of the front door. His dog, also

dead, was near the cellar steps. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Frank DeLucia of Hy-Vue Drive became Newtown's first selectman Wednesday when

he was sworn into office by Town Clerk Barbara Parker at Edmond Town Hall. Mr

DeLucia has been involved in Republican politics for many years in Bridgeport

and Newtown and presently is the treasurer of the Republican Town Committee.

The same afternoon that he was sworn in, the Newtown Democratic Town Committee

filed a petition with 408 valid signatures which called for a special

election. The election must be held within 90 days. Mr DeLucia will serve

until the election, replacing the late Republican First Selectman Timothy

Treadwell, who was killed in a fire in his home on Zoar Road last month.

April 5, 1972, will mark the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Hawley

School, Mary Elizabeth Hawley's first gift to Newtown. To mark the occasion,

the Hawley PTA and the Board of Education are planning a rededication service

which will follow as closely as possible the original program. A reception

will follow the ceremony. Most of the information gathered for the program was

found in the 1920-1922 issues of The Bee . There was only one school bus when

the school opened its doors to elementary and high school students on April

17, 1922. There were 85 high school students. At that time the children were

responsible for cleaning the school.

The state Department of Transportation has notified Newtown that bids will be

taken in April on a project to reconstruct Route 25 in Newtown and Brookfield

to reduce the dangers of steep slopes and curves on Whisconier Hill. The

project has an estimated cost of $100,000 to $249,000.

Mary Ann Hough, a freshman at Newtown High School, placed first in girls'

diving in the state championships. She also won the 50-yard butterfly event

and one of the relay races.

MARCH 21 ,1947

In spite of the severity of this winter's weather, plans are progressing for

the development of Ronalds Peak. Mr and Mrs Walter V. Klavun, the new owners,

have obtained the services of a landscape architect who has laid out the

property in large lots. All homes planned for the lots will have an

unobstructed view of the distant horizons. Dismantling operations at the

Castle also have begun under the direction of the Consolidated Building

Wrecking Company of Bridgeport. Doors and windows have been removed and sold.

Rubble is being accumulated for future roadways and the building is being

taken apart as the weather permits.

This week's Bee prominently shows an artist's sketch of the proposed addition

to Hawley School. Brown and Von Beren, architects of New Haven, estimate the

cost at $225,000 for construction, $40,000 for equipment, plus other expenses

which will bring the total cost, including contingency, to $281,000. The town

has $31,000 in the school building fund and will receive a $50,000 state

grant, bringing the amount to be financed down to $200,000, or about 1.7

mills. The addition, as planned, would contain classrooms, a kindergatern and

a gymnasium.

The Sandy Hook Free Library Inc is now ensconced in its new home, Glover's

Hall. On Saturday the Sandy Hook firemen, led by Chief Hanlon, moved the

books, shelves and furniture to their new location while the ladies of the

library unpacked the boxes and placed the books on the shelves. The public is

invited to use the library. The hours are unchanged: 3 to 5 and 7 to 8 pm on

Saturdays.

As the result of an amendment to the Connecticut State Law, effective March

22, 1947, Saturdays are now legal banking holidays. So beginning that day, the

Newtown Savings Bank will be closed on Saturdays.

Three big basketball games are planned this Sunday evening at the Edmond Town

Hall gym. The first game features the Newtown Girls All Stars, composed

chiefly of this year's Newtown high school basketball team which won the

Housatonic Valley Schoolmen's League championship, against a Newtown High

Alumnae team. The second game will bring together the Bethel All Stars with

the Wheeler Tech team of Bridgeport. In the third game, DiSesa's Green Acres

will face the Newtown Old-Timers, alumni of Newtown high school.

Friends will be pleased to know that Charles A. Steck continues to improve in

health at the Danbury Hospital, where he is still a patient. He sends word to

the editor of The Bee: "The Almighty has seen fit to restore me to health,

with the untiring efforts of Dr Desmond and the efficient nurses of the

Danbury Hospital."