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THE WAY WE WERE

MAY 11, 1973

The closest race for first selectman in Newtown history came to a conclusion

Wednesday night at 9:55 pm when, following the state required recount of the

votes, Democratic candidate Gerald Frawley conceded the election to incumbent

Republican Frank DeLucia by seven votes. Mr DeLucia, who was appointed first

selectman last year after the death of Timothy Treadwell and won a special

election in June, has retained his seat and gained his first full term in the

town's top job. The absentee ballots made the difference in the election; Mr

Frawley led by 11 votes after the machines were counted, but Mr DeLucia

received 80 of the absentee votes while Mr Frawley got 61. The rest of the

Republican ticket ran ahead of Mr DeLucia in the balloting, sweeping to an

easy victory. Republican Selectman Thomas Goosman will retain his seat but Mr

Frawley will replace incumbent Democrat Diane C. Schwerdtle on the board. The

other winning candidates in contested seats include Mae Schmidle, town clerk;

Elizabeth J. Smith, tax collector; Martin Callahan and Maxine Ginn, Planning &

Zoning Commission; James Smith and John G. Kipp Jr, Zoning Board of Appeals.

The five proposed charter revision questions on the ballot in Monday's

election were approved by the voters. The closest was for the third question

which asked whether a charter clause prohibiting political activity by town

employees should be repealed. In a 1,355 to 1,064 tally, voters said it should

be repealed so town employees now will be able to seek political office. Town

Clerk-elect Mae Schmidle and Tax Collector-elect Elizabeth Smith, campaigning

under the old charter clause, had to resign positions with the town to seek

office. Voters also approved the moving of town elections to November to

coincide with state and national elections; cut the number of registrars of

voters from four to two; added a conflict of interest clause to the charter;

and required the Board of Selectmen to submit five-year capital expenditure

plans as part of the annual budget process.

Newtown resident William A. Swanberg has won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for

biography for his book Luce and His Empire. When Mr Swanburg's book on Hearst

came up for the awards, the judges presented no award for biography that year.

But this time Bill Swanberg and his wife heard the news on the radio that he

had won before the confirming telegram arrived.

A new hurdle for the town to overcome in its efforts to acquire a clear title

to the Boyle property on Boggs Hill Road was created this week when the

attorney for the plaintiffs filed a motion for Superior Court review of Judge

George Saden's denial of their previous motion for a new trial. The land is

sought by the town as the site for a new elementary school.

A large crowd was on hand last Sunday for the dedication of the old Middle

Gate Schoolhouse that was recently restored by the Newtown Historical Society

and now rests on the grounds of the new Middle Gate Elementary School. The

program was under the direction of Ray Doyle, society president. School

Principal Fred Parr raised a flag which will fly in front of the schoolhouse

every time a class is held in the old building.

Postmaster Al Nichols presented an award to James Crick Jr on May 4 at the

Newtown Post Office. Jim was honored for his 25 years of service with the post

office. He also has the distinction of having more unused sick leave to his

credit than any other employee. He helped inaugurate the city delivery service

in town when the post office was located in the town hall. He is now the

senior regular clerk.

The Newtown League of Women Voters has completed a two-year study of the

school guidance program in Newtown. Joan Kellog and Mary Ellen Macdonald and

their committee researched other towns, compiled questionnaires from parents,

students, administrators and faculty, and interviewed principals and the

superintendent of schools. Among the recommendations of the report were a

minimum of one psychological examiner in each school; reduce the

teacher-student ratio; improve communications within the school system and

with the general public; encourage testing and readiness programs; provide

students with more information on career opportunities; return the fifth grade

to the elementary schools.

MAY 14, 1948

Next Monday night Newtown's newly organized Cub Scouts will hold their first

pack meeting in the Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall. The formal

presentation of the charter will be made by Otto Sauer, president of the

Pomperaug Council, Boy Scouts of America, and insignia will be presented to

the pack members.

The Newtown Congregational Church was the scene Saturday afternoon, May 8, of

the wedding of Miss Betty Lou Brown, daughter of Robert Young Brown of Sandy

Hook and New York City and the late Mrs Brown, and James Morris Osborne, Jr,

son of Mr and Mrs James Morris Osborne of Chardon, Ohio. The Rev Paul A.

Cullens performed the double ring ceremony. Immediately following the

ceremony, a reception was held at the Appleberry Farm in Sandy Hook where the

parents of the young couple assisted them in greeting their guests. Before the

wedding, a buffet supper for 65 was served, catered by Mrs William A. Bowen of

the Hawley Manor, and on Saturday morning, the day of the wedding, about 50

people attended a brunch at the Hawley Manor where 16 of the members of the

family lodged for two days for the occasion. Mrs Osborne Jr is a graduate of

Smith College, Class of 1947. Mr Osborne graduated from Choate School, served

in the Navy in the Pacific Theater in World War II, then received his degree

from Dartmouth College in 1947. He is now employed by the Y&O Coal Company in

Bridgeport. Upon their return from their honeymoon (in an undisclosed

location), the couple will reside in Sandy Hook.

The death of Clinton Peters occurred at his Newtown home on May 12 following

several years of ill health. Mr Peters was a man of fine character and a

painter of marked ability. He studied in New York and in Paris and had

exhibited his work at exhibitions around the world. He was awarded medals at

the Paris Salon of 1888 and at the Paris World Fair of 1889. After more than

10 years of work and study in France and England, Mr Peters returned to the

United States and opened studios in Baltimore, Md., and New York City, where

he painted many prominent people. He came to Newtown to make his home here in

1941.

A very appreciative and musically minded audience turned out last Thursday

evening to hear Leonard Seeber of Hartford, well known pianist, in a benefit

concert sponsored by the Newtown Parent Teachers Association in the Edmond

Town Hall Theater. Mr Seeber came at the request of William Jones, supervisor

of music in the Newtown Schools. Except for incidental expenses, the entire

proceeds of the concert, $285.44, will be used to buy instruments for the

students of Newtown.

No doubt a number of readers noticed the change in the Hawley Manor ad in the

newspaper this week for the drawing in it is the work of an artist whose

cartoons have appeared in national publications. Known to Saturday Evening

Post readers, Graham Jackson has been around Newtown for awhile. He and his

wife and small son bought a property in the Taunton district. The character

depicted in the pen and ink drawing is appropriately dubbed Hawley.

The Parker House's Saturday night special this week is Connecticut fried

chicken, baked potato, green salad, lima beans, and strawberry short cake, all

for $1.50. The Main Street establishment's antique shop also is now open.

The Newtown Town Player's production of "Outward Bound" is scheduled for June

2-3 at Edmond Town Hall. An interesting incident occurred recently when

Remington Korper of Brookfield Center identified himself to the Town Players

as one of the three producers who revived the play for Broadway in 1939. Mr

Korper, William A. Brady, and Robinson Smith planned a short run of the drama

but it was so successful that it ran for the entire season, picking up the

award as Best Performance of the Year, the only four-star play of 1939. It

also was selected for a command performance in Washington for the benefit of

President Roosevelt's first day of the Infantile Paralysis Fund.