There is nothing like a beehive without its leader. And there is nothing like The Newtown Bee without owner and publisher R. Scudder Smith, who passed on August 14 at 87 years old. My paws first felt inspiration from Scudder. As he confessed in the original oral history book Newtown Remembered by Andrea Zimmerman, Dan Cruson, and Mary Maki, (as noted in a January 2012 story on the history of, well, me for the paper by former Newtown Bee Editor Nancy K. Crevier) this column took root so that not-so-newsworthy but deliciously interesting or funny bits of information had a place in the paper.

“I think the only humor we have in the paper is probably Mountain,” Scudder said in the interview for the 2002 book. “I think we need more … I think [having silly things in the paper] is good.” In Crevier’s January 2012 story she outlined how this column was first written by my predecessor Tiquer, Scudder’s dog who was responsible for “Pooch Paws.” When Tiquer retired, I, as cats do, took over as Chief Animal Reporter and All Around Snoop. And “Pooch Paws” became “Top of the Mountain.” This was in 1981.

I have been snooping around Newtown ever since, and what I saw around the office this week was just how much Scudder was respected, loved, and admired. I saw broken hearts. I saw a dark office, its desk still holding papers and pens right where Scudder left them the last time he was here. I saw Bees still working. Because a broken heart can’t stop this cat, or my fellow Bees, from typing, because, we learned from the best.

I hope all the former Bee office dogs were waiting for you when you arrived Scudder.

As mentioned in their “Bee Centered Around the NCC” column last week, Newtown Community Center is going to be closed for the next week for maintenance. The center is scheduled to be closed August 22-28, and will reopen at 6 am Monday, August 29. Normal operating hours — Monday through Thursday, 6 am-9 pm; Friday, 6 am-8 pm; Saturday, 7 am-5:30 pm; and Sunday, 7 am-5 pm — are scheduled to resume at that time. Need additional information? Call NCC’s front desk at 203-270-4349.

Here’s some animal news to cheer about: Rock n’ Rescue of South Salem, N.Y., recently announced it has been named a 2022 Top-Rated Nonprofit by GreatNonprofits, a website for community recommendations of charities and nonprofits. Rock n’ Rescue provides animal adoptions and animal assisted therapy to people throughout the northeast, resulting in over 2,000 animals adopted per year. The Top-Rated Nonprofit Award is based on the rating and number of reviews that Rock n’ Rescue received from volunteers, donors, and aid recipients. For more information about the nonprofit see its website rnrpets.org.

Congratulations to Newtown resident, author, and licensed therapist DDS Dobson-Smith who was recently published by Harvard Business Review this month. The article is titled “A Sense of Belonging Starts with Self-Acceptance” and is available to read at hbr.org/2022/08/a-sense-of-belonging-starts-with-self-acceptance.

Just in case you need a reminder, don’t forget that Newtown Parks & Recreation’s Summer Carnival is this week, with the final night set for this Saturday, August 20. The carnival runs nightly from 6 to 10 pm on the Fairfield Hills campus, Keating Farms Avenue. It will open early on Saturday, at 5. Admission to the grounds is free, and unlimited ride wristbands will be sold for $30 per person per day. Individual ride tickets are also being sold. For additional information call 203-270-4340.

Betty Presnell’s visit to FAITH Food Pantry (FFP) this week took her ongoing bottle and can redemption drive past another milestone. The donation Betty arrived at the pantry with on Tuesday morning put the cumulative total at $8,565.40. Donations during the past two-plus years have all been in cash, which has allowed FFP volunteers to go to their sources and purchase exactly what they need to help feed fellow residents. Donations of nonperishables and other items are always welcome at the pantry on Tuesday mornings between 9:30 and 11:30, and Thursday afternoons between 4 and 6. Can’t make it then? Call 203-837-0816 to schedule a visit. Meanwhile, Betty is also continuing her efforts for FFP and other nonprofits. Readers who would like to donate to the ongoing effort are welcome to drop off clean, rinsed bottles and/or cans at 1D Nunnawauk Meadows. From Nunnawauk Road, use the second entrance into Nunnawauk Meadows (driving behind the community building); at the gazebo look to the right (toward east-southeast).

Here’s a Save The Date note I can bend around: Newtown Yoga Festival is on for this year! This year’s theme of “Cultivating Community” will be celebrated when the seven-hour event is presented Saturday, October 15, at Newtown Community Center. The featured yogi will be Anneke Lucas, and the day’s schedule will include multiple formats of the mental, physical, and spiritual disciplines that are practiced around the world. Details will be forthcoming, but registration is already open at newtownyogafestival.org. Cost is $40 in advance, or $50 at the door.

While many people were bemoaning the heat recently — this cat included — we don’t want to wish summer away too quickly. In just a few weeks it will be time for the Labor Day Parade, and that’s always something to look forward to. In fact, many of those who responded to the Weekly Question posed last week by Eliza Hallabeck — who asked readers about their favorite end-of-summer activity — half of the responses called out this town’s big parade. The Labor Day Parade Committee should be pleased to hear that, especially considering their efforts are ramping up ahead of Monday, September 5, when Bob and Margot Hall will lead this year’s line of march along the traditional route starting at 10 am. Sponsors are lining up and some donations have already arrived for this year’s effort, but we understand additional funds are still needed to make the parade — the first since 2019, following two years of COVID cancellations — the first-rate experience we have come to expect. We are running the donations coupon in the paper this week (see page A-5).

Speaking of the parade, have you made your breakfast plans for that morning yet? Newtown Congregational Church, at 14 West Street, will present Pancakes & Parking on Labor Day. All are invited to enjoy a nice breakfast of fresh pancakes and sides as early as 8 am, before walking to Main Street to take in the parade. There is plenty of parking available at the church, and breakfast will be served until 9:30. Requested donation is $6 per person, or $20 per family. Reservations are not needed but additional information is available by calling the church office at 203-426-9024.

As you know now, nothing can stop this cat from sneaking about for news, but I still hope that you will promise next week to ... Read me again.