While the rest of us are vying for the best seats along the parade route Monday morning, Bill Downing will be doing some last minute polishing of his 1930 Buick Phaeton touring car that will be used to carry parade marshal Dan Cruson in the Labor Day Parade. The car was bought new by Bill’s grandfather, who drove it for awhile, then kept it garaged at his summer home in Pennsylvania. When Bill got out of the service after World War II, his grandfather gave him the car to drive. The Downings took it on their honeymoon, and brought it with them when they moved to Newtown in 1964. Bill has kept the 70-year-old vehicle in good running order and is excited that it will be in a place of honor in the parade.

Bill and Carolyn’s cat, Chip, died last week at the age of 19 after a true rags-to-riches life. Chip and his sister, Muffy, were tiny kittens, less than three weeks old, when bulldozer operator John O’Hara discovered them in a bag discarded among the piles of rubbish at the town landfill.

After their photo appeared in The Bee, the two kittens were adopted by the Downings. Muffy died six years ago but Chip went on to become the king cat in the Royal Feline Family Contest sponsored by the Spay & Neuter Association of Newtown in 1997 when he was 16.

“He was a wonderful cat,” Carolyn Downing said. “He was a self-confident, happy, social cat. In people years, he was approximately 95, and he had friends all over the country.”

Carolyn said she always had the following poem by Christopher Morley under Chip’s photograph because it seemed to have been written just for him:

His amiable amber eyes

Are very friendly, very wise;

Like Buddha, grave and fat,

He sits, regardless of applause,

And thinking, as he kneads his paws,

What fun to be a cat!

Lynn Buttner threw a surprise 60th birthday party for her husband, Ron, at Tuxedo Junction on Sunday. About 80 friends and family attended, including the Buttners’ grown children, Randy and Cammi, who congenially roasted their father. Lynn hired the 18-piece Joey Thomas Band to give Ron his lifetime dream of singing Frank Sinatra songs with a big band (in their younger days Ron and Lynn had their own band, and Randy has followed in his parents’ footsteps). The best part of the evening, however, was the “in lieu of” gifts. Lynn asked that instead of bringing presents, guests who insisted on doing something should make donations to Newtown Youth Services. More than $1,000 has been raised, and money is still coming in.

The Newtown Choral Society will be meeting for its first rehearsal on Wednesday, September 6, at the Middle School. There are openings for all voices, soprano, alto, tenor, bass, and baritone. There are no auditions and enthusiasm is more important than experience. Call 426-3769 for more information.

Local runners Mark Dennen and Brian Fullem were off to Portland, Oregon, last weekend for the annual running of the 195-mile relay race, Hood to the Coast. There are 36 legs to the race and each participant runs three legs. Mark’s first leg was at 2:30 am (an easy six miles) on Saturday morning and his last was 36 so he got to cross the finish line in Seaside, Oregon, the end of the Oregon Trail, joined in the last 50 yards by the rest of his team.   Dr Fullem’s team of Bucknell alumni had won the race the last two years but this time came in third, about 10 minutes back. Mark’s group of ten men and two women, all in their 40s and older, finished 81 out of 1,000 registered.

Darlene Jackson was running a few minutes late for her women’s doubles match in the finals of the Stroock tennis tournament this past Sunday, but officials were happy to excuse her. The service at the Congregational Church had run a little late.

Matt and Patty (Gillen) McQuail and their family spent last week in Narragansett, R.I. They spent one day deep sea fishing 31 miles off the coast of Point Judith, where both Matt and Patty reeled in a handful of 300-pound sharks. Patty, an agent with Flagpole Realty, still has the bruises on her body to prove it.

Kathy and George Jamison and their family were back in town visiting old friends earlier this summer. The Jamisons, who were very active in the community during their time in Newtown, moved to California last year. However, they told me they still receive The Bee. It arrives a week late, but it’s still The Bee nonetheless, they say.

Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette has earned a reputation for his practical jokes, but lately the jokes have been on him. First, there was the pair of women’s underwear he found on the antenna of his car. Then, last week, he went out to his car to find a giant rabbit stuffed animal buckled into the passenger seat of his car. Gary says he still doesn’t know who did it, but intends to find out. When he does, revenge will come quickly.

Congratulations to former Newtown resident Chris Daly and his wife, Paulina, who are the proud parents of a baby boy born Wednesday morning. Gehrig, named after famous Yankee Lou Gehrig, weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.

Town workmen are preparing a space in Town Hall South for the return of the Parks and Recreation Department to the office building at 3 Main Street. The department is expected to move back in about a week. The department has been located at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills with other town agencies since February 1997. Having the recreation office in Town Hall South is expected to be more convenient to the public.

I know traditionally gifts are brought to teachers as the school year ends, but on the first day of school Wednesday, more students came bearing gifts than imaginable. Students trucked off the bus with flowers, apples, and who knows what else to present to their teachers. I guess the kids want to do all their campaigning for a good school year on the very first day. I guess times are changing.

Speaking of campaigns, I think someone has played a practical joke on Republican Congressional candidate Mark Nielsen by telling him it would be a good idea to park his vintage car/campaign sign at the intersection of Church Hill and Queen Street this week. Such overt displays of campaign promotion usually draw far more scorn than votes in Newtown. The longer it stays there, the worse Nielsen is expected to do in Newtown. Local loyalists of Mr Nielsen’s opponent, incumbent Democrat Jim Maloney, are hoping the car stays there right up until election day.

I’ll see you at the parade, and I’ll be taking notes, so…

Read me again.