September 7, 2001

Newtown Girl Scouts held a free coffee break for motorists who were traveling on the Labor Day Weekend. The scouts offered free coffee, tea, and doughnuts to motorists under a tent erected at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Edmond Road, near Exit 10 of Interstate 84. Signs posted along the interstate alerted drivers of the coffee break. It ran continuously from 4 pm, Friday, August 31, to 5 pm, Monday, September 3.

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Charter revision questions will be on the November 6 general election ballot. Legislative Council members voted 9 to 3 Wednesday evening to place on the ballot five questions, which together encompass all changes proposed by the Charter Revision Commission, including those previously rejected by the council.

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Newtown Scottish Country Dancers begin a new season on Monday, September 17, at 7 pm, at Hawley School, 29 Church Hill Road in Newtown. The group meets in the school's old gym. Entry is from the parking lot near the back of the original building. Under the umbrella of Newtown Parks and Recreation, the group has met for more than 20 years. Dancing is weekly from September through May except on holidays or if school is cancelled.

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An organizational meeting for area residents interested in forming and participating in a Genealogy Club based in Newtown will take place Wednesday, September 12, at 7:30 pm at the C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street. At this meeting, objectives, topics, and meeting times of the club will be discussed, as well as dues and whether refreshments would be offered.

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Sarah Letson recently graduated from Newtown High School, and instead of heading off to college like her friends, she will be going abroad to live in Germany for a year as an American Field Service Ambassador. On September 3, Sarah left for Washington, D.C., with other northeast Ambassadors to prepare for their September 6 departure to Germany, where she will live with two host families as she learns the language and the culture of the European country.

September 10, 1976

An interesting exhibit will be on display at the Matthew Curtiss House on Main Street Sunday, September 12, when Mrs Marjorie Saunders and her students will show their hand hooked rugs and also demonstrate the technique of hooking rugs. The exhibit, which may be seen from 10-4:30, will also feature other early American crafts such as quilt making and hand dipped candles. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

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A prime example of how confusion and misunderstanding can arise out of a situation was recorded this past week in Newtown. It happened because two persons did not obtain a solicitor’s permit from the town hall or notify the local Catholic parish they were in the area selling religious books and magazines. As a result there was serious speculation as to whether the two, who said they were nuns, were what they said they were.

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The decision by the Newtown Board of Education to dedicate the Newtown High School sports stadium in the name of Bruce Jenner opened the way for the Jenner Tribute Committee and arrangements made to date should provide a memorable weekend for both the public and Bruce himself.

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The Newtown Bowling League will open the 1976-77 season at the duck pin alleys on Mile Hill Road on Monday, September 13.

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Linda Kovacs, food stamp outreach worker, will have office hours at the Edmond Town Hall during September to take applications for those eligible for the food stamp program. She will be in the Mary Hawley Room from 9:30-noon each Wednesday during the month.

September 7, 1951

The annual meeting of the Newtown Ambulance Association will be held Tuesday evening, September 18, at 8 o’clock, in the Alexandria Room of the Edmond Town Hall. Reports will be heard and other business transacted, including the election of three trustees to the board. A nominating committee was recently named, including Mrs W.W. Holcombe, Mrs Carl LeGrow and Paul S. Smith.

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Registered voters of Newtown are reminded of the special town meeting being held this Friday night at 8 o’clock in Edmond Town Hall to consider and take action upon acceptance by the town as public highways of two strips of road in the Sunnyside Development of Frank H. Strasburger. One, known as Elizabeth Street, runs slightly more than 1,000 feet from South Main Street (Route 25) to Queen Street. The other is Meadow Road, running 1760 feet from Elizabeth Street to Glover Avenue.

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Works of 40 artists, including a large oil by Eberhard von Jarochowski of Newtown, have been selected to be shown in the Connecticut Contemporary Painting Exhibition at the Eastern States Exposition, September 16-22, in West Springfield, Mass. The paintings, 30 oils and ten watercolors, were chosen by an out-of-state jury from a total of 400 entries, the selection being made at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford. Mr von Jarochowski’s work in question is familiar to many Newtown residents, for the oil submitted in the state-wide competition is one that won special favor two years ago during the annual show at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library during American Art Week.

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Mr and Mrs Chris Larsen, proprietors of the Hillandale Inn, Newtown-Danbury Road, are going to spend their vacation visiting their son, Pvt Lars A. Larsen who is stationed at Sampson Air Force Base, Geneva, N.Y. The inn will be closed during their absence, September 7 through September 13.

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Notice appears elsewhere in this week's Bee of the annual public hearing called by the Board of Finance of the town of Newtown to act upon budget requests submitted by the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education for appropriations to cover estimated expenses during the fiscal year. The hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday evening, September 11, at 8 o’clock in the Edmond Town Hall.

September 10, 1926

The two parishes in Newtown had the pleasure of hearing Bishop Frederick Foote Johnson of Missouri on Sunday morning. Bishop Johnson’s summer home is in Newtown as was his boyhood home, and friends and neighbors appreciate the honor that has come to their fellow townsman and greet him at his annual visit in the home parishes.

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Mrs Charles F. Beardsley, at her home on Main street, gave a delightful afternoon tea on Friday afternoon in company with the ladies of Trinity guild. The occasion was a shower, by the Guild, for Miss Katherine Gesner, who for the past year has been its secretary and treasurer. The bride-to-be was escorted into the living room to the strains of the wedding march and presented with a beautiful set of porcelain and some lovely table linen and silk underwear.

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The White Elephant Sale at the library, last Saturday, was highly satisfactory. The “elephants” which had been sent in were remarkably good, and met a ready sale, and the pastry, jams, and jellies went off like the proverbial hot-cakes. As a result the very gratifying sum of $160 was cleared, which will all be invested in new books.

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Authorized dealer for the Freed-Eisemann Radios. These sets are sure a knockout. We will cheerfully install one on trial. At Liberty Garage, Newtown. —Adv.

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Mr and Mrs Charles A. Peale entertained at the bridge Labor day night. There will be another bridge as usual next Monday night at 7:30.

September 13, 1901

The game of ball between the Newtown’s and the Woodbury’s, which has been so much discussed, took place at the Fair grounds on Saturday last, when Newtown was beaten by a score of 12 to 7. It was not, as had been expected, a close contest, but the Newtown boys made a gallant fight and a great rally at the end, but the lead the Woodbury’s had secured at the beginning was too much to overcome.

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Mr and Mrs Lynch, Mrs Gregory and son, who have constituted part of the summer colony on Botsford Hill and who have been stopping at Mrs Costello’s, returned to Bridgeport on Monday. Mrs Costello accompanied them and will spend a few days in the city, the guest of her daughter, Mrs B. Collins.

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To John Z. Mason of Mt Pleasant belongs the honor of taking the premium bass of the season out of Taunton lake. It weighed five and one quarter pounds and Mr Mason generously presented it to Marcus Camp, the champion golf player of Mt Pleasant.

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Since Monday, when Mrs C.S. Platt began her duties as teacher of the Taunton school, she has received many inquiries about the matter. The school board had much difficulty in getting matters straightened out in that district. Nearly a week after the other schools had opened no teacher had been found ... Under these circumstances Mrs Platt, through her husband, offered to open the school ... Although her first idea was to help the board out of a dilemma, the work being congenial to her she will probably go through the school year.

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The Flat Swamp school opened Tuesday, September 4, with Miss Emma E. Ferry as teacher.

Do you have photographs of people or places in town from a bygone era? The Way We Were is the perfect landing spot so that your photographs can be enjoyed by readers of The Newtown Bee. Images can be e-mailed as attachments to shannon@thebee.com, subject line: Way We Were photo. When submitting photographs, please identify as many people and details as possible, the location, and the approximate date. If you live locally and would like to loan a photo/photos, please give us a call (203-426-3141) to let us know when you will be visiting.