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Woman's Club Ornament Honors Town's Veterams

The Newtown Woman's Club's 12th annual pewter Christmas ornament, a

representation of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the head of Main

Street, will be introduced and sold at the Labor Day Parade.

The sale of the ornaments, $7 each, is the chief fund raiser of the club. All

proceeds are donated to area charities or organizations chosen by the club

members. Last year these included such recipients as the Newtown Volunteer

Ambulance Association, the Regional Hospice, the Newtown Woman's Club

Scholarship, FAITh Food Pantry, Newtown Meals on Wheels, the C.H. Booth

Library, Newtown FISH, and the General Federation of Women's Club's (GFWC)

state project, Habitat for Humanity.

The 1999 ornament is accompanied by a brochure written by Town Historian

Daniel Cruson that explains the history of the monument. When the will of town

benefactress Mary Elizabeth Hawley was read after her death, the town learned

that she had provided funds for the erection of the monument. Although

popularly known as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, it was designed by

Franklin L. Naylor of Arlington, N.J., as the Liberty and Peace Monument to

commemorate "the nation's answer to the challenge of democracy in the three

critical periods of history: the Revolution, the Civil War, and the World

Wars."

The sculpture at the top depicts Liberty crowned with a laurel wreath and

holding a flag, an olive branch of peace, and the broken chain of freedom.

The McGovern Granite Company of Hartford executed Mr Naylor's design and the

finished monument was erected at the head of Main Street in 1931 on the site

of the former North Center one-room schoolhouse.

Shortly after its dedication, bronze plaques, listing those local residents

who served in the nation's major wars, were placed on granite bases in front

of the monument. Recently the Veterans' Memorial Society was formed to update

the memorials with plaques honoring those who served in Korea, Vietnam and the

Gulf Wars.

Newtown has used the monument as a center for all commemorative activities,

from the ceremonies in memory of the town's war dead to the starting point for

the Labor Day Parade, Mr Cruson said.

Previous ornaments in the series also are still available. These include the

Newtown rooster weathervane, 1988; The Bee weathervane, 1989; the flagpole and

the Meeting House, 1990; the General Store, 1991; the former Yankee Drover

Inn, 1992; Edmond Town Hall, 1993; The Cyrenius H. Booth Library, 1994; the

Ram Pasture, 1995; the Matthew Curtiss House, 1996; Hawley School, 1997, and

the former Fabric Fire House Company, now called the Mill, 1998.

In addition to being sold at the parade, the 1999 ornament will be available

after the holiday at the Drug Center Pharmacy, Lexington Gardens, Joy's

Hallmark, the town clerk's office, and the Newtown Bee. Past ornaments, $10

each, are available at the C.H. Booth Library or from Mary Antey, ornament

chairman, at 426-9787 .