December 22, 1995

Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) members have approved using an innovative drilling technique to install gravity-powered sanitary sewers along a large section of the east side of Main Street. WPCA members on December 18 approved using directional drilling to install sewers to limit damage to stately trees along the east side of the thoroughfare.

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Eighty year old Madeline Parson got the surprise of her life early this month when she opened her mail. It was not a prize winner notification from Publisher’s Clearing House; it was a $9,329.24 electric bill from Connecticut Light & Power for November. The Nunnawauk Meadows resident, who lives in an efficiency apartment and “cooks” only coffee and toast, said her bills had been averaging $30 a month during the summer... She called Connecticut Light & Power and the credit representative who helped her became “hysterical laughing” when she looked up the account... “Then she told me to ‘just throw the bill in the pail.’” The next day, a corrected bill for $107.31 was in her mailbox. In talking with her neighbors at Nunnawauk Meadows, Mrs Parson found she was not the only one who was overbilled for utilities that month. She, however, was the only one with such an extreme mistake.

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Today may mark the first day of winter, but it seems like it kicked off weeks ago with all the snow. Believe it or not, the area was hit with more snow this fall than all of last winter. On Wednesday, Newtown schools were shut down by snow for the third time this year; last year, Superintendent of Schools John Reed was forced to cancel school just once.

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Jim Shortt opened his Feed & More Store on Riverside Road after nearly 20 years in the construction industry, but his interest in agriculture dates back to his childhood... Now, almost two decades after he established Jim Shortt Construction, Inc, Jim is finally getting back to his first interest. In the building that many may remember as the former John Stefanko warehouse, he opened a feed store and gift shop next to the garage bays where he keeps his construction business. There are 30 chickens — Rhode Island Reds — out back that provide the fresh eggs that Jim sells in the store. This week he’s installing a cooler to sell milk and orange juice, along with the maple syrup, honey, pancake mix, preserves and other specialty items he stocks.

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The three judges for The Newtown Bee’s Holiday Decoration Contest hit the road Monday, and 75 miles and 4 1/2 hours later they came up with the contest’s winners. The judges, artist Larry Newquist, Town Clerk Cindy Curtis, and business woman Diana Johnson judged the top nighttime display to be at the Buttonball Drive home of the Greenley family and the top daytime display to be at the Berkshire Road home of Lucille Sheehan... The judges noted there were many other fine displays around town that had not formally entered the contest, and they recommended that anyone looking for an extra measure of Christmas spirit this year, take a nighttime ride around Newtown.

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Joseph Kasper of the Kasper Group, Inc, has submitted site development plans to the town for the expansion and modernization of Newtown Shopping Center, including plans for the construction of a Big Y supermarket. The plans call for the demolition of a significant portion of the current main building on the site and the construction of new retail spaces... Newtown Shopping Center, formerly known as Wheeler Shopping Center, has been a red-brick fixture on Queen Street for decades. The shopping center lost its main tenant, the A&P Supermarket, several years ago. Two of the center’s major tenants, Newtown Hardware and Drug Center, relocated to a new building on Church Hill Road in September.

December 18, 1970

In the frigid early morning of December 11, the famous Newtown flagpole received its golden cap again. The ball, which was knocked to the ground in early summer when an auto smashed into the pole, was cracked and dented in several places. It was repaired by Siegfried Mentzel of Bridgewater... On Friday, The W.J. Megin Company of Naugatuck, which is currently doing the work to restore the Trinity Church tower, moved its giant, 150-foot crane into the middle of Main Street and prepared a platform, suspended by cables, for William Butts of Bridgewater, a member of the Megin crew, to carry the ball aloft... Mr Butts was hoisted over 150 feet in the air and eased into position... only to find that in repairing the ball, the hole was made slightly smaller... It was decided to take the ball to the Watkins Welding Shop in Sandy Hook, where they made a spike and attached it to the ball so that it could be driven into the top of the pole... After again being maneuvered into place, Mr Butts, to the loud ring of cheers from the crowd gathered around the flagpole, hammered the ball into secure position.

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The contract for the first phase of widening I-84 is being awarded to Campenella Construction of Rhode Island at a cost of $11,700,000. This will cover the 2.4 miles from Church Hill Road to Philo Curtiss Road. The second phase, “when funds permit,” will complete the four lane section and include a new bridge over the Housatonic River.

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Announcement is made by Mr and Mrs Joseph Leo that they have sold their store, Newtown Paint & Hardware, in the Newtown Shopping Center. The new owner is James J. Teeney of Weston, Conn. The store will be known as Newtown Hardware. It is of interest to note that the Newtown Paint & Hardware Store was one of the original tenants of the Wheeler Shopping Center which opened on May 26, 1961.

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There is another article in The Bee this week that describes the snow storm over the week-end; however, as we go to press a second storm is passing through... Anyone who ventured out Thursday morning could readily see the excellent work that the road crews did throughput Wednesday night and into the early hours of Thursday morning. First Selectman Timothy Treadwell, Newtown Postmaster Albert Nichols and Sandy Hook Postmaster Robert Shannon ask that residents endeavor to have their mailboxes cleared after a storm... It would be of considerable help to postal drivers if people would clean a space by their mailboxes that would enable the driver to pull up to the box.

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Professional artists who live in the Newtown area are discussing and demonstrating various aspects of commercial and fine arts with Newtown High School students. Guest artists include Raymond Keane, illustrator with Famous Artists; Charles Sovek, illustrator for Field and Stream magazine; Larry Newquist, illustrator with Famous Artists; Betty Christensen, water colorist; Harrie Wood, painter; Dana Fradon, cartoonist for New Yorker magazine; William Johnson, illustrator; and Roger Sprung, artist and banjo player.

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There was a special session of the Charge Conference of Newtown United Methodist Church. The congregation voted approval of the plans presented by the Building Committee. The present church is to be moved across Church Hill Road to the former site of Fredericka House, set on a new foundation almost double the length of the present one, and the building enlarged.

December 14, 1945

A post-war audience, which gathered in record number to enjoy the first post-war effort of the Town Players, was thoroughly entertained at last Thursday evening’s performance of “The Man Who Came To Dinner.” The cast, from “the man” to the smallest walk-on part, did an excellent job, and the audience showed its pleasure at the quality of work by frequent and hearty laughter throughout the three acts.

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A “welcome home” dinner and evening of sociability for all returned service men and women is being planned by the Charles Howard Peck Post No. 308 VFW to take place in the Alexandria Room of the Edmond Town Hall, at seven o’clock on Sunday night, December 23rd... The dinner and entertainment are to be the Post’s expression of pleasure at seeing the veterans return... Post and Auxiliary members are providing the dinner and will serve. Any members of the service who have not received an invitation are urged to get in touch with one of the committee members and come to the December 23rd reception and dinner.

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The Newtown Country Club will hold the first of its winter dances at the clubhouse on Saturday evening, December 29, from 9 pm until 2 am. A buffet supper will be served during the intermission, from 11:30 pm to midnight... Reservations may be made at $2.50 a person, or $5 a couple.

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The Better Roads Committee met at the home of James R. Wells, Palestine District, Saturday evening and discussed ways and means of expediting dirt road repairs and improvements... The members were informed the County Commissioners found two bridges and most of the school bus route in Palestine District actually dangerous.

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Because of what is reported as a mild form of influenza, Bethel’s superintendent of schools Frank A. Berry announced Wednesday that Bethel schools would remain closed for the remainder of the week. With a total enrollment of 609 students, 305 were reported absent, in addition to a number of teachers. Principal Carl A. LeGrow of Hawley School states that there is not an unusual amount of sickness indicated in his reports.

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COWS — COWS, Fresh — Springers. We have all kinds in all stages. Shipped directly from Canada. We sell at reasonable prices. Credit to responsible farmers. Newtown Cattle Agency, David Steinfeld, Tel. 23-13, Newtown.

December 3, 1920

Solemn High Mass was celebrated in St Andrew’s church, Broadway, Flushing, at 9 o’clock, Thanksgiving day, for Arthur Donahue, employed by the New York American, who was murdered in Connecticut, recently. Rev Edward F. McGolrrick, rector of the church, who was a close personal friend of Mr Donahue, was the celebrant of the Mass. Donahue’s friends in the city, many of whom were unable to attend the Requiem Mass celebrated in Connecticut, attended the service in Flushing.

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Basket Ball had its start, last Friday night, when the Community school beat the strong aggregation from the New Milford High in a score that was 24 to 14. The New Milford High never sent a team to Newtown that was such a “husky bunch” as that of last Friday night, and they had the passing of the ball from one to another down to perfection, but when it came to basket throwing, they were not in it... There were over 100 present to see the Community school do the trick and they thoroughly enjoyed the contest. After the game the Community orchestra played “right well” for the dancing that followed.

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The minstrel show, given by the Spartan club of Danbury, under the auspices of Virgilius Council, No 185, K of C, of Newtown, was a great success. This was one of the best shows seen in Newtown in a long time. Every seat in the house was taken and many were forced to stand. The jokes were up to the minute and the songs were well applauded.

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On New Year’s Eve, December 31, the Newtown Dramatic club will give a minstrel and dance, the proceeds of which will be used to repair the Town hall. Buy your tickets early, because a record-breaking attendance is expected. The musical trio, including George Beers, Harvey Wheeler and “Gene” Peck will render a number on the program... It took a great deal of persuasion on the part of the manager to get these three master artists to appear and we hope that appreciation will be shown by a mammoth audience.

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Next to a good dinner and a ride behind the editor’s fast horse, Druggist Crowe thinks there’s nothing quite so nice as the Danbury fair. Every year when the advertising man from the fair comes along, he gets the largest banner they have and suspends it across the main street in Sandy Hook. This year he got a large banner and hung it across the street as usual, and on December 1 it was still doing duty, advertising the fair of 1920. The boys want to know why he don’t take it in. But he won’t do it, and there it waves.

Your memories are the ones we want to share! 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 Newtown Bee readers. Images can be e-mailed as attachments to editor@thebee.com, subject line: Way We Were photo. When submitting photographs, please identify as many people as possible, the location, and the approximate date.