2011 In Newtown: Tales Of A Remarkable Year

By Nancy K. Crevier

The year started out with a bang — the bang of shovels on roofs frantically being shoveled off from yet another winter storm, not the first, and not the last of 2011. Ice damming caused enormous amounts of damage to homes and property. The ice dam, “a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow (water) from draining off the roof,” according to the University of Minnesota Extension Service, was a phenomenon increasingly familiar to Newtown residents as Mother Nature piled it on, adding a dose of freezing rain in between snowstorms to sweeten the pot.

Newtowners also became familiar with a tool most had never heard of before feet of snow laid heavily on rooftops — the roof rake. At Ace Hardware of Newtown, owner Ed Pitochelli said that the store sold 500 roof rakes over one three-day period. Roof rakes were not enough and not applied in time to save six antique barns, the roof of an industrial building, and the gazebo at The Pleasance from collapsing under the weight of snow and ice, though. John Poeltl, chief building official for the Newtown Building Department, received 20 calls or more a day last winter, from residents nervous about roofs falling in. While experts agreed that the likelihood of a residence suddenly collapsing was remote, it was “better safe, than sorry,” for a number of reasons. “If you feel uncomfortable [about the amount of snow and ice on the roof], get it shoveled,” Mr Poeltl ended up recommending.

So, despite the cost of snow removal by contractors or dangers of climbing on rooftops themselves to shovel off roofs, Newtowners added getting snow cover off of roofs to the winter “to do” list — and dreamed of spring.

Newtown’s shrubs and trees took the first of many beatings during the winter of 2011. Bowed down by heavy snow and coated in ice, branches struggled to remain upright. Homeowners looked to experts for advice. Sandy Wilson, a master gardener with the UConn Extension Center, suggested that if heavy snow was bending the branches, to lightly shake or brush it off with a broom. Smaller shrubs buried in the drifts actually fared better than the larger specimens. Snow acts like an insulator and keeps the root area warm, Ms Wilson said. A coating of ice was also not something that needed tending. Buds may have evolved to have protective scales, and evergreens have needles that are thin and can tolerate the ice, she said. One winter hazard that homeowners could address, though, is deflecting deer damage. She suggested applying deer repellents all during the winter.

Strange Lights

It was an “other worldly” experience for New York City residents Annika Pergament, Michael O’Looney, and their two small children, on their drive through Newtown from Ms Pergament’s sister’s home in Westport to their weekend home in Southbury on January 15. Driving near Turnberry Lane off of Toddy Hill, Ms Pergament and Mr O’Looney spotted a series of strange lights processing across the sky. The phenomenon, however, had earthbound origins on Pilgrim Lane, off Toddy Hill Road. It turned out to be a memorial birthday celebration of Chinese Lantern Wish Balloons. But until multiple readers of The Newtown Bee’s January 18 website provided that insight, many observers of mysterious bobbing lights in the sky were wondering if Newtown was an alien observation site.

On Saturday, March 12, members and families of Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company, past and present, gathered at the firehouse on Route 302 to celebrate 100 years of service to the Town of Newtown. Dodgingtown Volunteer Fire Company was incorporated March 8, 1911, two years after it was established by a group of approximately 40 men eager to protect that section of town from fire.

What Newtown residents had not dreamed about as the snow melted was the cost of filling up their vehicles with gas. But unlike previous years, when prices jumped, it was a more resigned community that accepted gasoline prices well over $4 a gallon. Prices surged daily in late March and April, and people quietly fumed. Charlie Merrifield of Sugar Hill Service Center on Route 302 was actually puzzled by the lack of frustrations voiced.

On a late spring morning, The Bee got to wondering what exactly it is that brings the most happiness into people’s lives? Interestingly, the answers to ‘What makes you happiest?’ were not material objects, but places, moments, and other people. Just being in the presence of certain people can bring a feeling of contentment and joy, it turns out.

Senior citizens in two areas of town are riding high, as of midyear. On June 1, Maplewood at Newtown Executive Director Marcie Albanesi let loose a shower of Champagne over the assisted living residence’s newest acquisition: a 2011 Ford E-350 passenger van. The larger, air-conditioned van replaced an older van and allows Maplewood to take residents on outings, shopping, and on minitrips.

On August 18, a newly purchased 16-passenger Ford E-450 van rolled into the parking lot at the Newtown Senior Center. The 2008 van was purchased from Matthews Buses, said Newtown Senior Center Director Marilyn Place, with money from the Commission on Aging gift fund, and replaced a 1999 12-passenger vehicle. As with Maplewood, the new van has extended the center’s ability to service members for day trips around town and the region.

In December 2010, the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library invited library staff members to participate in the Vision Project, a program designed to fund innovative ideas to improve library services for staff and patrons. The support group put forth $10,000 that would pay for the best ideas. On April 1, Friends Vision Project committee members collected the applications, and waved their magic fairy wands over the requests. A humble request to replace the lapel microphones for the meeting room was granted, and a plea for tack panels for the Children’s Department was honored. The Friends replaced aging chairs in the boardroom, and also allowed enough money to conserve and better present the library’s collection of fine art, including many pieces by local artists and sculptors. The Vision Project also sent nine staff members to the Connecticut Library Association Conference, purchased a covered book cart, replaced two chairs in the third floor alcove, gave $1,000 for a multimedia listening center to enhance young adult audio books collection, and paid for the showing of seven Harry Potter movies during June and early July.

We looked up, we craned our necks, and we gazed from street corners, and what The Bee discovered this summer is that weathervanes are all around our town. Refurbished by Stewart Hall at the end of 2010, the eagle on top of Hawley School now spun true in the breeze, just down Church Hill Road from our own office where a giant bee weathervane measures the direction of the wind. Horses, turkeys, dogs, witches, flags, banners, boats, and sheep were only some of the weathervanes we captured in a summer essay punctuated by numerous photographs and a slide show.

Artistic Gardens

As in the two previous summers, gardeners all around Sandy Hook and Newtown opened up their special garden areas to Bee readers this summer. Special water features and thinking spots, a transformed garden, a whimsical and artistic garden, a renovated historical door yard garden, the Blue Star Memorial Garden at the VFW Post, and a beautiful moongate were shared with readers, thanks to Deb Osborne, members of the Garden Club of Newtown and the Lions Club, Holly Kocet of the Garden Club of Newtown, Rita Frost, Joyce Webster, Diana Johnson, and Corey Kondas.

As part of an ongoing series on special education, The Bee looked at how some local families deal with transitioning into the teen and young adult years for children with disabilities. There are milestones in parenting, baby steps on the journey to young adulthood met in approximately the same way, at approximately the same time, for most children. But when a child is disabled, the milestones are farther apart, the journey is longer, and along with dreams and hopes, some of the milestones fall by the wayside. Parents of young adults discussed how they have reassessed their expectations and how they have helped ease their young adult with disabilities into a world that can be much harsher than that experienced as a child.

Popularized by American Idol’s Steven Tyler, feather hair extensions were all the rage for young and old in Newtown this summer — to the dismay of fly fishermen, who value the specially grown rooster feathers for fly tying. It was an inexpensive way for conservative kids to feel a little wild, said Diane Harty of Robert Anthony Salon on Church Hill Road, where she added feathers to the hairstyles of at least a dozen clients a day this summer..

Newtown said farewell to its hometown pharmacy in August. After 53 years, 30 of which pharmacist Don Bates has worked at or owned the business, Drug Center prescriptions and prescription client list were turned over to the new Walgreens Pharmacy located on the corner of Route 25 and Wasserman Way on August 5. The Drug Center ceased to function as a pharmacy, but the store at 61 Church Hill Road remained open, building on its popular Newtown apparel and gift lines. Now known as Everything Newtown, the former Drug Center space is under the management of Mr Bates’ wife, Diane, and their daughter, TeriAnn Brunelli.

Tropical Storm Irene

Late summer and fall made residents practically forget the woes of the previous winter. Panera Bread in the Sand Hill Plaza was a hive of activity, Tuesday morning, August 30, two days after Tropical Storm Irene blew through Newtown, as was the late Hideaway Café on Route 25, and the Newtown Youth Academy, all trying to accommodate desperate Newtowners who were without power. More than three-quarters of the population was in the dark, so anywhere that there was Internet in Newtown, pop-up offices took hold. Little did most of the transient workers know, but it would be nearly a week before the majority of residents enjoyed the luxury of lights and energy once more.

Newtown resident and Reuters News Agency “Breakingviews” columnist Rob Cox took utility company CL&P to task in early September in his column. “It is the responsibility of public utilities to ensure that they have prepared properly so that the public they serve receives the full benefit of the dollars they pay, and are serviced in a reasonable manner,” he said. It is on these points, said Mr Cox, that Connecticut Light & Power (CL& P), a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, failed Newtown residents miserably following Tropical Storm Irene.

The Rocking Roosters Square Dance Club celebrated 50 years of toe-tapping fellowship at a special dance November 4 in the Edmond Town Hall gymnasium. The dance club began half a century ago, when members of the Newtown Congregational Church Couples’ Club organized a demonstration program by square dancers from Bethel. Guest callers Bruce McCue of Wethersfield and Jack O’Leary of Iowa, well known in the square dance world as the “Silver Sounds,” were featured at the November party, and for the round dancing portion of the evening, cuer Sue Lucibello of Guilford called out the patterns. The Rocking Roosters celebration also honored the memory of the late caller Bob Paris, who served the group from its inception to 2006.

Graffiti From Old Newtown

 The original historic Sherman family homestead in Sandy Hook gave up some secrets this summer, in the way of folk art. Owner Jeffrey Paison had stored boards recovered from the old home’s porch area, following the destruction of the 1700s home by fire about eight years ago, said Town Historian Dan Cruson. Chestnut boards have some value, since the trees no longer exist. But they stayed stored in Mr Paison’s garage until this spring, when he noticed some distinct etchings on the boards. Mr Paison contacted Tucker Frey, a local antiques dealer, to verify the authenticity of his discovery, who in turn called Faith Gulick, curator for the Newtown Historical Society, and himself, said Mr Cruson. Since the discovery, several archeologists from around the state have taken a look at the panels, and agree that these are one-of-a-kind examples of early American folk art. It is the height at which they were drawn and the simplicity of the drawings that leads Mr Cruson to believe they were done by a youngish boy — or girl — although it may never be known. With high intensity lamps strategically aimed at the boards, a whimsical scene of nearly 20 structures suddenly unfolds. The boards are currently on display in Mr Cruson’s Edmond Town Hall office, and may be viewed during his office hours on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

Kim Macey casually courted a shy yellow Labrador dog that had taken up residence at her farm over the winter. The dog, lost from a newly adoptive situation, wandered onto her property, survived the winter, and eventually did his own “adopting.” Now known as “Cash,” the dog slowly came to trust and build a relationship with Ms Macey and her other rescue dog, Waldo, and has become a permanent part of the household. Cash is one of the few of five million pets lost in the United States each year with a happy ending to his tale.

The courtyard at Maplewood at Newtown on Mt Pleasant Road was bustling with activity October 5, as Maplewood CEO Gregory Smith, Executive Director Marcie Albanesi, and staff welcomed civic leaders, area town officials, and members of the local health care arena to a special Farm to Table reception, in conjunction with local chef and caterer Michael Bick of Some Things Fishy in Bethel. The purpose of the evening, said Mr Smith, was to introduce the values of utilizing local produce, meats, fish, and poultry, as well as items grown using sustainable methods. By staying in the vein of sustainability, Mr Smith believes it is possible to provide good, quality food product, and a dietary program that is beneficial to the residents of Maplewood and to the community, by supporting local farmers.

October always brings with it the scary masks and costumes of Halloween, and stories of the living dead. But true paranormal experiences bring comfort, it turns out, as expressed by several Newtown residents who have been party to a visit from the great beyond. Rather than a ghoulish, frightening moment, those who spoke candidly with The Bee about contact with loved ones who have died, expressed that these brief, sometimes repeated, appearances — aural or visual — imparted a sense of confidence and serenity to those left behind.

October Surprise

Just when cleanup from Tropical Storm Irene was almost finished, a freak snowstorm dumped nearly a foot and a half of heavy, wet snow on the town, October 29 to 30, and cut power to 97 percent of the town’s CL&P customers. As of midday Tuesday, November 1, many restaurants remained inoperable, leaving the town’s residents with even fewer options than after Tropical Storm Irene swept through. Those establishments operating on generators or having never lost power welcomed Newtown’s harried residents to come in, sit down, warm up, and enjoy a meal served with good cheer. It was a long haul, once more, for Newtowners, many of whom were without power for over a week, this time in the dark and chill of autumn.

The Faith Food Pantry in St John’s Episcopal Church, Sandy Hook Center, lost all of the meats and refrigerated items during this wintery siege, known as Storm Alfred, but the coordinators of the program did not lose faith, due to the generosity of Newtown residents that helped refill the cupboards. “Newtown is an unbelievable town,” said volunteer Lee Paulson.

The town food pantry at Social Services on South Main Street also experienced the generosity of the community, receiving many donations each time it sent out an SOS to help the ever-increasing number of patrons of the pantry.

If there was one more positive aspect to the unexpected snowstorm and power outage, said C.H. Booth Librarians, it was that it allowed for more time for reading, if only by flashlight.

Caraluzzi’s Newtown Market made the holidays sweet for Faith Food Pantry with a preholiday donation of two pallets of nonperishable goods, a gesture that CEO Mark Caraluzzi said was an uplifting and heartening break for himself and staff from the hectic season at the stores.

The weather settled down as the last month of 2011 settled in, but a wet year and a warm autumn gave one of Fairfield County’s most popular landscaping plants a pretty poor holiday gift: boxwood blight. Identified for the first time in Connecticut by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, in October, there is currently no curative. Experts’ advice for 2012: Be aware, and have symptoms of the plant disease properly identified.

These stories, and so many more, made up the history of Newtown’s past year. And now, we await the New Year.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” — Edith Lovejoy Pierce, early 20th Century poet