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The Newtown Board of Education approved the new teachers’ contract with an estimated total cost of $695,000 at a 9.1 percent cost to taxpayers. The Board also approved the administrators’ contract, with raises of 9.4 percent, 8.6 percent, and 8.2 percent over the next three years.

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Susan Ann Greenan Bradley, 96, who came to this country as a red-haired Irish girl of 16, and became a cook on the Hyde Park estate of the Roosevelt family, and later a union organizer of domestic help, died January 24 at Ashlar of Newtown. Mrs Bradley, formerly of Route 6, Newtown, was the wife of Capt Ralph S. Bradley. The union won kitchen help the right to a day off every week, an eight-hour day, to be allowed to go home at night, and to attend church on Sundays.

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Henry Miller, a financial consultant for 20 years, reported that college costs for the next four years will average a total of $30,00 to $60,000 per student, with those going to medical school accumulating bills over $100,000. In Newtown, about 80 percent of the 292 seniors plan college attendance.

February 3, 1961

Appropriate to this week’s sub-zero temperatures is the warning for a special town meeting, called to seek added snow removal funds. With less than $1,000 still available for snow removal and most of February and March ahead, town officials recall the bulk of last year’s expenses came late in the winter and seek to be prepared this year.

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Kick off day for the 1961 Girl Scout Cookie Sale was Friday, January 27. From that date through February 4, girls, with their parents’ permission, are knocking on the doors of their friends and neighbors to take orders for cookies. Five different kinds of cookies will be available: vanilla, assorted sandwich, cinnamon, double fudge-filled, and cooky mints. All will sell for 40 cents a box.

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The Newtown Junior Chamber of Commerce is conducting its annual search for Newtown’s “Outstanding Young Man of The Year,” for 1960. The nominee will be judge for his contribution to the community, his exhibition of leadership ability, and evidence of business or personal progress.

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Members of Newtown Hook & Ladder Company No 1 spent Saturday afternoon shoveling out fire hydrants all over the hydrant area. Fire officials had appealed to householders to shovel out hydrants near their homes. However, the Fire Company members found Saturday that some of the hydrants were completely covered with snow.

 

January 31, 1936

The local firemen were called to the home of Theodore Kaechele in Currituck district on Friday, when flames were discovered shooting from the chimney. The firemen had considerable trouble in getting the heavy pumper to the scene of the blaze. However, the fire was quickly put under control. The large fireplace chimney of the Federal Transient Camp caught fire early Friday evening. Local firemen were called, but due to the heavy snowdrifts were unable to respond. Members of the camp, however, extinguished the blaze without any damage. A chimney fire was discovered at the Swendsen home in the Dodgingtown district early Saturday evening, caused by an overheated stove. The local firemen were called, but upon their arrival found that the blaze had been extinguished.

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Temperatures of 12 degrees below zero were reported about town Thursday morning, making serious business of the cold spell which has hung on so determinedly for the past week or more.

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Congregational Church: As part of Sunday morning’s service, an interesting collection of old Bibles was presented at the rear of the church by Mrs Harold F. Smith’s Sunday School class. Among them was a Bible given the church by Mary Curtis for use on the desk, in 1813.

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Last Thursday night found William B. Bentley performing his accustomed duties as secretary of the Newtown Chamber of Commerce. And its “hats off” to Mr Bentley, for he has never missed a business meeting of the Chamber during the 10 years of its existence.

 

February 3, 1911

During the high winds of Monday, the chimney in Phillip Schwitzski’s house caught fire and the timely arrival of a number of men prevented the house and its contents from being destroyed. The home of Mr and Mrs George French in Huntingtown had a narrow escape from being destroyed by fire, last Monday. The chimney was discovered to be on fire and burning very briskly. Several neighbors responded quickly and after two hours of hard work, the fire was put out.

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A flock of wild geese were noticed passing north, one day this week, by a gentleman near the Newtown railroad station.

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In connection with the improvements at the Newtown station the question is being asked on all sides: Is the small promontory or hillock at the point where the road turns from the cut approach to the depot to Sandy Hook, to be allowed to remain. The question of removal has already been urged on the engineer. If it is allowed to remain, it is the general opinion that it will be a place where accidents would be likely to occur.

 

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H.S. Benedict is delivering the poles for the Southern New England Telephone Co, for the extension of their line in Palestine.