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CASA, Citizens Against Substance Abuse, a group formed as a result of the presentation of the widely acclaimed showing of “The Chemical People,” recently met with First Selectman Jack Rosenthal to launch a two-month campaign to make citizens aware of the problem of substance abuse among young people in town.

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 It seems that Newtown has developed its own “cabbage patch” syndrome in that the newly printed “Game of Newtown,” initiated by the Newtown Junior Woman’s Club as a fundraiser, was sold out about a week after it hit the stores! Just over 400 games arrived in Newtown this month just in time to be gobbled up for Christmas giving.

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American Telephone & Telegraph’s divestiture of its telephone companies on January 1 will not have much of an impact on Connecticut telephone customers because AT&T owns only 24 percent of the Southern New England Telephone Company’s stock, SNETCO spokesman Michael R. Gomez said in a recent interview.

 

January 2, 1959

Shoppers in this area will soon be able to charge their purchases at hundreds of Connecticut stores with one credit card and receive just one monthly bill through the CNB Charge Account Plan. A new service of the Connecticut National Bank, the plan will become effective early in 1959. The CNB Charge Account Plan is a unique 30-day credit service at no cost to the customer.

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Willis R. Tomlinson, Newtown chairman for the annual campaign for the National Foundation, announces the start of the 1959 fund drive. He explains that the foundation intends to continue the polio fight, and take on, in addition, a limited research in arthritis, birth defects and disorders of the central nervous system.

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Judging in Newtown’s Christmas Decorations Contest was done on Monday afternoon. The judges were impressed with the excellence of the entries and the general decorative appearance of the town, but noted many homes dressed for the holiday that were not entered in the contest. They expressed the hope that next year’s contest would attract more actual entries.

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Seventy children and adults enjoyed the annual Christmas entertainment for St John’s Episcopal Church School on Monday, December 29. The program opened with the singing of familiar, traditional carols. As the main feature of the program, Santa Claus was on hand to distribute gifts to 59 members of the Church School. Another special highlight of the evening for all was the extremely amusing and diverting entertainment in tricks of magic by Kenneth Wittmer.

 

December 29, 1933

Here is a combination that is a real event in motion picture history. Will Rogers and ZaSu Pitts are starred together in the new film from the Fox studios, “Mr. Skitch.” Friday and Saturday, December 29 an 30, 7 and 9 pm, at Edmond Town Hall Theater. (Saturday Matinee at 2 pm).

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Newtown never saw a heavier mantle of fog which suddenly enveloped the roads and made traversing by auto almost impossible. It came about 9 pm, and from then on till 1 am, to be about in a car was terrible. The dense fog conspired with unseasonable warm weather and lack of snow to substitute a dark and gloomy mantle for the traditional Christmas atmosphere.

The Community Christmas party under the auspices of Pootatuck Grange, Friday night, was held in the social room of Trinity church and was attended by 100 children and 40 adults. A beautiful Christmas tree occupied the center of the room and gifts, candy, and oranges were passed out to each child by Santa Claus, happily impersonated by Edward S. Pitzschler.

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Newtown, in common with all New England, has been in the grip of the most severe snow storm that has visited this section since 1926. From 10 to 12 inches fell on Tuesday and Tuesday night. People living on the side roads have encountered real difficulties in getting about, and a good many autos were stranded by snow drifts.

January 1, 1909

Postmaster E.C. Page at Sandy Hook has been allowed a claim of $4,982.53 by the government for loss occasioned by the burglary at the Sandy Hook postoffice, last winter: and Postmaster E.C. Platt at Hawleyville, $378.31 for the same cause.

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Special Notice: Am now fitted out with a portable engine and sawing outfit and corn stalk cutter and am well equipped to convert your cord wood into stove lengths. Contracts taken by the job, cord, or hour, and we will do your work at short notice. Also contracts taken for cutting up corn stalks. R.F. Banks, Phone 54-4, RD 17, Sandy Hook, Conn.

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For some weeks a deer had made its home near a barn belonging to Eugene Northrop on Gregory’s Orchard Hill. One day he discovered that its leg was broken. This was communicated to the game warden and word was phoned to Mr Northrop that the official with an expert marksman from Danbury were coming to kill the deer and thus end its suffering. Seeing the two men approaching, the deer started on a walk across an open meadow, steering for the woods. As shot after shot rang out in the clear winter air, the deer hobbled and jumped and in some way managed to leap the fence and disappeared. We would suggest to Mr Game Warden that the next time he goes out to kill a crippled deer he secures the services of our local hunter, J.C. Lewis, who with his trusty gun would never be guilty of letting an animal pass him, much less a three-legged one.

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King Leo — A magnificent long haired Angora Cat of great value will be at service hereafter at Walsh’s Cattery, Walnut Tree Hill, Sandy Hook, Conn. RD No 56. Valuable cats, bought, sold, and boarded.