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Newtown Hook & Ladder volunteer firemen engaged in a “textbook” operation Tuesday evening to quickly douse a fire of suspicious origin which totally destroyed the merchandise of two stores located in the old railroad station on Church Hill Road. Civil Defense volunteer Lewis Yacko was working on one of CD’s trucks at the old town garage, located across the yard from the building, when he, “just happened to look over there and saw a fireball in the window.”

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With the town’s building official warning of possible liability to the town because there is not enough daily coverage by a fire marshal for inspections of building projects, Newtown’s Board of Fire Commissioners is launching a serious study to determine if a full-time fire marshal is required. Deputy Fire Marshal George Lockwood conducts the bulk of the fire inspections and investigations that are required by state law, but he works full time at a brass company in Waterbury during the day and there is no coverage of fire marshal duties.

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To control the  infiltration of road salt into groundwater in the area of the Newtown  Town Garage on Turkey Hill Road, the highway department has installed an asphalt-covered mixing area. Previously, the highway department mixed sand and salt on the ground for spreading on Newtown’s 230 miles of road.

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It’s no secret the computer technology has revolutionized a vast segment of our society. In response to this phenomenon, the Newtown School system has been studying how computer technology could be used to enhance classroom instruction, school management, scheduling, data collection, and research. Under the direction of Dr John Reed, superintendent of schools, the Computer Education Planning Committee has been formed and had its first meeting December 6.

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Instead of being dusted with snow, much of New England received a dousing of foggy dew this Christmas Eve. Reports of a tiny glow of red, moving swiftly through the misty dark, seeming to light the way for a whole team of horned quadripeds and coming to rest just above housetop level, came from many area towns.

January 3, 1958

Police are still investigating the Christmas holiday safe-cracking job at the First National Store in Sandy Hook that netted thieves about $950 in cash. Resident State Policeman James Costello told the Bee the robbery had all the earmarks  of a professional job, whereas three other breaks occurring at about the same time were thought to be the work of amateurs. Breaks were discovered December 26 in the Congregational Church House, Liberty Garage, and Cyrenius H. Booth Memorial Library.

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Traffic on Route 6-A, Glen Road, was blocked for about two hours Monday night after a trailer truck loaded with plastic fixtures and owned by West-Con Transportation Company of Waterbury, left the road after rounding two sharp curves over the Sandy Hook line into Southbury, crashed through a wire cable fence, and wedged into a clump of trees on the bank a few feet from Lake Zoar.

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The year that has just ended swathe continuation of the upward spiral of growth in Newtown and the area, with Newtown school enrollment in September 1957 up 15 percent from the year before; a Grand List as completed by the Board of Assessors, hitting a record of $21,137,268, or a hike of 79.22 percent since 1949.

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The Village Texaco Station was back in business by Monday, pumping gas again, after a flash fire and explosion Sunday evening extensively damaged the interior of the station and destroyed a large number of tires and auto accessories and station equipment. Carl S. Oberg of South Main Street, who operates the station on Church Hill Road, told The Bee the fire originated in the oil burner and spread to the inside of the building.

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As the holiday season draws to a close, the patients of Fairfield State Hospital are aware that they have been most kindly and generously remembered by people throughout the entire area. Thousands of gifts were received in the annual gift appeal and these were distributed at numerous pre-holiday parties and on Christmas Day.

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The ribbon cutting ceremony this Thursday morning at Greenwich, opening that end of the Connecticut Turnpike, is being attended by representatives Sarah Frances Curtis and Charles Terrill, First Selectmen Edward Coleman, Earl Mitchell, president, and William Dudde, secretary of the Newtown Chamber of Commerce.

 

December 30, 1932

Anthony Amaral has completed an up-to-date brick garage building on the Bridgeport state road, 46x76 feet, and will be open for business January 1. He will specialize in the polishing and washing of automobiles and will have ample storage facilities for live and dead cars.

* * *

The Christmas celebration at Trinity church, this year, was marked by the usual joyous observances and one additional feature that added greatly to the festal note. At 7 o’clock on Christmas eve the Church School held its festival, but this year in the church for the first time in many years, a lovely symmetrical fir greeted the eyes of the little folks.

* * *

Mr and Mrs Ralph O. Desmond, parents of Dr W.F. Desmond, were the victims of a terrible automobile accident in Alma, Georgia, while enroute to their winter home in Florida. They were run into a gulley by a hit and run driver. The car was totally demolished. Mrs Desmond escaped with a severe shaking up and a few cuts. Mr Desmond suffered badly, cut hands and a broken collar bone, several broken ribs, and a torn scalp.

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One of the most disastrous fires that has taken place in Newtown, occurred on Monday evening, about 9:30 o’clock, when four barns on the farm of James Farrell of South Center fell victim to devouring flames. All the cattle and horses were removed except one cow that could not be rescued. The fire pumper from the Street arrived on the scene soon, but the flames had gotten such great headway, nothing could be done to stay the flames. Mr Farrell lost practically all his farm machinery, his tools, harnesses, ensilage blower and cutter.

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Distinguished visitors at The Bee office on Wednesday included Dr R.L. Leak, superintendent of the Connecticut State Hospital, Middletown; Mrs Anna M. Nash, superintendent of nurses, at the Connecticut State Hospital; and the following nurses from the same hospital: Mrs Ina B. Pryer, Mrs Susie Dickinson, Mrs Blanche Sykes, Mrs Gertrude Johnson, Miss Hannan Malgren, Miss Emeris Bourgeois. P.J. Garvin, state pharmacy inspector, of New Have and Hugh P. Beirne of New Haven, secretary and treasurer of the State Board of Pharmacy Commissioners, were callers on the editor.

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This Thursday evening, December 29, the Bethel girls are playing a return game with the Newtown girls in the Edmond gym. The Newtown girls are going to fight hard to win this contest but you may be sure that no matter which team wins out it will be an exciting and hard fought battle.

January 3, 1908

Edmond T.H. Gibson of New York recently presented a fine set of Dickens’ Works, 15 vols., bound in half Russia, and Mrs Franklin Fairman of Chicago gave a copy of the Women of America, by Miss Elizabeth McCracken. The board of directors voted to raise money for more books by subscriptions and a paper will be circulated soon.

* * *

C. Grant has sold his place in Berkshire to Randolph Trimmer of New York who will take possession at once. Mr Grant and family have moved into a tenement house owned by H.G. Curtis & Son in Berkshire, formerly occupied by John W. Partridge and family.

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A Sandy Hook bachelor promised a fair young lady in the Hook a box of chocolates for Christmas. She didn’t get them, but at New Year’s received a handsome candy box, but empty. The investigating committee of the Foresters will look after him.

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The Bee begins 1908 by removing all the advertisements from Page 1. As all The Bee pages are equally good from an advertising standpoint, we are able to treat all impartially, as we could not do if a few favored ones were allowed space on the title page of the paper.

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Mrs Harriett Canfield, who is spending the winter with her daughter, Mrs H.G. Gilbert, had the misfortune, last Tuesday evening, while going up stairs to make a misstep and fell down stairs, badly laming and bruising herself.