* * *

Hot on the heels of a Republican primary victory, and prompted by questions about the absence of a flag waving over the town during the Labor Day parade, Cordalie Benoit announced Thursday morning that steps have been taken to repair the flagpole. The flag has been absent from the pole since vandals stole the flag back in July. Although the culprits replaced the flag a week later, someone returned and cut the rope and since then, no flag has flown over the town as has been a tradition during much of the town’s history.

* * *

A recent decision in Danbury Superior Court promises further delays in bringing cable TV to Newtown. On August 14, Judge John P. Cotter decided to grant an injunction prohibiting Housatonic Cable Vision Company in New Milford from crossing the land owned by Richard F. Gretsch to install a microwave tower off Reservoir Road on a small piece of land belonging to the Newtown Water Company.

* * *

Family, friends, fellow lawyers and judges filled a courtroom at Danbury Superior Court Wednesday afternoon to watch William J. Lavery take the oath of office as judge of the state Superior Court. The 43-year-old attorney from Newtown was named to an eight-year term on the bench last week by Governor William O’Neill.

* * *

Following a recommendation by Newtown High School principal Alvah Cramer the Board of Education has authorized the use of up to $100 of student activity money as a reward leading to the recovery of two signs stolen from the school scoreboard and the responsible parties who painted the fixture. Missing are a Pepsi-Cola sign, which Mr Cramer explained was valuable because Pepsi donated the board, and the Bruce Jenner sign dedicating the stadium to the Olympic athlete.

* * *

Unlike the stereotype of the strict disciplinarian with a rod in one hand and a stern look on his face, Jack Lynch, the newly appointed administrative assistant at Newtown High School, is a soft-spoken man with a casual demeanor. Discussing his personal objectives for his new job he comments, “I will be firm in an understanding way. I will play no favorites and hope to maintain a positive image of the high school.”

* * *

Newtown Camp Fire opens its annual fall membership drive this week with informational flyers in all elementary schools. The Camp Fire club program is for boys and girls through high school. Some clubs are coed and some are not, depending on the wishes of those involved. Children are taught by participating in the activities centered on friends, fun, outdoors, citizenship, community service, and arts and crafts.

 

September 14, 1956

School buses, gorged with scrubbed and bright-eyed small and big fry, lumbered along highways and byways Monday morning…as Newtown schools opened five days behind schedule to a grand total enrollment of 1,403. Due to the fact that only 10 of the 16 classrooms at the new Sandy Hook School were completed, the opening date, set for September 5, was postponed to September 10. The Board of Education, to avoid further delay, temporarily allocated some of the Sandy Hook pupils to the Hawley School and the Newtown High School.

* * *

Newtown High School is looking forward to the visit of Dorothy Stull, the Health Editor of Sports Illustrated, to inspect the physical education classes next Monday, September 17. Miss Stull has been writing special articles about physical fitness in the magazine. Miss Stull is following up Newtown’s results of the Kraus Weber test which was given at the request of Miss Ruth Byler, Consultant in health and Physical Education of the State Department of Education. Instead of failing anywhere up to 56 percent as shown by records made in some of the American schools, the Newtown High School students, grades seven through eleven, had a record of less than 12 percent failing any part of the test.

* * *

A group of persons from area towns participated with great interest in the activities of Volunteer Day held at the Fairfield State Hospital on Wednesday, September 12. Included in the morning’s program was the showing of a film on the importance of the proper attitudes of persons connected with mental hospitals.

* * *

The 13th year of the Newtown Mothers’ Club opens on a note of political education. On Monday evening, September 17, at 8 o’clock in the Newtown Congregational Church House, the club will sponsor a discussion on the “History and Platform of the Two Major Political Parties, National and Statewide.” It will not be a debate.

* * *

The hearing held Tuesday evening by the Board of Finance on the appropriations requested by the Selectmen and The Board of Education for the next fiscal year, answered questions in the minds of those who attended concerning the reasons for the increases over similar items in last year’s town budget. For the benefit of those who did not attend, it should be reported that the town of Newtown is not immune from the effects of inflation on the costs of operation.

* * *

Prize money amounting to $70 has been won by the Newtown Chapter, Future Farmers of America, for its electricity exhibit, “Let Electricity Work For You.” The exhibit will be on display in the Youth Building at Eastern States exposition, September 14, in West Springfield, Mass. The Newtown exhibit won a first prize award of $20 at the annual FFA Fair held at Hand High School in Madison, Conn. recently.

 

September 11, 1931

The list of names of those persons from Newtown who participated in the Civil War has been prepared for placing on the war memorial soon to be placed at the head of Newtown Street. It is of the utmost importance that no name of a Newtown man or woman be left off of this roll.

* * *

Ideal and beautiful fall weather, Monday, favored the Litchfield County Hunt horse show on the estate of Stephen E. Budd on the Boulevard and it was a success beyond expectations with an attendance of fully 1,500. All the events were run off on time, and the general public enjoyed the event to the full. Mr Budd and his associates are to be congratulated to the fine carrying-off of their plans.

* * *

Sandy Hook defeated Redding Sunday, at Pine Grove Park, taking the rubber game of the series by the score of seven to one. “Hub” Beers pitched a good game allowing but seven hits and striking out eight batters. He received fine support by his team mates who played fast and brilliant baseball behind him.

* * *

The Frederica House in Sandy Hook closed for the season on Wednesday. The Frederica House entertains 60 children at a time, each group being given a vacation of two weeks.

* * *

The many friends of Mr and Mrs Irving Waterhouse of Palestine District, Newtown, will be pleased to hear that their daughter, Miss Eleanor, who was stricken with infantile paralysis while at a girls’ camp in New Hampshire, is convalescing nicely at the Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover, N.H. Mrs Waterhouse is staying at Hanover so as to be near her daughter.

* * *

The new zoning law is now in effect, and the writer believes it has the endorsement of a majority of the citizens of the Borough. It is not the idea of the zoning commission, as we understand it, to do any one injury, the idea being to seek the good of all. It was a step, tardily taken perhaps, but we believe it will result in the general good of the Borough.

 

September 14, 1906

A great troupe of performing ponies in the delightful, amusing and instructive entertainment, the most remarkable display of brute culture ever seen; a coterie of astounding dumb graduates who perform acts that make humanity wonder, and please the children. They perform at Al. F. Wheeler’s exhibition at the Fair grounds, Saturday, September 15.

* * *

An informal clambake with all the fixings took place on Tuesday evening in the beautiful grove on David C. Bacon’s place. Hermon H. Peck and Fred L. Northrop did the honors as chefs in a most becoming style. Baked clams, roasted corn, water and musk melons, cake and other delicacies made up the feast.

* * *

Mrs Horace G. Gilbert, who lives in the Daniel Camp place at the foot of the Street, would like the public to know that she is not the one who advertised to do washing and that she does not do washing for any one under any circumstances.

* * *

A dance at the barn of Cicero Beardsley on September 3, was very much enjoyed by the guests from New York and neighbors present. A mock marriage created much merriment. A backward dance was then rendered in a most amusing manner by four ladies and four gentlemen. The barn was beautifully decorated with pine trees, bunting, flags and Chinese lanterns.

* * *

One day last week, while C.F. Conger and Paul Morrow were fishing on the Housatonic river near the Lee place, below Bennett’s Bridge, they killed a red adder which was over four feet long and was as large around as a man’s arm.