May 20, 1988

The 50-year history of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Company Inc dates back to the summer of 1938, when the company organized, elected officers, and starting canvassing and holding dances to raise money for firefighting equipment. The company also started its own softball team. Hawley Warner, who was active with the company during those first few years, recalled that in addition to Mr Hanlon, Dr Maruice D.Corrigan also played an active role in getting the company started.

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Preliminary but widespread talks about forming a union have begun in recent weeks among non-union town employees, who cite inequitable, annual pay raises as the impetus for dialogue. More than one said formation of a union is “a very good possibility. It all boils down to salaries.” The selectmen, when contacted this week, were not completely unaware of the situation. Although they have different leanings, each showed interest in encouraging dialogue that might obviate employees’ interest in unionizing.

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A new piece of legislation requiring more extensive mapping of state aquifers may help improve protection of these resources, but probably not enough to keep the state from building a new jail over one in Newtown. If a proposed, 400-bed state jail is built in Newtown, it will be located over the Pootatuck aquifer, which currently supplies drinking water to between 10,000 and 15,000 people.

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Members of the Newtown Congregational Church asked members of the Rotary Club to Newtown to lead the effort to preserve the old sanctuary at the head of Church Hill Road. “We are looking for leadership in development of a property trust,” Peter Guhl, chairman of the Old Sanctuary Committee told the gathering of about 30 members at its May 16 meeting. Don MacKenzie, the town’s grants administrator, has volunteered to help locate grants for the project.

May 24, 1963

The Newtown Parks and Recreation Commission has announced that the Dickinson Memorial Park will open officially on May 30, Memorial Day. Appropriate exercises will be conducted that day at 10:30 am, with flag raising, short talks, and music supplied by the Newtown High School Band, directed by Joseph A. Grasso. All the picnic tables and benches have been painted, and two more footbridges have been constructed. The swimming pool has been dredged in the area of the diving board.

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Although the quota established for the total tree planting program for Main Street has not yet been reached, the committee is pleased to announce that part of the planting has commenced. The action is being taken as the committee is confident that many people still intend to make contributions but have just not yet gotten around to it.

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The Hewlett Construction Company of Bridgeport has begun the job of enlarging The Southern New England Telephone Company’s building on Queen Street. The addition will roughly double the size of the present building. When completed early next year it will provide space for more dial equipment to serve the growing number of telephones in the Newtown exchange.

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The newly formed AFS Club of Newtown High School has chosen its officers for the 1963-1964 school year. Although the club is new this year, it is growing rapidly and has proved to be a big success. The main objective of the club is to acquaint more students with our foreign neighbors, their customs, beliefs and lives.

May 20, 1938

Hawley School Flashes: They are at it again! The Seniors have started their graduation rehearsals. Two by two they walk down the aisle under the waving arms (they’ll be ferns at the graduation) of the Junior girls. The rehearsals started Thursday, May 19. The last one will be June 15.

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A pigeon was found this week by D.W. Terwilliger at the Drew home on the Boulevard, with the following number on the bird’s leg, UHC-109-IF-38. It is hoped that the owner of the bird may note this item and claim the pigeon.

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Due to the sudden building boom on Carcass Lane and the remaking of its surface by the selectmen, it is deemed wise by many to complete the face-lifting process by discarding its present Yankee moniker for one whose origin seems more refined. In response to The Bee’s editorial of last week, Mrs Julia Aiken writes: “I noticed that a suggestion has been made that Carcass Lane be called East Lane. I wonder if you know that on a Fairfield county map of 188, the lane running between the residences of Mrs E.B. Allen and Stephen E. Budd was called East Lane. It then connected Main street and Carcass lane. What about Cross street, or Grassy Lane?”

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Observance of National Hospital Day on Sunday at the Fairfield State Hospital attracted an attendance of between five and six hundred people who were much impressed with the institution and its work for the mentally ill.

May 23, 1913

E.W. Troy and Dr Kennedy attended the performance of Ringling Brothers’ circus at Bridgeport, Wednesday evening, making the trip by auto. H.N. Tiemann, Sr, and Master Robert Tiemann, Miss Isabel Tiemann and Master Donald Wright, with H.N. Tiemann, Jr, as chauffeur, autoed to Danbury, Monday, taking in the Ringling circus performance. David Glover of South Center was an interested spectator, Monday, at the Ringling Brothers’ circus in Danbury.

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Levi Richmond of New Milford, a prominent democrat and first selectman of his town, in talking with the editor of The Bee, Tuesday, on the road question, said that he had about become convinced that the best system of working the roads was that adopted by the selectmen of Newtown, this spring, of apportioning the town in sections and putting a man and team permanently on the roads for the season.

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The improvements on Frank Ruffels’ place in the Racketts are nearly completed. Contractor Brew has built a veranda across the entire front of the house. A piazza has also been built across the rear of the house. Mr Brew is to reconstruct the barn, covering it over anew and putting in new stanchions and the like.

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Selectman W.C. Johnson has ordered three of the Ohio Junior road machines of the Ohio Road machinery Co, of Oberlin, O. They are designed for two horses and are said to be handy and practical machines.