This Week in History

1959 Archive

(Complete)

January

Thursday, January 1, 1959

• DERBY - 3 babies are born at Griffin Hospital today. The first of 1959 was a daughter to a North Main Street, Ansonia family at 4:19 AM.

• SHELTON – A crèche on the marquee of the new St. Lawrence Church is lit at night and attracts much attention.

Sunday, January 4

• High winds all night long into the next morning.

• DERBY – A parked car is crushed when wind blows down a tree on Coe Lane. 20 roofs on Sentinel Hill are damaged. The low income housing project at Direnzo Heights sustains wind damage, too.

• SHELTON – The new Boy Scout shooting range at the Cawthra Farm off Shelton Avenue is blown off its foundations.

• SHELTON - Shelton and Derby firefighters extinguish a fire on a diesel locomotive near the freight station.

January 5

• DERBY - Mayor Dirienzo sworn in for sixth term.

• SHELTON - Mayor LeMay is sworn in at 12:01 AM, replacing outgoing Mayor Cicia. The Board of Aldermen are sworn in at 800 PM. One of their first official acts is to lay off the former street commissioner (also a foreman) and 5 others dropped from the Street Department, setting up a showdown with Teamsters Local 145.

January 6

• ANSONIA – City police officer Charles Piwonski dies after a short illness. He was a police officer for 27 years.

• ANSONIA – Evening Sentinel newsman Edward Cotter Jr. fights a fire with his own fire extinguisher in a store on the corner of Tremont and Factory Streets, after a police officer kicks in the door. The two have the fire under control before the fire department arrives.

• SEYMOUR - Fire guts a year-round cottage just above Actors' Colony Inn.

• SHELTON – The Shelton Canal freezes, shutting down production at Chromium Process and B.F. Goodrich Plant #4, idling over 700 workers for a day.

January 7

• ANSONIA – The Army Corps of Engineers recommends extending the loan of the Bailey Bridge to Ansonia to December 1961, due to the imminent replacement of the Bridge Street Bridge.

• ANSONIA - Burglars break into Pine High School, and ransack the offices of the Superintendent and Principal. They roll a heavy safe into a corridor, in a failed attempt to try to open it with a blowtorch stolen from the machine shop.

January 8

• DERBY - Vandals have heavily damaged the refurbished park ranger's home at Osborndale State Park, located just north of Kellogg homestead on Hawthorne Avenue.

Monday, January 12

• SHELTON - J. Sterling Edwards dies. Born in Shelton on November 9, 1881, he was the City’s first ever City Clerk, appointed January 1, 1917. He served until 1923, but was reappointed in 1925, and ended up serving until 1950.

January 13

• DERBY - James B. Atwater retires as President of Birmingham National Bank, a post he held since 1931. At the time, he was only the sixth president in the bank’s 111 years. Thomas J. Manning is elected to succeed him.

• SHELTON - Shelton was one of 12 towns in Connecticut with a population of over 10,000 people, that did not suffer a single pedestrian death in 1958.

Monday, January 19

• SEYMOUR - Town voters reject a proposed new 1000 student Seymour High School, which would have cost $785,000, by a vote of 1329-1106. This is the second high school referendum to be defeated in less than a year.

• SHELTON – A Hoffman fuel truck with 1,000 gallons of fuel oil stalls halfway up a hill on Kanangum Trail in Pine Rock Park, rolls backwards over an 8' embankment, and overturns. Some fuel leaks out.

January 21

• The heaviest fog of the season blankets the area at dusk.

• DERBY – Griffin Hospital receives a $40,000 grant from the Friend A. Russ Fund, established in 1918, to establish an out-patient psychiatry clinic.

January 22

• OXFORD - New mercury vapor lights have been installed on the Stevenson Dam bridge, making it by far the brightest street in Oxford. The Connecticut Light & Power Company installed twin taintor gates on the dam at an angle downstream, altering part of the dam and eliminating a sharp traffic approach. The gates will increase the dam's spillway capacity and give it better control of high waters such as that encountered during the 1955 floods. The spillway approach channel is still under construction.

• SHELTON – The S&R Service Station on 144 River Road is held up and robbed of $200 by two teens.

Sunday, January 25

• ANSONIA - 300 attend the ice skating races on Colony Pond, sponsored by the Ansonia Recreation Commission.

• ANSONIA - Burglars break into the North Italian Club on Cheever Street Extension sometime after midnight. They roll a 500 pound safe into the street and leave it in front of the building. Change is stolen from the jukebox, pinball, and cigarette machines.

• DERBY - Coach Leo Ryan dies at Griffin Hospital. Born in Derby on September 4, 1903, he graduated from Derby High School, class of 1921, and was the football captain his senior year. He graduated from Catholic University in 1925, and was appointed to the Derby High School faculty in 1925 as a social studies teacher. He became the school’s head coach the following year. He coached the school’s basketball team into the semi-finals in 1937, 1938, 1945, and 1948, and even though he retired in 1950 he was credited with building the team that won the State Championship in 1951. In baseball, his teams won several Housatonic League Championships. Coach Ryan was best remembered as a football coach, however, winning the Housatonic League Championship in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1940 and 1946, and State Championships in 1937 and 1940 despite having limited manpower. His overall DHS football record was 92-80-29. Mayor Dirienzo orders flags to half staff until his funeral.

• DERBY - Gabe's Garage on 356 Seymour Avenue is heavily damaged by a $2,500 fire.

• SEYMOUR – A fire in the sixth floor of an elevator shaft at the Waterman-Bic Pen Company causes $500 damage.

January 26

• SEYMOUR – The Seymour High School building committee meets for the first time since the second referendum was defeated. Four of 12 committee members quit after a motion is passed to name a committee to explore an addition to the existing high school, as well as Maple Street School and Bungay School, and building a new school in the Skokorat area.

January 28

• ANSONIA - 48 acres of land off Benz Street, including Parker’s Pond, has been purchased by the Andrew Keith Building Corporation of West Hartford. They will build 110 homes there.

• DERBY – Hundreds attend Coach Leo Ryan’s funeral.

• SEYMOUR – The Town’s Grand List drops for the first time in many years, down $91,362, from last year’s total.

January 29

• ANSONIA - Local State Rep. Garrett Burkitt says the Ansonia Armory is in "deplorable" condition and is trying to get funding to restore it.

• DERBY – It is announced that the Union Fabric Company on Roosevelt Drive, one of Derby's oldest industries, will cease operations on February 11, which will lay off 30 employees.

January 31

• ANSONIA – The City’s 1958 Grand List shows a $1,313,019 increase. There are 6,592 automobiles, which is only 42 more from last year.

February

Monday, February 2

• DERBY - Farrel-Birmingham confirms that it plans to temporary close its Derby plant, and consolidate all foundry operations at the Ansonia plant in 1-2 months until business picks up. This will idle about 50 men.

• OXFORD - A rural substation of the Seymour Post Office opens in Steinecker's General Store in Oxford Center. This marks a return to having a post office in Oxford, which previously had one from 1807 to 1903.

February 3

• SEYMOUR - A 64-year old Hickory Lane woman is found murdered in her bed. Her husband is arrested. After first saying he couldn’t remember if he committed the crime, he admits to the killing two days later.

February 4

• An ice storm that started the previous late evening, continues to the early morning hours today. The ice turns to torrential rain, washing away most of the ice. Before the ice washes away, however, it causes a number of automobile accidents. A number of people slip on the ice and fall, including an Ansonia police officer who injures his shoulder, and a Derby police officer who fractures two ribs.

• ANSONIA & SHELTON - An Ansonia man is stopped on Route 8 in Shelton by State Police. He decides to flee after he is stopped, however, striking the police cruiser twice in the process. The State Police are unable to catch him, but get his plate number, which is traced to an Ansonia address. Ansonia police find the car in a North Main Street garage, and arrest the owner.

February 5

• SHELTON - 500 attend a public meeting at Shelton High School regarding widening the non-expressway portion of Route 8. The plan presented would result in the loss of 30 homes, 1 factory, 8 commercial buildings, and 13 trailer sites.

February 7

• DERBY - Mayor Dirienzo says he favors naming the athletic field at Coon Hollow Park after the late Coach Leo Ryan.

• OXFORD – The Town’s 1958 Grand List includes 1,168 homes, 1,155 outbuildings, and 34 commercial buildings.

Sunday, February 8

• ANSONIA - Three men break into Dr. Joseph Dworkin's house on Bartholomew Road, where they find a 14 year old babysitter. They put a pillow over her head, and two guard her, while the third ransacks the house, taking $60.

February 9

• SHELTON - A trailer loaded with acetone and matches on top of a railroad flatcar rolls off a moving 106 car train. The trailer flies over a car, knocks down a utility pole, and smashes into a brick wall of the B&W Specialty Co at 123 Canal Street. Other railroad cars derail, blocking the trestle to Derby. A showdown between the New Haven Railroad and the Shelton Fire Department ends after the Fire Chief threatens to block the tracks with a fire engine if the railroad reopens the line before the dangerous cargo is removed from the trailer.

• SHELTON – The White Hills Fire Company receives a new 1,000 gallon pumper with 500GPM pump. The vehicle sports a Dodge cab and chassis, with an American LaFrance body.

February 10

• ANSONIA – The Mariani Construction Company of New Haven is the low bidder to replace the Bridge Street Bridge, coming in at $558,781.75.

• DERBY – The Board of Aldermen unanimously votes to name the athletic field at Coon Hollow Park the Leo F. Ryan Memorial Field, after the recently deceased high school coach.

• SHELTON – The City’s 1958 Grand List shows 4,131 houses, 2,825 outbuildings, 272 commercial buildings, 169 factories, 7,185 automobiles, 15 horses, and 1032 cattle.

February 11

• DERBY – The Housatonic Council closed 1958 with 1,900 members, including 15 Cub Scout Packs, 18 Boy Scout Troops, and 7 Explorer Posts.

• SEYMOUR – The Seymour Furniture Company has added 2,000' of display space to its main floor on 26 Bank Street.

February 12

• ANSONIA - The Ansonia Redevelopment Agency has spent $88,317.16 in two years planning two redevelopment projects in the Broad Street area and downtown.

February 13

• ANSONIA – The bartender of the Central Subalpi Club on Parker Street is accosted on his way home by two hooded men. He is marched back to the club and forced to open its safe at gunpoint, where the men take $300.

Sunday February 15

• SHELTON - Fire guts an apartment on 39 Perry Avenue in 5-unit, 3-story building.

February 17

• ANSONIA – The 1958 vital statistics were 471 children born, an increase 22 over 1957, including 243 boys and 228 girls. 382 of the babies were born at Griffin Hospital. There were 203 weddings involving City residents, a decrease of 12. 135 of the weddings occurred in the City. 225 City residents died in 1958, 60 of them in City limits.

February 18

• SHELTON - Dworkin Ford delivers a 1959 Ford to be used for student driving classes at the high school.

February 19

• DERBY – The Union Fabric Company changes its name to the Derby Wire Company, as part of its liquidation.

February 21

• ANSONIA - A $3,000 fire damages 3 apartments of a 6-family tenement at 307 East Main Street.

Sunday, February 22

• SHELTON – A $4,000 fire breaks out in a 4-room, 1 story home on Oronoque Trail in Pine Rock Park.

February 23

• Snow starts in the afternoon and continues intermittently throughout the night, leaving 3”.

• SHELTON – A school bus loaded with about 50 high school students gets into an accident in the snow on Nells Rock Road. There are no injuries.

February 24

• ANSONIA – A $12,000 fire strikes a Murray Street home, killing a dog and cat.

February 25

• SEYMOUR & OXFORD – The Seymour Board of Education votes to terminate the contract to send Oxford students to Seymour High School, at the request of the Oxford Board of Education, beginning in September. Oxford students already there will be allowed to complete their education.

February 28

• DERBY - A drive-in window is being installed at Derby Savings Bank, with cars entering on Main Street and exiting onto Olivia Street. The bank has 22,000 customers.

March

Wednesday, March 4

• ANSONIA – Pottery dug up on Ansonia Water Company land is dated by a Yale Professor to 900 AD.

• DERBY – Steel is being unloaded at the Derby freight yard, that will be used in new East Derby Bridge at Route 34 and the Mohawk Avenue bypass at Route 8.

March 5

• DERBY - The new Beth Israel Synagogue Center is nearing completion on Elizabeth Street.

• SHELTON – The 1958 vital statistics include 388 children born to city residents, though only one of them was actually born in the city. There were 73 deaths within the City itself, not including the 45 at Laurel Heights Hospital, and 82 Shelton residents died in other towns. There were 57 marriages in the City, while 87 residents were married in other towns

March 6

• 2" of rain falls.

• ANSONIA – The Naugatuck River is within 1' of the bottom of the railroad trestle.

• ANSONIA – Regan's Package Store at 260 Wakelee Avenue is held up by a bandit with a butcher knife, who forces the storekeeper to open his safe. He steals $254.

• DERBY – Patrons are forced to evacuate the Center Drive-In off Division Street when floods break out there. Construction equipment at the East Derby Bridge project is damaged by the high water.

Sunday, March 8

• ANSONIA - Fire sweeps through a 2-story Liberty Street apartment house, making six families homeless, as well as burning out the Portuguese Holy Name Society clubrooms.

March 10

• ANSONIA – The caretaker's shack burns down at the Ansonia Dump. A car is seen fleeing the scene just before flames broke out. The police think someone took shelter from the cold there, and started a fire for warmth that got out of control.

• DERBY – The International Typographical Union Local 285 is on strike at the Charlton Press. The police are called to escort trucks through the picket line due to reports that the drivers were threatened. The union denies the threats.

• SHELTON - 30 acres of land off Nells Rock Road has been sold to the Holy Ghost Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in Bridgeport. The land will be used for recreational purposes. This is today’s Holy Ghost Park.

• SHELTON – The City’s new police car is badly damaged when it is broadsided on Howe Avenue by a car coming off the southbound exit ramp of the Commodore Hull Bridge.

March 12

• On this the 71^st anniversary of the Blizzard of 1888, a snowstorm begins after midnight and dumps a total of 7.5”.

• DERBY - A 59 year old Caroline Street man is found dead in his car in front of his house. Apparently, he tried to start his car, and both exhaust pipes were plugged by snow. The exhaust backed up into the vehicle, asphyxiating him.

• SHELTON - A boxcar, while being moved by a switcher engine, derails and hits the Chromium Process warehouse damaging it. The boxcar then hits the Axton-Cross loading platform of Axton-Cross, pushing the platform 12' and on top of an automobile, demolishing it.

March 14

• A number of Valley units, including fire companies from Ansonia, Derby, and Shelton, participate in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New Haven. The event is marred by a major riot involving Yale students, with over 40 arrested. Near the end of the parade Ansonia’s Charters Hose Co. No. 4 had some anxious moments when they were surrounded by rioters, but no one was harmed, and the company maintained its formation.

Sunday, March 15

• DERBY - Coal gas poisoning kills a 79 year old Prospect Street woman, and leaves her 60 year old Mount Pleasant Street sister who came to see her in critical condition at Griffin Hospital.

March 18

• ANSONIA – John T. Bennett opens the Bennett funeral home for the fist time today on 91 North Cliff Street, in the former Tuttle home.

• ANSONIA – The Board of Education votes 10-0 to have an architect draw plans for a 16 room addition to Ansonia High School.

• DERBY - A brick house is being moved from Mohawk Avenue to Fall Street to make room for the new Bluff Street Bridge for Route 8. The house just fits down Mohawk Avenue.

March 19

• DERBY – A morning raid on a Seventh Street home sees a West Haven man arrested for pool selling and horse betting. Two telephones are seized as evidence.

March 21

• SHELTON - A 23 year old man dies of carbon monoxide poisoning while working on his car in the cellar garage of his Buddington Road house.

Monday, March 23

• ANSONIA – The Preferred Finance Company, of Main Street, is held up by a man holding a toy gun and sharp scissors. He forces a 21year old female clerk from Seymour to put $730 in a bag, then ties her up and flees. He is still at large.

March 25

• ANSONIA – The Board of Education approves preliminary plans for an 11 room elementary school for 330 pupils in Hilltop area, along with ball fields and a gymnasium.

• SEYMOUR - A grass fire spreads to a 1-car garage and attached chicken coop, destroying them, on Smith Street.

• SEYMOUR - Holiday Lanes announces plans for a 32 lane bowling alley on a 10 acre tract along Route 8 near the Ansonia line.

March 27

• SEYMOUR - Fire in a garage attached to a Skokrat Road house causes $2,500 in damages.

Easter Sunday, March 29

• Churches are thronged

• SEYMOUR - Donated alms basins, built in 1765, are dedicated at St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

March 30

• SEYMOUR - After 80 years of making non-ferrous metal, the Seymour Manufacturing Company is now diversifying by making stainless steel.

• SHELTON - All 9 members of the Industrial Development Commission resign. Mayor LeMay accepts the resignations and says will appoint “a new and aggressive board”.

March 31

• ANSONIA – State Representative Garrett Burkitt Sr. dies at 65 in St. Raphael’s Hospital in New Haven, after suffering a heart attack at his Prospect Street home. Known as a colorful figure in the General Assembly, the Democrat served as the 17^th District’s State Senator in 1949, and as a Representative in the 1953, 1955, and 1959 sessions. Ansonia is stunned as condolences from across the state pour in. Born March 8, 1893 in Amory, Mississippi, he was an Ansonia resident for 45 years, and was survived by his wife Mildred A. Frawley Burkitt and two sons.

April

Wednesday, April 1

• ANSONIA – The Air Force informs the Kobziak family of Broad Street that their son has been missing on fishing trip on Devil's River, near Del Rio, Texas, since 7 PM last night. Later in the day his body is discovered, apparently he drowned.

April 2

• 2.3" of rain falls, the heaviest since October 27, 1958. The Naugatuck River rises.

• DERBY - David Humphreys Road is washed out.

• DERBY – The newly renovated J.C. Penney store on Elizabeth Street reopens with much fanfare. The store has been here since 1938. This is where Archie Moore’s is today.

April 4

• ANSONIA – Rep. Garrett Burkitt Sr.’s funeral at the John T. Bennett funeral home on North Cliff Street is packed.

• SHELTON – A 67 year old widow is assaulted in her Waverly Road home by bandits who end up stealing $37 from her. All police departments are searching for the assailants.

Sunday, April 5

• DERBY – Derby Historical Society President Dr. Samuel Rentsch supervises planting of 100 white pines, 300 white spruces, 300 hemlocks, 30 autumn olives, 50 gray dogwoods, 100 silky cornells, 100 lespedisia, and 100 multi-floral roses along Routes 8 and 34. All were donated by the United States Soil Conservation Bureau. He is assisted by Boy Scouts and Explorers.

April 6

• ANSONIA - 40 members of the Retail Merchants' Branch of the Ansonia Chamber of Commerce, meeting at Rapp's Paradise, approve a program to validate downtown parking for up to an hour with any purchase in their stores of $2.

April 7

• SEYMOUR - The Strand Theater will reopen on April 15, after being extensively modernized, including a new wall-to-wall movie screen and seats.

April 8

• SHELTON – A grass fire spreads to a large barn on the property of the Grasso Construction Company on River Road, destroying it.

April 9

• DERBY – The Board of Aldermen unanimously adopt a resolution approving bond issue of $575,000 for construction of a new elementary school on Sentinel Hill. This is today’s Bradley School.

April 10

• DERBY – An early morning robbery occurs at F. Hallock Company on Main Street, when a hole is cut into the roof to allow access. A safe is broken into and $500 stolen. Tools for sale in the hardware store were used in the burglary.

• SEYMOUR – The police have taken delivery of a new Pontiac cruiser.

April 11

• SHELTON – The Southern New England Telephone Company (SNET) obtains an option to purchase a 1.5 acre tract off Nells Rock Road, to construct a repeater station building and 160' microwave tower.

• SHELTON – The South End Food Market, on 63-65 Howe Avenue, closes after 34 years in business. Two brothers opened that store, along with another in the North End, in 1925. When one of the brothers died in 1942 the North End store closed. The South End Food Market was one of the first semi self-serve stores in the Valley.

Sunday, April 12

• DERBY – Hundreds attend the dedication of the new Beth Israel Synagogue Center on Elizabeth Street. (This is today’s New Life Community Church).

April 13

• ANSONIA - Stephen Kobasiar, of High Street dies. He won the Silver Star for gallantry at Guadalcanal in World War II.

April 14

• ANSONIA - An attempt to derail a passenger train under the Bridge Street Bridge fails when the train's wheels snap the concealed 2x10, 7' plank placed over the tracks. The signal wires were also cut. This is the third attempt to derail a train in the City in a year.

• SEYMOUR - Bernard H. Matthies presents the Seymour Public Library with a 16 volume collection of novels by local writer Ann S. Stephens (1810-1886).

• SHELTON – The United Shoe Machinery’s (USM) Pop Rivet Division will move to its River Road plant from West Medway, MA, adding 50 new jobs.

April 15

• DERBY – The Mascolo Brothers’ Everything Electrical store opens in the lobby of the former Commodore Hull Theater.

• SEYMOUR – The ribbon is cut at the newly renovated Strand Theater.

April 16

• SHELTON - Mrs. Jean Mitchell Nettleton, widow of Dr. Francis Nettleton, a former mayor of Shelton who served for 5 terms, dies at 85 at Hewitt Memorial Hospital.

Monday, April 20

• SHELTON – The Postmaster is notified that a new post office, to be called Huntington Station, has been approved

April 23

• ANSONIA - Two new rubber companies are moving into the former Ansonia Wire and Cable Company. They are the U-Neke Moulded Latex Products and Rubber Specialties, and they expect to employ a total of 25.

• DERBY - Valley Chevrolet on 208 Seymour Avenue is holding a twentieth anniversary sale. The firm began on Central Street in Ansonia with 5 employees, and as of 1959 has over 30.

• OXFORD – Incoming high school-aged students will attend Southbury High School next year.

• SHELTON – High School students present a portable television set to Principal John Freiheit, who is recovering at home from an illness.

Sunday, April 26

• DERBY – Longtime grocer Ralph Vollaro dies at Griffin Hospital. He immigrated to Derby from Italy in 1903, and soon after established Vollaro's Market on 15 Minerva Street, adjoining his home. The grocery and meat market was still there at the time of his death.

April 28

• ANSONIA – The State signs a contract to reconstruct the Bridge Street Bridge with Mariani Construction Company of New Haven for $558,781.75. The new bridge’s length, including its approaches will be 929 feet long. The span itself will be 393' long, with the roadway 48' wide plus a 6' sidewalk on each side. The bridge will have 3 spans on built-up girders, with a fourth span over railroad tracks. Parts of the old bridge will be incorporated into the construction.

• SHELTON - A 19yo Wapowog Trail boy threatens family with rifle, and shoots at his father. He later flees to a boulder behind his house. In a brief standoff, he throws a hunting knife, barely missing a police officer, then charges the officer with another knife. The officer shoots the young man, causing a non-fatal wound.

May

Sunday, May 3

• DERBY - Mayor Dirienzo is stricken at a testimonial banquet for him at the Adriatico Marchigian Hall on Hawthorne Avenue. He is taken home by his son and treated by a physician, who determines he has a fever of 105. He is admitted to Griffin Hospital with a viral throat infection.

May 4

• SEYMOUR - 30 acres are burned in forest fire on Rimmon Hill. The Oxford fire tower is coordinating state fire patrol crews and local volunteers in extinguishing the blaze. Seymour Manufacturing Company employees are employed to battle the fire in the Pershing Avenue area which is threatening homes. Additional crews are requested from Ansonia High School and the NIKE site.

May 5

• ANSONIA – There are four brush fires in the City today, including one which scorched 25 acres near Nolan Field.

May 6

• ANSONIA - The reconstructed Bridge Street Bridge will be named after Edward G. Clancy.

• DERBY – The fire department gets an FCC permit to operate on 33.7 MHz with the call letters KCG-651.

May 7

• ANSONIA - Federal approval is given for the final plans of the Broad Street Redevelopment project. It will include a low-rent housing project with 165 units and a shopping center. Of the 332 present dwellings in area now, 228 are considered substandard. Many of the substandard dwellings have no central heat, or private bathrooms, flush toilets, hot water, or fire escapes. The adjacent river channel will be widened. The Federal Government will pay 2/3 of the costs, with the State of Connecticut and the City of Ansonia each paying 1/6 of the costs.

May 9

• SEYMOUR - Two forest fires burn at the same time today. The first burns 16 acres near Route 8 on Joseph Daddio’s land off Seymour Avenue. State prisoners are employed to help fight this fire. The second fire was off Route 8 near the old Birch Bar Inn, burning over 25 acres. State forestry crews help fight this fire. A third fire breaks out later in the day, straddling the Woodbridge town line, burning 8 acres.

Monday, May 11

• SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen directs the Building Inspector to investigate a permit given last month for a 2 family house on Isinglass Road. This is after neighbors in the Isinglass Road – Kazo Drive area sign a petition against it. The petition points out that the proposed building would rely on septic tanks, which are not adequate.

May 12

• SHELTON – A lightning strike causes a smoky fire at the Bures Hardware store on 10 Bridgeport Avenue, causing slight damage.

May 13

• DERBY – A scheduled “rumble” between Ansonia and Shelton teens on Derby Green is nipped in the bud when the Derby Police are tipped off. 25 plainclothes officers stake out the Green, and 6 Ansonia teens, some carrying weapons, are arrested as they approach the Green. The rest of the teens get the message and stay away.

May 15

• DERBY – Griffin Hospital has begun construction on a new wing for its facility.

May 16

• OXFORD - The new Spence Lodge recreational building is dedicated at an open house program at camp An-Se-Ox. The building measures 40x60', and boasts a 8' wide fireplace.

• SEYMOUR - Lt. Francis Flaherty sworn in as the Town’s first Chief of Police. The State General Assembly signed a bill on Tuesday creating a formal police department with a chief. Prior to that, Seymour’s First Selectman served as the police chief.

• SEYMOUR - The Second Street Urban Renewal Project is approved by Town voters in a referendum 901-474. 27% of the electorate voted.

Sunday, May 17

• DERBY - Thieves break into the Derby Aerie Fraternal Order of Eagles clubhouse on Mohawk Avenue by breaching a wall. They steal the cash register and break open the cigarette machine, but do not succeed in breaking open the safe.

• OXFORD – Rev. William Soule announces he will retire as the pastor of both St. Peter's Church in Oxford and Christ Church in Quaker Farms. The 68 year old pastor has been an Episcopal priest for 43 years, and has served in Oxford since September 1, 1948.

May 21

• ANSONIA – A second attempt in 5 weeks is made to derail a passenger train by placing lumber on the tracks under Bridge Street. Both City and Railroad police are investigating.

• ANSONIA – A new 1959 Plymouth station wagon is stolen from front of Fitzpatrick's Garage on East Main Street. It is found early the next morning abandoned with its front end smashed on Clifton Avenue.

• DERBY - Mayor Dirienzo undergoes major surgery at Griffin Hospital.

May 22

• DERBY – The Derby Savings Bank’s new drive-in service is inaugurated. The first deposit is made by Robert H. Chatfield, 88, the oldest director of the bank. The picture in the newspaper indicates that Mr. Chatfield got out of his car to make the deposit. The drive-in is a "picture-type window" said to be first of its kind in New England, and has bulletproof glass.

Sunday, May 24

• ANSONIA – A Memorial service is held at the Woodbridge Avenue honor roll, sponsored by Ansonia Memorial Day Committee and Woodbridge Athletic Club. 300 attend

• DERBY – The First Congregational Church rededicates its reconstructed organ. The organ was purchased in 1883 from St. Mary's Church, when that church completed their present edifice.

• SHELTON - Nearly 2,000 attend the Memorial Services on Huntington Green. Rev. John Culliton of St. Lawrence Church was the main speaker - he was a chaplain during the Solomon Islands Campaign in 1942. NIKE soldiers are present. A 49-star flag is lowered to half mast in respect for Secretary of State John Foster Dulles who died earlier in the day.

May 26

• The New Haven Foundation made 20 contributions for a total of $54,782.68 to Valley agencies this year.

May 27

• ANSONIA - Ansonia Public Works is laying a large storm water sewer on Division Street, south of the bridge. It is one of the largest such pipes ever installed by the department.

• DERBY - Former mayor James Atwater retires as the president of Derby Public Library after 37 years.

May 30 Memorial Day

• ANSONIA – 2,500 march in the Memorial Day Parade, which follows its traditional route for the first time since before the 1955 floods. Highlights include the first appearance of the new Combat Support Company of the 102nd Infantry Battle Group, which was formerly Co. I and Co. M based at the Ansonia Armory which recently merged, as well as soldiers from the Ansonia NIKE base. Identical twin baton twirlers from Meriden also capture much attention. Hundreds visit the cemeteries.

• DERBY & SHELTON – This year’s parade starts in Shelton and ends in Derby.

• OXFORD – The Town’s Memorial Day Parade runs from Seth Den Road to Oxford School, where memorial exercises are held.

• SEYMOUR – The Town’s Memorial Day Parade ends with services at French Memorial Park.

• SHELTON – A 19 year old mother of 2 is shot by her husband on River Road during and argument. He is arrested, her wound does not appear fatal.

June

Monday, June 1

• ANSONIA – The Ansonia Housing Authority unanimously approves the Broad Street Urban Renewal plan. 165 modern low rent housing units will be constructed in 3-story brick buildings. The project will also include playgrounds, laundry facilities, and parking lots. 22 units will be for senior citizens.

• ANSONIA – A fire on the second floor of a Marshall Lane house injures a Webster Hose fireman, as well as a woman who was rescued. She is married to an Ansonia police sergeant.

June 2

• ANSONIA - City native Maurice O'Brien is visiting friends and family here. He goes under the stage name Donnell O'Brien, and is on the television shows Omnibus, Edge of Night, The US Steel Hour, and The Phil Stivers Show, as well as appearing on Broadway. Now a New York City resident, he is the nephew of late Ansonia Police Chief David O'Donnell.

June 3

• SHELTON - Plumbing work at the new Elizabeth Shelton School is now 2 weeks behind, due to a plumbers' strike.

June 4

• ANSONIA – The State has finally marked the Wakelee Avenue exit off Route 8 with a sign. At this time the exits had no numbers.

June 5

• DERBY – Plans are unveiled for a new Paugassett Hook & Ladder Co. No. 4 firehouse. The ladder truck is now temporarily relocated to Joe’s Service Station due to the new Main Street bridge construction.

• DERBY - A 57year old Minerva Street man attacks his 41 year old wife in the municipal parking lot on lower Caroline Street with a knife, stabbing her. When another couple comes to her assistance, he stabs a 50 year old woman, but her husband beats the assailant in the face and head with a broom. The assailant is arrested, both women will recover.

Monday, June 8

• ANSONIA – An 18 month old Benz Street boy dies in front of his house after being struck by a mail truck that was backing up.

June 9

• DERBY - Robert Cronin and William Cronin, twins who live on 6 Summer Street, receive doctor of medicine degrees from New York Medical College.

June 11

• DERBY – The Evening Sentinel complains that the State still has not done anything to improve Osborndale State Park.

• SEYMOUR – Seymour High School graduates 101 seniors at outdoor exercises at Bungay School. More than 1,300 guests attend. The valedictorian is Linda Osiecki of Seymour, while the salutatorian Linda Dofron, of Beacon Falls.

• SEYMOUR – The State Highway Department informs Seymour that it plans to construct a 24 span, 1,725' long, 4-lane overpass costing 2.2 million, which will from run from Cedar Street and Derby Avenue north, over The Falls, and Bank Street, the Naugatuck River, and the railroad tracks. This is part of a new 3-mile long northern extension of the Route 8 highway, beginning at Kinneytown.

• SHELTON - The Post Office Chevron Service Station, located across from the Post Office on Bridge Street, has its grand opening.

Sunday, June 14

• SHELTON – The reconstructed Church of the Good Shepherd is consecrated by Rt. Rev. Walter Gay. The new bell is sounded. The original stone walls of the church, gutted by fire on December 29, 1957, remain. There are many changes to the interior, however, including a new marble altar.

• SHELTON - Misses Sheila Reinhold and Willa Reinhold, identical twins from Birchbank, graduate from the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing. Both are graduates from Seymour High School Class of 1956.

June 17

• ANSONIA – Graduation exercises for 162 Ansonia High and 43 Pine High School students are held at the City’s 76th commencement at Ansonia High School.  The Valedictorian is Andrea Zane Kruger of Oxford, and the Salutatorian is Edith Evelyn Wall.

June 18

• ANSONIA – The School Building Commission approves final plans for a 16-room addition, and extension and improvements to the cafeteria and gymnasium, to Ansonia High School.

• DERBY - Prior to the high school graduation, 200 attend the dedication of Leo F. Ryan Memorial Field at Coon Hollow Park, with a new flagpole and stone in his memory.

• DERBY – Derby High School graduates 93 seniors at Leo. F. Ryan Field. Judith Nystrom is the Valedictorian, while Sharlott Abrams is the Salutatorian.

June 20

• DERBY - Voters approve a bond issue for a new school on David Humphreys Road 1498-462.

Monday, June 22

• DERBY - Explorer Post 33 awards 10 Eagle Scout at its court of honor.

June 23

• ANSONIA - Final plans for an 11-room elementary school on the corner of Finney Street and Ford Street approved.

• SEYMOUR - Dan Paul, Seymour High School graduate, has been signed up by the National League’s Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He lives in Beacon Falls.

• SHELTON – Shelton High School graduates 148 at its 70th commencement in the school auditorium, the largest class up to that time. The Valedictorian is Leonard Katz, while Robert Budetti is the Salutatorian. The class is composed of 80 girls and 68 boys and includes 3 sets of twins.

June 25

• ANSONIA & DERBY - Contract negotiations between Farrel-Birmingham and Local 3571 of the United Steelworkers of America have broken off. A strike at the plants involving 1,300 may be imminent. Meanwhile, talks have restarted this morning between Farrel-Birmingham and its other major union, Local 445, of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers.

• OXFORD - Hundreds attend what is billed as largest parade in Oxford history, sponsored by the Oxford Center Fire Company in conjunction with its carnival.

June 26

• ANSONIA – Two bond issues pass referendum. It includes approval of Ansonia’s share of the Broad Street Redevelopment Project, one-sixth its total cost, which passed 1394-488. $188,000 in improvements to Ansonia Public Library also passed 1375-426.

• ANSONIA - Talks have restarted between Local 3571 and Farrel-Birmingham. Meanwhile, Local 445 is taking a strike vote to comply with a national referendum to support wage and contract demands.

• SEYMOUR - A capacity crowd packs Actor's Colony for their Cavalcade of Music Show, featuring highlights of 50 years of show business.

June 27

• SHELTON – Construction restarts at the new Elizabeth Shelton School, with the resolution of a plumbers’ strike.

Sunday, June 28

• SEYMOUR – Most of the Town clergy sign a joint statement deploring perceived bullying, hazing, and intimidation among students within the public school system, igniting a debate among parents, town officials, and school officials that lasts for some time.

June 30

• ANSONIA – The Ansonia Housing Authority receives a formal contract from the Federal Government assuring 165 new low-income housing units in the Broad Street area. This area would become today’s Olson Drive.

• ANSONIA – The contract between American Brass Company and Local 445 of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, which was to expire at midnight tonight, has been extended to the next scheduled meeting on July 9. Meanwhile, contract talks between that union, along with Local 3571 of the United Steelworkers of America, and Farrel-Birmingham continue today in New York City.

July

Wednesday, July 1

• DERBY – The 101 year old Howard and Barber Department Store is acquired by Shartenberg's-New Haven, Inc., which operates a similarly-sized department store in the Elm City, effective tomorrow. They plan not to make any changes and will keep the store's name.

• DERBY - Governor Ribicoff signs a Reservoir Bill which, among other things, will allow the Housatonic Council to develop a new Boy Scout Camp in Goshen.

• SEYMOUR - Sen. Prescott Bush announces approval of a $398,686 federal loan, and a $268,926 federal capital grant, to the Town of Seymour for the 5-acre Second Street Urban Renewal Project.

July 3

• SHELTON - Hundreds view a street parade on Howe Avenue, which leads the way to a fireworks show at Lafayette Field. Entertainment is provided by Capt. C Whiskers, host of the Popeye Theater on WNHC-TV.

July 4 - America's 183rd Independence Day

• The day is relatively quiet, with few incidents throughout the Valley.

• DERBY - Thousands jam Ryan Field for the annual Fourth of July fireworks display.

• SEYMOUR – A Police Sergeant has a heart attack at his home, and dies at Griffin Hospital at 44. He was appointed to the Seymour Police Department in 1947.

Monday, July 6

• ANSONIA – The Bridge Street Bridge closes to traffic for the last time. It will be replaced by Edward G. Clancy Bridge. The concrete Bridge Street Bridge was built in 1917, and was the only one of the four Ansonia bridges over the Naugatuck River that survived the August 1955 flood. Broad Street will now be one-way going north, to handle the increased traffic on the Bailey Bridge.

• ANSONIA - Gov. Ribicoff signs a bill stripping Mayor Doyle of the power to directly appoint the City’s tax collector, corporation counsel, charity superintendent, sealer of weights and measures, and milk inspectors. This is after the City’s Representative Bergin threatens on the floor of the House to switch to the Republican Party if the measure not reported favorably by committee. The Governor apparently ignored the Mayor's plea to veto the measure.

• SHELTON - Gus Skelly has retired as greens keeper and steward of the Highland Golf Club, where he has served since 1927.

July 7

• ANSONIA – Demolition begins on the Bridge Street Bridge at the center span.

• ANSONIA – Sen. Prescott Bush and Sen. Thomas Dodd announce approval of a $2,079,827 loan and $1,782,227 federal capital grant to enable Ansonia to begin execution of the 32-acre Broad Street Renewal Project.

• OXFORD – Girl Scout Camp An-Se-Ox opens for the season.

July 8

• Today is Ladies Day in Bridgeport stores. By the time the Waterbury train left the Valley for the Park City, a total of 392 passengers were crammed in 2½ passenger cars. The train was crowded before it even left Waterbury, and everyone who boarded in the Valley had to stand.

July 9

• ANSONIA – The City’s oldest businessman, Thomas Coleman of 11 Nichols Street, celebrates his 89th birthday by painting a house. When he is not painting, Mr. Coleman is a vegetable dealer who has had the same route for 60 years.

Sunday, July 12

• DERBY – A 10 year old Lafayette Street boy is slightly hurt when his bicycle darts in front of a police car at Elizabeth Street near Fourth Street. He is taken to Griffin Hospital and released.

July 13

• SEYMOUR – The pastors of Immanuel Lutheran and Seymour Methodist churches both receive threatening telephone calls. This follows a letter signed by 5 local clergymen directed to the First Selectman. The letter rejects further public meetings on the clergymen’s charges of hazing and other problems within the school system, saying the last meeting was unproductive. The letter outlines a 10-point program the clergymen want the Board of Education to initiate at its upcoming July meeting. Among the points are bans on hazing, ending the tradition of the faculty rising when seniors enter assemblies, stricter discipline, greater respect to teachers, follow-through on all reports of theft and vandalism, and adequate buildings.

July 14

• SEYMOUR – The top of the 85’ tall steeple of Seymour Methodist Church is removed. The old spire will be razed, to be replaced by a new cupola-type steeple which which will be capped with a 12' aluminum spire. The steeple which will be 20' shorter. The church’s distinctive chimes will be silent until the new steeple is completed.

July 15

• DERBY – The local office of the Railway Express Company, located at the Railroad Station, announces it will close August 15. The announcement leaves many Valley manufacturers concerned over possible changes in freight service.

July 16

• ANSONIA – The center arch of the Bridge Street Bridge, which is being demolished, is knocked into the Naugatuck River. The eastern arch comes down a short time later.

Monday, July 20

• DERBY – The Derby Aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles, has sold its FOE home on Mohawk Avenue to Derby Auto Glass, and has purchased the former Congregation Sons of Israel synagogue on Anson Street. The FOE will move there about August 1. The synagogue was built in 1918, and the Derby Aerie FOE chapter was organized in 1904.

July 23

• ANSONIA – The Board of Education votes 6-1-1 to award the new Hilltop School construction contract to John Cimmino, Inc., for $391,383.

• DERBY – Construction of a new wing at Griffin Hospital continues. It will provide 26 additional beds and a 75% increase in medical and surgical beds. The addition will be 5 stories high.

Tuesday, July 28

• SHELTON – The members of Shelton Grange hold a mortgage burning ceremony in their Grange Hall. Four of the original charter members are present.

July 29

• SHELTON – The Interstate Commerce Commission confirms the New Haven Railroad has applied for approval to eliminate one of its twin tracks along the 90-mile Maybrook line. How incredibly ironic this occurred almost 25 years to the day 8 children were killed between two passing trains on the same line.

July 30

• ANSONIA – A total of $14,788,165 has been spent in construction between 1948 and 1958, including 984 new homes and 417 garages. This year, 144 new homes have been built thus far in the current fiscal year, along with 17 new garages.

• DERBY - Seven youths, aged 16-25, are arrested in a late night brawl inside and outside the Drifters’ Club on 15 Minerva Street. The fight appears to have been between young men from Derby and Ansonia.

• DERBY – The old Main Street Bridge over the Naugatuck River closes for the last time this morning. Traffic is diverted over the new bridge just below it. The first car over the new bridge is driven by Clarence Douglas, the City’s fire alarm inspector.

AUGUST

Saturday, August 1

• ANSONIA – Newly-appointed Judge George Yudkin refuses to recognize the Ansonia City Court’s clerk or two of its prosecutors on his first day. He calls the court into session himself after a City police detective refuses to do so. Judge Yudkin says by law he can appoint people into those positions himself. City officials are incensed.

Monday, August 3

• ANSONIA & SEYMOUR – The State Highway Commissioner halts all biding on Federal Aid highway projects until he is sure the aid is coming. This affects the construction of the new Ansonia-Seymour expressway.

• DERBY – A fire on the second floor offices of Healy, Donahue & Healy on 6 Elizabeth Street is caused by the sun’s rays reflected by a mirror.

August 5

• OXFORD – A car driven by a 32 year old Seymour woman overturns 5 times on Route 67 in Oxford at 2 AM, knocking down 4 fence posts, and ending up on its roof in 6" of water. The woman keeps herself alive by keeping her head above the water until she is cut out of the car.

August 6

• ANSONIA – It will be another year before the deck of the new Clancy Bridge, which is replacing the Bridge Street Bridge, is ready for its concrete covering. In the meantime traffic is crossing on the new Division Street and Maple Street bridges, as well as the temporary Bailey Bridge.

Monday, August 10

• ANSONIA – At the groundbreaking of the new Hilltop school, Mayor Doyle suggests naming it after John Pendergast, a longtime principal of Ansonia High School who was a local resident all of his life.

• ANSNONIA – A granite monument will be erected in front of City Hall for all servicemen and war dead.

August 11

• SHELTON – A 70 year old Woodland Trailer Park man dies after being hit by a car near Eight Acres Restaurant on Route 8 (Bridgeport Avenue).

August 12

• SEYMOUR – The old Tingue Mills will be torn down to make way for new Route 8 expressway and additional downtown parking. The textile plant was damaged in the 1955 floods and never repaired.

• SHELTON – The Huntington Fire Co. No. 3 will add a 14' lean-to addition to its firehouse to house a jeep and ambulance.

August 13

• SHELTON – A short circuit in a Nike Ajax missile at the Mohegan Road Nike Site causes the missile to smoke in the launch pit. Army crews take care of the fire and disarm the missile while the Huntington Fire Company stands by.

August 14

• ANSONIA – A city-wide hula hoop contest held at Colony Park.

August 15

• DERBY - The old CR&L building on Main Street will be converted into a 20-lane bowling alley called Derby Lanes. The building was initially constructed as a trolley barn, and later busses were housed there.

• SHELTON - 910 receive polio vaccinations at the Community Club on Howe Avenue at Center Street.

Sunday, August 16

• ANSONIA – The Ideal Tire Company opens today in the old, remodeled Ansonia Garage Building at 458 Main Street.

• DERBY – The Derby Fire Department, Civil Defense, and local farmhands rescue a $500 cow who fell into a 10' deep well on Osbornedale State Park off upper Hawthorne Avenue. The cow is hoisted out with a tow truck, which in turn became stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out by a CD jeep.

August 17

• OXFORD – A large barn is completely destroyed by fire on Oxford Road.

August 18

• DERBY – 562 receive the polio vaccine at a city-sponsored evening clinic at New Irving School.

August 19

• Today is the fouth anniversary of the Black Friday Flood.

• SEYMOUR – In reflecting on progress made since the 1955 Flood, First Selectman Catlin notes slum areas being eliminated, and how the upcoming demolition of Tingue Mills will make a large downtown parking area.

August 21

• OXFORD & SEYMOUR – The towns are in a boundary dispute along Roosevelt Drive.

• SEYMOUR – The recent passing of four Holbrook brothers and sisters ends a family line on Great Hill that dated back to 1670. The family bequeathed $5,000 to the Great Hill Hose Company to buy fire equipment.

August 22

• The State Police will keep a patrol boat on Lake Housatonic, manned by two Oxford men.

• ANSONIA – 1180 receive polio vaccinations at Lincoln School.

• SHELTON – 718 receive polio vaccinations at the Community Club on Howe Avenue at Center Street.

Tuesday, August 25

• DERBY – Former Mayor James B. Atwater dies at his daughter’s home on Fairview Terrace. Born in Derby in 1871, his grandfather was one of the first Wardens of the Borough of Birmingham (which was the highest elected office at the time). His father, William C. Atwater, founded William C. Atwater & Sons Insurance Agency, and served as Derby’s second Mayor from in 1895 and 1896, and held many other offices and positions in the City. James Atwater joined his father in the insurance business. He served as Derby’s Mayor twice, in 1909 to 1910, and 1921 to 1922, and were characterized “by a number of public improvements and a careful and businesslike handling of the City’s affairs”. His second term was marked with a number of road and sanitary improvements. At the time of his death he was the last Republican to hold the office of Mayor in the City of Derby. He also served as the President of Birmingham National Bank from 1931 until his retirement early this year. He was also President of the Derby Public Library for 37 years, Griffin Hospital for 12 years, as well as the Birmingham Water Company and Housatonic Council, Boy Scouts of America. He was a director for the Houstonic Public Service Company and the Home Trust Company. Mayor Atwater served as Captain of Company F, Fifth Infantry, Home Guard, (made up entirely of Derby men) for the duration of World War I. The Home Guard Unit was a precursor to today’s Connecticut National Guard. Mayor Direnzo orders all City flags at half mast.

• SEYMOUR - 362 children receive the polio vaccine at a school clinic at Town Hall.

August 27

• OXFORD & SEYMOUR – A joint meeting between the Towns’ officials resolve a boundary line dispute in the “Riviera” section of Roosevelt Drive. The confusion was caused by a survey error 18 years ago. It is agreed that the five disputed properties are in Oxford.

August 29

• DERBY – 1,454 polio vaccinations are given at Griffin Hospital.

• DERBY – A Summer Street house is damaged by lightning.

• SHELTON – 1,008 polio vaccinations given at the Community Club on Howe Avenue.

SEPTEMBER

Tuesday, September 1

• DERBY – 239 polio vaccinations are given at New Irving School.

• SHELTON – The Harry B. Brownson Country Club has been organized. The new club will be on 40 acres of the Brownson far in Huntington Center, and feature a 9-hole golf course, an Olympic-sized pool, and a clubhouse.

September 3

• DERBY – An elderly Hawkins Street man is found drowned in the Housatonic near the Recreation Camp.

• SHELTON – 57 year old Adam Horoschak, of Howe Avenue, is a former lightweight wrestling world champion. He was defeated in only 6 of his 387 wrestling bouts over 26 years, and was the lightweight champion for almost 12 years before moving on to middleweight, where he didn't fare as well. He went professional at 19, won his first championship at 22, and retired after World War II.

September 4

• DERBY – The Recreation Camp closes for the season. Over 750 registered this summer.

Sunday, September 6

• OXFORD – An 18 year old Milford man is involved in a serous motorcycle accident on Roosevelt Drive near Otter Rock. His injuries necessitated amputating part of his left leg at Griffin Hospital, though his life is saved by the timely application of a tourniquet immediately after the accident.

• SHELTON – A 16' motorboat is destroyed by fire at Birchbank, when gasoline being poured into it by 13 year old Waterbury girl ignites. She isn't injured.

September 8

• SHELTON - Starting next summer, SNET plans to start microwave radio service to accommodate increased toll calls and auxiliary emergency facilities in its new Huntington substation. This will be first such facility in Connecticut.

September 9

• ANSONIA – The student population in the grammar schools is: Larkin 295; Lincoln 471; Mead 149; Nolan 329; Peck 349; and Willis 380 for a total of 1,973. The parochial school population is Assumption 714; and St. Joseph's 388.

• ANSONIA, DERBY, & SHELTON – A total of 12,861 polio vaccines have been thus far been administered in 10 clinics held by Naugatuck Valley Medical Society.

• SEYMOUR – The student population in the grammar schools is: Bungay 336; Center 480; and Maple Street 501 for a total of 1,317.

• SHELTON – Around 3,500 grammar school children return to school today, along with 430 at St. Joseph’s School.

September 10

• DERBY – The City’s student population is: New Irving 393; Franklin 417; Lincoln 247; Hawthorne 47; and Derby High School 488 for a total of 1,592.

• DERBY – Mayor Dirienzo recommends naming the new Main Street bridge after recently-deceased Mayor James B. Atwater. It is approved by the Board of Aldermen the following day.

September 11

• DERBY – Demolition begins on a 2-family frame house on Olivia Street at Fourth Street, to make room for the new Stahl's auto sales and service station. An adjoining 5-family brick property on Olivia Street will be razed, too. The second building is believed to be over 100 years old and used to make hoopskirts around the Civil War.

September 12

• ANSONIA – 14 steel poles have been erected on Main Street, between Central Street and Maple Street, for new florescent lights.

• SHELTON – 700 polio vaccines are administered at the Community Club on Howe Avenue at Center Street.

Sunday, September 13

• OXFORD – A State Police cruiser is badly damaged when it gets into an accident at Oxford Road (Route 67) and Riggs Street.

September 14

• ANSONIA – The Board of Aldermen accepts Beverly Drive, Belleview Drive to lot 244, and Highland Avenue from Belleview Drive to lot 139 as city roads. The Board also accepts naming the new elementary school at Ford Street and Finney Street the John J. Prendergast School.

September 15

• ANSONIA – The Hilltop Hose Co. No. 5 asks if they may have the Webster Hose H&L Co. No. 3’s emergency truck when it is replaced.

• SHELTON – Pioneer aviator and Huntington resident Col. Clarence Chamberlin believes the USSR’s recent Luna 2 landing on the moon was a fake.

• SHELTON – Huntington historian Miss Helen Upton dies in Griffin Hospital at age 71.

September 17

• DERBY – There are 15 Norwegian maple trees that were planted as memorials to Derby’s World War I dead, along the former Buddies Field. The trees are located in the rear of the old field, and along F Street.

September 18

• ANSONIA – Congress has approved, and President Eisenhower signed, an appropriation of $327,000 to improve the Ansonia Post Office.

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – Shelton ties Seymour 8-8 at Lafayette Field.

September 19

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – Croft defeats Ansonia 18-14 at Waterbury Municipal Stadium. Derby loses 12-6 in Branford.

• SHELTON – There are 3493 pupils in school system. These include Shelton High School 813; Commodore Hull 254; Ferry 314; Fowler 428; Huntington 666; Lafayette 235; Elizabeth Shelton 214; and Sunnyside 569.

Sunday, September 20

• OXFORD – The new Oxford Congregational Church parish house is dedicated. The ceremony is widely attended.

September 22

• DERBY – A 70' tall crane being used to demolish the Stahl buildings on Olivia Street near Fourth Street falls, and crashes onto roof of the Stahl's Garage building. No one is injured.

• DERBY – The Paugassett hook & ladder truck safely backs into its firehouse Derby Avenue firehouse, after being absent for 3 months due to highway work. The firemen tried doing the same three days earlier, only to have the truck’s bottom scrape the road when its rear wheels were in a gutter. That problem is now been fixed, but now the truck can't turn south due to the new esplanade in the middle of the road.

September 23

• DERBY – The Yale launch Trubee sinks at its mooring at the Yale Boathouse under mysterious circumstances. It is raised the following day, and nothing is found wrong with it.

• DERBY – A January 9, 1899 edition of a short-lived local newspaper called the Daily News is found behind one of the walls of the Stahl buildings, which are being demolished.

September 24

• SEYMOUR – A mute, 7 year old girl is found by a Coast Guardsman in the in the woods near the Beacon Falls line, after being lost for 5 hours. Over 800 joined the search from across the area, including two bloodhounds. The Sentinel calls it one of the largest searches in Valley history.

September 25

• DERBY – The Derby Farrel-Birmingham foundry will partially reopen next week, due to an upsurge in business. The complex was temporarily closed in February.

• OXFORD – Oxford School has 636 pupils, an increase of 26 over last year.

September 26

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia beats Shelton 20-6 at Nolan Field. Derby ties Seymour 6-6 at Ryan Field.

Sunday, September 27

• DERBY – The employees of the Housatonic Dyeing and Printing Company, Local 485 Textile Workers’ Union, votes by a margin of 10-1 in favor of a strike over wage increases. The strike, scheduled to start next Sunday, will affect 300 employees.

September 28

• DERBY - A 65 year old Oak Street, Ansonia woman visits her 70 year old husband at Griffin Hospital. During the visit, he dies. Minutes later, as she signs the release to funeral director Glenn Wyatt, she asks if “everything is taken care of?” When he yes, she walks around the corner from the hospital’s main desk and collapses. She is rushed downstairs to the Emergency Room, where she dies, only 10 minutes after her husband.

• DERBY – A hearing on converting the old Irving School into a Community Center Memorial attracts only five citizens.

September 29

• An early morning downpour dumps less than half an inch of rain. But the rain fell so hard that leaves were shed from trees. The monthly rainfall for September, including today, is only 1.37".

• ANSONIA - About 200 businessmen and community leaders attend the unveiling of a Nike-Hercules missile, at Battery B, 3rd Missile Battalion, 56th Artillery, at the Ansonia Nike Site. Ansonia is only the second Nike Site in the State which can field Hercules.

September 30

• OXFORD – Fire consumes a 30’x70’ modern pole barn on the Congdon property on Route 188. The situation was further complicated by the fact that power was out in Quaker Farms due to work being done on electrical wires, so the siren at the Quaker Farms firehouse didn’t work. Firemen had to be alerted by telephone. The barn stood on the exact same site where another barn was destroyed by a fire in August 1958. The new barn was completed last December.

• SEYMOUR – The Board of Education backs a K-6-3-3 plan for the Town’s public schools. Separate Junior and Senior high school buildings are recommended.

OCTOBER

Friday, October 2

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – The Branford Hornets beat Shelton 14-8 at Lafayette Field.

• SHELTON – A census of Fairfield County Roman Catholics reveals there are 10,136 of that faith living in the City.

October 3

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – The Stamford Black Knights beat Ansonia 44-12 at Nolan Field. Derby ties the undefeated Croft High (of Waterbury) Tigers 14-14 at Ryan Field. Lyman Hall beats Seymour 15-6 at French Memorial Park.

Monday, October 5, Election Day in Connecticut Towns

• OXFORD – Republicans sweep the Town elections. Norman Husted defeats Democrat W. Wilson White 701-582 for First Selectman. The incumbent Repubican First Selectman since 1948, Fred Bice Jr., opted not to run this year.

• SEYMOUR – The Republicans regain nearly all offices they lost for the first time in 80 years in the last elections, two years ago. Republican Bennett Upson defeats the incumbent Democratic First Selectman Kenneth Catlin 2242-2127. Mr. Catlin gains enough votes to serve as Second Selectman, however.

• SEYMOUR – The Seymour Trust Company begins using National Cash Register Electronic Machines in its bookkeeping department.

October 7

• ANSONIA - Seotch Wash, the Valley’s 24-hour coin operated Laundromat, opens this week on Mill Street, between the First National Store and Connecticut National Bank.

• SHELTON - Street Commissioner Joseph Berta fulfils a promise, donating the last of 16 pints at a blood bank at the Shelton Community Club. He vowed to donate that amount after he received 16 pints following a hunting accident, which cost him his leg.

October 8

• DERBY – The Board of Aldermen vote 3-2 against accepting a street layout for Park Avenue, between Cedric Avenue and F Street, through Buddies Field, which would have added 26 new houses. The reason is there are trees, planted as memorials to the City’s World War I dead there, and the developer couldn't promise none would be touched. Corporate Counsel Andrew Sabetta goes on record saying the Board acted “arbitrarily and without sound reasoning”, because Buddies Field is private property.

October 9

• DERBY – A tractor-trailer truck's airbrakes release while it is parked on Main Street, with the driver outside. The truck rolls backwards, and damages a truck containing New Haven Railroad employees, injuring its 2 of them, before smashing through the plate glass window of the Singer Sewing Machine Company Store, causing $1500 damage.

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - East Haven defeats Shelton 14-12 in an away game.

October 10

• DERBY – The Sentinel Hill Area Civic Association has received its incorporation papers from the State.

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Danbury defeats Ansonia 22-0 in an away game. Derby defeats North Haven 14-0 in an away game. Cheshire defeats Seymour 42-14 at French Memorial Field.

Monday, October 12

• ANSONIA – The Board of Aldermen elect Stephen Zuraw by a vote of 9 to 5, to fill a Fifth Ward vacancy created by resignation of Pauyl E. Schumacher, who left because he was appointed to the supernumerary police force. Mr. Zuraw’s appointment is despite the fact that the Fifth Ward Democratic Ward Committee voted last week to endorse Charters Hose Co. No. 4’s Captain Richard Cody, but a vote of 42 to 9.

• DERBY – The brakes fail on a fully loaded 10-ton dump truck owned by D. Tiano Construction Company on Marshall Lane. The runaway truck barely demolishes a baby carriage only moments after a two month old girl was taken out of it, then barely misses a house before coming to a stop.

October 14

• ANSONIA – Excavation starts in front of the flag pole at City Hall for a new granite memorial commemorating the City's servicemen and war dead.

• ANSONIA – The City’s fiscal year ends today. 171 permits for new homes have been issued since October 15, 1958, as well as 33 new garages.

October 15

• ANSONIA – The City has a population density of 3,233 people per square mile. This far exceeds the rest of urbanized America at this time in history, excluding the 5 largest metropolises, which is 849 people per square mile.

• DERBY – The last vestige of the Sterling Piano Company is being razed by Farrel-Birmingham. It is a large wooden frame building on north end of property, between Water Street and the Route 8 Expressway. It was used by the piano company for pattern storage, and for manufacturing player pianos, and was part of a complex that included the largest wooden factory building in America. It was sold to the Smith Construction Company after Sterling closed in the 1920s.

• SEYMOUR – The Bridgeport Brass Company announces it will purchase a controlling interest in the Seymour Manufacturing Company. The local firm has been in operation since 1878, and employs 500.

October 16

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia ties the Blue Devils 12-12 at Municipal Stadium in West Haven.

October 17

• DERBY – Derby Historical Society sponsors a bus trip to Old Sturbridge Village composed of 2 buses. All have a good time, but on the way home one of the buses develops engine trouble, and does not return until 9 PM. The group amused themselves while they were waiting through singing.

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – East Haven beats Derby at Ryan Field 20-0. Shelton defeats the Amity Spartans 12-6 at Lafayette Field, scoring their first win of the season.

Sunday, October 18

• DERBY - Local 465 of the Textile Workers Union of America votes 10-1 to strike at the Housatonic Dyeing and Printing Company. They say the plant failed to keep a promise to set a date to sign a contract for an 11.5 cent increase, which was based on the “New England pattern for textile workers”.

October 19

• DERBY –280 employees begin picketing the Housatonic Dyeing and Printing Company on Roosevelt Drive.

October 21

• DERBY - 90% of Local 465 members vote to ratify a settlement offer made by Housatonic Dyeing and Printing Company. The strike is over.

October 22

• ANSONIA - Three cases off liquor and $150 is stolen during a break-in at the North Italian Club on Cheever Street Extension.

October 23

• DERBY - Ground is broken to develop 25 homes at Buddies Field. Care will be taken not to damage the memorial trees that were planted there to commemorate the City’s World War I dead.

October 24

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL – Most games are postponed due to rain. The exception is Shelton, which battles heavily favored Lyman Hall to a scoreless tie in a driving rain and hailstorm in Wallingford before 200 people.

Sunday, October 25

• 3.04" of rain falls this weekend.

October 26

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Crosby High defeats Ansonia 36-14 in Waterbury. Seymour loses 22-18 in North Haven.

• SHELTON – The president of the Coram Gardens Civic Club is given a deed to 2 acres of land to be used as a playground and clubhouse.

October 27

• SHELTON - 28 drivers, helpers, and mechanics who work at Oates Bros. trucking company went on strike at midnight last night, over recognition of Local 677 Teamsters and the signing of a work contract.

• SHELTON - Daniel N. Beard has sold four acres of land and a commercial building on Huntington Street to the East Village Land Company. Two stores are leased in the building as of this time - Huntington Pharmacy and Beechwood Supermarket. This is the current Huntington Shopping Center, and Beechwood is still there.

October 28

• SHELTON - Seven rooms are being used at the new Elizabeth Shelton School, while workmen are putting finishing touches on the other eight.

October 29

• SEYMOUR – A barn fire at the Ajello farm on Chucta Road destroys 26 tons of baled hay.

October 30

• The State Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics estimates the Valley has total population of 61,900. Ansonia is the most populated city in the region, estimated at 20,100, up 1394 from the 1950 census. Shelton has seen the most growth, estimated at 17,100, up 4,406 from the 1950 census. Seymour is estimated at 9100, up 2068 from 1950. Oxford is estimated at 3,300 up 1,263 from 1950. Derby is estimated at 11,500, up 1,241 from the last census.

October 31 - Halloween, spelled "Hallowe'en" back then.

• Rain puts a damper on Hallowe’en

• ANSONIA – Hallowe’en – The clubhouse at Warsaw Park is vandalized, and items stolen. Vandals knock out the streetlights on Pulaski Highway and Prospect Street.

• DERBY – Hallowe’en – The City is mostly quiet. Streetlights are broken on Sentinel Hill, and paint splashed on houses on Hawthorne Avenue.

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Derby upsets heavily favored Ansonia 14-12 on a rainy Nolan Field. This is the first Derby victory over Ansonia since 1950. Shelton defeats North Haven 22-6 at Lafayette Field. The undefeated Branford Hornets defeat Seymour 20-14 in Branford.

• SEYMOUR - The Lion's Club hosts a telephone hour between 9 PM and 10 PM.

• SHELTON – The Shelton Playground and Recreation Commission runs its annual Halowe'en Telephone Hour. Of the 97 children called, 20 were not home between 9 PM and 10 PM.

NOVEMBER

Saturday, November 1

• Starting today, telephone callers in the Ansonia-Derby-Shelton exchange, the Seymour-Oxford exchange, and the Huntington exchange now have to dial the first 2 numbers when making a local call within the exchange. Callers must now dial 7 numbers, where previously only 5 numbers sufficed.

• SEYMOUR – 3 local teen-agers are injured when a motorboat goes out of control, runs ashore, and lands in a tree just above the Riviera section on the Oxford town line.

November 4

• ANSONIA – The Ansonia Redevelopment Agency continues to acquire land in the Broad Street area. 900 people currently live there.

November 5

• ANSONIA – The Town of Seymour is suing the City for damages caused by an Ansonia fire engine rear-ending a Seymour fire engine during a Civil Defense parade earlier this year on North Main Street, Ansonia.

• SHELTON – A 40' sloop owned by a Derby man runs aground on a sand bar near Murphy's Boatyard. The boat had to wait for high tide the following day to float free.

November 7

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Derby defeats Cheshire in the rain in an away game 14-0. All other Valley teams postpone their games.

Monday, November 9

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia loses to Torrington 20-8 at Nolan Field. East Haven defeats Seymour 36-6 at French Memorial Park.

• SHELTON - Morris Hadelman of New Haven dies. Born in Russia, he came to America in 1903. He bought the Shelton Theater in 1926, and still owned it at the time of death. During his tenure at Shelton Theater, he introduced talkies, and renovated it several times.

November 10

• ANSONIA - The members of the Ansonia Red Cross Chapter, which includes Seymour and Oxford, and Derby-Shelton Red Cross Chapter, hold an organizational meeting in the City today to merge their chapters.

• ANSONIA – The City’s Superintendent of Veterans' Graves reports 710 flags have been marked on veterans' graves in eight Ansonia cemeteries for Veterans' Day.

November 11 – Veterans Day

• ANSONIA – A granite memorial to all Ansonia veterans is dedicated in front of City Hall. The monument is unveiled by 2 Gold Star mothers, as local NIKE soldiers provide an honor guard. The movement to build the memorial was begun by Mayor Andrew Nolan on November 17, 1941. The monument is still there today.

November 12

• DERBY - 92% of the members of Utility Workers' Local AFL-CIO vote to strike the Housatonic Public Service Company’s Derby, Shelton, and Wallingford plants. The strike vote awaits approval by union's national headquarters. The union has been working without a contract since October 15, and negotiations have broken down. The firm’s president says if a strike causes a shut-down of the Derby electric plant, the plant will not reopen, and be dismantled.

November 13

• ANSONIA – The US Census Bureau states that per capita, Ansonia residents spent $1,201 in retail sales last year. This is well over the national average of $1,109. In all, Ansonia’s retail sales totaled $23,186,000 in 1958, well over the $22,004,000 realized in 1954.

November 14

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia defeats Sacred Heart at Waterbury Municipal Stadium 20-0. Derby defeats Lyman Hall 24-19 in Wallingford. In a major upset, Seymour defeats Naugatuck 20-14. This occurred two days after Naugatuck announced it was dropping out of the Naugatuck Valley League to play higher rated Class A schools (the Valley’s teams are Class B). Cheshire defeats Shelton 22-14 at Lafayette Field.

• SHELTON - Trumbull Police chase a 1958 Ford pickup into Huntington on Nichols Avenue. The truck loses control at the intersection of Church Street, where it snaps a utility pole, then hits a small tree and street sign. No one is badly hurt, the driver is arrested.

Thursday, November 15

• ANSONIA - Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church celebrates its 40th anniversary.

November 17

• DERBY – With the Union International President away, the final decision of ratifying a strike vote at Housatonic Public Service Company has been put off. It is hoped that tempers can cool and negotiations can resume.

November 19

• DERBY – “Today is the 100th anniversary of the Uptown Burying Ground Association. Papers were filed with the secretary of state Nov. 18, 1859”.

November 21

• ANSONIA - A 3-alarm fire guts the Smith Building on the southeast corner of Main Street and Bridge Street. The fire causes $350,000 damage to 7 stores. The fire started in the basement of Riordan’s Department Store. That store, plus the Ann Broday Bride & Gown Shop, Joe’s Tuxedo Shop, and Tanner’s Allstate Insurance are gutted. The Endicott-Johnson Shoe Store, Pennyworth's Rose Flower Shop, and Eddy's Bakery are damaged. The stores were stocked for the holidays, which proved more fuel for the fire, which ended up in the common attic and “mushroomed” throughout the building. It takes 2 hours to get the fire under control. The Derby Fire Department is called to the scene, while Seymour and Shelton covers Ansonia and Derby. The fire interrupted the Charters' Hose Co. No. 4’s Ladies Night at Rapp’s Paradise Inn. Five are injured, most from tripping over fire hoses. Some bystanders are initially distraught when they think mannequins removed from the burning stores, lying in the street, were bodies. The owner was in Florida but flies back to Ansonia that night, vows to rebuild. The Smith Building opened in July 1951, on the site of the original Ansonia Brass Company copper mill. The building was rebuilt and repaired, and remains today. Eddy's Bake Shop is still there.

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Seymour and Amity Regional battle to a scoreless tie at French Memorial Park

Thursday, November 22

• DERBY – The Derby Relief Fund holds it’s Annual Meeting. The organization began the year with $1,012.32, and this year’s contributions added $1,899.35 to that. Receipts totaled $2,480.72, leaving a balance of $431.45 balance. The organization is estimated to have helped about 500 families this year, and was the lead agency for distributing federal food in the City. Osbornedale Farm donated 1480 gallons milk, and the Fund gave 300 pairs of shoes to needy persons.

November 23

• ANSONIA – The City’s elm trees are in “poor condition” due to Dutch Elm Disease.

• ANSONIA - 2 Franklin Street youths, aged 19 and 20, are arrested for 3 holdups in Ansonia and a garage break in Derby.

November 26

• ANSONIA – The Board of Apportionment & Taxation votes to ask salaried Board of Education employees to give back 6% of their salary to the City due to its financial condition.

November 28

• OXFORD – “For a long time the more observant have seen the need of some regulation measures for traffic control on the main highway through town. Since the new cement road has been completed, speeding has been more in evidence and the several minor accidents within a short time emphasizes the fact that something must be done to further safeguard the traveling problem”.

DECEMBER

Tuesday, December 1

• Ansonia, Derby, Shelton, Seymour, Oxford, Beacon Falls, Southbury, Milford, and Orange will all be part of the Fifth State Circuit Court District when it forms on January 1, 1961. The Circuit Court will be one of 17 in Connecticut, which will replace the minor court system. A Judge is inspecting the court facilities in all of the towns to see which ones will serve the Circuit Courts.

• ANSONIA - Ground is broken for new addition to Ansonia Public Library. This is the first enlargement since it was built in 1896.

• ANSONIA – A bomb threat is called in at Capitol Theater. No bomb is found.

• DERBY – Building permits for the year ending on November 30 include 90 1-family houses, 3 2-family houses, 53 garages, 1 office building, 44 additions to homes, 1 medical building, 5 factory additions, 1 addition to Griffin Hospital 1 swimming pool, and the new Derby Housing Authority Office and Garage.

• OXFORD - Fire destroys a residential trailer on Hemlock Drive off Punkup Road, killing a pet dog.

• SHELTON - About 450 visit the new Bridgeport Hydraulic Company treatment plant and pump station open house off Huntington Street. The visitors include 180 Huntington School students.

December 2

• ANSONIA – A bomb threat causes Junior High School to be evacuated. No bomb is found.

December 3

• ANSONIA – A bomb threat causes Annie E. Larkin School to be evacuated. No bomb is found. The police are investigating the rash of bomb scares. Last week Seymour had a problem with someone telephoning false building fires.

December 4

• DERBY - Derby Lanes opens in the former CR&L bus terminal on Main Street, near the Route 8 overpass. Free orchids are given to every woman who visits. The 17,000' square foot masonry & steel building features 20 ten-pin bowling alleys, spectator seating, a snack bar, locker rooms, a pro shop, automatic pin setters, electric hand dryers, and is air conditioned. Hundreds visit.

December 5

• DERBY – A demonstrations involving the lowering of a stokes basket from a fire department aerial the from Mott Building for Civil Defense Day is cut short when merchants complain the spectacle is interfering with their business. The Mott Building housed J.C. Penney in 1959, and today houses Archie Moore’s.

Sunday, December 6

• SHELTON - Bishop Lawrence J. Shehan dedicates the 8-room classroom addition at St. Joseph’s School.

December 7

• ANSONIA – The Ansonia Industrial Corporation will rent about 20,000 square feet in the Wire and Cable Building on 63 Main Street to the Utica Wire Company, which makes steel and chrome wire. The firm is consolidating its New Jersey and Derby branches, and employs 30 people on 3 shifts.

• ANSONIA – Bridge Street Bridge construction work is called off due to high water. A compressor on the site is covered with water from Naugatuck River.

• DERBY – The 50th Annual Meeting of Griffin Hospital is held. During the year ending September 30, a total of 1,118 babies were born, and 7,334 patients were treated. The average number of admitted patients per day was 137.

December 8

• A total of 1.59” of rain has fallen in a 72 hour period ending at 8 AM today.

December 9

• ANSONIA - Holy Rosary Men's Club sports night features Eastern Conference Champions New York Giants players Andy Robustelli, Sam Huff, Rosey Brown, Dick Modzelewski, and Harland Svare. Over 400 attend, and are delighted when a “mystery guest”, Giants’ teammate Andy Robustelli, is revealed.

• ANSONIA – A car is damaged when its wheels get caught between the planks of the Bailey Bridge.

• SHELTON – The Board of Education accepts the new Elizabeth Shelton School. They also vote to make polio shots mandatory for pupils.

December 10

• DERBY – Union picketing has been going on at Charlton Press for 6 months now.

• SEYMOUR - Fire destroys a 6-room house at 36 Moss Avenue. The flames shoot 75' into air. A car in an adjoining garage is also destroyed. A woman suffers burns on her hands and face.

• SHELTON - Pope John XXIII names Rev. Francis J. Sugre, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church, a Monsignor. He also knights Frederick M. Daley, retired President of B.F. Goodrich Sponge Rubber Division, into the Order of St. Gregory the Great.

December 11

• SHELTON – A state police officer chases a car with 4 local teens onto Buddington Road after it blows a stop sign on Route 8 (Bridgeport Avenue). The car flips over at a sharp turn. Two passengers are hospitalized, and the driver is arrested.

Monday, December 14

• DERBY – The Storm Engine Co. No. 2's new white fire engine has arrived. It is an American LaFrance on a GMC chassis, and can pump 1000 gallons per minute. It replaces a 1943 Seagrave, which will be turned over to the East End Hose Co. No. 3 for Civil Defense activity.

December 15

• ANSONIA – In light of the recent spike in bomb threats, Police Chief William O'Brien recommends to the City’s School Superintendent that future bomb threats not be made public, and that children remain in schools while the police inspect the buildings. The Board of Education agrees. However, when word reaches the State Fire Marshal Division, they strongly disagree.

December 17

• ANSONIA – The Ansonia Redevelopment Agency purchases the Church of God in Christ on 45 High Street, for the Broad Street Renewal Project. That church’s Bishop Williams is called ‘most cooperative’ in the negotiations. The church is moving into the Beth El Synagogue on Factory Street.

• ANSONIA – The total area of the Broad Street Renewal Project is 25.67 acres. It contains 112 major structures and 819 people divided among 249 families, all of whom need to be relocated. 141 of the families are eligible for low rent housing. The area also includes 59 businesses.

December 19

• SHELTON – A house fire on Booth Hill Road is contained by the Huntington Fire Company.

Monday, December 21

• Snow begins falling at 8 PM and continues through the night.

• DERBY - Over 300 sing Christmas Carols on Derby Green, sponsored by the St. Mary's CYO.

• SEYMOUR - The old Germania Hotel on Second Street was recently razed to make way for the new Route 8 expressway.

December 22

• At dawn, the first day of winter reveals the results of the first snowstorm of the season, with 3” of snow in the downtown areas and 4” to 5” in the hills.

• DERBY – A bomb scare causes New Irving School to be evacuated.

• SEYMOUR -. A 48 year old Oriole Lane man dies when he falls onto a front step after shoveling snow in front of his house.

• SEYMOUR – The riverbank near the location of the former Tingue Mills is being cut away to allow construction of the first pier of the $6 million overpass that will carry Route 8 over the town.

• SHELTON - Frank Perri of Pine Rock Park has played Santa Claus an estimated 2,000 times in the last 39 years, and is booked solid right up to Christmas Eve. He has played him 41 times this year so far, including entertaining in hospitals.

December 23

• DERBY - Ground is broken in 10 degree temperatures for the new 10 room Bradley School in 10 degree temperatures.

• SHELTON - The Shelton Service Men's Fund has mailed out 82 $5 checks to residents in the Armed Forces this year.

December 25 Christmas

• DERBY – The Post Office handled over 600,000 pieced of mail and packages during the Christmas rush, which is a record.

Monday, December 28

• DERBY - A Howard Avenue, Ansonia woman gives birth to her second set of twins in 19 months at Griffin Hospital.

December 29

• 4" of snow begins falling in the evening.

• ANSONIA - Despite the rainy weather, Ansonia Water Company reservoirs are still down 7½ feet due to the late dry season and the large amount of water used by industries.

• ANSONIA - The Ansonia Redevelopment Agency opens an office on 15 Maple Street, in the Broad Street redevelopment zone.

December 30

• SEYMOUR – The Chief of Police closes Pond Street between Walnut and Pearl Streets, and Pond at Wooster Street to traffic so children can go sledding.

Green links go to the Valley History Definitions Page