Index    Pages in this issue:  1  2  3  4  5  6


Family Supper At School Monday For Abell Group
On Monday, January 29, the mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters of the fourth and fifth grade children in Mr. Marshall Abell's room will be entertained at a covered dish supper to be held at the Bethany Community School at 6:15 o'clock. As the members of this class number thirty-three and many of them come from large families, over one hundred people are expected for the affair. Mr. Abell and his pupils have been making elaborate preparations for several weeks to insure its success. The arrangements for the supper are in charge of the Room Mothers. These are: Mrs. Edmond Stronk, Mrs. Grant Durley, and Mrs. John Riley. After the supper, the children will be entertained with movies while the parents and Mr. Abell dis-
(Continued on Page 3)

BETHANY NOTES
Sixteen members and two trucks of the Bethany Fire Department responded to an alarm shortly after 1:00 A.M. on January 22, for a fire at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Burrows on Fairwood Extension. An oil heater, placed inside a small detached pump-house, had apparently set fire to the building, which was completely destroyed before help could arrive. The loss was estimated at approximately $350.
Mrs. Elsie Downs and her guest, Mrs. Elizabeth Carlson, attended a personally conducted tour of the factory of the Avon Products at Suffern, N.Y. of which company Mrs. Downs is the Bethany representative. There were about 40 on the tour.
Mr. and Mrs. Elbert S. Downs of Downs Road, Bethany, announce the engagement of their daughter, Lulu Ann, to Mr. John A. Kosnoff, son of Mrs. Mary Kosnoff of 794 Pine Rock Ave., Hamden. No date has been set for the wedding.
The Eight O'clock Club will hold its regular monthly meeting Thursday, January 25, at the home of Mrs. Harry Austin on Litchfield Turnpike. The group will have as its guest Mrs. Charles Markham, who will talk about the Southbury Training School.
On Friday, January 26, the Editor and the Business Manager of THE AMITY STAR will be interviewed on the air, over Station WKNB (840 on the dial) in New Britain. They will appear as guests on a regular program called "The Pattees," in which Floyd and Betty Pattee carry on informal conversations with various persons. The program begins at 1:00 P. M.
A forty-week auxiliary State Police course has been started in Hamden High School. Registered from Bethany are: Edward Slater, Herbert Wrozina, Arnold Peterson, and George Howard. Arnold Peterson has been sworn in as a special constable.
On January 13, friends and family of Sugie Doolittle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley
(Continued on Page 2)

Bethany's Red Wagons
Bethany's two active firetrucks are here shown in front of the headquarters building on Amity Road, opposite the east end of Peck Road. At the left is the 1935 Ford, which carries a 500-gallons-per-minute front-end pump, a 150 g.p.m. midship booster pump, and 600 gallons of water. The new Ford, No. 3, shown at the right, has a 500 g.p.m. midship pump and carries 325 gallons of water. Including the portable 200-gallon pump, the pumping capacity of the Department is 1350 gallons per minute.
History of the Bethany Fire Department
(Editor's Note: This is the second of a series of articles dealing with the various activities and organizations in the two Towns.)
Like their Woodbridge neighbors to the south, the people of Bethany used to depend on the bucket-brigade for fire protection, as the many fine old cellar-holes in town will testify, and it wasn't until after the neighbors had formed a fire department (and had operated it successfully for five years) that Bethany finally decided to organize a company whose purpose was declard to be "To protect life and property."
ORGANIZATION MEETING
On September 24, 1934, the group held its first meeting, with Wallace S. Saxton, the present First Selectman, presiding. The first order of business was to choose a Temprorary Chief (Mr. Saxton) and a Temporary Secretary (Irving W. Clark). Then a resolution was prepared for presentation at the October Town Meeting -- "Be it resolved, that we, the people of the Town of Bethany, recognize the newly-organized Bethany Volunteer Fire Department....and that we donate to said Department the schoolhouse known as the Center School, situated on Amity Road, to be used by them as a headquarters and firehouse."
Since the Center School was under the jurisdiction of the School Board, which was bound by complicated restrictions governing the disposition of its property, the use of the building was not permanently secured until December.
In the meantime the Department considered "Mr. Ferguson's offer of a chemical," adopted the Constitution and By-Laws of the Woodbridge Fire Department (with minor changes), elected its first permanent officers, and became incorporated under the laws of the State.
FIRST OFFICERS
Those who were elected to office on October 3 were: Orville D. Crooker, Chief; Raymond Short, Captain; Stanley H. Downs, 1st Lieutenant; John Harrison, 2nd Lieutenant; Charles C. Booth, Sergeant-at-Arms; Walter W. Hayes, Secretary; and Irving W. Clark, Treasurer. Members of the Executive Committee were: Jerome A. Downs, William J. Edmondson, Edward Hollweg, Irving Johnson, and Wallace S. Saxton. Trustees were: Chief Crooker, Mrs. Saxton, and Edward Sherbut. Chosen for the Auditing Committee were: John Edmondson, Irving Johnson, and Nelson J. Peck.
OTHER CHARTER MEMBERS
Although the records do not indicate clearly which men were considered Charter Members, those present at the first two or three meetings might perhaps be so recorded. In addition to the officers, these were: Louis F. Dion, James Harrison, Laurence Peck, and J. H. Swander.
EARLY ACTIVITIES
On December 14 the Bethany Volunteer Firemen's Association, Inc., held its first dance and raised $106.40. Since there was already $2.60 on hand, the Treasurer was able to show a company balance of $109.00.
On December 18 the group voted to purchase a 1935 Ford V-8 1 1/2-ton chassis -- the foundation of the No. 1 truck which is still in service.
During the succeeding months the Department sponsored card parties, strawberry and blueberry suppers, dances, and bazaars to raise money for supplies and equipment. (The bingo series of today did not come along until some years later.) In these affairs the firemen were ably assisted by the members of the Ladies Auxiliary, which was more active in the early days than it is now. In eloquent testimony to the excellence of the Auxiliary's cooking, there is in the records a vote passed in 1935 to the effect that "everyone but the women are to stay out of the kitchen during any affair."
FIREHOUSE OCCUPIED
On March 5, 1935, the first meeting in the new firehouse was held, with the old school
(Continued on Page 4)

Both Towns Represented On Hillhouse Honor Roll
The list of students on the Honor Roll for the second marking period at Hillhouse High School included nine boys and girls from the towns of Woodbridge and Bethany. Achieving honors in the senior class were: Jean Hickey, ward of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Peck of Bethany, Elizabeth Robinson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Robinson of Woodbridge, Barbara Daniell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin H. Daniell of Woodbridge, and Ruth Bainton, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roland Bainton of Woodbridge[.] Nancy Wintsch won honors as a member of the Junior class. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Wintsch of Woodbridge. Honor scholarship ratings in the Sophomore class were made by Marilyn Perrotti, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Perrotti of Woodbridge, Nancy Pennington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Pennington of Woodbridge, Donna Vidal, duaghter of Mr. [and] Mrs. Seelye Vidal of Woodbridge, and Louise Edwards, daughter of Mrs. and Mrs. Lewis Edwards of Bethany.

Annual Youth Sunday To Be Observed Here
On the Annual Youth Sunday to be observed on January 28 in the First Church of Christ, the young people of the congregation will conduct the entire service. The Youth Choir will sing two anthems, "Bless the Lord, O my Soul" by Ippolitof-Ivanof and "Jesu, Friend of Sinners" by Edvard Grieg. The Sermon will be given by Miss Nancy Pennington, the Invovation and Lord's Prayer, by Silas Mansfield, the Responsive Reading by Martin Daniell; the Children's Story will be read by Miss Donna Vidal; the Offering will be received by Miss Fanny Lou Hubbell, who will also make the Announcements. Miss Nancy Wintsch will read the Scripture Lesson, and Miss Cindy Stone will offer the closing prayer. William German will pronounce the Benediction.

WOODBRIDGE NOTES
Eight members and one truck of the Woodbridge Fire Department responded to an alarm at 1:19 P.M. on January 18 for a grass fire at the residence of Frederic G. Ludwig on South Pease Road. About an acre of land was brned over.
Warren Jewett, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Jewett of Race Brook Road, is home from Brown University for the mid-term vacation.
Allyn Miner and Edward Miner, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Miner of Center Road are spending their mid-term vacations at home. Allyn has as his guest John DeLancy of Utica, N.Y., and Jack Murphy of Shelton, Connecticut, is the guest of Edward Miner.
Mr. Chester Perrotti, of Litchfield Turnpike, is enjoying a vacation fishing in Florida.
Anna Marie Troiano, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Troiano of Litchfield Turnpike, has recovered from an operation in St. Raphael's Hospital last week.
Miss Nancy Perkins and Mrs. Colin Rathgeber, officers of the Woodbridge Education Association, attendeed a meeting of the Connecticut Education Association in Hartford last Saturday. The group included officers from the local Associations in all the towns in Connecticut. On the agenda was a discussion of various legislative proposals affecting education in the schools of the state.
Both Center School and William Warner School have stationed containers for donations to the March of Dimes in the school buildings and the immediate area.
Members of the Workshop Group of the Woodbridge Club met on Sunday, January 14, for a program of readings directed by Mrs. William Seymour. At the next meeting of the Workshop, the group will be under the direction of Mr. Alan Smith.
The Standing Committee of Deacons and Deaconesses of the First Church of Christ in Woodbridge will meet Friday evening, January 19, at 8:00 o'clock in the Church Parlors.
(Continued on Page 3)