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Straight from the Microfilm machine at Seymour Public Library, it’s This Week In History!
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 1958
Halloween Party Of Couples’ Club
ANSONIA – The Couples’ Club of the First Methodist Church will hold a Halloween party Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the home of Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Swan, 412 North Main St. Members are asked to attend in costume. Refreshments will be served.
High School Band Yearbook Picture
DERBY – All members of the Derby High School band are asked to report to Coon Hollow Park Wednesday at 3 p.m. in full uniform. The yearbook picture will precede a rehearsal.
Lions Club Halloween Program, Dance
SEYMOUR – A telephone party will be sponsored by the Lions Club on Halloween for youngsters who are home at 9 p.m. and lucky enough to be called.
The street parade has been cancelled, but ten lucky youngsters from grades one to three will receive silver dollar awards.
A Teen Town Halloween masquerade dance will take place from 9 to 11 p.m. at Clark Memorial Auditorium, Pine Street. Refreshments will be served. Joe Mack will be master of ceremonies, Prizes will be awarded for outstanding costumes.
Young Republican Motorcade, Rally Thursday
SEYMOUR – The Seymour Young Republican Club will sponsor a pre-election motorcade and rally Thursday night. It will move out from the parking lot Second Street at 6:30 p.m. and tour various sections of town, returning to the railroad lot on Main Street at 8 p.m. for a speaking program.
Various local, district and state candidates will speak. After the rally, there will be refreshments and an opportunity to meet and talk to Cong. James T. Patterson.
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 1958
St. John’s Halloween Party
ANSONIA – Members of St. John’s Episcopal Church School and St. Theresa’s Guild will hold a Halloween party Monday at the church. Each member is invited to take a friend. Prizes will be awarded for outstanding costumes. The party will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.
Drunk Found On Hotel Roof
DERBY – Policeman Andrew Mancini, desk officer at police headquarters on the 5 p.m. to midnight shift, is accustomed to receiving complaints concerning drunks, but last night he got one that tops them all.
A man came into police headquarters and said that he saw a man who appeared to be intoxicated climb to the top of the four-story Hotel Clark. Officer Mancini dispatched Officers Peter Montini, Stanley Drzewi and Stanley Lisewski to the roof of the building, opposite police headquarters.
They arrived just in time to see the man start his climb down. They assisted and he was taken to police headquarters where it was learned he was a resident of the hotel and was attempting to find his room. He was allowed to sleep it off and was released this morning
Police Warn About Stealing Pumpkins
DERBY – Lieutenant of Police Ivan F. Cable said today that the police department is receiving numerous complaints about the theft of pumpkins from the front door steps of homes in the Sentinel Hill area. Lieutenant Cable said that anyone apprehended for stealing pumpkins will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.
Christmas Club To Close Friday
SEYMOUR – The 1958 Christmas Club at the Seymour Trust Company will end with payments Friday. Checks in payment to club members will be dated and mailed November 12. The 1959 club will open shortly.
Dr. Rogol Returns
SEYMOUR – Dr. Oscar Rogol has returned after attending the 23rd annual convention of the American College of Gastroenterology at New Orleans, La.
Thursday, Oct. 30, 1958
Salvator Sings Here Halloween
ANSONIA – Joe Salvator, recording star on Seeco and London labels, will appear at the Ansonia Lions Club block dance and Seymour Lions Club record hop. Both affairs will be held this Friday evening, Halloween, with the Ansonia program on East Main Street and the Seymour program at the Seymour High School gym. Salvator will perform with his latest Seeco hit, “Tina” and “Fools Rushed In.”
Leaves In Street Could Hide Child
DERBY – Lieutenant of Police Ivan Cable today urged motorists to use extreme caution before they drive through a pile of leaves, especially those in the gutters of the city.
“Children love to play in leaf piles,” Lieut. Cable said. “But the leaves hide children from view of passing motorists. So be alert and keep a sharp eye on children playing in the vicinity of piles of leaves.”
Grammar Schools Join Halloween Painting Project
SEYMOUR – Children from Annex and Center Schools participated in a Halloween painting project sponsored by the juvenile protection committee of the Seymour Parent Teacher Association.
Pupils of Miss Ruth Davies’ third grade and of Miss Rosemary D’Alexander’s fourth grade decorated a window at the Seymour Lumber and Supply Company. Third grade children made two large figures and painted them in costume as the kind and queen of Halloween. They also made masks and arranged them around the two central figures. On the floor behind the window scene are ghost trees made by the fourth grade children.
Friday, Oct. 31, 1958
Boys And Girls In Traditional Trick Or Treat
ANSONIA – Witches riding across the sky, ghosts and goblins rattling through the streets and pumpkins and black cats meandering along the way, this is All Hallow’s Eve, the night for youngsters.
East and west, north and south of Ansonia will be crowded with small fry as they make their annual calls to neighborhood homes seeking tricks or treats.
The youngsters will be gaily garbed in multi-colored costumes and masks and will ring doorbells clad as clowns, hoboes, pretty ladies and various animals.
This year many of the kiddies will also be seeking pennies for UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. These youngsters will carry a box in which to collect the coins and will also wear an arm band, significant of their mission.
Homeowners and car owners throughout the city will keep a careful watch on their properties tonight, as through the years custom has it that the witches and goblins cart away gates, stick pins in doorbells and mark up property with bars of soap. Store owners will also pay attention to their glass show windows, which probably will carry assorted soap decorations tomorrow morning.
To Honor State Champs Saturday; Jarvis Speaker
ANSONIA – Charley “Boots” Jarvis, veteran Ansonia High School coach, will be the principal speaker at the banquet honoring the state champion Ansonia VFW softball squad Saturday night in North Italian Hall.
Guests include Mayor Joseph A. Doyle, a past commander of Comcowich-Carver Post; Johnny Spring, All-American pitcher of the World Champion Raybestos Cardinals of Stratford; Frank Berer, Valley softball commissioner; Joe Barber, state ASA commissioner, Post Commander Gordon Childs; Joe Mack and John Gregory, President of the Norwood AC.
A capacity crowd is expected to attend the banquet and help honor the VFW softballers. In addition to sweeping the state title – the first Valley team to accomplish that feat – the VFW team also finished second in the North Atlantic Regional Tournament in Cranston. R.I.
Firing Arms In City Limits Against Law
DERBY – Police Lieut. Ivan F. Cable today issued a stern warning to local residents who are indiscriminately firing revolvers or shotguns within city limits.
The Police Department is being deluged with calls from residents of the Sentinel Hill area concerning bullets whizzing past them when they are out of doors. The practice of shooting firearms within the city limits is a violation and the culprit, or culprits, when apprehended will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and their firearms confiscated.
Wildcats Aiming for Major Upset Against Easties
SEYMOUR – It’s a case of jumping from the frying pan into the fire as far as Seymour’s football Wildcats are concerned. A week ago, the Wildcats had their troubles in unbeaten Branford with the Hornets stinging Coach Joe Gesek’s gang, 14 – 0. And tomorrow, the Blue and Gold tackles another undefeated and even tougher rival in East Haven, powerful as usual, in the Yellow Jackets’ back yard at 2 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 1, 1958
4 Grass Fires, Shop Break On Halloween
ANSONIA – Four grass fires kept firemen busy yesterday afternoon and Halloween night. With the exception of a break in at a barber shop on North Main Street and four arrests for motor vehicle violations, it was somewhat of a quiet Halloween, police said.
At 3:30 p.m., the Eagles and Websters were called on an alarm sounded from Box 246 for a grass fire on North Prospect Street Extension. The next alarm was sounded at 5:30 p.m. from Box 24 for a blaze on Elizabeth Street. In the evening at 7:10 p.m., the Fountains and the Charters were called to an alarm from Box 61 for a grass fire on Mill Street. At 7:30 p.m., the Websters were summoned again on an alarm from Box 19 for grass fire on Colony Street.
As usual, windows in many stores along Main Street and in other sections of the city, as well as automobiles, were “soaped,” Police Chief William O’Brien said.
$7 Stolen In Break At Sal’s Barber Shop
ANSONIA – Seven dollars was stolen from a cash register in break at Sal’s Barber Shop, 173 North Main St. some time during the night. The shop is conducted by Salvatore Cerrato of 10 Jefferson St. Entrance into the barber shop was gained by breaking the full length glass in the front door, and the thief walked in. Patrolmen Steven Hodio and Angelo Gagliola investigated.
Police Clear Business Section After Wild Spree By Teenagers
DERBY – Derby police were forced to clear Elizabeth Street between Main and Fourth Streets last night after one of the wildest Halloween sprees on record. Teenagers, mostly high school students, got completely out of hand as groups battled each other using flour, eggs, honey, jam, tomatoes, toothpaste, shaving cream and fire crackers as ammunition.
Lieutenant of Police Ivan F. Cable ordered police to clear the area when it became apparent that the outbreak could lead to serious injury to passersby and smaller children. Several of the students who refused to obey the orders of police were taken to headquarters where they were given a severe lecture by Officer Andrew Mancini and released.
