The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1890-12-05
GREENFIELD HILL.

MISS MURRAY'S DOGS-WHEELING UP HILL
IMPROVEMENTS AT VERNA, DIR Dun
HAMS, COL NICHoLs's.
w. r. Purple spent his Thanksgiving
vacation in Providence.
The tower of the new windmill, which
Mr. Bronson is putting up on Verna farm
has been covered with fancy single and
is lighted by long, narrow windows on
four sides. Part Of the machinery was
put up, last week and the wheel will soon
be ready. The tank has been built
by men who are putting up the mill.
Edgar B. Banks, wife and twin daugh-
tiers of New Rochelle, N. Y, were
Thanksgiving guests of Postmaster B. 3.
Banks.
Mr. and Mrs F. Bronson were at Verna
farm, Thanksgiving, and were interested
spectators of the hill climbing contest.
Rev DR. Plumley was in New York, last
week.
Fred /. Perry has done work at the
school house, repairing doors, etc.
Work is still going on at the new brick
mansion at Verna farm and the carpen-
tiers and plasterers will find employment
there nearly all Winter.
Jonas B. Nissan and family left Green
field Hill, Monday morning. They will
travel during the Winter, going first to
the South.
| Improvements have been made about
the pleasant home of DR. Dunham, chief
among which is huge stone wall. This
wall is built largely of great boulders
and immense masses of rock stand guard
at the entrance. Part of the stone was
obtained here and part came from Bron-
sons quarry.
Many wheelmen from the various
wheel clubs of Bridgeport rode out to
Greenfield, Thanksgiving day, to witness
the hill climbing.contest.T There were two
contests, one on what is known as ssLong
Greenfield hill.n where the ascent, though
not steep, is long and wearying. There
were nine entries here, but only three
contestants appeared and Frank e. Soule
gained first prize, a handsome silver med
al, riding up, down and up in 40; Hen
rysJ. Lebing and George Fryer second
and third. But this was merely the pre-
liminary exercise; the real work was at
"Vault'' hill, so called, the steep, wind
ing hill from the brook near William Dali
ling's up past the entrance to Mr. Bron-
sons grounds and on to Bronson avenue
half mile and is far from easy. The
first to attempt it was A. A. Avery OF
State street, who began about II 80 and
made eight round trips. The next was
William M. Richardson of the Bridgeport
wheel club, who felt full confidence in
i ess by making 80 trips without a pause,
! Not until nearly 4 did Franklin Smith OF
the Barnum 'cyclers begin the task and
he was allowed handicap Of two trips
by Richardson. He has sold his Column
bia and has ridden but little for weeks
in fact, he had borrowed a wheel to ride
in this contest. However, he pushed
bravely ahead, in the cold and the gath
ering darkness and, to the surprise of all
and the qualification of his many friends.
made the Ii trips necessary to tie the
score of Richardson, though with almost
frozen hands and feet. He and Richard
son will probably have second contest
in the Spring to determine the question
of superiority, which really is a question
between the different clubs,as we'll as in
) dividuals. The wheelmen desire to re.
turn hearty thanks to Mr. Bronson, who
had given his superintendent, John Cos.
tigan, orders to prepare Vault hill fol
the race by raking, watering and rolling
it until it was as smooth and hard as
marble and as fine road as could be de
sired for speed or case. Judges of the
race were Calhoun Latham and William
Middlebrook and the check scorers f. E
Soule and w. H. IIorr.
w. E. Gardner and wife have visited
here.
Mrs Louise Hunnewell, who recently
died at Boston, was sister of Frederick
Bronson. She leaves son and daugh
ter.
| The hill on which the hill climbing con
test took place, last week, is known al
J stVault'' (not Volt, as it has incorrectly
been printed in many papers) hill, be
cause, years ago, family vault for bur
ials was maintained there. It. was Ions
ago taken up and the bodies inferred
elsewhere, but the name still clings t.
the hill.
A force Of men, under direction o.
Charles Gray, has put up large shed fo
Col A. R. T. Nichols. The shed is 81
feet long and Fl feet deep and will be fin
, ished off with room overhead. Tn,
building is to be divided into a wooG
: house, wide wagon sheds and a carriage
, house and the spans in the center are un
, usually long. The building will be paint
ed red and the is, 900 feet of shingles will
J be eiled. Col Nichols has recently pu
, up small building and covered with tai
, paper, as receptacle for ashes, etc. Al
eight-inch tile is to drain the grounds
: emptying 100 feet away into the drain O
: the same dimensions put down some tim,
] ago, some 700 feet long, draining tn,
: grounds about the house and the we
J land into the brook below DIR Dunhamis
passes. The representative-colone hal
i long cogitated about a new house, to taxi
{ the place of that which has been in hi