New Britain herald., 1926-01-27
PainuiM Melus
FRIENDS SURPRISE BIRNBAUM FAMILY Local Couple Married "A Years
 Ago Yesterday
 AUXILIARY TO INSTALL

@N At'S AAtAA statc Chaplain To Conduct Cere-
 mouy-"Madame Shelley" Dies At
 Bristol Hospital--Building Code
 Would Aid Asscssors--Tax Books
 open--Plainville Briefs.
 MT. and Mrs. I, J. Blrnbaum of IT Broad street were surprised by about 70 of their friends last night on the occasion of the 24th anniver- sary Of their marriage. Originally planned as a surprise on their par ents by tho children of the couple, the large number Of friends and relatives who came turned the affair Into a surprise on all concerned.
 Music was provided by Miss Rosa lind Birnbaum and Mrs. Jacob Blrn- baum. A number of tables of bridge were made up. prizes being won as follows: first prize, Mrs. Solomon Goldberg; second prize, Mrs. Nathan Birnbaum; consolation, Mrs. Morris Birnbaum. Refreshments were served and social time enjoyed. Mr. and Mrs Birnbaum were pre- sented with a large number of cleo trical gifts by their unexpected quests.
 MT. and Mrs, Birnbaum were mar ried in Bridgeport in 1902. They have five children, Harold. Rosalind, Rowena, Bernice and Sanford Birn- baum, all residents of Plainville MT. Birnbaum is a well-known dry goods merchant here.
 Auxiliary Installation President-elect Anna Graham and her staff of newly chosen officers of the ladies' auxiliary to Brock Barnes post American Legion, will be in stalled at the regular meeting of the unit tomorrow evening. The in- duction will be carried out by the state chaplain, Mrs. William Steven son of Glastonbury. It is expected that the members of the Glaston- bury unit will accompany her. Tho members of Brock Barnes post have been invited to attend. After the installation supper will be served. Tax Books Open
 The tax books are now open to public inspection at the town clerks office In the town hall. This will give taxpayers a chance to inspect the books before the first meeting of the board of relief, when appeals for revision of the grand list will be heard.
 l Argument For Building Code Another argument in favor of the i town of Plainville has been brought out by the assessors. Such q code would greatly aid the work of the assessors, John J. Kimmel, chairman of the board states, as it would aid in the placing of definite valuations The assessors this year made thor ough revision of real estate values but had too little time to make many changes in the valuations placed upon houses, In fact. they have no real way of estimating this
 A building code would change 1 this state of affairs, as the estimated cost of the structure would have to be declared before permit could be granted. This would give the as- sessors something definite to work with and would make for much fairer evaluation of buildings, 1t is said. The assessors would have i fairly definite figures of new build" ings and would be able to arrive at figures for the older ones, built be- fore such an ordinance, by compari- son.
 There is another argument ad- vanced by Mr. kimmel. The assess ors now have no way whatsoever of checking up on new buildings, and they have to ride around the streets and note down the houses which were not there last year. Naturally, it Is possible that they might miss some in this way. X building code would eliminate this danger.
 From the investigations which have been made by the local author ities, 1t appears that an act of legis- lature will be necessary 10 secure such an ordinance.
 FireSterS Celebrate
 Court General Lawton, ForcstcrS of America, celebrated it's 26th an- niversary with a luncheon and smoker last night. The new officers of the court were also installed. About S5 members were present.
 Church Auxiliary Sale
 The Woman's auxiliary of the Church of Our Saviour. will hold a food sale in Simpsons plumbing store on West Main street on Thurs day afternoon. The money obtain cd will be used to purchase mater ial for their regular Lenten box. Noted CIairvoyant Dies
 Mrs. Sarah F. Whiting of West Queen street, Southington known all over the state as Madame Shcl-