The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-01-12
SOUTH
BRITAIN
BRIEFS
BY BILL GARRIGUs

OdVlu OucSUSE 6AdtU 0V1 N1SA
here on January tenth. His last
illness was Of short duration and
the sorrow Of his passing is some
what mitigated by the knowledge
that he suffered for but few
short days.
David Plat was born in Bridge
water, on october 22nd, 1849, but
he came to the Pomperaug VAL
ley when he was still a very young
man, and his influence here was
noteworthy. Mr.. Plat ran the
grist and saw mill, made a host
of friends, lived an upright life,
and eventually became the Oldest
man in South Britain. His quiet
manner endeared him to all his
friends, and that includes every
one who knew him. Dave Platt
was respected Yankee gentle
man, and more.
Perhaps the finest tribute we
have heard about this elderly
gentleman came from one Of the
newsboys. This youngster said;
"Everytime I went up to his house,
Mr.. Plat would be sitting out
there under the trees, feeding a
squirrel nuts, or scattering grain
for the birds. Wild things always
seemed to like him, and he was a
friendly fellow"
There's something deep-seated
and honorable about anyone who
makes friends Of wild creatures.
The children, the squirrels, and
the birds will miss David G. Plat,
a friendly fellow who understood.
Raymond Oberstadt, forward
thinking farmer from the Sprad-
die Brook country, voiced the
opinion Of many Of us the other
evening when he undertook to eX-
plain the Rules Of The Road to q
visiting lawyer who was engaged
in the defense of a client. Ray
mond claims that the Rules Of
The Road are on no statute books
and are, therefore, simply the ar
bitrary ruling Of the Commissioner
Of Motor Vehicles.
The little white house some
times occupied by Representative
Sydney Platt's hired man, nestles
at the edge Of the driveway into
the estate Of the superintendent
Of the new State hospital like a
keepers lodge at the edge Of a
grand castle terrace. Natives are
wondering II II win remain there.
Perhaps visitors will have to stop
there and send in their civil SER
vice rating prior to making a call.
Over on u. s. 6, near Parsell's
Farm Machinery Headquarters, the
State Highway folks are trying out
q new type of road surfacing that
might be called Tanglefoot Patch
ing. It has the appearance of sta
BILE refuse, It Is almost as rough on
tires as the arrnor coat surfacing,
but It tends to reduce speed be-
cause approaching motorists take
one look at the unholy mess, jam
on their brakes, and pray that
they will pass over 1t without the
loss Of a wheel. Joe Evarts thinks
1t was developed at Yale; others
have an idea 1t Is just something
that was left over.
Democratic Town Chairman
Gregory Cassidy owns farm
truck that claims an honorable
mileage record Of more than 1O7.-
OOV. OF course that isn't much,
but IT'S great deal when one
considers the state Of the roads
that truck has travelled over.
Robert @. Mitchell, Pootatuck
farmer and civitan. has recently
completed twenty years Of service
with the Connecticut Milk Pro-
ducers' Association. He has seen
the dairy coop grow from scratch
to O wealth and position that has
enabled them to build q modern
plant on Wethersfield Avenue In
Hartford.
When MunsOn's Hall was q one
night stand Of known productivity
and o heavy gate South Britain
was something to talk about. Be-
hind the dusty f0otlights, many o
professional actor first blurted his
lines and hoped to escape q bar
rage Of vegetables, many future
star thrilled to the plaudits Of the
crowd assembled. A movement
should be started TO set bronze
tablet IN memory Of this theatri.
cal milestone In the entertainment
world, the building should be pre-
served, or given TO Henry Ford.
While the elite with the price
Of q box seat patronized Murson's
Playhouse. the tattered fringes Of
South Britain society did not want
for proper entertainment. Medi-
cine shows made their pitch here.
gasoline flares attracted moths
and yokels. strange connections OF.