About 50 Ridgefield teachers became unionized when the Connecticut State Federation of Teachers accepted the Ridgefield Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, the June 11, 1964 Press reported. N. Budd Tamler, senior high school economics and United States history teacher, was elected president of the chapter. Richard Leheny was elected vice president. Tamler said that while the organization accepted the general programs and goals of the national and state unions, the local chapter would establish its own local program. “Such a program will aim at having the Ridgefield teachers recognized as a primary professional voice in shaping our town’s educational program,” said Mr. Tamler. Dr. Philip Pitruzzello, superintendent of schools, said at a Board of Education meeting that he personally did not believe the union would help the professional staff. He said that the union would not change the teachers’ relationship to the Board of Education, since the board was not obligated to deal with the union.
Donald Anderson, guidance counselor at Ridgefield High School and president of the Ridgefield Teachers Association, resigned to take a position in Greenwich. His letter of resignation centered on his experience in the Ridgefield system. “Ridgefield is a town in turmoil,” he wrote. “It has a power structure that lacks a united viewpoint and an unselfish purpose. It is a town of factions; it is a town without direction.”
The Farmingville PTA elected Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Belsky as presidents of the association. Miss Nancy Biarell, Mrs. James Bellagamba, Mrs. Frank Nye and Mrs. Homer Ellis were also elected as officers.
The board of the Ridgefield Community Center Kindergarten for four-year-olds re-elected Dr. Clara Platt as president.
The Ridgefield Playhouse on Prospect Street featured The World of Henry Orient starring Peter Sellers and Paula Prentiss.
The Steak Barn at the rotary junction of Routes 7 and 35 offered “a generous char-broiled sirloin steak with a crisp tossed salad and a jumbo Idaho baked potato” for $3.
An abandoned mica mine off Casey Road on West Mountain caused so much annoyance to nearby property owners that town officials and the police had to intervene. The mine, located on land owned by James M. Doubleday, was shown on a mineral deposits map at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Amateur prospectors and others saw the map and decided to investigate. The result was traffic jams on Casey Road every weekend.
A glass-blower, a small animal act, a monkey house and a teen-age Pizza-Hop were the big attractions at the Yankee Peddler Fair at the Episcopal Church. The Pizza-Hop took place in the evenings from 7 to 11 and featured music by the Cobras and the Stingrays.
One hundred fifty couples danced around a lighted fountain to the music of Eddie Kane’s band at the Ridgefield High School senior prom. Ionic columns stood in front of murals on both sides of the gym, showing the mountains and sea of the Mediterranean. The decorations were made by George Leeman, president of the class, Pleasie Drake, Debbie Bernstein, Graham Ingles and Judy Byram, the prom queen.
Robert Frederick Simonsen, an Ridgefield High School senior, was accepted at the University of Connecticut. Other seniors receiving acceptance notices were Christine Rodier, Norwalk Hospital School of Nursing; Jeffery Charles Theiss, Rhode Island University; Robert Santini, Paul Smith’s College; James Watson, Trinity College; Allan Tiburzi, University of Miami; Gary Beaudine, Dean Junior College; Douglas McKenzie, Norwalk Technical Institute; Robert Degen, Buena Vista College.
Barry Finch graduated from Marquette University. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy delivered the commencement address.
A buckskin horse that stood 17 hands high and weighed 800 pounds bolted over Route 7 near Stonehenge and ran into a 1960 Plymouth being driven north by Steven Venus. Thomas Venus and John McAleer were passengers in the car. All three boys were unhurt but the horse was killed.