There & Then

9-6-6-Story: The Many Changes of New Canaan’s Exchanges

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New Canaanites today see residents on cellphones everywhere, driving up Ponus Ridge (hopefully not doing this) or walking along the sidewalks of Elm and Main. For people such as Cookie King, née Van Beck—who lived in New Canaan from the 1930’s to the 1960’s and whose family lived in New Canaan until 1995—that’s about as impersonal as the way individual cell numbers are assigned: Between IP technology and mobile provider pool applications, there’s no rhyme or reason to a New Canaan “extension.” “We still have a landline and won’t give it up,” King told NewCanaanite.com “Have phone on the wall with a dial on it too.”

Many New Canaanites remember the days even before “966” was the town’s main designated exchange, and a look at our local telephone history tells the story of those three digits, long associated with the Next Station to Heaven. The first telephones in New Canaan were installed in 1881, as four businesses in the then-small town—Henry B. Rogers & Co., Hoyt’s Nurseries, Monroe’s drug store and Johnson’s carriage works—were part of the Norwalk exchange. After the turn of the century, New Canaan’s population began growing rapidly—as did the number of phones in town.

Around Town

New Canaan Roads Turn Nasty on Weekend

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NEW CANAAN – Many residents have skipped town for undoubtedly warmer environs. Even so, for New Canaanites who remained behind for this winter break, the tune of “Winter Weather Advisory” is a familiar one from the National Weather Service. The area is supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow accumulation with wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour on Saturday. With temperatures dipping below freezing at sunset, it could make for some hazardous Saturday night travel on the roads with black ice becoming an issue. As of now the main roads – including Oenoke Ridge and Route 123 – are in decent shape, as are the downtown streets.

Schools

Saxe Updates AP Testing Schedule

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NEW CANAAN – Due to yesterday’s weather-related school closings, the 8th grade AP/Honors testing schedule has been revised once again. Here is the updated schedule:

Honors Science – today, Thursday, 2/6 after school
AP World History – tomorrow, Friday, 2/7 after school

Make-ups for all three tests will be available after school next Monday, 2/10 and Tuesday, 2/11. Saxe administrators advise students taking the exams to report to the Upper Division Office for a room assignment. Parents can contact their child’s counselor with any questions.

Local Merchants

New Canaan to See 3-5 Inches of Snow Monday

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Update 12:15 a.m. Monday

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for New Canaan and the rest of lower Fairfield County, with up to five inches of snow expected. “A mix of light rain and snow will change quickly to all snow just before daybreak,” the weather service says. “The snow will be moderate to heavy at times, in particular during the morning and early afternoon hours.” Though it could make New Canaan’s schoolchildren rejoice, the news likely is less than welcome for many of the district’s faculty and staff, and parents, as the public schools already have seen three snow days this academic year. Original Post

Rain and snow may be perfect weather for hardcore football fans—or any Tom Cruise fans who want to relive what prompted Stefen Djordjevic to mouth off after the Walnut Heights debacle—but New Canaan parents likely have seen enough of the white stuff for awhile.