History
25 YEARS AGO: Branchville won’t be needed

Apr 24, 2008

 “From what I’ve seen it doesn’t appear we’d need the space in the future,” Dr. Landon said.

Despite the number of households in town had increased from 4,891 in 1970 to 6,499 in 1980, there were fewer children in the schools. Landon said that his school officials projected a continuing decline in elementary school enrollments, then a period of relative stability. According to Landon an eventual rise in the birth rate would not affect a town like Ridgefield and the school building would not be needed.

New Ridgefielders included Digby and Anita Barrios and their five children, Dig, Lauren, Douglas, Allyce and Holly. Franklin Devine and his future wife, Mary, moved to Lakeside Drive. Douglas and Susan Brown and their two children, Douglas and Lindsay, moved to a new house at Titicus Court.

The Parks and Recreation Department approached both private organizations, in particular the Richardson Fund, and the town for money to build a formal picnic ground at Richardson Park, off North Salem Road opposite the high school.

Captain August Tiburzi, the former director of Ridgefield’s Civil Defense, died at 72.  Mr. Tiburzi earned his wings in 1928 at the age of 17 and was a pilot for TWA. During World War II he was with the U.S. Aid Transport Command and among other things charted unexplored areas in the Amazon River valley. After the war he helped several foreign airlines organize and was a special pilot at various times for King Farouk of Egypt, Prince Otto of Hapsburg and King Gustav of Sweden. In 1958 he opened Tiburzi Airways, which provided air taxi service from Danbury to the New York airports. His wife, Gunvar, was active in Ridgefield Cancer Society. His son Alan became a pilot with the Flying Tigers and his daughter, Bonnie, became the first woman pilot for the regularly scheduled U.S. commercial airlines.

Nick DiNapoli Jr. said that his soon to be completed 30-unit apartment building on Sunset Lane was already finding renters and that indicated a shortage of apartment buildings in town. “If we rent it out in 30 days, that proof,” said Mr. DiNapoli. The new building, Ridgefield Arms Phase II, was an extension of the 45-unit Ridgefield Arms apartments, which Mr. DiNapoli built 22 years earlier off Prospect Street. It took eight months to fill the original units.

Ridgefield High School graduate Sheila Moran married David Maloy of New York City. Miss Katherine Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Smith of Stony Hill Road, was married to Joseph Kain, Joseph A. Kain of Windy Ridge and the late Lorraine Kain.