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Section of Richard Street dedicated to Bob Seiler By ERICA SCHMITT STAFF WRITER
NEWINGTON — The late Bob Seiler now has a road named in his honor. The beloved town volunteer, who passed away in November 2013 at age 68, is the namesake of the Fire Commissioner Robert J. “Bob” Seiler Memorial Highway. Town officials, family and friends gathered on Richard Street recently to dedicate the portion between Willard Avenue and Church Street Volume 53, No. 42
in his name. This is the area encompassing Newington Vo l u n teer Fire Departm e n t ’s
Erica Schmitt | Staff
Norah Branda, 4, enjoys an ice cream cone at Mortensen’s, celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
Happy 100th, Mortensen’s By ERICA SCHMITT STAFF WRITER
Bob Seiler
Company No. 2 firehouse, where Seiler began his service in 1966. “We had the ceremony on his birthday,” Meg Sautter, Seiler’s wife, See RICHARD, Page 5
It’s been 100 years since Elmer Mortensen started his business, delivering milk by horse and buggy in Hartford. Now a century later, his son Rodney Mortensen still owns and operates Mortensen Dairy Ice Cream at 3145 Berlin Turnpike. That’s the first and the last of it, but the history in between dips into family ties, hard work and of course — lots of ice cream. Sprinkled throughout 2015 are little 100th anniversary celebrations at the shop. Take the lucky INSIDE:
sweet tooth who won free treats every Sunday for a month, and those who battled brain freezes on free cone day last week. Mortensen’s held the latter event on what would have been his dad’s 116th birthday. “I think both my mom and dad would be proud,” he said Monday. “We’ve been doing this for a while and we pretty much have it on point now.” In its early days the Mortensen Dairy was in Bloomfield, later moving to Simsbury. In 1940, the family opened its 200-acre farm on the Berlin Turnpike.
At that time milk was delivered to the doorstep in bottles, but it wasn’t long before the family found other ways to get people their fix. “My mom and dad were both pretty innovative,” said Mortensen, recalling his father putting up vending machines on the Turnpike. A quarter would get you a quart of milk. Then in 1957, the dairy store opened — one of the first of its kind. “I didn’t know of any other See MORTENSEN’S, Page 8
Newington’s ‘Dr. Cristina’ Santos-Tomas among Connecticut Magazine’s Top 100 Dentists. Page 7
Dr. Cristina Santos-Tomas
The Newgle Unconference
Educators sharpen their digital skills during First Annual ‘Newgle Unconference’ Page 3