A Look Back, March 29

50 Years Ago

■For the first time in 40 years, Bay State is to have a package store. Robert and Frieda Jones, proprietors of the Smith’s Variety Store, have opened up a section for the sale of wine and beer. The building housing the enterprise is thought to be one of the old cutlery stores which for many years supplied the neighborhood with all its needs, including everything from a barrel of flour to a gallon of kerosene or a bag of candy.

■City Building Inspector Warren Sullivan said today that a Springfield-owned retail tire store will replace Mr. Burg Restaurant on King Street. Sullivan said he had no other details on the new tire shop, and he could not say when it will open. The “A-frame” Mr. Burg building will be demolished.

25 Years Ago

■The local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, Post 8006, will hold its annual Easter Egg hunt Saturday at Look Park, in the area near the ball fields and the park store. The popular event is free, but parents are advised that, in the past, prize shortages and crowds have disappointed some children.

■After nine years as chair of the Planning Board, Andrew Crystal has passed on his gavel. Crystal nominated member Daniel Yacuzzo to succeed him, and Val Romano to serve as the board’s vice chair. Both nominations were unanimously accepted by the board Thursday night.

10 Years Ago

■After 36 years on the Northampton police force, Capt. Joseph W. Koncas is retiring, as he approaches the state’s mandatory retirement age of 65 for police officers. He turned in his badge and equipment Friday. His last official day with the city will be Monday — 13,222 days after he donned a Northampton police uniform.

■When Louis’ Foods moved into its new site on University Drive in 1986, the departure left Amherst center without a full-service grocery store. Sometime in 2015, organizers of the Amherst Community Co-op hope to bring a new supermarket downtown at a time when the potential reconstruction of the Amherst Carriage Shops and the proposed mixed-use Kendrick Place building indicate more people will be living, working and shopping in the heart of Amherst.