50 Years Ago
- At least five and possibly six new members will join the 10-member Northampton School Committee in January. The candidates are acutely aware that the school budget is a major source of concern to voters. They acknowledge, however, that with most of the budget tied up in negotiated salaries, there are few “frills” left to trim that make much of a difference.
- Two of the mayoral candidates to appear at the Northampton Teachers Association candidates’ night last night said they feel that the “average” student in the Northampton schools is getting shortchanged. Edward Gross and David Cramer said a greater emphasis should be place on “basic skills” so that students who do not go on to college are equipped with “basic tools” for getting along in the world, such as reading, spelling, and math.
25 Years Ago
- City Hall will be getting something of a facelift, with plans under way to paint its crenellations, the decorative “gingerbread” woodwork that runs along its eaves. In the meantime, the Northampton Historical Commission hopes to get together with other city officials to discuss a plan for keeping the 150-year-old historic building in good condition.
- Boy Scout Troop 103, affiliated with Annunciation Church in Florence, will celebrate 75 years of service in October. The troop has the distinction as the longest continuously active Catholic Scout troop in the Springfield diocese and also as having 157 members who have earned Scouting’s highest award, the Eagle badge.
10 Years Ago
- Over 400 people waited outside the Mullins Center in Amherst Wednesday morning to buy tickets to see the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, deliver a public address there in late October. Tickets to the event were priced at $32, with no service charge.
- Renowned artist and architect Maya Lin told a full house at Smith College on Wednesday that when she is done redesigning the college’s main library, it will fit better with the campus and provide a more light-filled, pleasant experience inside. In fact, she described the 106-year-old William Allan Neilson Library as an “aggressively bad” wall in the middle of campus.