Jim Bridgman

50 Years Ago

  • Richard J. Miner, a patient at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Leeds, has won first prize in a nationwide Bicentennial art contest for his oil painting, “Lest We Forget.” The painting was judged to be the best of more than 100 others in the contest, sponsored by the Veterans Administration.
  • The opening of an ice cream parlor in the McCallum’s building, originally slated for this month, has been delayed by ongoing renovations in the vacant Main Street building, owner Floyd Andrus Jr. said yesterday. Dust from sanding the floors, in particular, has made it impossible to open at this time.

25 Years Ago

  • Teachers at the JFK Middle School have asked the School Committee to name a JFK courtyard after Richard Carnes, who retired as principal last month and devoted countless hours to planting, mowing and weeding the space. Carnes, who worked in the schools for 41 years and had been principal since 1987, began tending the courtyard in the 1960s, when he was a science teacher.
  • Sporting buttons that said, “Save Our Homes,” about two dozen Meadowbrook residents and their supporters crowded Council Chambers Thursday to press the city to keep their housing affordable in the face of a pending buyout. Meadowbrook residents took turns at the microphone, taking about 20 minutes to announce their concern that the planned purchase next month of the 252-unit complex will mean a loss of subsidized housing in Northampton.

10 Years Ago

  • The popular downtown shop Deals & Steals will move into the space vacated by One Bar, the store owner confirmed Wednesday. Currently straddling two downtown locations — one at 7 Pearl St., with food items, and an apparel store at 76 Pleasant St. — Deals & Steals owner Steven Weber said he has been looking for two years for an affordable downtown space to house all of his wares.
  • The Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School board of trustees hired longtime technical educator Kevin C. Farr on Tuesday as interim superintendent for the 2016-17 school year. A vocational school veteran, Farr worked as the superintendent of Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School in Bourne until he retired in 2012 after 33 years.