50 Years Ago
- The last of 13 buildings that formed the campus of the now defunct Northampton Junior College has been sold to a downtown restaurant. The St. Regis, located at 28 Pleasant St., has announced plans to relocate and expand its operations at the new site.
- Some 500 full-time apple-picking jobs will be available across the state when harvesting begins in Massachusetts early in September, the state Division of Employment Security has announced. An official in the Northampton DES office said that from 100 to 150 full-time picking jobs for the six-week harvest season should be available in the Northampton-Amherst area alone.
25 Years Ago
- Simulcast racing made its debut at the Three-County Fairgrounds Friday afternoon and by all accounts it was a welcome addition. At the Clubhouse, there were two additional walls of televisions for the simulcasts that people could watch while drinking beer at folding tables.
- After hearing that the campy “Transperformance” songfest, this year a tribute to all things Californian, was missing a performance of the Mamas and the Papas megahit “California Dreamin'” that gave the show its name, Northampton resident Josef Cohen of Aldrich Street, sibling of the late “Mama” Cass Elliot, volunteered to sing the song that made his sister’s musical fame soar.
10 Years Ago
- Kavern Lewis, Patrick Cahillane and Melissa Perry took part in a forum for candidates running for Hampshire County sheriff Thursday at South Hadley High School. The two-hour forum, sponsored by the citizens group Know Your Town, came two weeks ahead of the primary election on Sept. 8.
- The Friends of Hampshire County Homeless has received a $10,000 donation from Florence Bank which bolsters the non-profit’s efforts to buy and fix a house for homeless youths in the city. Rick Hart, president of Friends of the Hampshire County Homeless Individuals, Inc., said the volunteer-based organization has raised about $535,000 of the $750,000 goal.