50 Years Ago
- A thief or thieves punched a hole in the wall of an adjoining store to gain access to Adams Drugs in the Kingsgate Plaza shopping center on King Street Saturday night. Police reported that unspecified amounts of money and drugs were taken in the break. Intruders broke through a wall in the adjacent Liberty Bakery, creating a space large enough to crawl through.
- Rep. Morris K. Udall, out to become the first congressman to be elected president since 1880, told over 800 students at the University of Massachusetts yesterday that it takes two things to be a great president: “First you have to be great, second you have to be President.” Noted for his folksy humor and his liberalism, Udall said he hopes people will still call him “Mo” even if he moves into the White House.
25 Years Ago
- Twelve people are homeless today after a fire destroyed a three-story West Street apartment building, despite the efforts of city firefighters and those from six other area communities. “The fire moved exceptionally fast on us,” said Deputy Chief Dana Cheverette. He said firefighters at first believed they could save the house at 59 West St., but “it became apparent early on we weren’t going to.”
- Dark clouds hung over the grounds of the former Northampton State Hospital Saturday and a light snow began to fall as more than 1,000 people huddled in near silence for an unusual concert. Shortly after noon, the silence was broken as the opening movement of J.S. Bach’s “Magnificat” filled the empty interior of the building and reverberated through its walls and windows.
10 Years Ago
- As Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump prepares to address Massachusetts voters at a campaign event Wednesday in Worcester, the businessman and reality TV star continues to ride a wave of popularity putting him — along with retired neurosurgeon and fellow political outsider Ben Carson — at the top of national polls on the 2016 race. University of Massachusetts polling data released Monday showed Trump as the current GOP frontrunner.
- Hundreds of students wearing black filled the Campus Center at Smith College in a daylong sit-in Wednesday to support students of color at campuses across the nation, present their demands to the Smith community and brainstorm future improvements. Students began organizing the sit-in after what some saw as a disappointing attendance at last week’s walkout.