50 Years Ago
- The Northampton Rotary Club will sponsor its fifth annual weekend Beerfest in June, according to an announcement made today by Robert Borawski and Charles DeRose, co-chairs of the event. The weekend festivities are billed as a combined Beerfest and Polka Festival featuring beer from the keg, Polish food and four polka bands providing continuous music.
- The first building in Northampton to be included in the National Register of Historic Places is the Smith College gymnasium which the college is planning to demolish. The Alumnae Gymnasium, which is located off Green Street, is slated to be torn down by the college so that a new 67,000-square-foot addition to the college library can be built.
25 Years Ago
- University of Massachusetts students who violate housing rules while living in dorms may later have difficulty renting off campus. For the last month, the dean of students’ office has been processing as many as 40 requests a day from landlords seeking disciplinary records on prospective tenants. The requests are signed by the students themselves, authorizing release of the information.
- The Northampton Planning Board has two new associate members, Julie Hooks-Davis and George Kohout, who were appointed to fill vacancies on the nine-member board. The new members were appointed in March to fill two-year posts, replacing Alton Neal, who resigned earlier this year, and Orlando Isaza, who left last year.
10 Years Ago
- Bruce M. Fogel, long active in Northampton’s community affairs, died unexpectedly Monday. A Northampton native born in 1949, Fogel was an attorney focusing on estate planning and taxation and a partner at Bacon Wilson Attorneys at Law at the time of his passing.
- A new store and cafe specializing in products from the United Kingdom will be able to sell alcohol when it opens this summer in Amherst. The Select Board on Wednesday voted unanimously to issue an all-alcohol, on-premise license for Londonwest Co., which will be located at 35 South Pleasant St. in space last used by artALIVE.