50 Years Ago
- By sunset next Saturday, two area hikers will have ended a walk that spanned two seasons, 2,047 miles, and 14 states. Five months ago, Richard Willard, of Northampton, and Frank Jurkowski, of Easthampton, left their home for the beginning of the Appalachian Trail on Springer Mountain, Ga. On Saturday, they will make the final hike up Mt. Katahdin in Maine.
- Judge Luke F. Ryan today announced the appointment of Michael J. Dubuc of South Hadley as probation officer for the District Court of Hampshire. Dubuc fills the vacancy left by Atty. William Michael Ryan, who resigned effective July 1, to devote fulltime to the practice of law.
25 Years Ago
- Northampton, ever looking for ways to increase revenue, may ask nonprofits to contribute money to its coffers. The Industrial Affairs Committee of the City Council is researching whether it is feasible to create a program known as Payment In Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT.
- A 220-foot span that is to serve as a temporary one-lane bridge to reopen Route 5 over the Oxbow, a heavily traveled road connecting Holyoke and Easthampton to Northampton, was lowered into position Thursday. Officials expect the bridge to be open by Sept. 1.
10 Years Ago
- Amherst’s new town manager, Paul Bockelman, spent his first day on the job on Monday. After being introduced to Town Hall employees and supervisors for the Department of Public Works, Bockelman said he has already met people passionate about public service, and who have built closer bonds with each other since the unexpected death of Town Manager John Musante last September.
- The 1930s National Park Service’s slogan See America is inscribed in corn-stalks next to naturalist John Muir, and below a portrait of Teddy Roosevelt outlined in the mist of Old Faithful, in this year s much-anticipated Mike s Maze design in Sunderland.