A Look Back, Aug. 24

200 Years Ago

■General Lafayette landed at New York on Monday of last week and left that city on Friday for Boston. The inhabitants of Northampton at a town meeting holden on last Monday, passed an order directing the selectmen to make suitable arrangements for paying due honor to this distinguished friend and guest of our country, should he pass through this place in the course of his tour.

■According to public and private records, the whole number of deaths in Northampton from its first settlement in 1654 to the present year is 3,026. Since the year 1754 an accurate account has been kept, but it is probably that some deaths which happened previous to that time were not entered into the records.

100 Years Ago

■James Lucey of Gothic Street, shoemaker friend of President Coolidge, went to Plymouth, Vt., early yesterday morning with Edgar Harris of Elm Street to call on the President, his family and Col. Coolidge, the President’s father, and allowed the day’s visit to disturb the smoothy routine of his work so little that an early hour this norming found him back in his shop serenely and industriously at work again putting new soles on a lady’s much worn pair of shoes.

■Declaring that “it would be wicked for the city to maintain an elegant and attractive place to invite thereto children to their ruin,” Judge John B. O’Donnell has written the Gazette a vigorous letter opposing construction of the proposed gymnasium and school building on the Hawley grammar school lot.

50 Years Ago

■The nomination of Nelson A. Rockefeller to serve as the nation’s new vice president was greeted with unenthusiastic approval by many citizens of the area interviewed Wednesday on Northampton’s Main Street. Most said they were not very trustful or enthusiastic about Washington politics in general.

■Arthur “Mel” Livingstone of Oak St., Florence, will fly Monday to Fairbanks, Alaska, to attend the consecration of the former rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, the Rev. David Cochran, as Bishop of Alaska. Livingstone, who is treasurer and vice president of the Northampton Cooperative Bank, was appointed lay representative of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts by Bishop Alexander D. Stewart.