A Look Back, Dec. 2

50 Years Ago

■The Northampton National Bank and Bradlees Department Store will become the first two outlets in Northampton to sell food stamps, with stamp sales beginning this month. Northampton National was one of four banks visited by 25 protesters Friday. The demonstrators demanded that Northampton banks, which have so far not sold food stamps, begin the sales.

■The new telephone book for the Northampton-Amherst-Easthampton area contains at least two new public safety phone numbers, the rape “hotline” listings in Northampton and Amherst. The numbers are supposed to be called to report a rape, a sexual assault or an attempted rape.

25 Years Ago

■When state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, took his place Sunday among the speakers at a rally protesting the cancellation of a production of “West Side Story,” some in the crowd wondered aloud what side the liberal senator was going to be on. Rosenberg disagreed with the decision not to stage the musical and said he would help bring “West Side Story” to town in one form or another.

■While a proposed bike path in Williamsburg continues to be a bone of contention between supporters and some abutting property owners, work on the Northampton stretch of the trail — and on a similar bike path that would lead from Northampton to Easthampton — presses forward.

10 Years Ago

■Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School trustees will vote Tuesday on whether to end the school’s lease with the city Recreation Department in favor of bringing a Greenfield Community College nursing program to the campus. Smith Voke Superintendent Jeffrey Peterson said GCC has offered the opportunity for the school to host a graduate-level licensed practical nursing program on campus.

■Berkshire Brewing Co. has inked an agreement to have its pints poured at MGM Springfield. “We are thrilled to announce this partnership,” said Michael Mathis, president of MGM Springfield. “BBC has a history of brewing quality, good tasting products with western Massachusetts in mind.”