A Look Back, Dec. 28

200 Years Ago

■On Monday evening the dwelling house and shop of Mr. Hosea Goodale of Amherst were destroyed by fire, with 200 chairs and many other articles. Most of the furniture in the house was saved.

■Died in Northampton on Sunday last, Daniel Wright, Esq., aged 69, one of our highly respected citizens, and for many years well known to the inhabitants of this county as postmaster at this place — the duties of which office he discharged with noiseless but inflexible and conscientious fidelity.

100 Years Ago

■The future policy of the Academy of Music, concerning which much interest has been evident among the city’s theatergoers, was determined today, when Francis Powell, manager of the theater, announced that he had completed arrangements with representatives of Paramount Pictures, Inc., and the Erlanger officers in New York City, whereby the Academy will be able to exhibit the very best motion pictures and road attractions.

■Ronald Moquin, of Revell Avenue, has gone to New York for special instruction in dancing under the direction of Michael Fokine and Ivan Farasoff of the Russian Ballet. Mr. Moquin has been a pupil of Ralph MacKernan of Springfield for some time.

50 Years Ago

■The Third Annual Northampton Winter Festival will be held Feb. 15-21 and the theme will be the nation’s Bicentennial. Events planned for the festival include a dinner dance, a pancake breakfast, snowshoe softball, a sliding contest, square dance, colonial flag day, snow sculpture, ice fishing on the Oxbow and the crowning of King Winter.

■The realtors in charge of selling the former McCallum’s department store building on Main Street say that they have been talking with a few prospective buyers but have nothing definite yet. Gordon Murphy, one of the realtors involved in trying to sell the store since McCallum’s closed a year ago, said that there is “nothing solid by any means yet.” He attributed much of the difficulty in selling the store to the poor state of the economy.