A Look Back, Jan. 27

50 Years Ago

■Members of the Easthampton Consumer Action Committee (ECAC) will issue a letter of invitation to President Ford to visit this area to explain his recent energy proposals. The local group received nationwide television coverage Friday after a Thursday evening meeting with utility company representatives and elected officials drew a crowd of over 600 people to Park School Auditorium.

■Parochial schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield may face the imposition of tuition rates in the future, the Rt. Rev. Christopher Weldon informed parishioners yesterday. Bishop Weldon is “making the people fully aware of the scope of the problem and has proposed a solution,” according to the Rev. Roy Duquette, director of St. Michael’s High School.

25 Years Ago

■U.S. Congressmen John Olver and Richard Neal have developed a strong distaste for the political wrangling over 6-year-old Cuban Elian Gonzalez, and favor returning him to his father. “I think it’s shameful, I really do,” Neal, a Springfield Democrat, said Tuesday. “We’re not talking about a little adult; we’re talking about a child. I don’t think he should be a pawn.”

■The Board of Public Works will be asked tonight to approve taking out a section of the granite steps that now stand at Strong Avenue and Main Street so a ramp can be built for people in wheelchairs. In a letter to the board, Wayne Feiden, director of planning and development, recommends the board approve the concept of splitting the existing steps.

10 Years Ago

■Northampton has agreed to buy the large outdoor Seth Thomas street clock that for 86 years served as a landmark at the corner of Main Street and Strong Avenue from retired businessman John Sutter for $20,000. Plans call for the clock to be restored and reinstalled at the Main Street entrance of a soon-to-be renovated Pulaski Park.

■Katherine L. Bechtold is the new vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Most recently, Bechtold served as the senior vice president and chief nursing executive for MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Washington.