A Look Back, June 26

50 Years Ago

■A 39-year-old University of Toronto vice president will become the first woman president of Smith College in July 1975. Jill K. Conway, a native of Australia, was chosen by the Smith College Board of Trustees to succeed Thomas C. Mendenhall who retires July 1, 1975.

■Richard Boudway, assistant postmaster at the Northampton Post Office, will captain the postal employees’ division of The Cooley Dickinson Fund, it was announced by Robert G. Saner, chairman of the drive. Boudway, a Northampton native, has been with the Post Office for 27 years.

25 Years Ago

■The Rev. Judith Parris Stevens was installed as the new rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church Thursday night. Stevens, 59, a political scientist turned priest, is the church’s first female rector since it was founded in 1826.

■A Nonotuck Street resident is inviting residents from throughout the city to a neighborhood cookout Sunday. Rick Haggerty, president of the Nonotuck Neighborhood Association, said he and his wife, Tabitha, will host the cookout at their home at 63 Nonotuck St. with the hope of inspiring people from other parts of the city to get involved with their communities.

10 Years Ago

■The fate of casinos in Massachusetts now rests in the hands of voters. Casino opponents throughout the Pioneer Valley were thrilled with a Tuesday ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court allowing voters to decide the fate of the state’s gambling law this November, while proponents said they are optimistic about their chances of defeating the measure.

■Greenfield Co-operative Bank and Northampton Cooperative Bank announced a merger on Tuesday that their presidents said will give their customers access to 10 banking locations and 11 ATMs in Franklin and Hampshire counties, with each of the banks retaining its own name in the respective counties, right down to their different spellings of “cooperative.”