A Look Back, March 13

50 Years Ago

■Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger has invited Mayor Sean M. Dunphy and 400 other young political leaders from around the country to a foreign policy conference at the Department of State in Washington. Dunphy said yesterday that he has not yet decided whether he will attend the meeting.

■The trustees of the Northampton Historical Society have received city directories dating back to 1890. The set of directories was given by Frank Tuit of the County Probate Office. The historical society has said that it will find the directories “extremely valuable in future research.”

25 Years Ago

■Gas prices are at a record high and could climb as high as $2 per gallon by the end of summer. The jumps have motorists pondering their gas gauges and fuel experts scrambling to provide explanations for the creeping price hikes.

■For the second time in three years, a local band has been picked as a finalist for A Prairie Home Companion’s annual “Talent from Towns Under 2,000” radio broadcast. The Lonesome Brothers will be heard along with four other groups on the April 15 show. The band’s guitarist, Jim Armenti, comes from Westhampton.

10 Years Ago

■Police say a city man is suspected of spray-painting angry messages about the teachings of Christian Science on the First Church of Christ, Scientist at the corner of Masonic and Center streets. Church officials were able to identify the man when police showed them video surveillance that had been captured by cameras outside the police station.

■University of Massachusetts Amherst Police Chief John K. Horvath will take a pay cut to become chief of the Rockport Police Department on the North Shore, according to a report in the Gloucester Times. In 2012, Horvath was selected from more than 100 applicants as the UMass Police Department’s ninth chief.