A Look Back, March 28

50 Years Ago

■A talk on “Birth Control and Abortion” has been scheduled in Maxwell’s Restaurant in Hadley by a group of “concerned parents,” following the announcement yesterday that the Hadley Mother’s Club talk on the same subject was suddenly canceled. The club canceled last night’s talk because many Catholic members of the community were unhappy that a discussion about abortion was to take place in a public building.

■Northampton’s dog officer Edward Beauregard has decided to resign his position because he feels “it is too much for one man to handle.” He will quit on April 1. Beauregard, 77, who has been dog officer here since 1968, said today that the job keeps him busy “seven days a week and around the clock.” He said he caught over 60 dogs last month.

25 Years Ago

■A hearing will be held next month on a proposed reconstruction of Damon Road. The work calls for new sidewalks, left-turn lanes to allow safer entry into shops, and reconstruction of the Damon Road and Industrial Drive intersection.

■Northampton’s veterans agent, Robert P. Cahillane, was reappointed this month by Mayor Clare Higgins. Cahillane also serves as the graves registration officer and the burial agent. He was sworn in on March 17.

10 Years Ago

■Beginning the process of bringing a second parking garage to downtown Amherst appears to have strong support from business owners, residents and some town officials. People who attended the third downtown parking forum made it clear that pursuing construction of a new parking facility, which should supplement the Boltwood parking garage that opened in 2002, should be a high priority.

■Though the number might seem small, newly-appointed state agricultural commissioner John Lebeaux said a recent 1 percent increase in the number of farms in the Valley is a “trend in the right direction.” Lebeaux spent Friday with about 100 farmers and others who gathered at the Northampton Senior Center for Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture’s annual meeting.