A Look Back: April 25

50 Years Ago

■A Northampton car dealership, Cahillane Motors, was one of two businesses broken into Sunday night by safecrackers who made off with an undetermined amount of cash. Easthampton Chevrolet was also victimized by safecrackers who were apparently professional and who did “a good, fast job,” according to owner Eugene Flaherty.

■Mrs. Anna Murphy celebrated her 106th birthday Sunday at the Hampshire County Hospital in Leeds. Mrs. Murphy was born in Northampton in 1867. She has celebrated her birthdays quietly in the last few years, with relatives and friends.

25 Years Ago

■With the closing of Everybody’s Market and its deli this weekend, another Florence market has stepped in to pick up the slack. Cooper’s Corner will start selling chicken and ground beef next week, a move stemming from Charles Jasinski’s decision to close the store that has been in his family for more than 60 years.

■Local anti-nuclear-power activists who took their campaign on the road last year will reprise their effort on community television with a two-hour video on their work. “Nukebusters,” which chronicles the work of members of the Citizens Awareness Network, is scheduled to run on community television in Northampton and Amherst.

10 Years Ago

■Mayor David J. Narkewicz is pushing to change the way the 105-year-old Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School is organized, based on a budget dispute with its leaders. Narkewicz has informed Smith Voke leaders that after the city budget process concludes next month, he intends to seek City Council backing for special state legislation to make it part of the Northampton public schools.

■After a 20-year run, Pride & Joy is closing its brick-and-mortar retail store in Thornes Marketplace downtown but will continue to maintain an online shopping presence. Jennifer Harlan, who co-owns the store with Joy Rain, cited a retail slowdown, internet pressures, and evolving customer tastes as the main reasons driving the married couple’s decision to close up shop.

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