A Look Back, Aug. 9

50 Years Ago

■Robert Kulp, of 28 Revell Ave., is playing the role of Tommy Albright in “Brigadoon” in the Arena Civic Theatre production at the Roundhouse at Franklin County Fairgrounds. Kulp is music director at Edwards Church and vocal director at Northampton High School.

■Motorists who get stranded along Route 91 will soon have an emergency telephone system to replace makeshift flags on their door handles. The emergency telephones will be located at half-mile intervals and connect the motorist with the closest state police barracks.

25 Years Ago

■Gov. Paul A. Cellucci will take a “fresh look” at legislation which would fund $457 million in capital improvements statewide, including $2 million for renovations to the Academy of Music. If approved, the legislation also would include $547, 301 for the Forbes Library, and $561,031 for the Meekins Library.

■A committee is trying to raise $36,000 to renovate the entrance to Memorial Hall. The Hall, built in 1872 in tribute to the nation’s war dead, has fallen into a state of disrepair over the years. Residents are being asked to make cash donations to the cause, and pamphlets outlining the Memorial Hall project have been distributed to downtown merchants and city residents.

10 Years Ago

■After sitting idle for about five years, it appears Eric Suher’s liquor license will be put to use. The city’s three-member License Commission unanimously approved the transfer of the license from the still-dormant and unfinished former Baptist Church, 298 Main St., near West Street, to the former Blue Note Guitars building on Center Street.

■Police are investigating a report of an attempt to burn an Israeli flag that flies in front of the Congregation B’nai Israel. Rabbi Justin David suggested that the vandalism may have been done by someone critical of Israel’s role in the current war in Gaza.