A Look Back, Aug.12

50 Years Ago

■Smith College President Thomas C. Mendenhall has announced the appointment of H. William Gilbert, 44 Blackberry Lane, as business manager and director of procurement. Gilbert succeeds Charles DeBruler who retired this year after 27 years of service to the College.

■The reaction throughout Hampshire County to Richard M. Nixon’s decision to resign as President of the United States was one of general relief, tinged with sadness. Residents said they were glad that Nixon had decided to step down from the nation’s highest office. A few expressed the hope that the outgoing president would be granted immunity.

25 Years Ago

■The Calvin Coolidge collection at the Forbes Library has earned a place alongside such national symbols as the Washington Monument and the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner. It has been designated an “Official Project” of the federal “Save America’s Treasures Program.”

■On Saturday at the Taste of Northampton, a Holyoke radio station will rally a crowd in a bid to set a world’s record. WRNC 100.9 FM will attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the largest kazoo orchestra ever assembled. Two thousand people are expected to participate in the record setting.

10 Years Ago

■A four-alarm fire that heavily damaged Building 97 at Southpoint Townhouses & Apartments in Amherst Saturday evening displaced 54 residents and sent a police officer to the hospital where he was treated for smoke inhalation. Dozens of residents scattered from their homes and watched as flames shot through the roof of Building 97.

■Commerce slowed Saturday on Damon Road as some businesses never opened at all or closed early because a portion of the street was closed while improvements were made to a railroad crossing.