A Look Back, May 29

50 Years Ago

■At the recent party honoring the fiftieth anniversary of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Northampton, Dr. James L. Benepe accepted a plaque from the Hampshire United Way, Inc., as a token of appreciation for the high level of community support that the hospital staff has always given since the founding of this unit.

■Clifford M. Buchholz of 4 Primrose Path, Hatfield, has been named chairman of the automotive division of The Cooley Dickinson Hospital Fund Campaign, according to Robert G. Saner, campaign chairman. Buchholz was formerly president of Buchholz Motors, Inc. a Northampton business which he started in 1945.

25 Years Ago

■At-Large City Councilor Phillip L. Sullivan said Thursday he intends to seek re-election rather than run for mayor, a decision that clarifies the early shape of two key electoral contests. Sullivan said he believes he can serve the city better from his current council seat. “I’m having fun, if I wasn’t having fun I wouldn’t do it,” he said.

■One of Northampton’s prime residential properties in its most sought-after neighborhood, a three-story brick Victorian home at 275 Elm St., sold today for $798,000. It is considered the highest price a single-family home has sold for in Northampton in recent memory.

10 Years Ago

■Six months after taking over as interim president of Westfield State University in November, Elizabeth H. Preston has instituted changes in financial practices to bring accountability and oversight to campus along with greater transparency to restore trust in the 175-year-old public institution. Preston took over at a school that was reeling from a spending scandal in the president’s office and mired in lawsuits and state investigations.

■Massachusetts’ first license for a Las Vegas-style casino could be awarded as soon as mid-June, following four straight days of meetings by state gambling regulators in Boston and Springfield.