A Look Back, Nov. 12

50 Years Ago

■The Northampton Conservation Commission last night adopted restrictions for two parcels of land to ensure that they will remain undeveloped. The land affected by the restrictions includes a half-acre parcel off Riverside Drive, which was given to the city by Pro Brush, and a strip of land near Graves Equipment, Inc., which the conservation commission would use as a buffer zone between commercial development on King Street and a residential section on Barrett and Jackson streets.

■The Northampton Conservation Commission voted unanimously last night to seek from the city $72,000 in capital funds for the 1975-76 fiscal year, and also indicated interest in the purchase for conservation use of the 140-acre Fitzgerald property off North Farms Road.

25 Years Ago

■Home Depot, which bills itself as one of the largest home repair stores in the country, is said to be pursuing the possible purchase of land along the Hatfield-Northampton line for a store. Representatives of Home Depot reportedly have targeted land between the Sunoco station in Northampton, which lies across the state road from Elm Street, north to Linseed Road in West Hatfield.

■The governor and top education officials are calling the latest MCAS results unacceptable. More than half of all students in all grades and virtually all subjects either flunked the MCAS or were in need of improvement, according to scores released Wednesday.

10 Years Ago

■In an unanimous vote last week, the Northampton City Council approved an order allowing the Department of Public Works to purchase 51.4 acres off Rocks Road in Hatfield. The city is buying the property located on the southeast side of the Mountain Street Reservoir for $60,000 from the Steidler family.

■As the names of deceased veterans were called out, family members and friends rose from their pews in the chapel at the VA medical center in Leeds to remember their loved ones during an interfaith service on Veterans Day. In all, more than 400 veterans and former volunteers and staff from the VA Central Western Massachusetts Health Care System were recognized.