A Look Back, Oct. 10

Published: 10-09-2024 11:01 PM

50 Years Ago

■A penny arcade, a pie-eating contest, Russian roulette, a frustration booth and pin-the-bustle-on-Sophia will be some of the highlights of Sophia’s Circus on Wednesday at Smith College. The circus will be held on Burton Lawn behind the Williams Allan Neilson Library.

■The Northampton School Committee last night voted to “go on record requesting that the City Council build an addition to the Jackson Street School.” The vote followed 20 minutes of discussion about Supt. John Buteau’s proposed $11 million construction package for city schools.

25 Years Ago

■Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has formed an exploratory committee to determine his viability as a presidential candidate for the Reform Party — and would like to have Oprah Winfrey as his running mate.

■Ward 6 City Councilor Marianne L. LaBarge, who is running unopposed for re-election, held a pancake breakfast as a fund-raiser last weekend. She didn’t advertise the event, held at VFW Post 8006 in Florence. Nonetheless, 200 people made a showing.

10 Years Ago

■A ferocious “straight-line” wind toppled and uprooted trees and downed utility wires and poles at the base of Mount Tom in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, trapping people in cars, damaging homes and cutting a path of treeline destruction across the mountain range along East Street. The National Weather Service declared the destruction was the result of a microburst.

■Three candidates who want to represent Ward 2 on the Northampton School Committee will give brief statements and answer questions at a joint meeting of the City Council and School Committee Thursday night. The candidates are Laura Fallon, Jason Foster, and Renee Wetstein.