A Look Back, Oct. 14

50 Years Ago

■The Massachusetts Organization to Repeal Abortion Laws (MORAL) is sponsoring an effort in Hampshire County to organize residents in defense of safe, legal, elective abortion. The local effort will be coordinated by Betsy Guthrie and Susan Carrier of Northampton and Britt Guttmann of Amherst.

■An estimated 300 persons attended a kick-off dinner at the Eagles Hall on Pleasant Street Sunday for William P. Nagle, candidate for representative from the First Hampshire District. County Commission chairman David Musante served as master of ceremonies and introduced a host of city, county and state officials.

25 Years Ago

■Kristen Golden, the new director of Necessities/Necesidades, says she plans to focus on strategic and long-term goals for the Northampton agency, which aids battered women. Golden, 41, was hired to lead the organization last month following a year in which the agency went without a permanent director.

■Look Park will introduce a new Halloween feature this month: the Haunted Train. The train ride will be appropriate for children aged 5 and up and is intended for families with younger children.

10 Years Ago

■If approved, Question 1 on the November ballot wouldn’t lower the state’s gas tax, but it could stop future increases that would otherwise occur automatically and without any say by lawmakers. Supporters of the initiative view that as a clear-cut case of taxation without representation. But those urging a no vote on the question warn that passage would seriously undermine progress in fixing crumbling state infrastructure.

■Around 400 people turned out for the Congregational B’nai Israel’s Sukkot Festival on Sunday afternoon. According to Rabbi Jacob Fine, the Sukkot Harvest Festival is the third and most significant of harvest festivals on the Jewish calendar.