A Look Back, Sept. 4

50 Years Ago

■Sarah B. Whitaker, co-founder with Dorothy Bement of the Northampton School for Girls, celebrated her 90th birthday at the Bonnie Oaks Hotel in Fairlee, Vt. Miss Whitaker and Miss Bement, who now live in Sarasota, Fla., vacation annually at this resort.

■A large group of family members and friends gathered for a dinner party at Hotel Northampton Tuesday evening to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram H. Brownell. Mr. Brownell is widely known as “Mr. County Commission.”

25 Years Ago

■Engines will rev, pigs will fly, and the wide world of fair entertainment will turn today, as the Three-County Fair kicks off its 182nd year. Thoroughbred horse racing starts Friday at the fair and runs through Labor Day on Monday for the first of two separate sessions. Racing will resume Sept. 10 for three days.

■They’re prepared to accept the dust, the noise and the classroom shuffle during their final year at Northampton High School. But seniors are drawing the line when it comes to lunch. “It’s our senior year and no hot lunches will be offered,” said Renee Fairlie, co-president of the student council. The group is seeking permission to allow seniors to leave the school grounds for lunch.

10 Years Ago

■After advocating for issues related to women’s rights and immigrants on the national level, Elizabeth Barajas-Rom‡n has switched to promoting change and creating partnerships locally as the new chief executive officer of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts.

■Mount Holyoke College this week became the second women’s college in the country to consider for admission any student who identifies as a woman, whether or not she was born female. Mount Holyoke President Lynn Pasquerella announced the new policy at the convocation Tuesday, provoking applause, cheers and a standing ovation from students.