A Look Back: Feb. 20

50 Years Ago

■The Northampton Historical Society will be the topic of discussion tonight when the radio program series “Forward Northampton” is presented on WHMP. Mrs. Richard Holden and Dr. and Mrs. Keith Wilbur, all members of the board of directors of the society, will tell of the collection and plans for a possible future historical museum.

■Garson R. Fields Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Garson R. Fields of Leeds, has been awarded a special citation from Dartmouth College for his work in aerial photography as part of a course in remote sensing. Fields is a senior at the school.

25 Years Ago

■A resident who lives near the area where beavers are being trapped off Burts Pit Road said this morning one of the animals has been caught. The trapped beaver is believed to be the first one caught in the area, where a beaver dam has flooded Parsons Brook and the water has inundated a city sewer line and blocked a drainage culvert.

■The Calvin Theater has booked its first live show in several years with a local opera company. Commonwealth Opera is scheduled to perform Mozart’s classic “The Magic Flute” at the Calvin Theater in November, according to the group’s music director Richard Rescia.

10 Years Ago

■The former site of a beloved Polish restaurant in Hadley could be home to a vintage arcade and music venue as early as April. The venue, called the Quarters, will be at 8 Railroad St. in the building next to the Norwottuck Rail Trail that formerly housed Sofia’s Praises, one of the last Polish restaurants in the Valley.

■A pair of land deals that would conserve 40 acres on opposite sides of Northampton will come before the City Council, Thursday. One of the transactions would add 21.4 acres to the Broad Brook Greenway/Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area. The second deal would authorize the Conservation Commission to buy a conservation restriction on 19-plus acres off Westhampton Road near Parsons Brook.

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