A Look Back: July 17

50 Years Ago

■The bout of hot weather recently has been a boon to area farmers whose fields needed drying out. However, the soaring temperatures and muggy air combined to make life difficult for marchers and lookers-on at Deerfield’s massive Tercentenary parade on Sunday.

■Five Veterans Administration Hospital employees, representing a total of 145 work years at the Leeds facility, have been honored on their retirement. The five are: Chester Rolinski, 31 years; Jane Zedonis, 20 years; Joseph Ravish, 32 years; Edward Mielke, 34 years; and Dorothy Winters, 28 years.

25 Years Ago

■The Northampton City Council is expected to vote tonight whether to apply for a $1 million loan and $600,000 grant from the federal government to aid the Pro Corporation PMC. While Mayor Mary L. Ford hails the idea as an example of the kind of public-private partnership that will be a boon to the local economy, others are wary of risking public money for a private business.

■In what could be the first program of its kind in the nation, six students from Hampshire College will be heading to Cuba this fall as part of a new international exchange program. College officials say it is unique for American students to be in classes taught by Cuban teachers and with Cuban students.

10 Years Ago

■Leeds residents who live near a section of the Mill River are becoming increasingly frustrated that visitors, swimmers, and bathers are leaving much more behind than their footprints when they depart from the river. People whose backyards bump up against the path that offers access to the river say that some visitors leave behind a wide variety of garbage in their wake.

■Matthew Sosik, formerly president of Hometown Bank in Oxford, will be the new head of Easthampton Savings Bank, replacing Chief Executive Officer William S. Hogan Jr., who retires Sept. 30 after 43 years at the bank.

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