A Look Back: Sept. 7

By JIM BRIDGMAN

For the Gazette

Published: 09-06-2023 11:00 PM
50 Years Ago

■An 11-acre tract of land on the south corner of O’Neill and Northampton streets in Easthampton has been sold by A.W. Borowski Co. to the Sanland Development Corp. of West Hartford, Conn., and construction on a shopping center will begin as soon as all permits and licenses have been issued here.

■Three new probation officers were sworn in by Judge Luke F. Ryan in Hampshire County District Court yesterday. William H. Burke III of Hatfield, Eugene A. Sheehan of Holyoke, and Holyoke Police Sgt. Aaron (Benny) W. Wilson, were sworn in during a brief ceremony.

25 Years Ago

■Sunday was move-in day for first-year students at UMass and all students at Smith College. At Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire colleges, the move-in process started last week and was continuing Sunday. No major problems were reported at any of the campuses, but traffic was very heavy, as expected, as thousands of students and their parents arrived in the area.

■Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School students will start construction on a two-story house in Westhampton this week, resurrecting the school’s popular house-building program after a hiatus of several years. Larry Sawula, carpentry department head, said students are looking forward to starting work on the two-bedroom cape at 60 Reservoir Road.

10 Years Ago

■A 60-foot vehicle that appears to be two buses attached by an accordion-like midsection is catching the attention of local drivers and passengers. The fleet arrived on the streets of both Amherst and Northampton Tuesday. The vehicles are known as articulated buses — through others prefer the term “bendy buses,” due to the pivot between the two 30-foot sections.

■Those walking, running and biking on the Manhan Rail Trail will be sharing the path with Easthampton police officers in a “mini cruiser” starting this weekend. The Police Department purchased a $15,000 Kubota rough terrain vehicle, or RTV, with money seized in drug raids and other drug enforcement activities the department participated in.

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