A Look Back: May 5 – GazetteNET

50 Years Ago

■Lorie Schnarr of South Amherst has been elected queen of the Amherst Fair to be held Friday and Saturday at the town common. Queen Schnarr is a member of the junior class at Amherst Regional High School. She is a cheerleader, active in Tri-S and a member of the Pep Club and other school activities.

■Speaking on “Drugs and Youth” at the spring “Salute Breakfast” of the greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Saul Rotman of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Leeds said that Americans live in a drug culture and members of the older generation set an example for youngsters. “Drugs are symptoms of these troubled times,” he said.

25 Years Ago

■Sunshine coming through the windows of the Kendall Sports Complex at Mount Holyoke College lighted the academic processional in honor of Joanne V. Creighton, who was inaugurated yesterday as the college’s 17th president.

■Spirits may have been dampened by Saturday’s drizzle and rain, but there were plenty of smiles beneath the umbrellas that lined the route of the 15th annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride March. Estimates of crowd size varied, but it seemed certain that fewer people attended than last year, when organizers estimated the crowd at 4,000.

10 Years Ago

■The Aubuchon hardware store in the Stop & Shop plaza in Hadley closed Monday after 70 years in business, the victim of stiff retail competition. “The volume wasn’t here in this location,” district manager Shane Mason said Wednesday, as he supervised the removal of inventory at the 458 Russell St. store.

■The paddle boats at Look Park are a favorite of all ages, but the pond they float in has become murky over the years. The park’s trustees plan a dredging project that will deepen Willow Pond and enhance boating and fishing. The National Guard has agreed to do the dredging project as part of a training program.