50 Years Ago

• A rash of wallet thefts has occurred in Northampton’s stores in the last month. The targets are usually women in food markets who leave their pocketbooks unattended on shopping carts, police say. They estimate that about 20 such thefts have taken place with the last month.
• A new arts and crafts cooperative, including a three-story hanging garden with birds, is being planned by local entrepreneur Roger Kirwood for part of the old Masonic Building he owns on lower Main Street. The man who owns the successful Fitzwilly’s restaurant in the same building plans to have the crafts cooperative in operation by August 1.

25 Years Ago

• A building that housed a dry-cleaning business on North Street for 80 years will likely become office and apartment space after zoning officials unanimously approved the proposal of a city real estate investor. Michael G. Sissman said he plans to buy the building that once housed Twin Cleaners dry cleaning at 211 North St. from Robert Raymond, whose family ran the business for three generations.
• A Florida man lost his bid to live in his camper during the summer on land he owns on Woodmont Road after the ZBA upheld the building inspector’s decision to order the vehicle removed. The board vote 3-0 to support Building Commissioner Anthony Patillo’s decision on the grounds that city zoning laws do not allow a motor vehicle to be used as a residence and that a lot’s principal use cannot be as a parking place for a recreational vehicle.

10 Years Ago

• Smith College announced this week that it has received a $2.5 million donation from noted art collector Charlotte Feng Ford, an alumna in the class of 1983. The money will be used to create an endowment to fund a new position, a full-time curator for contemporary art in Ford’s name aimed at fostering new interest in the field for students and faculty.
• The DAR State Forest has reopened after being closed since September for a $2.5 million project including major repairs to the Upper Highland Lake Dam. The improvements have made the dam safer and more accessible with additional upgrades to parking areas, boat ramps and culverts.