A Look Back, March 19

Table of Contents

50 Years Ago

Doctors who recently returned from Guatemala, Edward J. and Claire Manwell of Northampton, say that the earthquake-torn country is recovering from last month’s disaster. The Manwells spent three months in an area of Guatemala not damaged by the earthquake.
A Smith College professor has concluded, after reading thousands of recently released federal documents, that the 1950 perjury conviction of alleged Soviet spy Alger Hiss was justified. Allen Weinstein, director of the American studies program at Smith, says in an article in the April 1 issue of the New York Review of Books, on the newsstands today, that prosecution witness Whitaker Chambers’ testimony was largely true.

An estimated 300,000 people lined the 2½-mile route of the 50th edition of the St. Patrick’s Parade in Holyoke Sunday, to view 25,000 marchers and scores of floats.
Michael Gordon has been accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, an honor his father says is not only a feather in the family’s collective cap, but also evidence of the good work done at Easthampton High School. The EHS senior was recently nominated by U.S. Rep. John Olver to both the U.S. Air Force Academy and West Point.

A year after public outcry led the mayor to hold off on making any changes to Northampton’s water and sewer rates, city residents and business owners can expect to see a completely revised fee structure take effect in July. The City Council approved the proposed rates, part of a new structure that includes significant increases in fixed fees and distinguishes between smaller and large consumers.
With 250 people packed into the Hotel Northampton grand ballroom on Thursday for the annual St. Patrick’s Chamber Breakfast, members of the Northampton St. Patrick’s Association cracked jokes, presented awards and crowned the 2016 parade grand marshal. Chris Powers, president of the association, said the event has never seen such a crowd.

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