A Look Back, April 17

50 Years Ago

• The Northampton School Department reported that there was a high rate of absenteeism today, apparently because of Good Friday. The department did not have exact figures this morning, but officials said that it appeared that from 40 to 50 percent of the students in the school system may have been out today.
• The issue of where the new county jail should be built remained unresolved this week, as neither county nor city officials showed any willingness to work out a compromise. While both groups have agreed that the 70-acre site on Northampton State Hospital land favored by the county would be ideal for a jail, city representatives view the scenic location as excellent for such other uses as conservation and Òpassive recreationÓ for city residents.

25 Years Ago

• Joseph J. Ellis’ “Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation,” which chronicles the foibles and flaws of the seven leaders of the American Revolution, won a Patriot’s Day Pulitzer Prize for the Mount Holyoke College historian. “I’m happy as the dickens at winning the Pulitzer,” Ellis said today of his prize in history.
• WHMP’s Dennis Lee was named “Broadcaster of the Year” by the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association at the Museum of Science in Boston last week. Lee, who has worked at WHMP since 1982, was cited for numerous community activities, ranging from the Red Cross to the Jimmy Fund and Dollars for Scholars.

10 Years Ago

• Smith College will donate $100,000 a year to the city for the next three years, the school said this week — an announcement that comes on the heels of Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz’s first request for voluntary PILOT payments.
• A day-long visit from representatives of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Wednesday is giving Amherst officials confidence that the townÕs first cultural district will be in place next month. Cultural districts are already in place in both Northampton, where the Paradise City Cultural District extends from Elm Street to Main Street, and in Easthampton, which has the Cottage Street Cultural District.