A Look Back, Sept. 26

50 Years Ago

■Samuel H. Lovejoy was found not guilty by a directed verdict in Franklin County Superior Court yesterday afternoon when Judge Kent B. Smith ruled that the Commonwealth had not shown evidence that the 500-foot weather tower that Lovejoy admitted destroying was “personal” property. The indictment against Lovejoy had charged him with “malicious and willful destruction of personal property” in connection with the Feb. 22 toppling of the Northeast Utilities tower in Montague.

■At a recent meeting of the Northampton Industrial Realty Development Corp., Charles F. Lyons was elected president; Everett W. Ladd Jr., was re-elected treasurer; and Paul Walker was elected clerk.

25 Years Ago

■Two more residents of the Northampton Nursing Home have died, bringing to three the number of deaths linked to a viral illness believed to be spread from person to person. Public health officials said there could be more deaths, as epidemiologists work to identify the virus responsible for infecting as many as 16 patients and three nursing home workers.

■More than 100 people, including most members of the current City Council, several members of the School Committee, Mayor Mary L. Ford, and two former City Councilors, showed up Thursday night for the kick-off event for Michael Bardsley’s At-Large City Council campaign.

10 Years Ago

■The Equity Task Force, a group created last spring to advise the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee on issues of race and class, will now have nine voting members, Chairman Amilcar Shabazz announced Thursday during a meeting focused on what he called “creating a framework” for making decisions.

■Oktoberfest is an internationally known fair held in Germany, but Saturday it will be at JJ’s Tavern in Florence. JJ’s owner Jon Neumann plans to throw his own Oktoberfest event at 99 Main St. in Florence as a benefit for the scholarship program run by the city’s St. Patrick’s Association.