September 1982
In answer to a reporter’s question as to whether Harvard should return some of the $2 million it received in state aid, one resident said, “The state formula [for determining the town’s population] is unethical. Harvard is not justified in taking the money. We really don’t have 12,000 residents in the town.” Another resident disagreed, saying, “I think the place to begin is straightening out the question of who lives in Harvard … Does it include Fort Devens? What services do we owe them?”
The World According to Garp, E.T., and An Officer and a Gentleman were playing at local movie theaters.
After library trustees opened bids for the renovation of the library, they received bids that were below the $350,000 approved at Town Meeting. Work was expected to start by Oct. 1.
Harvard voters chose Michael Dukakis as their candidate for governor in the November election.
September 1987
Water commissioners signed a contract with an engineering firm to look for a water supply to supplement the town well. One of the commissioners commented, “We are just surviving, and in a couple of years, with the expansion of the schools, the current level [of water] will not be enough.”
The Bromfield Class of 2000 entered kindergarten.
The Post reported that Benson’s Animal Farm in Hudson, N.H.—a favorite day excursion for local residents—announced it would close at the end of the 1987 season after 65 years of operation.
Harvard runner Lynn Jennings took sixth place in the women’s 10,000-meter run at the World Championships of Track and Field in Rome.
An Army study on “compatible use zones” recommended that the town take steps to prevent residential development in areas of Still River where noise from Fort Devens weapons practice ranges exceeded 65 decibels.”
Based on reports in the old Harvard Post
