100 years ago

AFTER being totally blind for the past five years, a young man from Silsden partly regained his sight. He had been troubled with his eyes from early childhood before losing his sight all together. After suffering acute pain in his eyes for a few weeks, he began to see again.

A successful cake and apron sale was held in the Wesleyan School, Bradley. There were two stalls, one selling aprons and other useful articles, and the other, cakes. Concerts were given by the lady members of Kildwick Church.

A number of swallows were reported in Austwick, also the grey wagtail, stone chit, golden plover and the sand piper. The cuckoo was also reported to have been seen in Oxenber Wood.

50 years ago

AN order authorising Settle Council to acquire compulsorily the house, outbuildings, garden situated on the north west of the Main Street, Austwick, was confirmed by the Ministry of Housing.

Skipton Urban Council resolved to adopt a policy of not allowing girl wrestlers in Skipton Town Hall. It followed a request from promoters. A council spokesman said it was largely a matter of taste.

Kettlewell Players gave a delightful programme of plays and folk music in the village hall. The folk songs were sung by John Pickles and Peter Gaskell, members of Grassington Youth Club, and ranged from serious items like Times they are a Changin' to Puff, the Magic Dragon.

25 years ago

EMPLOYMENT minister Viscount Ullswater visited Skipton - and gave his approval to two new developments. First he opened a new extension at Craven College's Aireville site and then he officially opened the 61-bedroom Randell's Hotel and Leisure Centre, owned by Bradley couple Thomas and Ombra Randell. He wished both projects well for the future,

Ingleton's new £100,000 ambulance station became operational. The keys for the station on Back Gate were handed to Trevor Moulton, chief ambulance officer for the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service. He said the station would give a vastly improved service to residents and visitors and would be the base of Craven's first paramedic.

The fallout over the closure of Skipton's Raikeswood Hospital rumbled on. The move had been met with anger by staff, relatives, patients, doctors, the Community Health Council, the Hospital Friends, union bosses and Skipton MP David Curry. However, the Herald said the closure was a fait accompli and urged campaigners to turn their attention to getting better facilities at Skipton General Hospital.

10 years ago

IT was all systems go at Threshfield's Netherside Hall School when pupils launched home-made rockets to mark the culmination of a science project. Despite driving rain, pupils used the effects of pressure from air and water in the rocket chambers to send the devices soaring 70 feet into the sky. Science teacher Robert West said: "It gripped the imagination of everybody."

Flames billowed from the roof of Skipton fish and chip shop Eastwoods after a fire broke out in the kitchen. The blaze started as a member of staff cleaned the pans. It is understood that the fat caught alight and, despite efforts to put it out with a blanket, the flames spread into the flue and the roof space. In a separate drama, the main road through Silsden was closed for three hours after a gas main ruptured and caught on fire.

News that funding of £360,000 had finally been secured for the refurbishment of Barnoldswick's former Rainhall Road school building was welcomed by councillors who had voted against using it for their accommodation. The North West Development Agency grant completed a "jigsaw" of funding to pay for the regeneration of the site into a community and business centre. But town councillors decided not to move into the building, saying it preferred to extend the existing council offices on Fernlea Avenue.