From our archives:

80 years ago

A hand shearing contest, for clubs in the “Cledale” area had been arranged, this time with the Bedale, Catterick, Danby, Northallerton, Stokesley, Reeth and Whitby clubs all eligible to take part. Mr. Norman Hill, Wellfield House, North Otterington, had offered to provide the sheep for the contest, and judging would be on a points basis, with each competitor providing his own shears, clipping three sheep, and folding the fleeces. The Earl of Feversham had given an interesting talk to the good fellows of Oswaldkirk on the drift of rural population to the towns, pointing out that in many ways the village hall could be a great service as the centre of social and educative interests. And gardening advice for Yorkshire Herald readers came in the form of how to exterminate worms by watering the lawn with a week solution of carbonate of ammonia. The worms would then rise to the surface and could be brushed up and destroyed.

50 years ago

West Heslerton Church of England Junior School, representing Norton urban and rural districts, had triumphed in the semi-final of the East Riding road safety quiz, by beating Pocklington County Junior School by 100 pts to 75. Question master for the night’s contest was Sergt J B Peacock, who also had the honour of presenting the Pocklington children with plaques to mark reaching the semi-final. The traditional party pastime of froth-blowing had taken on a new dimension when students of York University held a party in a sea of detergent foam in the courtyard of Langwith Collage. The foam which was blown out by a machine devised by chemistry students was finally stopped after reaching shoulder height making the courtyard quite dangerous. And Selby BRSA football team had won its third trophy of the season, The Barkston Ash Temple Newsam Cup.

20 years ago

Rowntree Park was to be restored to its former glory after York had hit the lottery jackpot for the sixth time in a year. The Heritage Lottery Fund announced it was giving £1.3 million towards a scheme to bring the park back to the splendour of the pre-war heyday. The £1.7 million project would mean a return of the park’s rose garden, lily pond and pergola. And a developer had called for green belt land at Monks Cross to be turned into a massive technology park generating about 2,000 jobs.