100 years ago

The annual picnic of Messrs J Bibby and Sons, Liverpool, took place at Beamsley. Inclusive of the men’s wives and sweethearts, the party numbered 1,700 and they were accommodated in a field at Beamsley lent by Messrs Hainsworth and Butterworth, where elaborate arrangements had been taking place for their entertainment.

The second Earby Hospital carnival was held under most favourable circumstances. The first event had been marred by an incessant downpour of rain. This time, the weather was fine and almost all of the townspeople turned out for the event. Street decorations, notably in Victoria Street, had been carried out.

The Band of Hope demonstration took place in Giggleswick. Headed by Giggleswick Brass Band, the procession started from the school and marched to the Cross, which had been tastefully decorated, then back to the Green, the Workhouse and Tems Street. Songs were sung at various places along the route.

50 years ago

Gas lamps in Old Skipton Road, Coates, Barnoldswick, were to be replaced with three electric lamps on the main road and one on Lockfield Drive.

Within a week of reaching final settlement with the insurance company, efforts began towards the restoration of the Church of All Saints, Earby, which had been extensively damaged by fire in February. The first move had been to launch a public appeal and a letter had been sent out from the Vicar, the Rev W Fullwood, in which he set a target of £1,500.

Gargrave brought off their finest victory since joining the Airedale and Wharfedale League. They defeated the “formidable” Bilton team from Harrogate, and thereby rose to the top of the B division. Moreover, it was a decisive victory for the team, with no luck about it.

25 years ago

A group of Earby residents decided to take up the fight to improve the town and formed a committee to discuss ways of taking action. Suggestions included establishing a sports complex, industrial units or additional housing, or even the formation of a town square. At a public meeting organised by Pendle Civic Trust, a committee of 15 was formed to tackle the problem of the town centre’s “derelict” appearance.

Silsden’s sole street sweeper had too much on his shovel, said the parish council. For it felt that cleaning the whole of the town was an impossible task for one man. It also saw Bradford Met’s refusal to provide an extra street sweeper as being unjust considering Addingham and Steeton, which were much smaller, had been granted a sweeper each.

10 years ago

Barbara Slater, the grandmother of Sally Slater, whose miraculous recovery after an emergency heart transplant touched the nation, set out on a sponsored walk to raise cash for an artificial heart. Mrs Slater, of Threshfield, undertook the 10-mile walk as a thankyou to medical staff at Newcastle Freeman Hospital, who gave six-year-old Sally a new heart. Before she got her transplant she had been kept alive by an artificial heart.

Historic Ribblehead Station was back to its former glory after a £250,000 facelift. The station had been lovingly restored from a derelict eyesore to a neat building housing an interpretation centre giving information to visitors about the Settle-Carlisle line. Trustees of the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust – which had a 125-year lease for Ribblehead Station – met to view the fruits of their labours as work spanning two-and-a-half years was almost complete.

The Yorkshire Dales were invaded by Gurkhas, but it was all in a good cause – helping to resurface paths damaged by erosion. The party of 230 Nepalese recruits teamed up with 100 Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority staff and volunteers in the largest ever volunteer exercise organised by the authority. Over the weekend the group helped to restore two kilometres of bridleways and footpaths in Wharfedale, moving more than 400 tonnes of aggregate.