WE TAKE a look at the stories making headlines in East Lothian 25, 50 and 100 years ago.

25 years ago

‘NEW power plant could wipe out 500 jobs’ was the headline in the East Lothian Courier on June 14, 1996.

Cockenzie Power Station and Monktonhall Colliery could close within 10 years, with the loss of 500 jobs, if a new electricity plant opens at Gartcosh.

Electricity company PowerGen plans to guild a gas-fired power station in the Lanarkshire town which could drastically cut the amount of coal used at Scottish plants.

According to a mining communities organisation, Monktonhall, one of only two remaining underground collieries in Scotland, could lose its biggest market if the proposal went ahead, and Cockenzie could also shut, with 240 workers losing their jobs.

However, the Scottish Coalfield Communities Campaign said PowerGen had stated its new power station would only create 35 jobs.

The CCC slammed PowerGen’s plans last week and claimed that the new power station would be of little benefit to consumers.

50 years ago

‘PANIC when the onions went to the golf course’ was the headline in The Haddingtonshire Courier on June 18, 1971.

Seven hundred hot dogs were sold at the Civic Week Barbecue last Thursday, two hundred more than last year.

But what hundreds of people who had tucked into their sausage and onion rolls did not know was that they almost never had any onions to make their rolls more tasty... for athlete George McNeill had gone off with onions in the boot of his car.

And there was a mini panic when his brother, David, entertainments convener, discovered he had lost the keys of his car.

But it was Mr James Frazer, bank manager, to the rescue. He drove David to Longniddry, where they had to dodge golf balls in an endeavour to find George... and the onions.

100 years ago

A DISTURBANCE involving some boys and a horse was a story in The Haddingtonshire Courier on June 17, 1921.

On Monday, in the Burgh Court, John Young, hawker, Reilly’s Place, pleaded guilty to having committed a breach of the peace at the Ball Alley.

The Fiscal explained that the accused was fording the river with a cart and horse about ten o’clock in the evening. At that time, football was being played at the Alley, and some boys shouted remarks to the accused about his horse. This led to high words between accused and one of the lads, and eventually there was a fight, which was stopped by the arrival of the police.

The Magistrate imposed a fine of £1, 10s, with the alternative of twenty days’ imprisonment, allowing a week in which to pay.