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

25 years ago

PLANS for a ‘football excellence centre’ involving Hearts and Hibs were revealed on the front page of the East Lothian Courier on September 10, 1999.

A centre for footballing excellence, run in conjunction with Edinburgh’s two top clubs, could be established in the county, it was revealed this week.

Councillor John Ross, convener of East Lothian Council’s Education and Community Services Committee, is set to hold talks with the chairmen of both Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian football clubs, with a view to establishing the top-class centre.

“We already provide training facilities for both clubs – Hearts regularly use Pinkie playing fields in Musselburgh while Hibs use the facility at Meadowmill. Both clubs have expressed an interest in establishing a centre of excellence and we are extremely interested in opening a dialogue with them,” Mr Ross said.

Councillors and officials held preliminary talks on Wednesday morning and councillor Ross was given the go-ahead to approach both clubs.

The former St Joseph’s School, just outside Tranent, is one of the sites already earmarked as a possible location for the footballing centre.

50 years ago

FOOD rationing was suggested by the county’s MP, told the East Lothian Courier on September 13, 1974.

A fair rationing system which would ensure that food in Britain was “fairly and evenly distributed” has been called for by Mr Michael Ancram, MP for Berwickshire and East Lothian.

Speaking at a Dunbar Conservative coffee evening last week, he said: “Despite the government’s continual denials – which are only explicable by an imminent General Election – it is now becoming quite clear that we are entering a period of shortages in certain essential foodstuffs, from milk produce to sugar.

“Even the future of milk in this county over the next year is now beginning to look serious.

“So many of these shortages could have been avoided if this wretched Government had the courage to admit that the situation is serious and took action now to increase production and safeguard supplies.

“They do the housewife no service by continuing to pretend that everything in the food garden is rosy.”

100 years ago

FINISHING a new secondary school in Prestonpans before pupils’ returned was deemed “impossible”, reported The Haddingtonshire Courier on September 12, 1924.

Owing to the building strike, and other circumstances, it has been found impossible to complete the building of Preston Lodge Secondary School in time for the beginning of the new session.

The Education Authority have secured the use of the Parish and U.F. Church Halls, as a temporary school.