“Remembering Lewiston-Auburn on the Mighty Androscoggin,” by David A. Sargent; History Press Inc.; paperback, 128 pages; $19.99.

Lewiston and Auburn emerged as early settlers constructed a wide variety of mills to harness the river’s power. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the townspeople enjoyed lush northern summers and endured harsh winters.

As these Maine communities flourished, locals packed the Grange halls, danced at Lewiston City Hall and went Christmas shopping at B. Peck Department Store.

Author David A. Sargent has carefully chronicled the history of this picturesque region in his “River Views” columns, which have appeared twice monthly in the Sun Journal since 2005. The History Press Inc. recently published a collection of these columns in a book titled “Remembering Lewiston-Auburn on the Mighty Androscoggin.”

A native of Auburn, Sargent was raised on the farm built by his great-grandfather after the Civil War. He has pursued a lifelong interest in writing and history built on the Maine-flavored poetry and journalism of his father, his brother Jim and an aunt. He was a general assignment reporter for the Lewiston Daily Sun in the 1960s, worked for a public-relations company in Portland and operated his own PR firm. He was communications manager for a Maine paper industry trade association, and, in recent years, he founded, edited and published Business Focus, a monthly newspaper.

A meet-the-author session has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21, at Museum L-A.