100 years ago, 1916
That a pair of horses should be stationed permanently at the hook and ladder house was the opinion of members of the Lewiston Fire Commission expressed at a meeting of that organization, last evening. Chief Moriarty stated that he had made a recommendation for this change in previous years and described the results which might ensue through delay in arrival of the ladders.

50 years ago, 1966
Hundreds of party-goers in, the Twin Cities did their best’ to raise the roof in welcoming the New Year Thursday night, but probably the best job was done by 11 brand-spanking new noisemakers at the two Lewiston hospitals. The 11 new additions to the population at the hospital’s nurseries arrived just in time to join in the welcome celebration for 1965, and they were pretty welcome additions, themselves. with each one representing a $600 exemption for the parents on their 1964 income tax returns. The Central Maine General Hospital had seven of the Dec 31 births, while St. Mary’s General Hospital had four. There were only three year-end babies last Dec. 31 at the two hospitals.

25 years ago, 1991
Although Lewiston-Auburn voters rejected the controversial Sunday sales referendum in November, area residents took advantage of the first day of the new store hours. “I was surprised at how many people are here,” said Tiffany Jones, manager of the Auburn Mall. “It’s surprising especially since the referendum was defeated in this area by a 3-2 margin.” Overall, though, Mainers voted last month to repeal a “blue law” that prevented most stores with more than 5,000 square feet of selling space from opening on Sundays. Because yesterday was the first Sunday after Christmas, many people were confused as to whether the stores would be open because of the existing law allowing the stores to open on Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Jones also said some people thought the new law did not take effect until January. “We’ve had a lot of people calling to see if we were open,” said Jones.

The material in Looking Back is reproduced exactly as it originally appeared, although misspellings and errors made at that time may be edited.