Looking Back on March 16

100 years ago, 1918

At a meeting of the directors of the Auburn Board of Trade it was decided that a series of “Round Table” meetings will be held to consider further the plans to conduct a campaign for a greatly enlarged board of trade in Auburn under the general direction of the American City Bureau. This plan was discussed at the recent meeting of the board, but this afternoon’s meeting is to be of a much more detailed nature. Everyone is expected to come loaded with questions and Fred A. Richardson of the bureau will be there to explain the advantages of his system.

50 years ago, 1968

The Dads who take over as cooks at family camping vacations will get some pointers from a couple of champs at the first of the YWCA Camping Clinics being held at the Kate J. Anthony House in Auburn. The cooks demonstrating campfire cookery will be Frank Gerry and F. O. Whitmore of Auburn. The clinic is the first of three to be held on successive Monday nights at the Turner Street clubhouse.

25 years ago, 1993

Don’t put that snow shovel away until you’ve cleared all the exits — doors and fire escapes alike — at your home or business. That’s the word from Deputy Fire Chief James Morin, who said Tuesday the problem of snow- and ice-blocked exits is “so widespread” that fire officials can’t make individual contact with all the property owners who need to take care of these safety hazards.

“There are so many buildings with blocked exits right now. I strongly believe some were already blocked by previous storms,” not just the past weekend’s heavy snowfall, Morin said, who heads Lewiston’s Fire Prevention Bureau. “We’re just not staffed to knock on that many doors.”

Shoveling out just one doorway to a building isn’t enough to assure occupants a safe escape in the event of fire or other life-threatening danger.

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