100 years ago: 1919

“Le Petit Journal,” the weekly French paper, which will be published soon, has been in existence for 12 years. During the war, it was published twice a week and finally became a weekly paper. It was then a five-column paper, but the new publication will have seven columns.

50 years ago: 1969

Members of the Auburn Housing Authority were told Monday that the Lake Auburn Towne House housing for the elderly project is 88.5 percent complete as of April 4. Harry W. Woodard Jr., AHA executive director, disclosed this information at an AHA meeting late Monday afternoon and said the percentage of completion puts the project 11.7 percent ahead of the project progress as of the end of April. Woodard told the authority kitchen cabinets and electrical and plumbing fixtures are presently being installed in the building on Lake Auburn Avenue and that the second coat of interior paint is being put on and has been completed on the fifth and sixth floors.

25 years ago: 1994

Hambone, hip hop, cakewalk, Charleston and the Lindy swing are all part of a dance program being presented locally by an ensemble of student dancers from Bates College. Featuring a cast of 20, the 45-minute show traces the evolution of African American dancing from its ritualistic roots in Africa through its ritualistic to the Southern plantations, then on to Harlem dance halls of the early 30s and, finally, to the city streets of today. Performing under the direction of Marcy Plavin of the Bates performing arts faculty, the students spent two weeks studying with Mickey Davidson, a dancer, and choreographer with the New York Lindy hop dance company, the Savoy Swingers, and her colleague Ron McKay who were on campus recently as visiting artists to touring to a dozen, different area schools. The Bates dance group will present a free public performance Monday at I p.m. at the Alumni Gymnasium, located off Campus Avenue by the corner of Central Avenue. Over the next two weeks, the dance troupe will give performances and workshops at Hebron Elementary School, Sabattus Elementary School, Libbey-Tozier School in Litchfield, Littlefield Elementary School and Longley School in Lewiston. They have already visited Wallace and St. Josephs schools In Lewiston, Wales Central School and Manchester School in Windham.

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