Read more about Feb. 1, 1963, in the SunJournal.com archives.

100 Years Ago: 1923

Miss Alice Grovo, whose picture appeared in a Portland paper recently in connection with her delightful dancing, lived in Auburn until about a year ago and her dancing was a feature of many social affairs in both cities. She is the daughter of John Grovo, connected with the Huston Bakery Co. in Portland. She is to appear in a solo dance at Frye Hall on Saturday evening as Sylvia, a dancer, as one of the features in Epsilon Tau Sigma sorority and Tri Kappa fraternity play, “A Bunch of Fun.”

50 Years Ago: 1973

More than 100 associates, family, friends, employees and former employees gathered at Steckino’s Restaurant 7 pm Wednesday night to honor Emilio Vangeli who retired this month after 30 years as an owner and operator of the Lewiston restaurant.

Gifts were presented to Vangeli by Faust Couture on behalf of those present and by Joseph Mekevichn on behalf of the employees of Steckino’s.

Lewiston Mayor John C. Orestis, citing the contribution of the firm to the community, presented a certificate in recognition from the city.

Also participating in the program which followed a reception and dinner were William P. Tewhey, Lewiston-Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce executive vice president; Ira Turner, president, Maine Restaurant Association; and Keith H. Ingraham, chairman, Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages.

William J Rogers, U.S. Brewers Association and longtime family friend whose association with the restaurant dates back to the inception of the restaurant, served as toastmaster.

25 Years Ago: 1998

Traditional Maine industries, such as footwear and textile products, are in trouble. That trend was underscored by the announcement last week from GH. Bass Co. Officials said that they plan to  lay off 350 workers at their Wilton shoe factory and ship those jobs to the Caribbean.

Economists call them mature industries. The governor’s office calls them sunset industries.

Some have been saved. Many others — to the detriment of the communities in which they reside have not.

Decades ago, the behemoth brick factories of Bates’s Manufacturing Co.’s textile mills once dominated the state’s economic landscape, putting paychecks in more Mainers pockets than any other company.  But the deafening clacking of looms at the company’s five statewide offices was silenced by cheaper labor in the South, which drove prices down so far that  Bates couldn’t compete.

What happened then is happening now. The primary reason we are seeing this type of decline is the cost of labor, says State Economist Laurie Lachance. “Maine’s shoe industry has been in decline since 1984 when the strong dollar drove up the prices of US products in other countries, crippling exports,” Lachance says. And the footwear industry is expected to decline over the next decade.

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