100 Years Ago: 1924

Little George Tilton, a lad of seven or eight years, while coasting on Wilton’s Main street Saturday, ran into a team and was hit by the horse’s foot on his head. It was thought at first that he was hurt seriously as blood flowed profusely but the cuts on the side and top of the head proved not dangerous, though severe.

50 Years Ago: 1974

Can this be a sign of the times? Three games offered among the Christmas toys are entitled, Headache, Tension and Trouble. Everyone sends out for a sandwich, fried chicken or even a Chinese dinner but these three — who needs them?

For lovers of mayhem there is the classy Crasher Action Set which has the colliding cars disintegrating. This is a bit unrealistic, however, in as much as the crasher can put it all back together again — no blood, no insurance adjuster.

Added to the bloodless mayhem is a “cross fire” game at which loving playmates sit across from each other and shoot projectiles toward the other fellow’s side — his side now, not directly at him.

25 Years Ago: 1999

If it wasn’t the people dressed in black with tape across their mouths or the white sheet with the word “violence” written on it that caught people’s eyes, it was the sharp sound of the bell that caught their ears.

Some stopped and joined the silent vigil on sexual and physical abuse against women. Some kept walking on their way into the Bates College dining hall. Some laughed. Some of those lost their smiles as soon as they found out what was going on.

On Wednesday night a group of men and women stood in the common area of Chase Hall at Bates to take a silent stand against violence against women. They wore duct tape on their  mouths to symbolize all of the women who have been silenced by violence or have been too afraid to ask for help. The bell, which rang loudly every 15 seconds, symbolized every time a woman is victimized in this country by sexual or physical violence.

They stood still for nearly 90 minutes. The bell rang more than 300 times, signifying 300 women that were victims of abuse during that time.

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