100 years ago: 1925

“Good roads are of great interest to motorists just now. There is no trouble on the hard surface roads but the dirt roads and especially the clay roads are where he finds trouble. The ‘honey pots’ have been the places where autos have been stuck in the last few days since the rain.

“The fellow who is of great interest to the motorist just now is the man who is using the split log drag to smooth down the rough places. The men who know about road maintenance say now is the time to smooth the roads, while they are wet. The results are much better than when they get dry and hard. Smoothing over these roads make a big difference to the auto drivers all summer.”

50 years ago: 1975

“Former President Richard M. Nixon says that if the courts permit, he will give the White House tapes which forced his resignation to a planned Nixon Presidential Library at the University of Southern California. Announcement of plans to build the library to house tapes, Presidential papers and materials from other periods in Nixon’s career was made jointly Sunday by the university and the former chief executive.

“The acquisition of presidential materials by the library is contingent upon a successful challenge to legislation requiring that all Nixon’s presidential materials remain in Washington, D.C.”

25 years ago: 2000

“It’s a sign of spring more fragrant than the flowers. Sagging bed mattresses, sprung recliners and mildew-covered clothes lay bundled on the still-muddy roadsides. Beside them rested dead limbs fallen during the long Maine winter.

“In Lewiston, the cleanup has already begun, giving people a chance to throw away the items too heavy, too big or just too weird for the everyday trash.

“The ritual begins on Monday in Auburn, where city officials expect more than 500 tons of busted furniture, broken appliances and scraps of metal and wood. It’s meant to help folks clean out their garages and basements, throwing away the items they might have saved for the once-a-year removal, said Sid Haselton, Auburn’s assistant director of public works.

“The resulting piles sometimes get awfully high, Hazelton added. ‘I sometimes ask myself, ‘How are people using up that much stuff?’ he said.”

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