100 years ago: 1925

“Franconia, N. H., April 27 — The Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests, of which Governor J. Winant is secretary, has agreed to raise by private contributions the amount necessary to complete the purchase of Franconia Notch for which the legislature has appropriated $200,000.

“The exact price at which the present owners will sell the property has not yet been fixed. The appropriation bill provides that if the owners decline to sell at a price ‘deemed reasonable by the governor and council’ the State shall take over the property and pay such damages as may be assessed by a superior court Jury, subject to the right of the State to discontinue court proceedings before a final judgment ‘but upon such terms as the court may find that justice requires.’

“The State appropriation will be raised by a bond issue. The aid of the forestry society is made possible by a provision in the bill authorizing the governor and council to accept contributions. The property, which includes the famous Old Man of the Mountain, is to be held by the State as a forest reservation and State park, under the management of the forestry commission. It is to be open to the public under such regulations as the commission may prescribe.”

50 years ago: 1975

“CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — For the rest of the country, this is just another blue Monday, but New Hampshire is celebrating a unique holiday, a supplication begun three centuries ago that grew into a spring Thanksgiving.

“New Hampshire, not a state to miss a first or an only, is having a long weekend because of the misfortune that befell John Cutts in 1681. The state with the nation’s first presidential primary and the only state without a general income or sales tax is observing Fast Day. There’s no other Fast Day in the nation. …

“Cutt or Cutts, depending on the history book cited, was a merchant who was named ‘President of the Royal Province of New Hampshire by the grace of Charles II.’ Shortly after the honor was bestowed on him, Cutts took ill and in the custom of those times, a day of fasting and prayer was declared by the Colonial General Assembly for his recovery. The Assembly feared Cutts’ ‘death may occasion much trouble.’

“Be that as it was, Cutts died about a month later and no famine or other disaster followed. But the Fast Day survived.

25 years ago: 2000

AUBURN — A $40 million luxury hotel and office project is headed for Auburn’s downtown, say a pair of local developers. City officials are scheduled to make a formal announcement of the project Friday, when they will tout the largest development of its kind ever planned for Lewiston-Auburn.

Together, the projects would bring an estimated 700 jobs within two to three years. In return, the city might be expected to forgo millions in tax revenue as part of a public-private partnership, the details of which are yet to be determined.

Hotel developer Lee Griswold said this week he expects to sign a deal within the next three to four months with either Sheraton or Hilton. “Both have indicated a strong desire to locate here,” he said.

Meanwhile, fellow developer Tom Platz said he expects to secure agreements with tenants for at least two of his buildings — a three- or four- story office and commercial structures — during the same period.

Other features of the riverside complex would include a plaza with a fountain and ice skating rink, and a two-level underground parking garage capable of holding 1,200 cars. …

Plans for both projects are still preliminary. No deals have been signed.

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