100 years ago: 1925

“They grow different police officials in Oxford County than they do in many places, according to a couple of Lewiston newspapermen who were journeying up that way recently. Stuck solid in the mud at 3.30 a.m. a dozen miles from civilization apparently, the pair of Fourth Estaters were in a disheartening fix when along came an auto with an Oxford deputy sheriff and Rumford policeman riding in it. Without asking questions, they grabbed shovels from their car and went to work digging out the marooned visitors, gave them a push when the car threatened to stay in the mud, and then, with the newspapermen on high land again, jumped into the car and drove away without hardly waiting to be thanked.”

50 years ago: 1975

“People asking the Seventh Coast Guard stationed at Miami whether it’s safe to travel within the Bermuda Triangle will receive a form letter stating in the first paragraph that the Triangle is imaginary. The second paragraph gives the coordinates.

“So says Charles Berlitz, author of ‘The Bermuda Triangle,’ a book that recounts the as-yet unexplained disappearances of boats and aircraft since 1945 in the area roughly bordered by Bermuda, Miami, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Berlitz was the featured speaker Tuesday night at the Peoples Bank Centennial Banquet that drew more than 300 persons to Steckino’s Restaurant in Lewiston.

“‘The Navy says the Triangle does not exist,’ Berlitz said. ‘Yet it has moved its training flights to the other side of the Gulf.’ He said the commercial airlines claim the Triangle does not exist, but claimed that pilots have told him they fly around the area as much as possible because they’re afraid the instruments will malfunction if they fly straight through.”

25 years ago: 2000

“FLOYD, Va. (AP) — A teen-age girl and her female date, are preparing for a high school prom, despite strong opposition from community leaders and concerns over their safety.

“Scores of parents and other community members have turned out at recent school board meetings to oppose Tiffany Lapine’s plan to attend the Floyd County High School junior prom with another girl.

“The American Civil Liberties Union took Tiffany’s side and told school officials on March 29 that barring her from taking a female date would be illegal.”

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