The water in the Androscoggin river is extremely low and as a result the Lewiston mills are now curtailing time. Yesterday all of the mills were obliged to shut down at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and unless relief comes soon more serious results must necessarily follow. The low water has also effected the electric light station and for the last few nights it has been with much difficulty that the streets have been fully lighted. Tuesday night it was absolutely necessary to shut off one circuit.

50 Years Ago, 1954

Auburn election workers will receive the highest compensation paid in that city for many years for their services at Monday’s State election. The City Council voted last night to pay $22 to each of the 30 election workers. Leslie E. Bickford, Ward Four, felt it would be a fair compensation as he said some of the workers put in 22 hours at the polling places. It has been suggested the workers receive $25 for the day but that did not meet with general approval of council members. The $22 for each worker is a total of $660 for the five wards.

25 Years Ago, 1979

Millions of people will be chopping, sawing and burning their way through the coming winter. And the demand for firewood has boosted the price. The use of wood as a supplement or alternative to regular heating fuels has become more and more popular as the cost of oil and natural gas has gone up. Andy Shapiro of the Wood Energy Institute, a trade group based in Camden, Maine, said that in key wood-burning states across northern parts of the United States, as many as 50 percent of the residents are “using wood to some extent for space heating.” About one-fifth of these people, he said, are using wood as their primary heating fuel. You can save money by buying early, Shapiro said, for example, that in the Maine town where he lives, a cord of wood bought early in the summer for delivery now cost $45. Today, the same cord costs $65.