• There was a report on the streets that a certain M.C.R.R. employee whose home is in Waterville had confessed to having opened the switch at the point near the Fair Grounds, where the terrible railroad accident of a few days ago occurred. This report the train men in this city could not or would not verify.

• The New Gloucester and Danville Fair began today under the most favorable conditions. This is the fourteenth annual and it promises to be way ahead of all other exhibitions. This year is the first time in which the management has held a 3 days fair, in seasons past the fair having lasted only two days.

50 Years Ago, 1954

“Let’s grow up, not burn up” is the slogan chosen by the National Board of Fire Underwriters for the 1954 Fire Prevention Week campaign. Both Auburn and Lewiston fire department officials plan active campaigns to help reduce fire hazards and increase fire protection. Also participating in Fire Prevention Week will be communities in Canada which will make it an international observance. It is the first time our Canadian neighbors have observed the same Fire Prevention Week as the United States.

25 Years Ago, 1979

The new trade agreement between the U.S. and Argentina, putting Argentina’s hides on the open market in return for a U.S. drop in import tax on finished hides and on corned beef from Argentina, has generated reserved optimism in Lewiston-Auburn. State Sen. Barbara Trafton, D-Auburn, termed the trade agreement a “start” toward easing the stiff competition the nation’s leather industry faces when buying hides on the world market. However, she added that it is not enough to significantly aid Maine’s troubled shoe and leather industries. Mrs. Trafton wants to see Congress enact legislation placing long-term guarantees on trade.