“Is it a mark of ignorance, ill-breeding, defiance or independence, for a woman to wear her hat during a theatrical performance?” inquired a man who sat quietly behind a woman “in full hat” at a matinee. “Possibly the woman in question had a new hat; perhaps she was unthoughtful of the fact that others had paid their good money to see the show. But after all, she may have been a kindly, courteous, good-natured woman, whose breach of theatre etiquette, was due simply and solely to an unfortunate degree of absent-mindness. It is exasperating, to say the least, to the one whose view of the stage is obstructed, even by one of the latest and most beautiful creation’s of woman’s headgear.”

50 Years Ago, 1954

Lewiston taxpayers came forward in droves – on the final day in which taxes could be paid without being charged interest – and by the 3:30 p.m. deadline 95.52% of the city’s tax commitment of $2,023,507.40 had been selected. Some $94,758.25 was pushed across the counters in the tax collectors office by the 3:30 p.m. deadline, bringing the total tax collections to $1,932,919.73.

25 Years Ago, 1979

The Maine State Police are cracking down on gambling again. Last year the target was slot machines. This time it’s beano. The troopers sent out a letter to 429 churches, veterans’ groups and social clubs last week demanding the names of “ALL members” involved in the operations of beano games. The troopers are building a file of names in Augusta in case they need to investigate beano fraud. The complaints have been coming in for years. “Since 1943,” says Corporal Robert McLaughlin of the Games of Chance division. What are the abuses? “Seat saving” used to be a real problem. Another complaint is that a particular ball – like B6 – won’t pop up all evening. People will call police to ask whether the game was fixed.