Since the Lewiston Board of Mayor and Aldermen refused to grant the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company’s petition for certain rights and privileges in regard to constructing telephone lines within the city limits, there has been considerable talk from time to time and more than one inquiry has been made by Lewiston tax payers to know just what the city is getting in return for the franchise and liberties that the New England Telephone Co. is enjoying in Lewiston. In brief the city has twelve free phones from the company or less than half the number of phones required to serve the several city departments.

50 Years Ago, 1955

BOSTON, Mass. – A new record for the number of passengers carried in the month of October was set by Northeast Airlines, according to an announcement by Robert L. Turner, vice-president for sales.

A total of 47,318 passengers were carried by the line in October, a mark which is 13.4% greater than any other October in Northeast’s 22-year history. The half-million mark in passengers carried during the year was also passed last month for the first time, said Turner.

25 Years Ago, 1980

Consumers can expect prices to continue rising for both fresh and processed vegetables, the Agriculture Department says. Supplies of fresh vegetables this year are about 10 percent below those of last year, department officials said, and processors have used 11 percent less than in 1979.

The short supply will mean higher prices for farmers and consumers, according to a new Agriculture Department report. Prices paid growers for fresh vegetables will increase in the remainder of this fall and average substantially higher than a year ago, the report said.

And from now until the middle of 1981, retail prices for processed vegetables will average moderately higher than last season, the report said. Rising processing costs and demand will contribute to those increases.