State of Maine. A proclamation. The President of the United States has designated Thursday, November 30th, as a day for public thanksgiving and prayer. This custom originated in New England and has always been observed by the people of this State. Therefore, I, William T. Cobb, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby appoint Thursday, November Thirtieth, Instant, Thanksgiving Day, and ask all those whose homes are here, to recognize the true spirit of the custom and mindful of their obligations to the needy, to manifest their grateful acknowledgement of the blessings, which under God, have been bestowed upon all.

50 Years Ago, 1955

While diplomats fret over whether the Iron Curtain is as tightly drawn as ever, let’s turn today to a border over which no curtain is drawn, not even a flimsy lace one.

Since World War II a quarter of a million Canadians, or enough to empty the city Ottawa, have moved here. During this time 85,000 U.S. residents have moved north, or enough to pretty well clean out the cities of Butte, Great Falls and Helena, Mont.

In the 135 years that records have been kept, 3,307,836 Canadians have gone south of the border. One Canadian has figured that the descendants of these immigrants probably would equal the present population of Canada: 15,128,000.

25 Years Ago, 1980

The U.S. Supreme Court drew fire from three area clergymen Monday night for outlawing the posting of the Ten Commandments on classroom walls in public schools. The court voted 5-4 Monday to strike down a Kentucky law which requires the posting of the commandments at no public expense in all of that state’s classrooms.

In making its decision, the court said, “The preeminent purpose for posting the Ten Commandments on schoolroom walls is plainly religious in nature…The Ten Commandments is undeniably a sacred text in the Jewish and Christian faiths and no legislative recitation of a supposed secular purpose can blind us to that fact.”