Not so long ago people were spending a good portion of each day scheming and fretting how to keep in safety their valuables. No place seamed absolutely secure. If fire did not reach, the burglar did and every now and then some little carelessness, some little lapse of memory, put to naught the watchfulness and work of years.

The Safe Deposit Vault came into existence. During the last forty years the Safe Deposit business has steadily grown until now the large city companies protect the valuables of thousands of people who at first considered a Safe Deposit box a luxury for the rich only, instead of what it has now become: a necessity that costs less than the morning paper. The Central Safe Deposit Company is located at 165 Main street, Lewiston.

50 Years Ago, 1956

There were 2,123 births recorded in Lewiston last year compared to 443 marriages and 702 deaths, according to records on file at the city clerk’s office.

These figures do not represent just Lewiston citizens, however, as many births and deaths were recorded at the city’s two hospitals which also serve residents of several surrounding communities.

The most popular month for births was July when 229 babies were brought into the world. The most marriages were performed in September, with 56 couples “tieing the knot,” and the 77 deaths recorded in December was high for the year in that category.

25 Years Ago, 1981

CBS “60 Minutes” was the first nonsports show to out-poll “Dallas” in the weekly prime-time ratings competition in just over four months, A. C. Nielson Co. figures showed Tuesday.

“Dallas,” until the latest survey, finished in the No. 1 position 13 times in the 16 weeks since Nov. 3. It was pre-empted once in that time, and finished in second place twice, to a key “Monday Night Football” game in December and the Super Bowl in January.