Goose and chicken bone prophets who made such positive predictions a few days ago, felt like retiring to the deep woods and tall timber Thanksgiving Day. As weather men their fame is lost, for they have been placed with other ciphers on the undesirable side of the decimal point.

Those goose bone prognosticators declared on their honor as prophets that a terrible snow storm would visit the land on Thursday and we would not get a peep at Mother Earth again until some time in March. But they proved false prophets and people will never again be fooled by them.

50 years ago, 1958

A chicken may have started Tuesday’s $50,000 chicken house fire at the residence of Armand E. Anctil of 250 East Ave.

Deputy Fire Chief Reginald A. Doucette of Lewiston said last night that Inspector Aldorian Landry of the LFD and State Inspector Donald Rogers reported the blaze could have started by a chicken breaking an electric light bulb with its beak, with electricity igniting the fire. It is also possible, according to the inspectors, that electrical wiring itself was the cause.

Destroyed along with the building were 20,000 chickens and some 16 tons of grain feed.

25 years ago, 1983

A federal report says Mainers are among the most generous people in the country when it comes to caring for the indigent who need nursing-home care, turning over a larger chunk of their incomes for those services than people in 42 other states.

And only 15 states spend a higher percentage of state tax dollars on nursing-home care, says the report by the General Accounting Office.

For every $100 of Maine residents’ income in 1980, the state took 20 cents for publicly funded nursing-home care. That is less than half of what New Yorkers paid, but more than seven times the amount spent by New Mexico.

This year, Mainers are expected to spend $39 million to help poor people who need care in nursing homes.

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