100 years ago, 1909

It will be of interest to local autoists and others to know that the receipts to the State from the registration of automobiles and motor cycles and from licenses issued to operators and dealers in automobiles since the law went into effect in 1905 is $18,994. The number of automobiles registered since the law went into effect is 4218, and the number registered during the first six months of the current year is 986.

50 years ago, 1959

State Trooper Charles Peckham came across a strange sight early last night while cruising along the Maine Turnpike just easterly of Lewiston. Marching along the highway in the general direction of Augusta was a seven-year-old lad.

The trooper stopped, naturally, and asked the youngster where he was going. He also tried to find out the boy’s name, but to no avail. The boy spoke only French and it was Greek to the officer. Both rode to Lewiston police headquarters and the lad was eventually identified as Julien Tardif of 94 Lincoln St. Police took him home. Left unanswered was the reason behind the jaunt along the pike.

 25 years ago, 1984

PORTLAND — A new prime time mystery series that will air in the fall will be filmed in the Portland area starting in August, says the chairman of the Maine Film Commission. H. Craig Higgins said the one-hour weekly program will be called “Murder She Wrote.” It will be based in a fictitious town called Cabot Cove, Maine. The lead actress, Angela Lansbury, plays Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer who is molded in the character of Agatha Christie’s murder-solving Miss Marple.