DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am an avid reader of your column daily. You have great advice. Where can anyone obtain copies of obituaries from November 1979 and December 1988? I have done several searches and cannot seem to find what I’m looking for. Hopefully you can help. Thank you. — No Name via e-mail

ANSWER: 1979 and 1988 were before the computer age of commonly having everything online, but thanks to a project by Google, older content is being made available. Google is going back decades, scanning in old microfiche and posting pages online.

Sun Journal Web Editor Pattie Reaves provided the following instruction and links:

Steps to find archive pages:

1. Visit the Google News Archive Search at http://news.google.com/archivesearch

2. Search for Lewiston Daily Sun (or Evening Journal, or Sun Journal)

Advertisement

3. Click the link “browse newspaper editions from Lewiston Daily Sun”

4. This brings you to a view by decade. You can enter the date you want in the date field on the top, left side.

Here’s the link for the Sun: http://tinyurl.com/334ehgd

Here’s the link for the Journal: http://tinyurl.com/2v2uu7x

DEAR SUNSPOTS: I got this medallion in Massachusetts around 1969 from an elderly lady who said it was in the eaves of their house when she and her husband bought the home as a young couple.

About three years ago, we took the medallion to the national Masonic temple in Alexandria, Va. They told us they did not know what it was, but thought it was connected to a picture on the third floor of the temple.

Advertisement

Someone researched it for us and found from a book that it was a secret organization — not connected to the Masons — that formed to keep immigrants from taking their jobs. It later became an insurance company. — Sparky Bud, SparkyBud727@aol.com

ANSWER: In Sun Spots on July 13, Doug Hodgkin of the Androscoggin Historical Society provided a reader with information on the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, which was founded in the 19th century for a variety of purposes, including the fight against Catholic immigration. Perhaps your medallion is from this group.

We tend to think of immigration as a current political issue, but there has always been resistance to new groups of people. Some of these have included the Irish, Italians, Chinese as well as Catholics and Jews.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: In response to Paula in Dixfield looking for someone to cane, David Olson in Oxford, 539-4736, or cell phone 595-3416, does that. — No Name, No Town

DEAR SUN SPOTS: After reading in Friday’s column someone who needed a chair to be recaned, I would like to let people know that we do both chair recaning and weaving and more.

Our business, Shadagee Snowshoe Relacing, is at 69 Shadagee Road in New Sharon. Hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The phone numbers are 578-0348 and 778-9693.

Advertisement

We enjoy seeing the old chairs made new and usable once again. — Georgia Tolman

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am seeking folding wooden chairs from the South Paris Mfg. Co. These chairs were manufactured in the mid-1900s up to the 1960s. We are in need of them for a nonprofit summer camp in Harrison. We have been using these chairs in our dining room for the past 60 years and are in need of replacing the worn-out ones.

We would like to obtain 45 to 50 chairs but will consider any number that you may have. Please contact Peter Whitchurch, 712-8864, or me, at 314-378-0195. — Jamie Bollinger, St. Louis, Mo.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be e-mailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.