100 years ago,1911

The city of Lewiston’s fight for a municipal ice plant, which was started two years ago, was renewed before the judiciary committee Thursday. By rights and titles dating back many years, it is claimed that one company now has a monopoly of all the available or practical ice fields on the Androscoggin River and, thus, is able to absolutely control competition in the business. It is also claimed that the prices are too high so that many people are unable to afford ice. The city wishes to break up this monopoly by getting the right to cut ice on the river and sell it to the citizens at cost.

50 years ago, 1961

Joseph L. A. Cloutier will be among 57 New England vocalists participating in the preliminary Metropolitan Opera auditions being held Saturday at Jordan Hall, Boston. Winners of these will compete Sunday with other area winners for the three top awards offered by the National Council of the Metropolitan Opera of New York.

Mr. Cloutier has been a student of the Mainente School of Music of Auburn for three and a half years. He lives with his wife and two children in Auburn.

25 years ago, 1986

TURNER — From $80,000 to $100,000 worth of chickens — some 40,000 laying hens — perished in a Sunday afternoon blaze at DeCoster Egg Farm, according to Doucas “Duke” Ganorites, general manager of the Turner complex reputed to be the largest brown egg producing farm in the nation.

Ganorites said the exact cause was not yet known, although the fire “definitely started with the feed cart.”