DEAR SUN SPOTS: In the Looking Back section for 1911 on Oct. 31, the Hillcrest Hospital in Auburn was mentioned. Where was the hospital and how long was it in existence? — David, Auburn

ANSWER: Sun Spots was provided with an answer to this question thanks to Bates professor Doug Hodgkin and the Androscoggin Historical Society. This is what they found:

Hillcrest Hospital “was mentioned in newspapers in 1911 and in 1919. The local directories list the hospital during that time, but not before or after, so it appears to have existed only in the second decade of the 20th century. It is in the directories on South Main Street in Auburn and a newspaper article says it was on Prospect Hill, hence the name. The first proprietor and superintendent was Lilla J. Jordan. The last was George A. Allen. The last mention was a newspaper article in which Allen offered the hospital to the city of Auburn as an “emergency hospital” in January 1919.”

Doug also found that last mention in a search of the Google archive at http://tinyurl.com/8x5q7gz.

The hospital was in business too long ago for anyone living to still remember it, but perhaps someone will have information shared in the past.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Can you tell me when and if there was ever greyhound dog racing in the state of Maine and if so what track did they race on? — Lawrence Nichols, patnicholsus@yahoo.com

ANSWER: This question is of interest to Sun Spots, who was a pari-mutuel teller at a dog track in Colorado in one of her previous lives. Unfortunately, she does not know the answer, and the historical society was not able to help with this search.

Interestingly, the Wikipedia article on greyhound racing noted that it has recently been banned in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire and its popularity has declined in recent years. According to Wikipedia, it is conducted in only a few states.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I played baseball for the Roberts 88ers back in 1963. I played alongside Bob Baumer (Maine H.O.F) and others for Lisbon Falls. My name appeared several times back in 1963-64, I was wondering if someone could search the archives and forward any articles to me? Thank you. — Bruce Murdock, 517 Harding NW, Massillon, OH 44646, Ohiotank@sssnet.com

ANSWER: Thanks to Google, you can do it yourself from the comfort of your home computer. A couple of years ago, Google launched a project to scan all of the old Sun Journals, Evening Journals and Daily Suns. They are now available online.

You can find these archives at http://tinyurl.com/334ehgd for the Daily Sun and http://tinyurl.com/2v2uu7x for the Evening Journal. They were both being published during 1902, so you may be able to find what you seek.

Note: You cannot print directly from the archive. See http://tinyurl.com/3ufnme3, “Google archive printing possible, not easy” for possible workarounds.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am looking for a miniature of the sign in Albany that has the Maine towns that are the same as countries. Does anyone know where I can get one? I used to have one, but someone took it. — B. Adams, Andover, mainegal@megalink.net

ANSWER: Sun Spots found several mentions of this unusual sign, as well as several others, including a story in the Sun Journal (sunjournal.com/node/817483) about them, but she did not find the miniature you seek. Readers, can you help?

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.

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