100 years ago, 1912
THRILLING SCENES AT FIRE IN SHAPIRO BLOCK, AUBURN. Scores of People Rescued by Firemen from Densely Populated Building. Fire Loss One of the Heaviest of Recent Years — Great Bravery of Firemen.
A total of 80 people from 13 families were made homeless. In a quarter of an hour, all had been taken from the building. An enormous stock of ladies’ and gentlemen’s furnishings in the department store conducted by the Shapiro brothers, and which occupied the entire first floor, was turned into a mass of useless debris.

50 years ago, 1962
Auburn police were successful Saturday in their campaign to drive a rat from a woman’s station wagon, but it took some time to accomplish the task. Ammonia soaked rags placed in the station wagon finally drove the rat out. It got in when a Center Street woman placed some barrels of trash in the vehicle to take to the dump. As the barrels were placed in the car, the rat jumped from one of them, went under the front seat and took refuge under the dashboard.

25 years ago, 1987
EDITORIAL: The Lewiston City Council struck a blow for snow-plow drivers,  and the municipal budget, when it authorized the drafting of an ordinance to prohibit on-street parking during and immediately after snowstorms. Auburn’s emergency parking ban appears to work well, and Lewiston’s ordinance will be modeled after it. The city’s snow-plow drivers and taxpayers, both long-suffering groups, needed something to cheer about, especially at this time of year.