100 years ago, 1914
G. B. Whittaker, Auburn city forester, told the board of mayor and aldermen, Thursday night, that he could keep expenses in his department below $4,000 for the coming year. This, he said, was less by hundreds of dollars than other Maine cities were now expending yearly. With the distinct understanding that the forestry department be held to this amount the board seemed to favor the retaining of Whittaker in the position he now holds. The itemized expense account for the coming year as prepared by the forester included his salary of last year increased by $100. To bring the expenses down to $4,000, the cementing of tree cavities must be done away with, it would not be possible to set out new trees, and the amount of pruning would have to be cut in half.

50 years ago, 1964
You can’t imagine how much trouble a young boy can get into with a can of paint? Well, the Lewiston Police have a good idea. A five-year-old Lewiston youngster, after finding a can of paint behind his parents’ home this morning, went on a painting spree. The first complaint reported at Lewiston Police headquarters came in at mid-morning from Bridge St. where a homeowner reported that his light-colored building had been smeared with brown paint. Just moments later, an Oak St., resident walked into police headquarters and said that brown paint had been splattered on his white car. The youngster, before being “apprehended,” also managed to smear paint on two more cars.

25 years ago, 1989
Lewiston and Auburn drivers staying close to home are likely to encounter at least 90 intersections with higher-than-average accident ratings as the amount of traffic and number of collisions steadily increase. Auburn has 60 Department of Transportation-rated intersections, twice as many as Lewiston, which recorded 30 hazardous crossroads based on the three-year history.