100 years ago, 1915
A Feast of Lights will be a feature of the observance of the Day of Purification, better known as Candlemas day, Feb 2nd, at Trinity Episcopal church, Lewiston. A children’s service will be held at seven o’clock after which they will march to the Sunday school room, where a banquet will be served. Each little girl will be dressed in white, and each boy will wear a white necktie. The table will be dressed in white, white dishes and flowers keeping the color scheme. At each place will be a lighted white candle and with a blaze of light from extra electric bulbs, it will be a festive scene. The service will be observed religiously and socially and each member of the Sunday school is looking forward to this first service of its kind in Lewiston.

50 years ago, 1965
Marine Staff Sergeant Jeffrey Nadeau, after a careful examination of the Japanese mortar shell that was turned over to him for his inspection by Lewiston police earlier this week, said today that the projectile was in a disarmed state. A complete history of the shell will be sought from the Marine Corps Museum, he said. Sgt. Nadeau managed to open the shell at his home and found no explodable charge inside. He has special equipment and protective clothing to carry out such activity.

25 years ago, 1990
A request to purchase 25 metal cots to “get prisoners up off the floor” angered Androscoggin County Commissioners Tuesday evening because they were not notified of the record-breaking inmate population. Tuesday morning, 109 prisoners were at the jail, which was designed to hold 30. Sheriff Ron Gagnon submitted the request because inmates were sleeping on mattresses on the floor and Department of Corrections officials who toured the jail Tuesday said that was violation of DOC rules. Gagnon had hoped to have the cots paid for by Community Corrections funds, but Chairwoman Carol Boyce said there was no money in that account because every penny of it was earmarked for the new jail building project. “It’s not a bottomless pit,” she said.

The material in Looking Back is reproduced exactly as it originally appeared, although misspellings and errors made at that time may be edited.