100 years ago, 1915
A brush fire on adjoining land swept onto the William H. Shailler property, No Name Pond road, Lewiston, late Thursday afternoon, destroying two sets of farm buildings, tools, household goods, with but a small insurance to protect the owner. The damage is estimated at $12,000. The call for help came to the Central Fire station at 4:45 while the Judkins Laundry blaze was being fought but a crew in autos was sent to the Shailler farm. The fire raced thru the dry grass and building like tinder and in a short time, the two farm houses were smokings and coals. Each set included a story and half house and stable with the outbuildings.

50 years ago, 1965
The organizational meeting of a SCORE Program in Maine, held a couple of weeks ago at the First Manufacturers National Bank in Lewiston, has won praise from the Small Business Administration at Washington. The program, organized by Shepard Lee of Lewiston, Maine representative to the SBA Advisory Committee, saw the addition of ten retired business and professional men to the SCORE ranks. The SCORE Program utilizes the untapped source of senior executive experience in saving small businesses which have run into financial or management problems.

25 years ago, 1990
On Sunday a six-member film crew arrived at dawn at the Shaker community in New Gloucester lugging suitcases of cameras and boxes of equipment into the giant brick residence that would become center stage for a weeklong filming production. This weekend marked the start-up of production to make an historic documentary program for BBC’s “Timewatch” series. The 50-minute program is scheduled to be aired in England next fall, said Sarah Neale, assistant to director Jane Treays. The week’s filming session of life in the Shaker village is aimed to capture the essence of what it means to be a Shaker today. “The British public knows little about Shakers and their vigorous life-style,” said Treays, a 31-year-old director. Throughout the week, segments of the present day Shaker lifestyle in the community will be the subject for the daily filming sessions.

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