100 years ago, 1915
A business man of Lisbon Falls has this to say to the journal: “The rum situation in this village is something terrible. There are no less than six places where liquor is being sold and the result is a degeneration of the whole community. There are several young men here who had sworn off drinking but have now gone back to their old habits. One of those had saved up one hundred dollars and recently he took this money and went up to Lewiston. There he was soon roped into a rum shop where he was doped. When he came to himself he was down on the edge of the river and his money all gone. And this is what the good people of Androscoggin county voted for at the last election.”

50 years ago, 1965
Because of the royal welcome given to promoters of the Clay-Liston championship bout, set for Lewiston, May 25, Robert Nilon, president of Intercontinental Promotions Inc., predicted that Lewiston could well become the home of closed circuit boxing. Nilon, who visited the Central Maine Youth Center today, said that the moving of the site to Lewiston has now opened Boston and Providence, R.I. to the closed circuit area. Under closed circuit television, an area of 75 miles must be blacked out which took Boston and Providence out of the money which is now to be realized.

25 years ago, 1990
Residents of Gray and New Gloucester scored a double win with the recently completed band and chorus competition at Virginia Beach, Virginia. First, the community pulled together and came up with the $44,000 needed to send the group to the Annual Virginia Beach Music Festival. And the students came home winners, bringing home a first-place trophy for the chorus, and two second-place trophies for the jazz and concert bands. Music director Don Hamelainen noted that the concert band missed first place by only two-tenths of a point.

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