100 years ago, 1915
Maine’s first automobile track race took place Saturday afternoon at the State Fair ground, Lewiston. The events carded for the afternoon were witnessed by a fair sized crowd, the greater portion of which came to the track in automobiles. The heavy rains of the past week had beaten the surface down hard and the sunshine and wind of Friday and Saturday had given a surface which made it fine for the racers. Shortly before the first race was called men appeared at the turns of the track and began roping off an enclosure of 50 feet distant from the track. This 50-foot space, in which no person was allowed, was expected to be sufficient to prevent any spectator being injured. This was the first indication given the crowd that men were going to take real chances on the track and send their machines at a speed which would threaten fences and other obstructions, in the event of control being lost.

50 years ago, 1965
Within the walls of the nearly two-century-old Shaker Museum at New Gloucester are housed priceless antiques which now display the culture and tradition of America’s oldest religious community. Hundreds of tourists and natives alike travel Route 26 daily directly past the small community which more than 180 years ago spanned the countryside, not realizing the value, both cultural and otherwise, which is carefully preserved in these buildings. The society in New Gloucester for the past few decades has been phasing out, but remains one of the two Shaker communities still in operation. The other is at Canterbury, N. H.

25 years ago, 1990
Androscoggin County may set up a work-release center for minimum-security jail inmates locally, but the commissioners refused to commit themselves to participating in a joint center with Kennebec and Sagadahoc counties, saying they wanted firm figures on the cost of the project before making such a commitment. Kennebec County Sheriff Frank Hackett proposed the joint project that would be located in Kennebec County and would be called the Tri-County Work Center.

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