100 years ago, 1915
It is aggravating to look across the Little Androscoggin river above the Barker mill dam if you happen to wish to get from one side to the other. There are mills or houses on either side and, if there was a bridge across, one could, by going no further than the river is wide, reach the places which he must go at least three miles either up river or down to get to now. This is a problem that has confronted the post office authorities for years. The Dennison street gully is another place that divides two thickly populated sections.

50 years ago, 1965
Auburn firemen went to a construction site on Lake Auburn Avenue early Friday night for a minor fire, apparently caused by malicious mischief. An oil burning construction flare which had been placed near an excavation project in the vicinity of Washburn School was found under a tire of a backhoe which was parked at the site. The flames had begun to burn the rubber tire, but no other damage was reported. Auburn Fire Department was notified of the incident and they had put out the fire within minutes of arriving at the scene.

25 years ago, 1990
More than 60 senior citizens and disabled people proved a powerful lobby Tuesday as Franklin County commissioners agreed to consider recommending an increase in county funding to help save a nonprofit bus service for rural areas. The Mexico-based Western Maine Transportation Services seeks $25,000, or $20,000 more than its 1990 Franklin County contribution, to make up for the loss of $90,000 in federal funds. The lobbying group packed the Franklin County courthouse on behalf of the bus line at a public hearing on the county’s proposed budget of
nearly $2.5 million. Now it’s up to commissioners and the county’s legislative delegation to arrive at a final recommendation to be submitted to the state within Franklin County’s 1991 budget

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