100 years ago, 1915
Harry Lauder played to a small house here at the Empire theatre, Monday evening. But why should he worry! He had a $3500 house in Bangor; sold out in Portland; goes to St. John where the matinee and evening sales have swept everything so clean that they are clamoring for a forenoon show and where the total receipts to date before the doors open are over $7500. Mr. Lander has never had a big house in Lewiston. It is odd, for there are many Scots in Lewiston. Monday night it poured great guns, and besides the “Society” trick was being done at City Hall, at the Ariel cabaret and all the other playhouses were open. But he gave a great show — forty people in it. The rest of the show is fine vaudeville — and then Mr. Lauder.

50 years ago, 1965
St. Mary’s General hospital in Lewiston has completed its program of replacing the old-fashioned hand-cranked hospital beds with the latest model electric beds. The patient is able to adjust his own position instantly for comfortable reading, or conversing with visitors or just plain relaxation. Accidents easily occurred by someone leaving the handle of the crank sticking out in someone else’s way. Every time the patient wanted to change position, he had to ring for the nurse. All the departments are equipped now with electric beds exclusively, with the exception of the pediatric department where such installation would serve no purpose, the nurse still being needed to adjust the correct position of the bed.

25 years ago, 1990
The Poland Spring Corp., bottler of Poland Spring waters and juices, received permission from the state Wednesday to take 58 million more gallons of water from its spring annually, but a company official said no extraction will occur immediately due to a downturn in its business. Since the bottling company applied to increase its groundwater withdrawals last spring, a decline in the economy in general has led to a decrease in purchases of its products, company manager Richard Wolf said.

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