100 years ago, 1916
“It was exactly 50 years ago today that I landed in Lewiston and this has been my home ever since.” This was said to the Lewiston Journal Thursday morning, by Robert Creart, the well-known colored man of Lewiston. When asked to tell something about his life Mr. Creart continued. “I was born in Richmond, Virginia, and my parents were free. In fact, they had not been slaves for many years as they had bought their freedom when young. When yet a boy I went to Washington where I worked at odd jobs until I was 18 or 20 years old. I had heard that work was plenty in the North and had a strong desire to come here and make my home. It was by the late Alonzo Garcelon that I was influenced to come to Lewiston He was a surgeon in the army and when he left he organized a party of sixteen colored men and women to come to Lewiston. We followed him in the next few days as he had made all the arrangements for our passage by rail from Washington.

50 years ago, 1966
A Lewiston alderman, his two brothers and some friends spotted some unidentified flying objects over the Lewiston-Auburn area on two occasions Monday night. Ward Five Alderman Ronald M. Couturier, the brother to Mayor Robert L. Couturier, reported the sightings shortly after the second was made. Alderman Couturier said he only saw the mysterious objects for “about five seconds,” but his brothers and friends watched the UFO for several minutes.

25 years ago, 1991
Half a dozen years later, the seeds planted in an agreement between the City of Lewiston and Central Maine Power Co. are bearing fruit, with the transfer to the city of the Upper Androscoggin hydroelectric plant and the planned construction this summer of a Lewiston boat launch. The city in 1984 agreed to give up its Island Avenue pumping station to make room for CMP’s Charles E. Monty hydro station at Lewiston Falls. In exchange, the utility promised to credit the city with 3.2 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year.

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