100 years ago, 1916
Omar F. Tarr of Auburn, this year graduated from the University of Maine, has discovered a new method for manufacturing one of the constituents of one of the principal high explosives and will leave this week for Philadelphia to superintend the application of his discovery in a factory especially built for the purpose. A manufacturer has been so well impressed with the economical value of the discovery that he proposes to put it into effect. This new method is chiefly economical because it employs a by-product which has, heretofore, been entirely wasted. This by-product, Mr. Tarr states, is available in many parts of this country and at the time he proved his discovery it would reduce the cost of the high explosive constituent by four-fifths over the price then prevailing. Tarr was interested in chemical research when he attended Edward Little high school in Auburn, and progressed in this line as he continued his schooling.

50 years ago, 1966
What to do with Lewiston’s garbage after the in municipal farm phases out its operations next year is a question the Lewiston Health and Welfare Department is trying to answer. An incinerator system would eliminate most of the smoke now resulting from the burning of trash at the city dump and would be a more sanitary method of getting rid of refuse.

25 years ago, 1991
Work is two to four weeks ahead of schedule in a project that promises to enhance water pressure in some areas and give the Lewiston a more reliable water system. The Webber Avenue Reservoir project will connect the 11-million-gallon reservoir to the city’s Central Avenue pump station, “creating better pressure in the area” that includes Bates College and “better dependability through the whole system,” said Christopher Crovo, water and sewer superintendent. Contractor Pratt & Son of Mechanic Falls is building a concrete wall around the two-acre reservoir to which a liner and cover will be attached, Crovo said.

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