100 years ago, 1917
How many know that a monster pine, probably the largest in Maine, is to be found in a swamp just this side of Turner? It measures 18 feet in diameter and is tall in proportion, altho the top was broken off in a gale.

50 years ago, 1967
Opening day at the new visitors room at the Androscoggin County jail went off “beautifully” yesterday, but Sheriff Robert W. Bonenfant said today it’s just a “little step” in the direction of an all-modern jail facility. “We were extremely pleased with the new set-up,” the sheriff said, adding that he was pleased to get the inmates and their visitors out of the hallways at the county building. Prior to construction of the new facility, visitors greeted their inmate friends and relatives seated in chairs in the hallways.

25 years ago, 1992
Working with and for kids is nothing new to Toby Tiner. He’s been doing that for more than 20 years, coaching football, basketball and the like. But for the last seven years there’s been something “special” about it. Tiner has been the Number One fundraiser for the Maine Special Olympics, and he’s got the awards to prove it. This year, Tiner — a sergeant with the Auburn Police Department — has done it again. He single-handedly raised more than $2,000 for the program, said Mark Frank, Torch Run liaison for Special Olympics. In all, the total tops $10,000. The Torch Run is a four-day event sponsored by law-enforcement agencies throughout the state, each team running “one leg” of the course and handing off a torch to the next agency.

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