100 years ago, 1917
Men have come forward for enlistment since the recruiting order to Lewiston-Auburn coast artillery companies but it could not be said that the armory offices are yet flooded. Great interest is being shown and the normally unimpulsive Yankee meets the crisis with a quickened pulse. The only regret is in the fact that it is the older men, the husbands and fathers, that appreciate the need of the country for soldiers. In several instances these men have voluntarily come to the recruiting offices and offered themselves and, if not going so far as to take out papers, left their addresses, telephone numbers and so on that they could be quickly reached in an emergency.

50 years ago, 1967
(Editorial) Compassion usually is associated with charity. But a novel program in Lewiston has created an unusual combination of compassion and enterprise at a double profit, human and monetary. The program involves the hiring of mentally retarded patients from the Pineland Hospital and Training Center in Pownal by the Hillcrest Poultry Company in Lewiston. It is the outgrowth of a cooperative effort by the hospital, the firm and federal-state rehabilitation officers. In more than one year of operation, the experiment has proved itself both from the standpoint of the patients, for whom it has opened the way to an entirely new and productive life, and for the company, which has filled a need for workers.

25 years ago, 1992
Charlene Belanger doesn’t necessarily expect a bigger Maine State Parade in Lewiston this year. What she does expect to see May 2 is a better parade. “I’m seeing an increase in quality,” said Belanger, the parade’s organizer for WCSH-TV. “The organizations that are building floats are really looking to be more creative and more substantial.” In the applications for parade entrants, she is seeing businesses such as Geiger Bros. of Lewiston team up with schools such as Montello. “They started a couple of months ago … asking all the kids to help them with the design of the float,” Belanger said.

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

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