100 years ago, 1917
The pay-roll at the Lewiston municipal lighting plant has come under the displeasure of Mayor Lemaire. He has notified City Treasurer Hale not to pay any salaries after this week until he (the mayor) approves them. The crew has been added to in the last few weeks, and the mayor feels that the increased expense is unwarranted. The globes of the ornamental lighting system are usually cleaned in three or four days, and in this instance, with the increased crew, the work has not been done in two weeks. The mayor will insist on the crew being cut. The pay-roll of the city building, which has always been approved by the committee on public property in the past, will not be paid in the future unless the mayor approves it.

50 years ago, 1967
Vanco Corporation, currently located at the Lewiston Machine Company, River Road, Lewiston, today displayed garden tractors which will be manufactured in a new Lewiston enterprise. Ernest Dow, head of the corporation, said it is hoped production will start in three or four weeks. He added that over 100 men will be employed initially in the manufacture of the tractor and that 30,000 square feet of space will be needed. Dow, whose firm has been in Lewiston since January, said that he had chosen Lewiston because of its geographical location, its highly skilled workers, and the good relations between business, industry and finance.

25 years ago, 1992
Plans for a community center on Bates Street, Lewiston, are moving forward as the group that’s creating it begins talking about floor plans and funding for center staff. The community group, which has been meeting for a couple of years with the aim of offering needed services in the inner city, particularly to children, wants to open a center on the first floor of a building recently acquired by the Lewiston Housing Authority at 292-294 Bates St. The authority plans to offer space rent-free to agencies that want to provide social services. The rest of the building is to be made over into low-income apartments.

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