100 years ago, 1917
The third annual Leeds fair was held today at the grange hall and grounds and its success was equal to that of the previous years. With departments well stocked and the livestock exhibits especially large, the town fair shows that it will continue to be a big event of the year. Sports and cattle and horse pulling were interesting the crowd out of doors while the big attraction of the day indoors was the big baby show. Many friends from the surrounding towns came here for the fair.

50 years ago, 1967
Efforts to put a 26,000 fuel tank into place off the Poland Road, Route 11, in Mechanic Falls Friday afternoon resulted in the highway being blocked for a time as a semi-trailer truck became stuck in a soft shoulder. The tank, which contained more than 3,000 gallons of Bunker C oil, was set in place at Williams tank farm on the Poland Road. When the semi-trailer attempted to back the tank, which is 40 feet long with an 11-foot diameter, into place next to the hole which had been dug for it, the rear wheels of the trailer unit became stuck. The trailer was across the road and the tractor unit in a jackknifed position. The only way traffic could pass was by using a wide shoulder at the side of the highway. A larger tractor unit was called to the scene from Portland.

25 years ago, 1992
Three simulated 15th-century ships outlined by string and imagination made stationary “sails” across the Poland Community School playground Friday in observance of Christopher Columbus’ historic trans-Atlantic voyage 500 years ago. Aboard the make-believe vessels were several dozen fourth-graders and their teachers. The three playground ships, with perimeters marked by string, flags, banners and Columbus’ coat-of-arms, were 78 feet long and 12 feet wide amidship — the approximate dimensions of the Santa Maria, which with the Nina and the Pinta made up the Spanish exploration fleet.

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