100 years ago, 1917
At the close of a special meeting of the Auburn city government held in the council rooms at Auburn Hall last night the members were very pleasantly and generously surprised by their mayor when an excellent catered buffet lunch was served. A social hour (or two) followed and all present expressed favorable views of the past administration. Several matters of importance were transacted at the business meeting, the last before the inauguration, January 7.

50 years ago, 1967
Traffic at the busy intersection of Court and Main streets, Auburn, was disrupted today by the second water line break in recent weeks. Crews of the Auburn Water District began work early in the day to locate the source of the trouble and, shortly after noon, found a foot-long crack in a six-inch main — the same water line which broke about a week ago. The break was less than 20 feet from the previous one. An AWD spokesman reported that the district was aware yesterday there was a leak in the system because of a sizable increase seen on consumption charts at the pumping station. It was not known immediately, however, where the problem was. At mid-afternoon, the AWD said that the problem could be repaired with the use of a stainless steel sleeve within a matter of minutes.

25 years ago, 1992
Barbara Brookings got her first taste of sewing at the age of 8 when she fashioned a nightgown for her baby brother from a grain sack. Now, with help from her husband, Lowell, she uses those talents to mend used clothing that is then given to needy New Gloucester residents. More than once a week, the Brookings haul bags of used clothing that has been dropped off at their Route 231 farm to the Town Hall to sort and drag up a flight of stairs, where items can be picked up by residents. After washing and mending the donated clothing, the Brookings sort the items into sizes and categories. The Brookings recently were joined in their efforts by Norma Granese, who sorts clothing, and Diane Hunnewell, who helps with the mending.

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