100 years ago, 1918
In Murphy’s fur store in Lewiston one day this week, a trapper from up the Magallaway was selling pelts. He had a fine assortment of bear, fisher, mink, etc. Mr. Murphy picked up a pile of ermine, pretty white skins with the long black-tipped tails. “Those were trapped in Sabatis,” said he. “Weasels — often better than Russian ermine. Surprising, but did you know that over $2000 worth of fur is trapped every year in Sabatis? There’s a fine mink that was trapped in that town.”

50 years ago, 1968
Two representatives of the firm of Aliberti, LaRochelle & Hodson appeared Monday night before the Lewiston Public Works Board to discuss the possible installation of a trunk sewer line near the site of two housing developments in the College Street and Stetson Road section of the city. Donald and Leo LaRochelle said the developers plan to begin building in the spring and that percolation tests show the land is not very receptive to the installation of septic tanks. The representatives said the trunk line would be about 4,000 feet long and that perhaps sanitary line could be used.

25 years ago, 1993
Shoppers can expect significant exterior changes at the Lewiston Mall this spring as the result of a $350,000 renovation program announced by its owner, New England Realty Co. When the project is completed in May, the mall will boast a new facade with sleek modern styling, new entrances, new pylon signs and new sodium light fixtures, along with a repaved parking lot. It will be the shopping center’s first major renovation since it was purchased in the late 1980s by New England Realty, which owns “a number of malls from Maine to California,” according to its local marketing and leasing representative, John Wise. In fact, this will be the first extensive exterior updating that the Lewiston Mall has undergone since it opened at East Avenue and Lisbon Street in the spring of 1972.

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