100 years ago, 1918
The first new potatoes arrived today in Lewiston. They were marked 95 cents a peck and were large and very red in color. One of the strange things here is the variation in the price of old potatoes. Barrels upon barrels of these tubers are going into starch up in Aroostook county, but some of the local stores will ask 50 cents a peck. The lowest quotation seen at retail was 32 cents a peck. Some individual buyers of farmers have bought potatoes of medium grade at less than a dollar a bushel.
50 years ago, 1968
The “high water” of 1968 is rapidly subsiding. The tumultuous Androscoggin River reached its peak at 3 a.m. this morning and then began a gradual dropping off, according to River Agent Paul W. Bean of the Union Water Power Company. Residents of the Androscoggin Valley can consider themselves lucky. While there was minor flooding, no “major problems” were reported. Col. Bean said things could have been rough, however. “If this rainfall had occurred a month a go, said Bean, “we would have had one awful mess.”
25 years ago, 1993
After years of neglect, Auburn may put a little more money into improving its roads in the next budget year. City Manager Steven Lewis has proposed a $4.62 million capital improvements budget that includes $1.51 million for local road reconstruction. The funds would come from a planned $3.7 million bond issue that would also include money for removing underground storage tanks and restoring school buildings. Lewis would not elaborate on which roads would be reconstructed. The budget includes $210,000 for re-pavement. Since that is considered a maintenance cost, it cannot be included in a bond issue and must compete with other city needs for funding, Lewis said.
The material in Looking Back is reproduced exactly as it originally appeared, although misspellings and errors made at that time may be corrected.
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