100 years ago: 1918

President Wilson’s plans for meeting with American troops at American army headquarters at Chaumont and then proceed to England are now complete. He will leave Paris tomorrow night and will not return until New Years Day. His movements while he is with the artillery, Mr. Wilson insisted in taking Christmas dinner with the troops and eating from a mess kit with soldiers about him. He will have a formal dinner with the general and his officers later. After reviewing the troops he will deliver an address that he has already prepared.

50 years ago: 1968

A Christmas Open House for the Women’s Society of Christian Society of the Calvary United Methodist Church was held at the home of Mrs. Carlton Rand, 166 College St., Lewiston on Thursday. Mrs. Ralph Sweetser led the devotions, Mrs. Hollis Bates, Mrs. Frederick Niles and Mrs. Sweetser were hostesses. Christmas music was provided by David Rand and members brought gifts for the new church kitchen and will remember Chandler Nursing Home patients with gifts and visit shut-ins.

25 years ago: 1993

Plastic buttons sift like jewels through spread fingers, discarded odd-sized plastic chunk-like gems gleam in the eyes of idea-hungry teachers. Auburn’s Wasteshare program has a transforming quality. Run by a woman who says she’s giving back to a school system, the Wasteshare Resource Center is the place where trash becomes art and science and, ultimately savings for the Auburn School Department. The altruistic alchemist behind the program, Mary Ellen “Poppy” Thacher initiated Wasteshare single-handedly two years ago. She based it on a similar state program run by the Maine Waste Management Agency.

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