100 years ago: 1919

The lowly penny is coming back into its own. Any Lewiston or Auburn dealer will tell you so. A year ago the penny was a drug on the money market. Nobody wanted to have it. When any person got a handful in change there was likely to be murder. Today, however, the situation is different. Nearly every simple thing seems to be sold in odd numbers, and you just have to keep a pocket-full of pennies if you are to get along. A 10-cent ice cream costs eleven cents — because of the war tax. A 10-cent soda is 11 cents — same reason. Streetcar fares are 7 cents instead of 5. Many cigars sell for 12 or 13 cents, and so on. In most cities, also, there is the theatre war tax to pay.

50 years ago: 1969

The Auburn Planning Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the city building, to receive more information on the proposed Squire Hills low-income housing development. Chairman Fergus Upham said today that engineers are scheduled to present detailed drawings to the board. A decision was tabled at the last meeting.

25 years ago: 1994

“Shoe Shop Jig” and the “Cotton Mill Rag” and other stories premiere at Kennedy Park at 10 a.m. today as part of the Wednesdays-in-the-Park series. The presentation is an original orchestral and theatrical spectacle composed by William Matthews, conducted by Greg Boardman, designed and directed by Amy Trompertter and performed by the Androscoggin Valley Community Orchestra and other Lewiston-Auburn residents. Designed as a timeless epoch with a contemporary twist, the work will infuse the landscape with giant puppets, masks, and stilt dancers as this diverse cast of characters, mythical and every day, seek escape from the mundane time clock of job and factory.

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

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