100 Years Ago: 1920

Androscoggin County for the first time in its history has a woman deputy – Mrs. Harriet Spiller of Mechanic Falls – having been appointed by Sheriff Fred Stevens. Her appointment is as a civil deputy and her duties will be primarily to serve papers.  She attended Poland public school, after which she took a special course at Hebron academy, graduating in the class of 1898. She taught for a number of years In the Poland and Mechanic Falls Schools, being principal of the Mechanic Falls Grammar school for seven years. For several years she has been superintendent of schools in Mechanic Falls and Minot and lately Poland has been added to the district. Mrs. Spiller, as stated, is the first woman deputy appointed In Androscoggin County and probably the first in Maine, outside of Cumberland. Her appointment is another sign of the times — the coming of equal suffrage.

50 Years Ago: 1970

Speaking at the Tuesday meeting of the Lions Club at Happy Jacks, Lewiston, will be William Sparks of Freeport. He will speak on “The new Role of Service Clubs in our Changing Society.” He has worked with the Diocesan Bureau of Human Relations Services, Diocese of Portland for eight months on it, the adult training programs and is director of three County Homemaker Programs for that area.

25 Years Ago: 1995

When Rightstart was formed in 1979, volunteers coordinated efforts to buy holiday gifts for as many as 400 children each year, taking over the work from the Norway-Paris Kiwanis Club’s Operation Santa Claus during the International Year of the Child. According to Connie Allen, one of the original Rightstart volunteers, that number has increased to well over 600 needy children in Oxford Hills, and Rightstart continues to coordinate gift-collection efforts in the community.

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

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