100 Years Ago: 1921

A large flock of wild geese flew over Pine street in a northerly direction at about 2 o’clock one morning recently. The flock was of immense size and flying low enough so the birds could be plainly seen by the moonlight. They were squawking loudly and aroused several light sleepers from their morning slumber.

50 Years Ago: 1971

At the Great Falls Urban Renewal Project in downtown Auburn, crews from Bridge Construction of Augusta could be seen on Franklin Street, which was discontinued for good today, ripping up curbing. Use of the Franklin Street Parking lot was also discontinued today, and parking meters removed. When the site preparation is completed, the entire section between Turner, Franklin and North Main Streets, will be graded level looking northerly. The Augusta firm, which submitted the lowest bid of $31,400, has 60 days to complete the project, but is expected to finish in about half that time.

25 Years Ago: 1996

It was local Fire Chief Bill Hussey’s worst fear, that he would see someone break through the ice and be unable to do anything to help and that rescuers who tried to help the victim would be risking their own life too. “People who fall through the ice quickly get hypothermia and have a hard time trying to hold onto the ice.” Hussey said, they can’t think straight any more and can be a danger to rescuers.” “It’s always been a big worry, a big fear of mine,” said Hussey, Peru’s fire chief for nine years, as he looked out over the ice on Worthley Pond. “You can see that we have a need for it in the county with this pond, Roxbury Pond, Canton Lake and the Androscoggin River.” Through a donation from the Boise Cascade Central Safety Committee employee voucher program, Boise purchased a $3,000 Rescue Alive sled from Spencer, Mass., one of 14 distributors for the equipment in the country. The pontoons and guardrails of the 88-pound sled provides a stable work platform for the rescuer, and also provides more than 600 pounds flotation, according to instructor Dan Meloche, the New England distributor. The Rescue Alive Sled is the first one in Oxford County. “This is the time of year when you really need one when the ice is getting questionable,” Meloche said demonstrating the special modified paddle with an ice hook that is used to propel the sled over ice. “But you can really use it year round, and the advantage is that the rescuer never has to get wet and can get to the victim quicker.”

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

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