100 Years Ago: 1921

A cataract has formed over one of Ty Cobb’s eyes and the baseball diamond may never again see him after 1921 as an active performer. If Cobb should pass at the end of the season from the fields which he has glorified for nearly a generation, if baseball then should see no more of the whirling arms, the speeding legs of the dynamite southerner it means the passing of the greatest, most wonderful and certainly the most brilliant ball player of all time.

50 Years Ago: 1971

Auburn police performed an unusual chore Sunday night. Juanita Martinez of Minot Ave reported to authorities at 7 o’clock that she had just dropped her house and car keys Into a catch basin on Goff Street. Patrolman Bruce Bartlett went to the area and using a magnet procured the missing keys.

25 Years Ago: 1996

“After eight years of selling automotive parts, it’s been a dream of my brothers’ and mine,” said Ray Hodsdon of the new auto parts store, Mexico Carquest Auto Parts, that he and his two brothers, Roy and Dan, opened Monday. Opening Mexico Carquest Auto Parts, part of the “Carquest of Maine” franchise, was a major group effort, Ray said. Up until now, brothers Ray and Roy have been working at John Darling’s Auto Parts in Auburn and South Paris, respectively. When Carquest approached them about opening their own store on Roxbury Road, the Hodsdon brothers saw it as a great opportunity, Ray said. For about the past five weeks, Ray Hodsdon explained, family and friends have been putting in 14- and 16-hour days, helping to get the store ready. “We really want to thank all of the friends and family who helped us,” Ray said.

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