100 Years Ago: 1922

Repairs at the courthouse building in Auburn gives the clerk of courts a “grand” suite of offices consisting of his old one, the former office of the county commissioners and an old vault, formerly occupied by the register of deeds. Workers are busy painting and retouching the walls.

50 Years Ago: 1972

Ten year old Raymond Mailloux was honored by his city this morning in ceremonies at St. Joseph’s School. Mayor Robert H. Clifford presented the lad with a certificate, one of the first being issued by the city to recognize acts of concern by its citizens. In making the presentation Mayor Clifford also lauded the school and the boy’s classmates and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Mailloux for their roles in the character building so evident in the boy’s act.

The certificate, signed by Mayor Clifford and Gerald Berube, Lewiston City Clerk congratulates Ray for the “courage and heart’ he displayed in his rescue of an injured dog from busy Main Street traffic last August. With thoughtful coolness, the fourth grader stepped into traffic bringing it to a halt while he rescued a dog, victim of a traffic accident, and unable to move, thus saving the dog’s life.

Also taking part in the program was Lewiston City Council President George Call who explained the significance of the citation and noted that Ray was the first Lewiston child to receive one and Sr. Maureen, who voiced the appreciation of the school. immediately following the presentation, the student body participated in ceremonies accepting a State of Maine flag, presented with the cooperation of Cong. William Hathaway. Miss Ann Finley of the eighth grade sang the State of Maine song, accompanied by Mrs. Paul S. Libbey and then the student body, led by Mayor Clifford, Berube and Call and two boy scout flag bearers, Mark Albert and Shawn Metayer marched out of doors where Custodian Larry Spaulding raised the American flag, as the student body recited the Pledge of Allegiance. At its conclusion the State of Maine flag followed the stars and stripes up the pole.

The ceremonies were opened by Rev. Lawrence Conley, who was introduced by an eighth-grade student, Robert Tardif

25 Years Ago: 1997

An 8-year-old girl was called a hero Sunday by law enforcement officers after a car accident that seriously injured her 29-year-old mother. “That kid was something else. I’ll never forget that,” Oxford Patrolman William Britting said of Leora Henry. “The little girl is a hero. I’ve never seen a little kid so together. She was trying to find someone to help her folks.” In the process, she impressed every one of the rescue workers who responded to the 1 am accident on Route 26 as she calmly answered all their questions.

According to police, the accident, which injured Timothy and Rachelle Henry of Norway, happened when Timothy Henry, who is in his 30s, fell asleep at the wheel of the family’s 1998 Mercury Sable station wagon and hit a rock in front of National Wood Products as the family was traveling home. Timothy Henry suffered a fractured arm and was treated and released from Stephens Memorial Hospital, according to a nursing supervisor. His wife was more seriously injured. The daughter was not injured.

According to her grandfather, Leora asked her father what to do. He told her she should flag down help. She flagged down a car and asked the people inside to call for help. Those people went to call for assistance, but the next vehicle down the road was a police cruiser which stopped when Leora flagged it down, the Rev. Henry said. Then other emergency workers came.

Leora reportedly never lost her composure or cried in the wreck’s aftermath.

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

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