100 Years Ago: 1923

Mrs. Maude Starkey was chosen as president of the Alden Gayton Post Ladies’ Auxiliary for the remainder of the year at a meeting held Monday evening. She will take the place of Mrs. Celia Sizeland who is not able at this time to fill this capacity.

50 Years Ago: 1973

A skunk in an Auburn school yard was disposed of this morning by Auburn Dog Officer, Louis Pinette. A Mrs. Cormier of Fairview School informed authorities that the skunk was in the yard, just  prior to recess time, and Pinette was sent to the scene, where he  used a tranquilizer gun to get rid  of the troublesome creature.

25 Years Ago: 1998

Above everything, there was The Voice. Say what you will about the style and swagger, the women, money. fame, power, mob ties, the tastes and habits that long ago fell out of favor.

There was, and always will be, the light baritone, seasoned by age, flavored by whiskey and cigarettes, romantic, vulnerable, tough and completely original. It was the source of all of Frank Sinatra’s power and greatness.

Late Thursday night, Sinatra died at age 82, his wife at his side, in the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after a heart attack. He had been ill for more than a year. The Voice fell silent, but not silenced. There are too many records and signature songs. “My Way,” “New York, New York,” “Strangers in the Night,” too many TV shows and movies, too many memories, too lasting an imprint on American popular culture.

It is not an overstatement to say that Sinatra was the biggest name in show business, his appeal spanning three generations, from bobby-soxers, to baby boomers to Gen-Xers. From Tommy Dorsey to U2’s Bono. He was the Chairman of the Board.

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