100 Years Ago: 1923

“Miss Portland,” otherwise Winona Evelyn Drew, who represented this Maine city in the Atlantic City beauty contest, arrived at Poland Spring early Thursday afternoon as a guest of the Portland Rotary club. She was accompanied by Thomas J. Cannon, manager for Maine of the Atlantic City contest; Francis Jensen, of the Portland Buick company; and Miss Helen Havener, representing a Portland newspaper.

Miss Portland was formally presented at luncheon, and distributed roses to the ladies present-a beautiful and unique scene. She, in turn, was the recipient of a bouquet from the Portland club.

At 2 o’clock the party left Poland Spring for Auburn and Lewiston, stopping in the latter city at the headquarters of the Lewiston Buick company. From there they will go to Brunswick, then return to Portland.

50 Years Ago: 1973

The past, in the form of a restored Flying Fortress, flew in and touched several World War II veterans gathered at the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport Saturday. It was an emotional moment, one that brought back deep feelings of loss and reignited a sense of pride in what had been accomplished so many years ago.

The Collings Flying Fortress, a B-17 bomber built in 1945, was cheered by hundreds of spectators as it approached the local airport from Portland at 11:30 a.m., hours behind schedule, the delay a result of early morning fog. But for the veterans who showed up, the wait was worth it.

“It brought back memories,” said Bob Rabassa of Lewiston. “You fall in love with the machine because it’s such a wonderful aircraft.” Rabassa was a flight engineer during World War II. who took B-17s out on test flights. Today, he still feels an intimate connection to the plane.

“I’ve seen some of them come in with holes big enough to walk through, but they were still flying,” he said. “I think it’s one of the best.”

25 Years Ago: 1998

Various complaints are made concerning red squirrels. One farmer, whose corn, plums, apples and pears have been infested, has shot over 60 red squirrels and has caught a gray squirrel, a hedgehog and two skunks in a trap.

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

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