100 Years Ago: 1924

Two Freeport men while working in the woods this week cut down a large Hemlock tree which was hollow-hearted. In the tree they found 50 pounds of honey in excellent condition.

50 Years Ago: 1974

Maine’s unpredictable weather forced a lot of improvisation upon the officials of the International Snowshoe Congress currently underway in Lewiston as athletic events were moved indoors and snowshoes tossed aside.

As a result all existing records in any events still stand despite the fact that some of them might have been broken today.

The lack of snow on the ground and in the air failed to dampen the spirit of 3,000 snowshoers from out of town who were joined by 1,000 local snowshoers participating in the 50th Anniversary International Snowshoe Congress.

Besides forcing the games indoors, the weather unusually wet and mild, created havoc with an ice palace which disintegrated under yesterday’s and today’s rainfall and resulted in snow being imported from Farmington so the snowshoe could enjoy maple taffy on snow.

Officials were visibly upset about the lack of snow, some of them noting that six months preparation went into making this snowshoe convention the best ever seen in Lewiston.

Some Canadian snowshoers told the Journal they traveled some 250 miles yesterday in a blizzard only to find rain as they crossed the border into Maine.

Instead of having the snowshoe events held at the Bates College athletic field which was wet and soggy, the athletic events were moved indoors into the dirt floored Field House.

25 Years Ago: 1999

More than 40 chefs, culinary students and food product distributors came together at Bates College Monday evening to appoint one of their own as Maine’s Chef of the Year.

The award — presented by the Maine Chapter of the American Culinary Federation — was granted to Chef Donald Rossignol, director of the culinary arts at Central Maine Technical College in Auburn.

Rossignol, upon receiving the award, told chapter members he had “received many rewards in my day, but there are none that I will cherish as much as this one,” He added that the acknowledgement of his peers was the “highest recognition you can have.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Roger Ouellette, the chapter director and executive chef of the Lewiston Ramada Inn, who described the award as a chef’s “most prestigious acknowledgment.”

Born in Van Buren and a lifelong Maine resident, Rossignol trained for his profession at the one-time Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute, now Southern Maine Technical College. After a distinguished career in food service, Rossignol joined the staff of CMTC in 1962.

The slender and self-spoken chef, who says he teaches his students from soup to desserts” stressed his desire to see the culinary arts recognized as a serious profession. “I’m hoping that people really take this profession seriously,” he explained.

The announcement came after the group enjoyed a dinner prepared by master chefs from the chapter. The centerpieces of each table were crafted in recognition of the evening’s theme, complete with an oven mitt, spatula and serving fork.

The other nominees for the award were John Pulsifer, chef for Sombreros Restaurant in Livermore Falls, and Jim Gallant, director of the culinary arts at the Bath Vocational High School.

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

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