100 Years Ago: 1924

A new industry for Maine? Yes, and it bids fair to be a mighty factor to the agricultural prosperity of our State.

Canning of peas may well be called a new industry for our state. This has been started by the Portland Packing Company, and for the first year has proved a great success.

This packing company, or partnership was founded by the late Hon. James P. Baxter of Portland, in 1855, and it has gone on from one success to another until today it is one of the largest packing companies in the State.

50 Years Ago: 1974

Twelve young people from throughout Maine, including four from Lewiston, will spend the next two weeks in Quebec, as part of a new Maine-Quebec Exchange program

All of the participants are employed in social services, including educators, mental health workers, drug counselors, all are Franco- American and all are bilingual.

They will be the first Americans to take part in such an exchange with Quebec, Canada.

25 Years Ago: 1999

An old saw mill and a quarter of an acre of woods on Severy Hill Road about three miles off Route 17 burned Sunday afternoon before firefighters from three departments doused the blaze.

The fire was called in by passers-by at 1:50 p.m. The fire was under control by 2:30 p.m., said Randy Hall, East Dixfield’s fire chief. Firefighters from East Dixfield, Dixfield and Wilton responded to the fire with three pumper trucks and one tanker truck, Hall said. “We had a good water supply and a good amount of guys showed up,” Hall said.

When firefighters arrived, a 25- by 45-foot building was fully engulfed in flames, Hall said. Before firefighters got water on the blaze a 40-foot pine tree nearby “blew up,” Hall said.

The flames from the burning tree reached nearly 60 feet in the air, Hall said. Wind was not a factor and the fire stayed under control, he said.The building was destroyed, Hall said.

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