100 Years Ago: 1924

Starting next Monday noon, the Waterville Rotary club will go on a bread and milk diet for the three weeks preceding Christmas and the money thus saved will go into the club Christmas fund.

This decision was made at the meeting Monday noon.

The club also considered plans to finance treatment of some of the crippled children who were examined in the recent clinic held by Dr. Abbott of Portland under the auspices of the Maine Public Health Association. Several of these cases need immediate treatment and the suggestion of the committee that the club act in this matter was immediately adopted.

50 Years Ago: 1974

Seven school buses owned by the Lisbon School Department were found vandalized, Monday morning. According to Officer David Brooks, reports of the damage started coming in at 7:28 a.m., when drivers reported for work.

Four drivers started on their usual runs not realizing the buses had been damaged and broke down in rural areas. Wreckers were called to tow them in. The buses were parked in three locations, the Morse School, Middle School and the Lisbon High School, all in Lisbon Falls. A seventh bus parked at a private residence was not damaged. Radiators were punctured in five of the buses, valve stems were pulled out of two tires, windows broken in two buses and soap powder put in two gas tanks, causing damage estimated at between $1,000 –  $2,000.

25 Years Ago: 1999

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department plans to replace a 25-year-old radio system allowing deputies to talk to counterparts in nearby towns, counties and the state police.

Commissioners approved spending more than $11,000 on the new equipment, including a 100-watt transmitter to be installed on Goff Hill in Auburn and a control station for emergency dispatchers.

The car-to-car system is used throughout Maine to make it easier for members of different police agencies to talk to one another. They’re often used while prisoners are being transported and or in cases where jurisdictions are crossed in pursuit of a criminal.

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