100 Years Ago: 1925

Hurrying along the spring and pushing winter aside seems to be the thing just now, for one of our prominent Lewiston social leaders here was delighted Tuesday to see that her garden was of real summer appearance with tulips above the earth more than an inch.

50 Years Ago: 1975

Who would break two windows inside a school, and return two stolen objects at the same time?

That is the question Auburn police were trying to answer this morning. The station received a call at 8:45 a.m. from a Mr. Hussey at Central School, who reported two safety glasses, measuring 20 x 26, were found broken this morning. Also found in the building were an Exit sign and a pair of television rabbit ears which had been stolen in a break last January.
Police reported that there were no signs of forced entry.

25 Years Ago: 2000

A statewide watchdog group has filed a petition with the city aimed at stopping Auburn’s largest commercial development in a decade.

The Maine People’s Alliance has submitted 123 signatures calling for the area around the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter to be re- zoned as a residential area, a move that could prevent the massive new store from ever being built.

Steve Taylor, MPA’s organizing director, said the petition was initiated by members in the Lewiston- Auburn area. He said they’re concerned that a commercial development might not be the best use for the land, now a wooded hill overlooking Mount Auburn Avenue.

And they are worried what effect a bigger, 24-hour version of the current Wal-Mart store might have on the local economy, Taylor said.

If agreed to by the Planning Board and the City Council, the request would reverse those officials’ decision just last fall. In November, the City Council unanimously approved a rezoning of the same property from two forms of residential property to general business.

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