100 years ago: 1925
Police and fire officials of the two cities are investigating an attempt to set fire to the Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Ash and Bartlett streets, last evening, and three attempts to set fire to St. Louis Roman Catholic Church of Auburn, the latest on Tuesday evening.
The attempted fire is believed to be the work of a religious maniac.
Kerosene was used in the latest attempts to burn the church property in both cities. A bottle containing a small amount of kerosene was found near the fire at St. Peter’s Church.
The blaze at St. Peter’s was discovered by Miss Margaret Curran of West Rose Hill. Entering the vestibule of the Ash Street entrance, she saw the flames around the doorway to the auditorium. She shouted and Leopold J. Lamontagne, police officer, who is a parishioner, responded at once. He was at the church and had detected a slight odor of smoke.
50 years ago: 1975
A total of 17 exhibits were entered into evidence this morning at Androscoggin Superior Court as the state attempted to show how much U.S. Department of Agriculture hamburger was delivered last year to the Lewiston School Department’s lunch program and how much of it was actually used by the program. There’s a discrepancy of some 1,600 pounds, according to District Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II.
25 years ago: 2000
Maine’s congressional delegation Thursday announced a $1.6 million federal Department of Housing and Urban Development grant to help pay for a parking garage at Bates Mill Enterprise Complex. The news was embraced by city officials who worked on a deal to get Peoples Heritage Bank located in building No. 3 of the complex for more than a year.
As part of the deal, the City Council voted to sell two buildings to developer Tom Platz for $1.3 million. Platz would pay for the renovation of building No. 3 while the city would pay for a parking garage at the corner of Chestnut and Lincoln streets. The federal money will pay for a portion of that garage, which is planned to hold 600 cars.
The quoted material used in Looking Back is produced exactly as it originally appeared although misspellings and errors may be corrected.
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