100 years ago: 1925

“The formal opening of the Androscoggin Historical Society will be held May 23, with appropriate exercise.

“In the short time since the room has been fitted up, the society has accumulated a good-sized collection of interesting articles, every one of which has an accredited history.

“The first communion service ever used in Lewiston occupies a prominent place in one of the cabinets. The old toll bridge sign which lay for years in the loft of an Auburn barn, was contributed shortly after the room was secured.

“On the wall have been arranged maps of all the towns of Androscoggin county, showing the lots owned by the earliest settlers, and there are many people in the community who will be interested in tracing on these maps the homes of their forebears.

“Of course the larger part of the collection has been merely loaned; the owners are still in entire control of their property, but there are many who are interested in placing such articles as they may have which are of historic interest, where they can be of value to the public.

“In fact this was the motive which actuated the organization of the society, that the really valuable relics in this county might be collected and preserved to posterity.”

50 years ago: 1975

“LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Longley’s Legion, the group which helped turn the campaign of a political novice into an upset victory, is ‘still very much there,’ says the chief aide to the nation’s only independent governor.

“Six months after James B. Longley’s election, the loosely knit group, tied together by a periodic newsletter, is viewed by some as a means of making up for his lack of a partisan political base.

“When insurance man Longley announced his candidacy for governor last June, just a handful of close friends and work associates were behind him.

“But within a short period, according to Longley backers, some 4,000 persons were volunteering their time and services to help in the campaign. Many of the leaders came from Longley’s home city of Lewiston.”

25 years ago: 2000

“LEWISTON — Ken St. Amand is graduating from the University of Southern Maine Saturday.

“So is Ken St. Amand.

“No, there’s no error.

“One Ken St. Amand is a 51-year- old student getting a degree in management and organizational studies. The other Ken St. Amand is his 26-year-old son, who’s getting a degree in English.

“The father-son duo had never planned to graduate together. A series of circumstances led up to the ideal timing.

“When the older St. Amand realized he was going to graduate, he asked his son how close he was. The son said he was close enough to finish and stepped up his course load. Now after taking very different roads to get there, father and son will both end up at the same place Saturday morning — USM’s commencement ceremonies.

“‘There was a real competition,’ the younger St. Amand said. ‘I wanted to beat him, but the idea of marching together is pretty cool.'”

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