100 Years Ago: 1924

Judge Manser criticised Mrs. Romeo Tardiff of Auburn for putting the county to the expense of $30 in bringing her husband back from Fitchburg, Mass., on a non-support charge when it was apparent that the man was doing his best and contributing as liberally as his pay envelope would allow for the support of Mrs. Tardiff and four small children.

Judge Manser accordingly discharged the husband from the complaint.

Mr. Tardiff went to Massachusetts because he could not get full time work in the mills here. He was a week without work in Fitchburg and then when he secured a position, he had to wait two weeks before he got his pay. There followed three weeks of only part time work, yet Mr. Tardiff succeeded in sending his family from $10 to $12 a week and lived on about $8 himself.

“You’ve put the county to an expense and I don’t think you were justified,” said Judge Manser to Mrs. Tardiff when he discharged the husband.

50 Years Ago: 1974

Judging by what was taken last night in a break at the Lobsterland Restaurant on Blake Street in Lewiston, someone either had themselves a feast, or is about to … maybe a Christmas party.

Missing are 22 lobsters, some alive, others cooked; six pounds of lobster meat; a gallon of clams; ten pounds of hamburg: three six-packs of beer; some potato chips, some cigarettes; some cigars, all worth about $150.

Officer Larry Simpson discovered the break at 12:40 this morning while checking business establishments in the area. Entrance to the building was gained through a rear window, police said. Detective Laurent Gilbert and Officer Herbert Saucier investigated.

25 Years Ago: 1999

Don’t expect to be bombarded with treats this holiday season just because you smell sugar cookies, gingerbread, cinnamon buns, mulled cider and other delectables.

The savory smells wafting from your host’s home could be nothing more than wicks and wax.

Candlemakers have something to cheer about during the holidays because December accounts for 35 percent of sales. Savvy candlemakers know this and introduce new scents, like Village Candle’s bubbly mix of ginger ale and champagne, called “Celebration.”

The nation’s fascination with those scents has driven candle sales to a new level, with sales doubling over four years.

“Scented candles are now in every type of store that you go into,” said Marianne McDermott of the National Candlemakers Association in Washington, D.C. “The retail aspect has exploded. We really have to cite fragrances as the major reason for that.”

The trend has helped Village Candle founder Paul J. Aldrich turn a hobby that started in his kitchen with $20 borrowed from a friend into a $25-million a year business that already has outgrown two factories in six years of existence.

The growth of Topsham-based Village Candle has finally slowed down to 40 percent a year. The company was growing at a rate of 80 percent to 100 percent a year in the past, he said.

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