100 years ago, 1914
Shipping horses in box cars that have no provision for ventilation doesn’t conform with the laws of the State of Maine nor the disposition of H. A. Pearson, State agent for the prevention of cruelty to animals. One night recently Agent Pearson held up two box cars at the upper Maine Central railroad station in which were several horses. The cars were without ventilation except the air that came thru the cracks, according to Agent Pearson. The horses were billed to Newport from a local dealer. After the doors were opened and arrangement made for air holes the train proceeded.

50 years ago, 1964
Two workmen escaped serious injury yesterday afternoon on the Hardscrabble Road in Auburn when they were trapped in a cave-in in a trench for a new water line in the area. Rushed to the Central Maine General Hospital by ambulance were Stewart Muncey, 22, of Hallowell, and Harold Johnson, 32, of South Paris. Muncey was completely covered, it was reported, and Johnson was trapped in earth up to his waist. The weight of the earth doubled Muncey over and pushed him against the side of the trench but the “hard hat” safety helmet he was wearing tipped slightly, providing him with breathing space. In only a matter of seconds Muncey’s fellow workmen had cleared six inches of earth away from Muncey’s helmet.

25 years ago, 1989
A fire leveled two downtown Lewiston businesses and heavily damaged a third early Monday morning. The fire apparently began in the rear of the third floor of an appliance warehouse, formerly the Peck’s warehouse. The fire destroyed the warehouse, located on Chapel Street, and the Paine Incense Co. on Middle Street. Gosselin’s Rug Cleaning, also located on Middle Street, sustained heavy structural and water damage. The blaze was first reported by a dispatcher at the Androscoggin Sheriff’s Department, who saw the flames from a window at the County Building, which is across the river. Water was drawn from the nearby Androscoggin River as well as from hydrants. The demand for water was so great that despite the use of the river water, some Lewiston residents were without water pressure this morning.