100 years ago, 1914
Nowhere in Maine was the Glorious Fourth more genuinely enjoyed and more heartily celebrated than at Opportunity Farm, an institution for boys, at New Gloucester. When the bugle call sounded at ten o’clock, the guests gathered with the boys under the trees. A ninety foot flag pole presented to the Farm in memory of General Neal Dow was firmly set in a great rock near the roadside. A flag measuring 12 by 18 feet was presented to the Farm, and it was raised by the boys. From this hill-top the Farm’s flag can be sighted for miles around.

50 years ago, 1964
Large crowds of costumed youngsters and adults cavorted in a variety of activities in one of Auburn’s residential areas Saturday, as the Marston Street neighborhood held its 19th annual Fourth of July celebration. Bill Vickery and Dick Bixby presided at the morning flag raising ceremony, raising the colors as they have been doing for some time in a project which started as a means of gaining a Scout achievement badge. In the morning, with umpire Roland Rand calling the shots, the youngsters in the neighborhood defeated the adults 14-12 in a tight, free-scoring contest. Mrs. Betty Bryan successfully defended her title in the annual rolling pin throwing contest for women. At times, about 200 persons all from the neighborhood were on the “carnival grounds.” The evening program featured a singing act by the family of Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Jones and their seven children. An address was given by George Parsons, the oldest resident of the neighborhood, who told the crowd of the changes in the area and how he has seen it grow from one big farm to its present day status. Gordon Adams was master of ceremonies.

25 years ago, 1989
The annual fireworks display over the Great Falls took place Tuesday night. Lewiston and Auburn officials had expected somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 people to attend the show, which was sponsored by the Lewiston-Auburn Jaycees. The crowd might have exceeded that. People could be seen on some rooftops along Main Street in Lewiston and seated on the upper level of the Centreville Parking Garage on Canal Street.