•The Empire Theatre has been placed in first class condition for the season which opened last night. The walls have been newly tinted and little improvements made here and there which add greatly to the general effect. It is now one of the finest show houses in New England. The bookings for this season give Lewiston people the very best attractions.

•A bright and up-to-date Auburn lad will soon have the honor of the first armoured cruiser in Lake Auburn. He is building a boat after his own original design. The sides of the craft are of wood, while both the bow and the stern are made of sheet iron.

50 Years Ago, 1954

•In a deeply religious ceremony witnessed by a crowd which police estimated as close to the 5,000 mark, the Most Rev. Daniel J. Feeney, D. D., coadjutor Bishop of the Portland Catholic Diocese, consecrated the ground of the new extension of St. Peter’s Cemetery on Switzerland Road.

•Despite the apparent flourishing growth of ragweed in Lewiston, only seven persons have registered themselves as hay fever sufferers, Dr. Robert J. Wiseman Jr., Lewiston health officer, reported. Dr. Wiseman recently said if he gets sufficient response from persons afflicted with that allergy produced by ragweed, he would attempt to lead a municipal project to have the weeds destroyed in as wide areas as possible. The doctor noted that ragweed is growing in abundance this year more than ever.

25 Years Ago, 1979

Able-bodied welfare recipients will soon be put to work in Lewiston. They may be asked to wash windows, pick up trash in the city park, sweep floors, shovel snow or dust counter tops. A never before tried “Work for Welfare” concept – implemented properly – should significantly decrease the number of persons living off the city’s welfare rolls, predicts Welfare Director Beverly Heath. She bases that remark on past records of similar programs tried in other Maine communities.