100 years ago, 1917
Maine’s grizzled veterans of the checker board are still gathered in silence in the rooms of the Lewiston and Auburn Checker Club where the 1917 State tournament is being played. As this endless fight for the championship is drawing to its close and a number of the old-time players have gone down in defeat and have taken their homeward way sadder but wiser men. “No more checker playing in Lewiston for me,” muttered a gray-bearded expert from out of town. “Next year, we play in Bangor where its easier, thank the Lord,” he said.

50 years ago, 1967
The increasing number of dogs following children to school is presenting a problem to Lewiston school officials. A young girl was slightly bruised yesterday while two dogs were fighting, and dogs trying to get the lunch out of a youngster’s hands near Montello School resulted in a protest by one Lewiston resident today.

25 years ago, 1992
Auburn utility workers labored in frigid temperatures late Sunday to repair a gas leak on Davis Avenue. Aided by coffee from an appreciative Davis Avenue resident, they had repaired the line by midnight and begun the task of repairing a six foot hole near the center of the road. The leak, reported shortly after 6 p.m. by a resident who smelled gas, led fire officials to close off much of Davis Avenue and make house-to-house checks for gas leaks. Fire Department Captain Charles Berube said the problem was a “class C” leak,” which he said meant it was “a little bit more serious.” He said firefighters, upon arriving on the scene, “popped the manhole covers to vent the system.” He said firefighters then checked the cellars of some houses to determine if any gas had seeped into them along the pipes. He said no problems were found in any of the homes.

The material in Looking Back is reproduced exactly as it originally appeared, although misspellings and errors made at that time may be edited.