100 years ago, 1917
Even the bargain stores have ceased to display bargain tags on plain Irish potatoes. In other words, 63 cents-per-peck potatoes were something of a bargain only the other day. But the placard now plainly reads 70 cents per peck. “What happened to that boycott on potatoes?” asked one of the Lewiston marketmen. “We have not seen many signs of any here in Lewiston and Auburn as yet. Of course people may not be buying as heavily as when they are cheap, but they are still taking a considerable quantity of this necessary commodity.” Again, it seems most likely that potatoes will be no cheaper before another crop comes along next fall, but higher as the demand for seed potatoes increases.

50 years ago, 1967
Trustees of the Auburn Water District, meeting last night at the district office on Court Street, approved plans to completely automate the Lake Auburn pumping station, Earle Tarr, acting district superintendent, said it is expected that automatic operation of the station will save Auburn water users considerable amount of money. The AWD head reported that the changeover to automatic involves the installation of tone equipment at the Goff Hill reservoir and at the pumping station. The equipment will start and stop the huge pumps automatically, Tarr said.

25 years ago, 1992
MERIBEL, France — First, Julie Parisien lost three front teeth. That happened on a Friday. Just three days later, on a Monday, the Auburn, Maine, resident broke her left wrist. It was a memorable four-day weekend, not to mention a miserable one. Parisien, America’s best shot for an Olympic medal in women’s slalom events, was training for the giant slalom in Austria a month ago Monday when her teeth got knocked out. “A recreational skier, some guy, just decided to traverse across the course,” Parisien said. “He hit me with his pole grip right across the face.”

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