100 years ago, 1916
According to figures compiled by the members of the Board of State Assessors, the total valuation of automobiles in Androscoggin county is $330,426, the valuation of carriages is $59,104 and that of musical instruments is $288,330. Auburn leads the cities and towns of Androscoggin county in the valuation of automobiles, with Lewiston second, East Livermore third and Turner fourth. Lewiston leads in the valuation of carriages with Auburn second, Turner third and East Livermore fourth. Auburn’s high line in the valuation of musical instruments, with Lewiston second, East Livermore third and Lisbon fourth.

50 years ago, 1966
The main transmission line which carries a fresh water supply from Lake Auburn to Lewiston has been repaired and put to use again, it was reported Sunday afternoon by Lewiston Public Works Department Director William R. Adams Jr. Director Adams noted, however, that Lewiston residents are again asked to utilize only that amount of water which is necessary. The plea for water conservation was extended again Sunday in light of the water storage drop noted since the main transmission pipe was turned off. More than half of the water supply in Lewiston’s two reservoirs was consumed, Director Adams said. Water conservation, he said, would allow the reservoirs to be replenished.

25 years ago, 1991
A clear plastic food container could be reused to “put GI Joes in” and a sturdy round lid could be played with “like a Frisbee,” Wallace School fifth-graders in Lewiston decided Tuesday. They were brimming with ideas to reduce, reuse and recycle common trash after their first two-hour session of Waste Away, an innovative environmental curriculum. And by the time the pilot program on solid waste wraps up in April, the learning experience itself will have been recycled — passed along from fifth-graders and parent volunteers to students in the younger grades, their families and the community.

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