100 years ago, 1917
Skating enthusiasts consider themselves more fortunate this year than during previous years, owing to the excellent condition of the ice at the present time. For more that two weeks the surface of the Androscoggin has been like a mirror and daily hundreds gather above the falls to enjoy a popular winter sport. On several evenings during the past week skating parties have been the thing. Crowds of young people gather on the ice, build fires and have a wonderfully good time.

50 years ago, 1967
A Northeast Airlines plane due to arrive at the Auburn Lewiston Airport at 5:51 p. m. Friday arrived from Boston about a half hour behind schedule and the flight was terminated at the local airport instead of at Augusta. The plane carried Craig D. Hathaway of Maine’s Second District among other passengers. At the airport it was reported the flight was terminated here due to lack of sufficient battery power to start the engines without additional energizing power. Such equipment was available at the local airport but not at Augusta. The airline called in taxicab service to take 23 passengers from Auburn to Augusta and four passengers awaiting the flight at Augusta were returned to the Auburn-Lewiston Airport to take the plane to Boston.

25 years ago, 1992
The community-action agency that has been turning inner-city buildings into housing for the poor and the homeless now wants to transform the former Frye School into 24 units of housing for the elderly. Community Concepts has eight months to exercise its option to buy the 125-year-old building, said Robert Thompson, Lewiston’s development director. The City Council Tuesday voted unanimously to execute a sale agreement, Thompson said. Renovations would cost roughly $1 million. The three-story brick structure at 140 Ash St. was closed as a school some five years ago because it lacked a lunchroom and a gym and had uneven heat. It has remained vacant, but a local landlord has been leasing the parking lot for tenants, Thompson said.

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