115 Years Ago-Dec. 15, 1897
• Potatoes $1.25 per barrel today.
• A new hardwood floor is being added to W. C. Spaulding’s hardware store and the walls have been sheathed with pine.
100 Years Ago-Dec. 11, 1913
• The state of the nation — An editorial comment: Surely, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” our beloved president with the threatening Mexicans on one side and the militant Suffragettes on the other, no wonder he is in bed with the grip.
• Lumbermen’s lament — Lumbermen all over northern Maine are anxiously awaiting the arrival of freezing temperatures. The swamps are not yet frozen, and should there be a heavy fall of snow before this occurs, they would be almost impossible for hauling logs from the yards later in the season. The season thus far has been one of the worst known for years in the Maine lumber woods. One widely experienced lumberman stated that more horses have been ruined in the woods this season than he has ever known of before.
75 Years Ago-Dec. 15, 1938
• Of local interest — At a meeting of the medical staff of Cary Memorial Hospital last week, Dr. Gerald H. Donahue of Presque Isle was the guest speaker. Those present were Dr. Charles H. Harmon, Dr. F. O. Blossom of this town and Dr. E. H. Doble of Presque Isle. Friends of Miss Kay Wakem, former bookkeeper in this office, will be glad to know that she plans to return to her hometown permanently, she has been employhed as a beautician in Binghamton, N. Y. for the past several months.
• An invitation to jitterbug — The Jitterbugs are sweeping the country, and so Bangor has gone Jitterbug too. The Post of Veterans of Foreign will feature the Jitterbugs in a contest for prizes at their Winter Jamboree, Dec. 19. If you are a Jitterbug and have a partner and have practiced up quite a bit of late, your own specialty set of steps, this is your invitation.
50 Years Ago-Dec. 12 1963
• Majorettes make initial appearance — The Caribou High School Majorettes made their first appearance this year at half-time of the Caribou-Limestone basketball game. The hours of practice paid off as they were warmly applauded. Jane Rogers is captain of the group which includes Toni Disy, Trina Hayward, Beth Currier, Barbara Levesque, Sharon Roberts, Cindy Currier, Nancy Corrow, Judy Barclay, Cindy Gagnon, Jane Hartley, Brenda Monteith and Jean Curran.
• Rotary honors James Corapi — The Washburn Rotary Club observed James Corapi night at its weekly meeting, awarding him a certificate of appreciation. Corapi, a native of Italy, came to Washburn with the coming of the railroad in 1913, setting up his first grocery store opposite the Aroostook Valley Railroad station on North Main St. Later he moved to his present location on South Main St., where after 50 years, he is still in business.
25 Years Ago-Dec. 14, 1988
• Deer harvest up 16 percent — Preliminary reports from Maine’s 390 game registration stations indicate that firearms hunters took approximately 27,500 deer in 1988. Wildlife Biologist Gerald Lavigne, who had predicted a kill of 27,000 deer, said 17,800 bucks were taken during the season, making it about the fourth highest buck harvest on record. The doe kill was estimated at 6,100.
• Guard promotions — Capt. David E. Sowers, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery in Caribou, announces the following promotions in the Maine Army National Guard: chief radio operator Michael H. Gagnon on Caribou promoted to staff sergeant, fire direction computer operator Matthew L. Borden of Caribou promoted to sergeant; light vehicle mechanics Kenneth J. Saucier of Caribou and Danny A. Ouellette of Fort Kent each promoted to sergeant, and chaplain assistant Peter J. Marquis of Fort Kent promoted to specialist fourth class.
