1915: Leap Year Ball taking place

115 Years Ago — Dec. 19, 1900

Heater cars — There has been a scarcity recently of potato heater cars as reported by potato shippers.

That’s a lotta hay — Recently, Caribou’s own Newman Doyle cut 230 tons of hay last season and that amount of hay is the product of one farm. It is “certainly worthy of notice.”

100 Years Ago — Dec. 16 , 1915

Leap Year Ball — There will be a leap year ball in the opera house in Caribou on Friday, Jan. 7, under the auspices of the dancing class. Music will be furnished by Tinker’s orchestra.

Automobile licenses — According to the registration office, more automobile licenses have been granted in Maine this year than ever before. Number of operators and of dealers for Aroostook county stand at 2003 machines with an amount total of $19,139.50.

75 Years Ago – Dec. 19, 1940

Grand re-opening — A New Year’s Ball gala preceded by a dinner will be sponsored by the Caribou Lions Club New Year’s Eve, the occasion also to serve as the grand opening of the hotel on the official first day of its new management under the day’s hotels.

Free Christmas movies — Following the custom established at the time of the founding of the Powers Theatre, the theatre is offering a free movie show to the local kiddies on Christmas morning at 10:30. Featured will be “Bad Little Angels’” starring Virginia Wilder and three shorts including “Bad for a Day” and two cartoons “Mad Maestro” and “Puss Gets Boots.”

50 Years Ago – Dec. 16, 1965

“Dead” cars — For the last several days, police have not been issuing tickets for overtime parking in an effort to encourage residents and visitors to shop leisurely during the Christmas rush, thanks to the Chamber of Commerce’s “Christmas moratorium.” The net result in the early days of the moratorium, it is said, was that many store owners and their employees parked in the available spaces in the downtown area early in the morning and attempted to leave their cars there for several hours, and in some cases, all day.

Last-minute shopping — It’s not too late to get a good deal on some last-minute shopping for all of your loved ones. Briggs Hardware on Sweden Street in Caribou is having a last-minute holiday sale. A Proven Deluxe Blender just $14.97. 35-pc. service Melamine dinnerware just $13.99. These things and much more could be yours!

25 Years Ago — Dec. 19, 1990

New equipment — Cary Medical Center in Caribou has leased over $231,000 worth of equipment at a special capital lease arrangement at 7.88 percent with Citicorp. A $208,000 radiographic and fluoroscopic system was installed in the X-ray department, and a $23,000 anesthesia machine was installed in the operating room.

The igloos are coming — The Tri-Community Sanitary Landfill and Recycling Center will install eight new recycling “igloos” to be used for collection of newspapers and plastic jugs. Yellow igloos for newspapers and red ones for jugs were placed at in Caribou, Limestone and Fort Fairfield.