115 Years Ago – Sept. 22, 1903
Transients — Going on the assumption that transients who have not secured work in the potato harvest now stand little show of so doing, the police department last night rounded up nearly 50 of those who are still without jobs. They were required to appear this morning before Judge Donald C. O’Regan so he could explain the situation to them and give them instructions to leave town immediately.
100 Years Ago – Sept. 25, 1918
Smallpox outbreak — The Fort Fairfield Review reports several cases of smallpox in that town. The patients are all quarantined, and no epidemic is feared.
Uncle Sam — Yes, Uncle Sam is a pretty good estimator. He estimated that Caribou should have 800 registrants on September 12, and she actually had 799.
75 Years Ago – Sept. 22, 1943
Motor stats — Motor vehicle fatalities for the State of Maine show a 100 percent increase for the month of August this year as against August 1942, according to a recent report from the Highway Safety Division of the MSP. Total 1943 casualties are placed at 57. Fatal accidents for Aroostook, nine in number, show at 10 percent decrease, however.
50 Years Ago – Sept. 25, 1968
‘Fish kill’ — With the “phew-ror” over the pollution of the Aroostook River still unabated, there was another big fish kill on the weekend. Reports came from the Caribou Water Works filtration plant just below the Caribou dam that thousands of dead suckers, eels and yellow perch were floating down the river from above the dam. Spectators at the scene speculated that the kill must have occurred sometime Saturday and may have been caused at a distant point up the river. Caribou Water Works officials advanced the theory that a low oxygen content in the water, the result of extremely dry conditions this summer, combined with the fact that algae growth and other vegetation on the river bottom consume oxygen, may have accounted for the dead fish.
Air Medal — Air Force Major Carroll E. Deschaines, son of Mr. and Mrs. Louis J. Deschaines of 46 Glenn Street, has received the Air Medal at Takhli Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, for action in Southeast Asia. Major Deschaines was sited for “outstanding airmanship and courage as a navigator on successful and important missions under hazardous conditions.” The major is a 1949 graduate of CHS.
25 Years Ago – Sept. 22, 1993
UFO sightings — A Bangor-based field investigator and consultant for the Mutual UFO Network asked Aroostook County residents to provide information and reports on crop circles and UFO sightings after a circle was found in August in Masardis. Arnie Dunning spent Thursday in the County meeting with crop specialists at UMPI and the Southern Aroostook Soil and Conservation District. Aroostook is no stranger to UFO sightings and crop circles, according to Dunning, who noted in 1975, reports of UFOs visiting Loring Air Force Base resulted in scrambles of aircraft sent aloft to intercept the UFOs.
Resignation — The final business of the Caribou School Board on Wednesday created a surprise when Superintendent Irvin Belanger presented members with a copy of a letter of resignation from Lynwood McHatten. McHatten, a guidance counselor at CHS and has worked in the system for 16 years, submitted his resignation to accept a position in his hometown of Ashland. The board will release McHatten from his contract when a suitable replacement is found.
