75 Years Ago – Oct. 3, 1946
Ex-Marine captain re-enlisted as master sergeant — Astle Ryder, 32, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Ryder of Presque Isle, re-enlisted in the Marine Corps in Portland for a four-year hitch with the rating of master sergeant.
He formerly served seven years in the USMC, where he obtained the rank of captain before being discharged. Overseas for three years, the former captain saw action at Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Florida Islands and New Georgia. He holds the Purple Heart, Silver Star, Presidential Unit Citation with star, Asiatic-Pacific ribbon with three stars, American Defense ribbon with star, and Good Conduct ribbon.
Dorothy Winslow named librarian in Presque Isle — At a meeting of the Presque Isle Library Committee, Miss Dorothy Winslow, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Percy Winslow, was elected to fill the position of City Librarian. Miss Winslow was a graduate of Presque Isle High School, Bates College, and had received her Library Science Degree after spending one year at Simmons College. She had been employed as Assistant Librarian in the Social Library at Whitinsville, Mass.
Presque Isle man named to office by auto dealers — Two Aroostook men were named to offices in the Maine Automobile Dealers’ Association when the organization met at Poland’s annual business session. Olin L. Berry of Presque Isle was named first vice president of the group and Burpee Berry of Houlton was elected to the board of directors. The new president was Donald W. MacLeod of Bar Harbor. Retiring president was Lloyd B. Morton of Farmington. Speakers at the two-day session were Governor Horace Hildreth, Rep. Robert Hale, Bill Cunningham, Boston columnist, Dr. Charles Phillips of Bates College, Walter M. Kiplinger of the National Auto Dealers’ group and E.G. Fitzhenry, president of the Massachusetts association.
50 Years Ago – Oct. 6, 1971
Local educator honored at Capitol Convention — Donald Martin, director of adult education for SAD 1, was honored by members of his profession at the annual convention of the Maine Association for Public School Adult Education held Oct. 2 in Augusta. Martin received the first annual award of the convention as “the outstanding adult educator in the State of Maine.” Some 200 people attended the convention and the award was based on nomination and ballot of the members. Martin was a Fort Fairfield native, where he graduated from Fort Fairfield High School. He received his bachelor of arts degree at the University of Maine and an MA degree from Boston University in 1957. Martin started his teaching career in 1952 at Fort Fairfield High School in the Biology Department. He moved to Presque Isle in 1954 to become a history and government teacher in the Social Studies Department of Presque Isle High School. Martin was appointed department head in 1962.
New chairman elected for NMRPC — Robert Soucy of Fort Kent and Donald C. Eisensmith of Fort Fairfield had been elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively, on the 22-member executive board of the Northern Maine Regional Planning Commission. Soucy had represented the interests of the Fort Kent area towns ever since the inception of the Commission’s executive board in 1967. Stepping up from his most recent post as vice chairman, Soucy was manager and co-owner of the A.D. Soucy Company in Fort Kent. He was also chairman of the Fort Kent Parish School of Religion, member and past president of the Fort Kent Rotary Club and member of the Fort Kent Planning Board, Chamber of Commerce Industrial Development Committee, Parish Advisors Board, Knights of Columbus and Hospital Finance Committee.
25 Years Ago – Oct. 9, 1996
Minimum wage change — The Maine Department of Labor announced that, effective Oct. 1, 1996, the minimum wage in Maine increased to $4.75 per hour. The change occurred as a result of the increase in the federal minimum wage, to which the Maine minimum wage is tied by state law. Maine law allows service employees who earn more than $20 per month in tips to be paid a cash wage equal to 50 percent of the regular minimum wage. Effective Oct. 1, the minimum cash wage to tipped employees was $2.38 per hour. However, tipped employees were still guaranteed the full minimum wage; so if an employee’s cash wages combined with total weekly tips do not average at least the regular minimum wage of $4.75, the employer must pay the difference in wages to the employee.
Whitaker joined engineering firm — B.R. Smith Associates Inc. of Presque Isle announced that Keith P. Whitaker became a partner at the firm. Whitaker was a professional engineer licensed in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. He had worked with the firm for about 18 months. Whitaker had more than 12 years of experience in engineering and related fields. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Rhode Island after completing coursework in physics at Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He was a member of the American Society of Engineers, a member of the International Erosion Control Association, and a member of the Structural Engineers Association of Maine.
Generous donation — Officials from Rite Aid donated $14.000 to the Presque Isle Rotary Club. The presentation marked one of the largest individual donations to the club and allowed for the purchase of one hemodialysis machine for Aroostook County. The club had set a goal of raising $125,000 to create a hemodialysis unit at The Aroostook Medical Center to serve the people of Aroostook County. Those that participated in the presentation were Mark Kosakowski, district manager for Rite Aid; Joe Garvey, New England market manager; and Brett Varnum, Rotary president.
