75 Years Ago April 29, 1948
Potatoes Saved In Fire Damaging House $1200 – Fire at the Shaw potato house, CPR tracks, Saturday afternoon, caused estimated damage of $1,200 to the second floor, according to Chief Guy Smith of the Houlton fire Department.
The fire started in a second-floor office and spread to a portion of the second floor but was controlled before reaching the roof. Officials of the company using the storage space, the Maine Potato Growers, were of the opinion that the entire lot of potatoes could be salvaged due to the firemen’s early control of the blaze.
Busy Days At Houlton Track – Spring training is well under way with the horsemen at the Houlton Trotting Park. Light hike carts have taken the place of the heavier winter equipment and for the next ten weeks the track will be a busy place as there are 20 horses there whose owners hope will win races before the season is over.
50 Years Ago May 2, 1973
Ground Broken For New Motel – Ground was broken Thursday afternoon to signal the start of construction to the new Ivey’s Motel and Restaurant, to be located on the North Road, just above the interstate. Henry Ivey and his wife Marcinne, who are the owners of the new motel complex, shared in the groundbreaking ceremony. With them was Jerry London of Dickison and London, who are doing the site preparation, and Carvell Hatfield of Hatfield Randall Associates, engineers for the project. Site of the new motel is on the east side of the North road, just north of interstate 95. It will have an entrance off North road, and will be clearly visible from either South or North bound interstate traffic.
Gentle Promoted To Lieutenant With Houlton PD – Paul Gentle has been promoted to the rank of lieutenant with the Houlton Police Department, and in that capacity will serve as deputy chief. The appointment, made by Town Manager Thom Willard, was effective as of April 1, but not announced until recently. Lt. Gentle has held the rank of sergeant with the Department. His promotion leaves Tommy Levasseur as the Department’s only sergeant.
25 Years Ago May 20, 1998
Former SACS student to perform with Air Force band in Dyer Brook – On Thursday, May 28 “Memories” will come alive for graduates of Southern Aroostook Community School, especially the class of 1991. It was that year that Maria Guerin, a former SACS band member, graduated and went on to study music as a clarinetist at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Now, seven years later, she returns home as a member of the Air Force “Band of Liberty,” operating out of Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts.
Guard Enlists Local Citizen – Earl W. Graham Jr. of Houlton is now a member of the Maine Army National Guard’s B Battery, 1st Battalion 152nd Field Artillery in Houlton. Graham is a junior at Hodgdon High School and is the son of Earl W. Graham Sr. of Houlton and Patricia Graham of New Jersey. He will serve as a fire direction specialist with his unit and on June 22 will attend basic training at Fr. Sill, OK. He enlisted for the alternate split training program which allows him to complete basic training between his junior and senior year, and attend his advanced training between his junior and senior year, and attend his advanced training after his high school graduation. Once qualified, he will be entitled to a $4,000 cash enlistment bonus and over $7,500 in college money with the Montgomery GI Bill.
