99 Years Ago – Feb. 5, 1925
Automobile fees near two million — Automobile fees collected by the State of Maine in the calendar year 1924 amounted to $1,933,561.30 according to figures compiled by Edgar C. Smith, Deputy Secretary of State. This was the first time that the receipts had come within hailing distance of the two million mark, and it was also true that they had nearly doubled in four years. The total receipts for the year 1923 were slightly in excess of $1,600,000. During 1924, a total of 105,040 passenger cars were registered in Maine. There were 19,001 trucks and 1250 motorcycles, inclusive of the motorcycles used by the state highway police. Operators’ licenses were issued to 143,732 persons, chauffeurs’ licenses to 5,393 persons, and dealers’ licenses to 1,043 persons.
50 Years Ago – Feb. 6, 1974
Chamber salutes 85-year-old firm — The Public Relations Committee of the Chamber was pleased to offer recognition to one of Presque Isle’s fine service companies. Arthur C. Perry Co., a general insurance agency, is one of Presque Isle’s oldest firms, serving Presque Isle and the surrounding area with all of its insurance needs since 1889. As a local Independent Insurance Agency, the firm offered all lines of insurance: bonds, automobile, various types of casualty coverage, property tax damage, fire, extended coverage and life and accident insurance.
Three finished a training course — Two Central Aroostook town clerks and one elected municipal official completed a public service training course, “Responsibilities of the Town Clerk,” at Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute. Patricia Lenentine, town clerk of Bridgewater, Doris Cote, town clerk of Portage, and Frederick Wilson, a member of the Fort Fairfield Town Council, all took the course held in conjunction with the Maine Municipal Association. Held for the first time in Aroostook County, the course at NMVTI was instructed by Mrs. Dorothy Quass, a certified municipal clerk and retired city clerk of Presque Isle.
Dr. Salwak was named to commission — Dr. Stanley F. Salwak, president of the University of Maine at Presque Isle, was appointed to the prestigious American Council of Education’s Commission of Administrative Affairs and Educational Statistics. He was the only person from Maine serving on the Commission. According to Dr. Roger W. Heyns, president of ACE, Salwak’s appointment was a three-year term. The Commission is a nationwide advisory body of 22 members. Its primary mission is to improve the effectiveness of the use of resources in higher education, including benefits to be expected from innovations in management methodology.
25 Years Ago – Feb. 10, 1999
$2,000 Donation — Leo Paquin, executive director of Catholic Charities Maine’s Caribou office, accepted a $2,000 donation from Sister Mary Kelley and Brian Sipe from St. Mary’s Catholic in Presque Isle. The money was used to purchase food for the charity’s distribution center, which in turn supplied 18 food pantries across Aroostook County. Paquin said the donation was much appreciated, especially since federal funding for the organization continued to drop. St. Mary’s had its own food pantry, but still collected enough money to support agencies such as Catholic Charities Maine.
Burrelle’s workers completed a drive supporting VNA — Employees in the TV and Radio department at Burrelle’s Press Clipping Service brought cheer to several Presque Isle area people who were clients of Visiting Nurses of Aroostook (VNA). Over a two-week period prior to Christmas, they collected a variety of useful items, like toiletries and non-perishable food items, delivered by VNA staff to their clients. According to VNA’s Presque Isle Clinical Administrator Helen Allen, five VNA clients received the results of this generosity just in time for Christmas. The elderly always in need of these items, either they don’t have the resources or don’t think of buying them for themselves.
