50 Years Ago – July 31, 1974
Road ‘prayers’ answered – Area residents traveling valley roads of late will take special notice that something is finally being done to repair what have been termed “roads”. And with the award of a $479,000 contract to Lane Construction of Meriden, Connecticut, the repair work began recently. According to Robert Ellis of Maine’s Department of Transportation, some 37,000 tons of the topping mixture will be distributed, with Route 1 receiving 14,000 tons; Route 161, 12,000; and Route, 11, 11,000.
25 Years Ago – August 4, 1999
Runaway buffalo keeps locals on the run – A popular local and tourist attraction, Pelletier’s 11-member buffalo herd, escaped from its Route 161 pen early last week in August 1999, and he’s been chasing them through the woods ever since with the help of family, friends and a few surprised visitors. Throughout the daylight hours, the famed North Maine Woods sounded more like a wild west show than the forest primeval, with sounds of “Yaaah! Yaaah!” and “Get along now,” resounding through the trees as Pelletier and his crew attempted to herd the animals out of the woods and down the road to home. Pelletier had resorted to a tranquilizer gun in an attempt to get the last three runaways home.
10 Years Ago – July 30, 2014
Remembering Melford — A new commemorative wall has gone up in the Allagash Historical Society building, in the Dickey area, to commemorate a fallen veteran and others from Allagash who served. That veteran is the late Melford Pelletier, who was killed at age 20 while serving in the U.S. Navy, in Europe. He is the only Allagash resident lost to war, according to Allen Jackson, a self-described “genealogy buff” and volunteer historian with the Allagash Historical Society, who has been putting the finishing touches on the wall project.
