75 Years Ago – June 27, 1946
Local girls candidates at Tufts — Miss Joyce J. Brown of Presque Isle and Miss Carol E. Deanne of Easton were candidates for degrees, announcement of which was made by Dr. Leonard Carmichael, Tufts president
, at a degree convocation Sunday afternoon, June 16, at Tufts College, Medford, Mass. Miss Brown was a member of the Tufts Mountain Club, Captain of the Jackson basketball team, and secretary of the Lambert-Kingsley Society. Miss Deane was a member of the Sigma Kappa sorority.
George W. Perry elected head of Rotary club — The officers for the new Rotary year took their places at Monday’s Rotary meeting as follows: President, George W. Perry; vice president, Frank W. Hussey; secretary, Fred P. Stevens; treasurer, Lloyd S. Greenlaw; Sg. at Arms, Harold D. Glidden; Asst. Sgt. at Arms, Ellis E. Servant. New directors were: Frank W. Hussey, Ernest W. Loane and Wm. D. Halloran. The retiring president, Harold E. Bryant, gave a condensed report of the activities of the several committees of the club for the previous year. Ned J. Michaud, the incoming president of the Lions Club, who was a guest, was introduced. President Bryant expressed his thanks to the committees and members for the support they had given him during the previous year and handed the gavel over to the new president.
50 Years Ago – June 30, 1971
Karen Smith on European music tour — Karen Smith, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Smith of Presque Isle, left on a month-long European tour with the “All Students Groups, USA” band. Miss Smith, a member of the percussion section of the Presque Isle High School band the previous year, was chosen for this honor by audition. The tour was sponsored by the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music of Winchester, Virginia, and consisted of visits to 10 countries in four weeks, plus 18 concert performances. The group left for Ireland on June 17, after a four-day registration and rehearsal period at Shenandoah Conservatory. From there, the students visited London with a trip to Bexhill-on-Sea for the Festival of Music, and then on to Paris, “City of Lights.” The tour then took them to Switzerland, Monaco, Florence, Italy, Germany, Sneek, Holland and many other towns and famous landmarks of Europe.
Whittaker appointed to board — The Westfield Board of Selectmen appointed John O. Whittaker to fill the unexpired term of Philip Fitzgerald on the SAD 1 Board of Directors. Whittaker, a Houlton Road potato farmer, had been active in town government for several years. He served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen in 1969 and ’70 and was a member of the board in previous years. Whittaker was introduced to his first SAD 1 Board of Directors meeting at which time the Board of Directors accepted the resignation of former director Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, 54, resigned his position for reasons of health.
25 Years Ago – June 26, 1996
Acadia Home Care received an award — On June 6, The New England Medical Equipment Dealers trade association held its Eighth Annual Meeting and Trade Show, “Setting Sail for Success.” During the meeting, Thomas Deschaine, president of Acadia Home Care of Fort Fairfield, was presented the New England Medical Equipment Dealers Home Medical Equipment of the Year Award. Acadia Home Care was nominated for the award because of their continued grassroots lobbying on behalf of the home medical equipment industry, commitment to quality of care and community involvement, as well as support for the association.
Bridgewater barrel maker featured in article — In the April 1996 issue of Spudman, Voice of the Potato Industry, barrel maker Kis DeLong of Bridgewater was profiled in a story and photo essay by Voscar. DeLong was defined as a cooper, ‘more specifically a potato barrel maker, the owner of Cooper’s Guild.’ Voscar’s article noted that about 40 years prior, ‘there were nearly 26 coopers within a 20-mile radius of Bridgewater, a village near the geographical center of Aroostook County.’ DeLong was recognized for being able to ‘nail a barrel together in seven minutes, using a pound of nails.’ Potato barrels were still in use in County potato storage houses, though without the one-time large number of hand pickers, the demand for them was not the same.
Local Polaris dealer honored for outstanding snowmobile sales — Chandler Farms Inc. of Presque Isle was honored for outstanding snowmobile sales performance during the 1995-96 season and received an award for selling at least 200 new Polaris snowmobiles the previous season. The award was presented at the Polaris dealer sales convention that was highlighted by the 1997 snowmobile model introduction.
