115 Years Ago — Jan. 2, 1901
Hardware store hours — Please remember that the hardware stores in Caribou are closed every evening in the week, Saturday excepted, and that the boot and shoe stores and the clothing stores are open Monday and Saturday evenings only. The arrangement will continue until March 15th.
100 Years Ago — Jan. 5, 1916
Burned potatoes — Ten thousand barrels of potatoes, valued at over $20,000, were burned at Soldier Pond late Friday morning, when a large new potato house, owned by T.T. Michaud, was destroyed by fire. The men who had been working in the building were at dinner when the fire broke out and the cause is a mystery.
First games — The first basketball game of the Northern Aroostook Basketball League, composed of the schools in the towns of Caribou, Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield and Mars Hill, will be played in Caribou at the opera house on Friday night, Jan 14 when Presque Isle and Caribou High school teams will play.
75 Years Ago — Jan. 2, 1941
National Defense Education — Caribou High school has been selected as the second northern Maine school to join in the national Defense Education Program, according to an announcement made recently by George M. Carter, superintendent of Caribou-Limestone School district. The program calls for vocational training of out-of-school boys between the ages of 18 and 25 years. Courses will include instruction in woodwork, electricity, metalwork, and more.
Blood membership drive — The Caribou Chapter of the Red Cross in their annual membership drive collected $929.52, according to the report of Mrs. Birdena P. Pierson, chairman of roll call. The chapter and branch also enrolled 850 members with 600 of those from Caribou.
50 Years Ago – Jan. 5, 1966
Parking lot law — A two-hour limit for parking in the public lot on Herschel Street went into effect Monday night. The new law affects mainly persons who have been using the lot for all-day parking. Now, these car operators and others who use the Herschel Street lot, will be forced to move their vehicles or risk a $1 fine.
Conversational French — There is talk from Bert Pratt, guidance director at Caribou High School who said today that there is sufficient demand for a conversational French course, but added that an enrollment of 12 to 15 students would be required before a course would be undertaken.
25 Years Ago — Jan. 2, 1991
Donation — Maine National Bank of Caribou presented a donation of articles to the Battered Women’s Project. The donation was presented as a part of the New England Stockings of Joy program by Robin Grass, the bank’s regional manager and manager of the Caribou branch.
Group home funded loan — The Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC) of Caribou recently received preliminary approval for a low-interest loan of $140,000 that will help the agency take a new step in its treatment of abused children. AMHC plans to use a 1-percent loan from the Maine State housing authority to provide a group home for abused children in the Caribou/PI area.
