From our Files: Headlines from 100 years of local news

Compiled by Karen Donato
Special to the Pioneer Times
100 Years Ago-Dec. 21, 1910
Aroostook Times
    Ludlow — Mr. P.M. Mooers killed 11 turkeys on Saturday, their united weight being 114 pounds.
    Advice — We often meet men who say Aroostook farming does not pay, that you cannot raise for ninety cents, potatoes and pay help and rents. Those exclamations are quite true; it is a foolish thing to do, so diversify your crops agin, spread your efforts a little thin. Don’t concentrate your mind and soul on a thing that puts you in a hole; have turkeys, pigs and a calf, then you are in position to laugh. E.P.
75 Years Ago-Dec. 19, 1935
Houlton Pioneer Times
    Old Post office — Donation of the old post office building to the town of Houlton by the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department seems unlikely, according to a letter received by the Chamber of Commerce this week. Such action would require a special “Act of Congress”, the letter stated.
    Guest reader — Asa H. Roach, senior at Colby College, son of Mr. and Mrs. Asa Roach, Smyrna Mills, read several selections of the poet Wilson MacDonald at a tea given by the DKE fraternity to the faculty. Mr. Roach is in demand as a reader.
    Hunting fatalities — The death toll of Maine hunting season was exactly three times that of last year, 21 hunters losing their lives as compared with seven in 1934. Three of this year’s victims were drowned.
50 Years Ago- Dec. 22, 1960
Houlton Pioneer Times
    Change of ownership — Founder of the agency, which bears his name, J.R. Harvey has announced the sale of his insurance business to Wilfred S. Dow of Houlton, a former employee of the company.
Houlton Pioneer Times File Photo 1943
FARM FAMILY — Mr. and Mrs. George Harris of Letter B show how they earned the FSA citation for conspicuous accomplishment in food production. The three boys in the family, Bobby, 9, Wayne, 3, and Allen, 6 from left to right, each wield a potato basket while Mr. Harris loads the truck. Mrs. Harris handles the reins while Sharon, aged six-months, gives her mother considerable moral support.
    Proposal — There’s new support building up to make a Maritime dream come true — building a corridor road through Maine. The proposal is for a $15 million highway from LacEtchemin, about 45 miles southeast of Quebec, through Maine to Woodstock, N.B. Canada.
    Welfare head — Mrs. Mary Ellen Emery has been appointed Welfare Worker for the town of Houlton according to Robert E. Curtis, town manager. She is a native of Houlton and was graduated from Portland High School. She and her husband Lewis have three children, twin daughters, Lydia and Linda and one son, Hazen.
25 Years Ago-Dec. 18, 1985
Houlton Pioneer Times
    Super Bowl — Steven Douglas of Houlton will take to the field of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Douglas is a member of Up With People, the international, educational and cultural program which is appearing as the official halftime entertainment of Super Bowl XX.
    Top bowler — Ray Cunliffe, a member of the Elks bowling league has accomplished a record not ever done before in the Lodge history of bowling. He has bowled with three-string totals of 400 or more, six times since October 21.
    Magnificent — “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a Christmas musical by Gian-Carlo Menotti was very well performed and received by an audience, which filled the Houlton High School Auditorium. The gigantic, international, cultural undertaking was declared a success, a dream come true for Robert Bahr, artistic director; Sam Arnold, conductor; Joseph Zubrick, lighting, costumes and scenery; and Harry Roper, general expediter.