115 Years Ago — September 26, 1900
Rural & free — As stated last week, the free delivery route on the Washburn road has already been approved by the special agent, E.P. Boutele. Service on this route is expected to begin October 1. Two other petitions are already in; one for a route to the Presque Isle bridge and back, the other for a route to Fort Fairfield on the north side of the river and back.
Roller Mills — Aroostook County now has six roller mills for making flour by what is commonly called “the roller process.” The first one was built by D.E. Edwards in Fort Fairfield in 1897.
100 Years Ago — September 29, 1915
Digging — What are wages to be for potato digging? Many men are in town waiting for digging, but they will all be quickly absorbed when the harvest gets under way. As nearly as can be learned, $2.00 a day is a fairly good price right now.
Registered automobiles — The Houlton Times has figured out there are 18,631 automobiles registered in Maine. Out of this number, Houlton has 327, Caribou 242, Fort Fairfield 163.
75 Years Ago — September 26, 1940
A lot of starch — A starch diversion program to relieve the Maine potato market of a maximum of 3,437,000 bushels got underway in Aroostook on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The federal starch project of Maine was approved last week by Milo Perkins, chairman of the Surplus Commodities Corporation.
Aliens now near 500 mark — Postmaster Floyd Smith announced today that nearly 500 aliens have registered at the Caribou Post Office since Aug. 27 when the compulsory Alien Registration Act of 1940, passed by Congress as a part of the National Defense program went into effect. Canadian aliens now outnumber any other nationality.
50 Years Ago — September 29, 1965
Clear sailing — It is clear sailing, or seeing, around the corner of Westwind Drive and Glenn Street these days following the removal of a hedge on the property of Roland Cyr. The hedge had contributed to one of Caribou’s several “blind corners” which had made driving difficult for motorists.
Ponderosa opening — This weekend will mark the open house of the Ponderosa Steak House on the Access Highway, one-fourth mile past the West Gate Road in Limestone. Started in early June, the “building on the hill” has caused considerable talk in the area to “what’s it going to be?” The name of the restaurant comes from Fred Martin, who concluded there are 4,129,920 square miles in this great country.
25 Years Ago – September 26, 1990
Signatures on display — As part of Operation Co-Pilot, several thousand signatures, messages and cards have been collected from Aroostook County and western New Brunswick residents in support of Loring AFB personnel deployed in the Middle East, as well as their families.
Improvements — Several downtown Caribou projects are being undertaken, including a new brick walkway near the U.S. post office. G&G Masse Construction are also replacing a section of the cement sidewalk with brick near the Downtown Mall. The $15,000 project is funded from the city’s North Street drainage reserve account.
