120 Years Ago – Oct. 21, 1904
Muddy crossings — Last week we published a clipping from the Star Herald relative to keeping the crossings free from mud during the muddy season. Since that time we have had pretty big rain with the result that Sweden and Water streets became muddy to the depth of several inches. Sweden street has no crosswalk, and is about as muddy as any street in town after a rain, making crossing the street anything but pleasant to pedestrians. Same kind of crossing should be put down, as a street on which so much business is transacted certainly needs one.
115 Years Ago – Oct. 20, 1909
Tearing down to make way for new — Geo. W. Irving and E. E. Haynes have purchased the old Lyndon hotel and are tearing it down this week. They will also build a four tenement house on the corner of Main and York streets. Caribou, in common with other growing towns of Aroostook, has for a long time felt the need of more rents, it being almost impossible to secure any kind of a house, and the new building which Messrs. Irving and Haynes intend to erect and will not remain empty long; probably the rents will be engaged before the house is completed.
Making a move for more space — Wm. Barker, proprietor of the Caribou steam laundry, expects to move this week into the store recently vacated by H. A. Edwards, where he will have more facilities than ever for turning out first class work.
100 Years Ago – Oct. 16, 1924
Closed up shop — W. E. Crockett has closed his woolen mill on Water street for this season. Raw wool sold for a high price, tempting many to sell, so there was a falling off in custom work at this mill this year. The yarn made at this mill is of the highest quality and is known all over the State as the ‘Caribou yarn.’
Hotel leased out to someone with long experience — The Plymouth Hotel at Fort Fairfield has been leased to F. S. Humiston, who for some years past has kept a hotel at Popham Beach, and who will arrive in a day or two. Mr. Hamilton has had long-experience in the hotel business, having managed hotels in various New Hampshire towns prior to going to Popham.
75 Years Ago – Oct. 20, 1949
Colby Co-operative to build a $100,000 starch plant here — A new potato starch plant costing approximately $100,000 equipped is being slated for construction in Caribou next year, A.P. McLean, general manager of Colby Co-operative Starch Co., declared Wednesday. The new plant will be a two story building located on the site of the former New England Starch Co., on the west side of the Aroostook river. It is not expected that construction work will begin much before spring of 1950, he said. Present plans call for a building large enough to enable the Co-operative to process from two to three thousand barrels of potatoes a day. Three thousand will probably be the limit. For full scale operation it is expected that 12 persons will be employed.
Mickey Connett attends ‘Yambilee’ in Louisiana — Miss Mickey Connett of Caribou, Maine Potato Blossom Queen, is a special guest this week at the two-day Louisiana Yambilee in the city of Opelousas. The Maine beauty joins Miss Jacque Mercer of Litchfield, Arizona, recently crowned Miss America at Atlantic City, as honored guests of the National Sweet Potato Festival, taking place Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 19 and 20. Miss America will crown the ‘Yam’ queen. Other notables attending the gala event are Russell Ross of Fort Fairfield who spark-plugged the Maine Potato Blossom festival, and Miss Lenora Slaughter, director of the Miss America pageant at Atlantic City.
25 Years Ago – Oct. 20, 1999
WFST to go FM — Christian music and ministry will be broadcast to more listeners with better range and stereo sound if the FCC approves Northern Broadcast Ministries application for a FM license. The radio station Northern Broadcast Ministries owns is called WFST, 600 AM on the radio. The license WFST has with the Federal Communications Commission allows a limited range, which spurred the decision to go FM. ‘With FM we can broadcast to the whole County, and western New Brunswick,’ said John Stephenson. Stephenson said the AM broadcast doesn’t reach as far as Houlton or Fort Kent, but the FM frequency would.
Time Warner plans to launch service next year — Road Runners coming. Time Warner Cable last week announced it would launch its high-speed, broadband Internet service in northern Maine early next year. The new service will be available to cable TV customers served by Time Warner cable, which reaches parts of the Presque Isle and Caribou region. The company recently spent millions of dollars in northern Maine upgrading its hybrid fiber-coaxial network. This network is the platform for the service, which Time Warner said is hundreds of times faster than traditional dial-up services.
