Caribou area From Our Files (week of May 2, 2018)

6 years ago

115 Years Ago – May 5,  1903

Progress Work is progressing on the bank building.  The ground is being excavated on the outside of the walls, it being the intention to make the building ten feet larger each way than the old way.

Beauty Harry Stevens is riding a fine saddle horse which his father purchased for him on his recent trip to Boston.  The animal is a beauty and attracts considerable attention.

100 Years Ago – May 8, 1918

Moving house G.M. Morgan is moving the house from his lot on Sweden Street to a lot on Roosevelt Avenue.  He will build a new house for himself, and his son, Clyde, will build on the lot from which the old house is being removed.  A barn and garage were build on the old lot last fall and when the new houses are completed, a group of buildings will contribute an addition to the attractiveness of Sweden Street.

75 Years Ago – May 5, 1943

Rent clearing house — In an effort to help Army officers and their wives overcome a critical housing shortage, Eldred W. Larkin, treasurer of the Aroostook Trust Company, has been asked to maintain a clearinghouse for any information on available furnished rooms or apartments in Caribou.  All persons having furnished rooms or apartments to rent are requested to notify Mr. Larkin, who will in turn notify those in charge of housing at the Presque Isle Army Air Field.

Brother receives award — Word has been received that Herman Blunt, the brother of William Blunt of Greed Ridge, has been decorated for bravery in action in the Pacific.  Blunt received a Silver Star for his heroism in saving many lives when his ship was torpedoed on the high seas, the Navy Department has notified his brother.  Blunt is an officer in the U.S Navy.

50 Years Ago – May 8, 1968

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie and Clyde hit Caribou the other day and, as googly-eyed citizens watched in a drizzling rain, made a clean getaway after holding up a Sweden Street bank and having their car serviced at gunpoint at Caribou Motor Company.  They disappeared in a maze of traffic as Police Constable Octave Douet, brandishing a pistol, gave chase on foot. While Bonnie and Clyde, along with C.W., held off and eventually escaped the law after two hours in town, they were as always, willing to “ham it up” for news photographers, and the men with cameras had a field day.   

More property — Authorities of the Cary Memorial Hospital have requested permission of the City Council to purchase the so-called Lombard property on South Main Street just west of the hospital.  The area currently houses a laundromat on its ground floor and two apartments upstairs. The area would be valuable to the hospital as extra parking space.

25 Years Ago – May  5, 1993

Open House Nearly 100 local residents were treated to a field artillery bonanza Sunday afternoon, in an open house by the Headquarters Battery, W152nd Field Artillery Battalion, which featured guns, games and history.  The event contained a number of different displays, many of which were of the hands-on variety. Battery Commander David Cheney said he was pleased with the public turnout for the open house. A dunk tank proved to be a popular commodity for all as Maj. Brent Boyles was dunked multiple times throughout the event.

Openings Two different ribbon-cutting ceremonies took place in the City of Caribou this past week.  First, the opening of A Beary Nice Restaurant on Hatch Drive on April 28, and second, the J.J. Newberry Company in Caribou celebrated a grand opening on April 30 with its new 99 cent shop on Sweden Street.