Caribou area From our Files – Week of October 12, 2020

Beth Lacombe, Special to The County
4 years ago

115 Years Ago – Oct.  18, 1905

Building — The new two-tory building at the Otter Brook Fish Hatchery is up and nearing completion.

Bridge – – The old wooden bridge near where the Caribou Woolen Mill formerly stood caught on fire Wednesday morning and was entirely destroyed. As an important bridge it is being considered for a steel replacement.

100 Years Ago – Oct.  21, 1920

Twins — It is a strange coincidence that there are two pairs of twins in the primary class at the South Main Street School. The twins are Alletta and Adelaide Brown and Phyllis and Philip Peterson.

75 Years Ago – Oct. 18, 1945

Grocery store — The IGA store owned by Mrs. Hall of Crouseville and operated by Niles Parker the past seven years has been sold to Winston Robbins, who has reopened to the public a grocery store and meat market.

Caribou Bag factory sold — Frank W. Hussey, president of Maine Potato Growers Inc., announced early this week the purchase of the local cooperative of the Maine Potato Bag Co. in Caribou from the owner, Mrs. Feitel. Maine Potato Bag Co. has been operating in Caribou since 1932. This past season a renovation to the plant was made.

50 Years Ago – Oct.  21, 1970

Bold bruin — Maine fish and game Warden Doug Glidden of Clayton Lake in Aroostook was sitting in his pickup truck waiting for a nuisance bear reported by a woods crew. Suddenly the bear stood, looking in the window of the truck, startling the warden. The bold bruin then climbed on the back of the truck and sat on the officer’s utility box. He fired warning shots  and the bruin ran into the woods.

Narrow escape Seven workers dismantling the no longer used Fessenden School, corner of Forrest Ave. and lower Fort Hill St. in Fort Fairfield, escaped from the blazing building just in time after it caught fire supposedly from sparks of  debris being burned on the lawn. Four of the men on the second floor escaped to steel staging at the back of the building and were able to reach the ground. They then moved the staging to another side of the structure where there were more workers who made quick use of it.  

25 Years Ago – Oct. 18, 1995

New Sweden honored for making ski history The Town of New Sweden will be among honorees of the Maine Ski Industry at the 125th Anniversary of Maine Skiing Celebration on October 20 in Portland. Ralph Ostlund of New Sweden will attend and accept the award. New Sweden is the site where skiing was first introduced in Maine back in the winter of 1870 – 1871.

DARE kick-off Theresa Howard, President of the Limestone/Caswell Health Care Committee presented a check for $100 to Customs Inspector Dana Gahagan, Limestone’s DARE Officer. Gahagan will use the donation in teaching drug awareness refusal classes to fifth- and sixth-graders in the two towns. He is seeking donations and volunteer board members for the program.