Houlton area From our Files – Week of July 27, 2022

2 years ago

75 Years Ago – July 24, 1947

Houlton edges St. Stephen, 4-3 – In a pitching duel here today Ralph Peabody, on the mound for Houlton, won his game, 4-3 over Harold Moffatt, St. Stephen. Peabody was touched for eight hits and had 10 strikeouts, while Moffatt pitched a nine-hit ball.

The visitors were the best team to play here in a number of years and the game had everything that a fan could ask for, including two double plays for each team. Phil McCarroll of the home team hit the first home run of the year in the local park, McCarroll also was the leading hitter of the game with three for four, including a home run, triple and single. McQuarrie, Houlton’s catcher, had two triples.

Becomes registered nurse – Miss Anna Fleming of Ludlow, who graduated from the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston last week, received her registration papers from the Massachusetts Board of Examiners. 

50 Years Ago – July 26, 1972

School board names Matthews – Robert B. Matthews of 31 Pleasant Street, owner of the J.K. McKay Company, was named Monday night by the town council for membership on the Board of Directors of School Administrative District 29. Mr. Matthews will succeed the late Roger Randall, and will serve on the board until the next annual municipal election in March 1973. He will represent the Town of Houlton on the 10-member board. Five of the members are from Houlton, two each from Littleton and Monticello, and one from Hammond Plantation. 

Tennis tourney winners listed –  The Parks and Recreation Department held its annual tennis tournament July 18. Tennis instructors Jim Berry, Liz Grant and Judy Hutchinson conducted the tournament. Out of 58 students registered for the summer tennis program, there were 32 boys and girls who entered the single-elimination play. Winners were awarded certificates and ribbons for first and second place. The first-place boys winner was Bill Duffy, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Duffy, while runner-up was Mr. and Mrs. Sal Perry’s son, Jon. Diane Dobbins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Dobbins, was the girls first-place winner. Runner-up was Ruth Ann Duffy, also the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Duffy. 

Three from area receive 4.0 –  The University of Maine at Portland-Gorham has announced that 118 have achieved straight A’s for the spring semester. In addition, 35 students who had student teaching assignments received a 4.0 mark. The list includes Maitland A. Stevens of Sherman Mills, and student teachers Sally H. Gervais of Houlton and Sharon A. Nadeau of Sherman Mills.

25 Years Ago – Aug. 6, 1997

Hodgdon resident promoted – David C. Harris was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant first class in ceremonies conducted at the Houlton State Armory. Harris is a member of the full-time recruiting team of the Maine Army National Guard and is assigned to Battery B, 152 Field Artillery in Houlton.

First-time novelist has County connection –  County residents now have the opportunity to read about how life was in the 1800s, as a new book has been released entitled “Sarah Ann.” Perhaps more interesting than the book’s content is its author, Joseph Lawlor Gomez. Gomez spends his summer months residing in Monticello. “I was a railway mail clerk years ago and we made trips to northern Maine. I fell in love with Aroostook County and thought it would be a good place to settle,” Gomez said. “We’ve lived in Monticello for 30 years and even have a Christmas tree farm there.” A novice writer and historian, Gomez has had short stories and poems published in Echoes, Farm and Ranch, and Reminisce. However, Sarah Ann was his first attempt at a full-length book.