Presque Isle area From our Files – Week of August 24, 2022

2 years ago

75 Years Ago – Aug. 21, 1947

Seeley candidate for scholarship — Richard Seeley, a pitcher on the Presque Isle Junior Legion team, was one of three Maine candidates for a Henry Ford Scholarship at Boston University, according to an announcement by officials of the Ray Goding post. Two of the three Maine boys were selected for scholarships. Dick went to Boston with all expenses paid to compete for the scholarship.

The District Governor was guest of honor — James A. Ford of Moncton, New Brunswick, governor of the 192nd District of Rotary International, was guest of honor and speaker at the Rotary Club meeting at the Northeastland Hotel, speaking on development of Rotary during the previous year and administrative and club service activities. The district governor’s official visit to the local club resulted in an unusually large attendance at the meeting.

Discussion leader — City Manager Mark A. Trafton was invited to be one of the leaders of the session on municipal budgeting at the annual Managers’ Training Institute held at the University of Maine. The Institute was under the direction of Professor Edward F. Dow.

50 Years Ago – Aug. 23, 1972

Chipman Bull named commission director — Chipman C. Bull, who served in a dual capacity for the Maine Potato Commission and the Maine Potato Council since 1969, had been named to full time duties as executive director of the commission. Bull, who announced his resignation as executive vice president of the council Aug. 18, said he would be taking a more direct coordinating role in the commission’s work. In his new job, Bull was responsible for the commission’s research and advertising program for promoting the potato market.

Agent received national award — A locally well-known University of Maine Extension Service agent was notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that he had been named one of four persons in the nation to receive an award from the U.S. Crop Reporting Service. James A. Robinson of Presque Isle was picked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Statistical Reporting Service, which does the crop report, to receive the award out of state university extension workers in 3,000 agricultural counties across the nation. Robinson said the award announcement had cited him “in recognition of faithful reporting of crop and field conditions during the previous 16 years as a potato specialist in Aroostook County.”

25 Years Ago – Aug. 20, 1997

Benefits farmers — Brian Flewelling of Key Bank presented Seth Williams, president of the Central Aroostook Young Farmers, with a check in the amount of $1,000. The money was used to fund a recent pig roast in Fort Fairfield, with the proceeds benefiting the group’s scholarship fund.

Honored by PI Rec and Parks — Rotary Club members Bob Grove-Markwood and Charles Violette were presented pieces of the removed community center floor by the Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department. Grove-Markwood and Violette served as co-chairmen of the new floor project committee and were recognized by the department for their efforts.

Employees honored — Northern Maine Technical College honored several employees for their dedicated service to the campus. Among those honored were, Robert Blackmore (25 years); Perry Dean, Judy Hilton and Ella Boyd (20 years); Daniel Butts, Earnest Morse, William Egeler, Diane Peters, Miriam Gregg and Russell Spittle (15 years); Kimberly Ferguson, Diane Raymond and Marilyn Willette (10 years); Linda Reed, Wendy Bradstreet, Sonja Fongemie, Javed Siddiqui, Alinette Morse and Norman Smith (5 years).

Winner — Perley Eastman was the lucky key holder to the treasure chest at the Ashland Fish and Game Club. The club had a large chest with a see-through top, filled with all kinds of sporting equipment. They had 100 keys that could be purchased for the lock on the chest, but only one key would actually open the chest. Perly said he hadn’t bought the key himself, but his wife, Freda, had purchased it from him as a gift. When it came time to try the keys, he was the last one in line, and very surprised that his was the winning key.