Caribou area From our Files – Week of May 31, 2023

11 months ago

115 Years Ago – May 28, 1908

Improvements and extensions — G. M. Morgan has been making some improvements in the interior of his furniture store, building on a wide shelf or extension, giving him 270 more square feet of room, which was much needed on account of his large stock of goods.

Getting started on a new high school building — A crew of a dozen men or more are busy excavating the basement for the new high school building on Park Street. The new structure will be 70 x 100 feet. Another crew is busy transplanting trees on the new road which is to connect Park and High streets.

100 Years Ago – May 31, 1923

New gas tanks being installed — The L. S. Bean Co., is installing a new gasoline tank at one corner of their fine garage and salesroom.

Caribou was represented at the contest — Miss Alice Swenson and Faustina Olmstead represented Caribou high school in the typewriting contest at Augusta on Saturday last. They were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Harley Bragdon. All returned by auto on Sunday.

Two new booths placed — The Aroostook Tel. & Tel. Co. have placed two new booths in the Vaughan House taking the place of the two old ones.

75 Years Ago – May 27 1948

Manufacturer gives half-ton fertilizer to feed town trees — The Aroostook Federation of Farmers, through its manager P. J. Sullivan, recently gave Caribou 1,000 pounds of fertilizer to be used around trees located on public property. Ralph W. Allen, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce ‘Trees for Caribou’s Tomorrow’ committee says arrangements have been made for the town’s highway department and school janitors to apply the fertilizer to trees. 

Haines’ machine is saver in cutting seconds for seed — Bennie Haines is a potato farmer and also a man of moods. Bennie is a man of action too. When he gets an idea he doesn’t lose any time getting some tangible results from it. He is also an inventor of sorts. We were sitting around one day having a conversation about how a good man could cut about 20 barrels of seed a day if he was fast, when someone said that Bennie had invented a machine which would cut over 400 barrels a day. He had the machine alright and it does the job. He made the first designs from saucers to some of Mrs. Haines’ cups. Now he has machines he says from 50 to 100 of them all over Aroostook, as well as in other New England states and New York and Idaho.

25 Years Ago – June 3 1998

Volunteer appreciation — The State organization of Literacy Volunteers of America recently awarded Caribou resident Lise Collins for her commitment to the Caribou LVA. The award was presented to Collins by regional coordinator Sara Douglas at a volunteer recognition ceremony.

BPW celebrates its 70th in Caribou —  The Caribou Business and Professional Women’s Club won four state awards during the 77th annual Maine Federation BPW Convention. Viola Willard was presented with a bouquet of flowers from the Caribou BPW in honor of her 20th anniversary. Willard was the State of Maine President of BPW in 1978. In the past 70 years, the founders of the Caribou BPW have paved the way for today’s VPW club. Through persistence and perseverance, the founders overcame many obstacles to helping women gain equality, said Joyce Knorr, BPW president.