75 Years Ago – June 9, 1949
Totman Sets New State Record At Track Meet In Waterville — Completing a highly successful season, the trackmen of Houlton High sojourned to Waterville last week and finished sixth in a field of 15 in the State Class L Meet, which is only open to schools having an enrollment of over 500 students. South Portland won the meet. Seven boys along with Coach Clyde Stinson vehicled to Bangor Friday, spending the night there and then traveling to Colby College Saturday morning where the annual interscholastic meet took place. Mel Totman, local track star, set a new State Class L record in winning the discus event. Totman threw the discus 143 feet, 4.5 inches to better the previous mark by nearly four feet. This is also a new record for Houlton High. Totman picked up three more points by placing third in the 200 yard low hurdles. Bernard of Bangor won the event in 23.7 seconds. Totman covered the distance in 23.8 seconds to establish a new H.H.S. record.
Doll Buggy Parade Held — More than 300 people lined up along the intersection of Main and Court streets to witness the colorful annual doll buggy parade sponsored by the Retail Trade Board of the Houlton Chamber of Commerce Saturday. About 27 children dressed in colorful costumes and decorated buggies were in the parade that formed at St. Mary’s parochial school grounds, and proceeded around Market Square headed by the Houlton High School band and disbanded at Monument Park where judging took place. Judy Pray, 6, daughter of Stanley Pray, won first prize in the artistic category, and Roberta Beveridge, 3, daughter of Burton Beveridge, Caribou, best decorated carriage. Prizes in the humorous division went to Jeannette Small, 7, daughter of Mrs. John Small, and Rachel Sylvester, 7, daughter of Fred Sylvester. Caren Goodridge, 6, and her brother, Mark, 2, won first and second prize in nursery rhyme.
50 Years Ago – June 5, 1974
Teacher Corps Program Set For SAC Area — The University of Maine at Presque Isle is participating in a Teacher Corps Program emphasizing rural education in a joint project with the Southern Aroostook Community School District and the Department of Education and Cultural Services. It is the first such project for Aroostook County. Students who have had two years of college toward a bachelor’s degree in education are eligible to become members . They will work for two years in the school district, take courses needed to complete requirements for a B.S. degree at UMPI, and work with residents in the Island Falls area. A stipend will be paid to the students during their internship.
Time Out For Lunch — One of the newest guests at Gallops Animal Ranch in Houlton is a bear cub born about three months ago and just recently out of hibernation. He has his noontime nourishment from the bottle. Vaughn Gallop, owner of the ranch, states that the newest guest brings a total of 252 animals to the farm after 12 years of business. The Gallops started the ranch as a hobby 18 years ago and it has developed into a busy season from May 20 to October 10 when hundreds of visitors from every state come to enjoy the animals.
25 Years Ago – June 9, 1999
Buswell honored for her years of teaching — For 32 years, Tess Buswell has been educating children. “Watching the children grow and succeed in their learning is probably the best part of teaching,” said Buswell. Recently, Wal-Mart recognized Buswell as “Teacher of the Year.” In a surprise ceremony at Wellington School in Monticello, Houlton Wal-Mart representatives Angelique Margison, community involvement coordinator and Jim Bubar, assistant manager, presented Buswell with long-stem red roses, a certificate, a special Wal-Mart vest and a monetary gift of $500 to be used at Wellington School. SAD 29 Superintendent David Wiggin nominated Buswell for “Teacher of the Year.” Wiggin said the primary reason for selecting Buswell for the award was, “she is an outstanding classroom teacher,” he said.Houlton Elementary School students take first in state contest — Kindergartners from Mrs. Anne Wilson’s class at Houlton Elementary School were all winners as they celebrated the success of their classmates in the annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators contest. Three students, Kelsey Fitzpatrick, Taylor Bailey and Samantha Polchies took part in the contest with some help from teachers and classmates. The contest called for the students to write and illustrate their own book. Students then submit their entry to the state competition and later to the national finals. Each student, with the help of others, carefully designed their books and in March, Wilson sent the books to Maine Public Broadcasting Network for state level judging. In April, Wilson’s class received word that Kelsey’s book, Muffy and Taylor’s book, My Trip to Labrador had won first and second place at the state level. Wilson said that she hadn’t expected to hear back from the contest at all. “You send these things out hoping for the best,” said Wilson. “We are really thrilled. The books were really wonderful and you can see that they had done a really good job.”Even though none of Houlton Elementary’s entries made it to the national level, each of the girls were presented with special framed certificates from MPBN and Reading Rainbow.
