100 years ago, 1913
Supt. W.H. Bowie of the L.A. & W. Street Railroad Co., says that the grand finale of the three weeks of “misty moisty” weather, which came on Monday night, was the worst storm in the history of the road. “Everything happened that could happen,” he said. “Poles blew down, trees fell across the tracks, and beginning about half past five the power was interrupted along the Deer Rips line. Automobiles were pressed into service and thru the howling storm crews were driven to East avenue and other sections, where repairs were necessary. The combination of wind and rain just knocked the stuffing out of the trolley system but Supt. Bowie and all the employees got onto their job and they bravely handled the situation.
50 years ago, 1963
Auburn City Manager Woodbury E. Brackett said last night that the new leaf picker purchased last summer by the Auburn Highway Department is proving to be a very valuable equipment addition, especially now there is a ban on outdoor burning. Property owners have only to rake the leaves from their property to the side of the street and the highway department equipment will pick them up. Brackett said the new piece of equipment can do more in a day on gathering leaves than could be accomplished by several trucks and crews under the old system. Operating on the principle of an oversized vacuum cleaner, the leaf picker sucks the leaves into the machine where they are chopped into bits and blown into an enclosed hopper
25 years ago, 1988
The cost of the first phase of a proposed $32-million expansion and renovation project at the Auburn trash-to-energy plant could exceed the projected $18 million. The Mid-Maine Waste Action Corp. may have to increase the amount of money it is seeking through the Finance Authority of Maine, depending on the opinion of the firm doing the proposed renovation, MMWAC Executive Director Wayne Cobb said. After conducting a close inspection of the plant, the vendors found that incinerator work may be more intensive than was first thought, said Cobb.
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