Yesterday …

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(As reported in the Bangor Daily News)

10 years ago – Dec. 22, 1995

BANGOR – Demolition is expected to start soon to make way for construction of a Shaw’s supermarket on Main Street.

Kenneth Gibb, the city’s community and economic development director, said that public works employees probably will take down the Brownie’s Market building in the coming week.

Other buildings will be coming down in the new year, as well. The owners of Perry’s Restaurant announced that after 47 years of business, the restaurant would close its doors on Jan. 31.

The market and the restaurant are two of the 17 properties around the former Gas Works that have been acquired by the city or by the developer, The Boulos Co., to make way for Shaw’s, a 56,000-square-foot supermarket.

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BANGOR – A slow-moving storm packing a foot of snow, and wind gusts to 25 miles per hour plagued Maine for the second day, miring traffic in Bangor and on the southern portion of Interstate 95, and virtually closing every school and social service agency in central, northern and coastal Maine.

Bangor received close to a foot of snow. Fifteen accidents were reported in Bangor from 6 a.m. to noon, according to Jim Owen of the Bangor Police Department.

25 years ago – Dec. 22, 1980

BANGOR – A Bangor second-grade pupil is one of 10 in the country whose design is being considered for a U.S. postage stamp.

Stephanie Joy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Joy, submitted her drawing of George Washington on a horse riding over a hill. The artwork was entered through Gudrun K. Tarr, art department head for the Bangor schools. It was done under the guidance of Joanne Pennypacker, an elementary art teacher who serves both Fairmount and Down East schools. Stephanie attends Fairmount.

Miss Joy is the second young artist from Bangor schools honored this year in national competition. Tracy Robertson made the winning design from Maine for the 1980 Christmas Seal. The fifth-grader from the Fruit Street School drew a red-mittened snowman waving a Christmas greeting, artwork that was done in classes conducted by art teacher Wendy Libby.

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BANGOR – Urban sprawl is coming to Bangor soon, and local officials are very happy about it. While taking pains to announce it’s not yet 100 percent official, U.S. Sen. George Mitchell said the new census figures will allow Bangor and some of its bedroom satellites to become a standard metropolitan statistical area. That designation will open a floodgate of federal funds to come washing into the area, officials said.

Among other things, the new designation brings with it:

. Increased Medicaid opportunities for area hospitals.

. Subsidization of the area’s Citibus system.

. The ability to use development money to restore entire neighborhoods, rather than having to take care of low- and moderate-income people first.

. More money for fixing up eyesores.

. More funds to help businesses create or retain jobs, modernize and expand.

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BANGOR – Resembling a corporate Santa Claus, Wolverine Worldwide Inc., announced plans to distribute 900 free Christmas turkeys to employees of the ailing Viner Shoe Co.

Danny Lam, a financial analyst and spokesman for Wolverine, said a company vice president had located 900 turkeys over the weekend “to brighten up the tables for Viner employees.”

50 years ago – Dec. 22, 1955

ORONO – Mrs. Ronald Levinson of Orono, president of the Eastern Maine Friends of Retarded Children Inc., has been chosen as a co-winner of the New England 1955 Service to Youth Award.

The award is given annually to a person or organization which has done the most for children in New England during the current year.

It has been largely through Mrs. Levinson’s efforts that the state of Maine is becoming cognizant of the needs and rights of these children.

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BANGOR – The Bangor City Council committee on public safety heard a report from police Chief John B. Toole in which he reviewed the situation relating to the current concern over so-called “switch knives.”

Chief Toole told the council committee that “nothing out of the ordinary” had been brought to his attention on the subject, but that when there developed some publicity about it, he ordered an investigation by Juvenile Sgt. Louis A. Gagnon.

He said that in the past two years there have been three knife incidents resulting in confiscation of the knives by the police.

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BANGOR – The campaign streamers, with inscriptions of the battles from Civil War days to World War II, were presented to the 314th AAA Battalion at the Bangor Armory by Col. Harold Lawrence of Portland, commanding officer of the 240th Group, Maine National Guard, of which the 314th is a unit.

The battalion comprises 430 men from Bangor, Brewer, Millinocket, Belfast and Calais. The troops were in dress uniform for the ceremony.

The parent unit of the 314th was constituted in June 1854 as the First Regiment, Maine Volunteer Militia, and was organized from the existing volunteer units of the area.

In those days every community had a small band of volunteers who defended the towns when need arose. In May 1861 the unit was mustered into the federal service and in August of that year was mustered out at Portland.

It was reorganized in September 1861 as the 10th Maine Volunteer Infantry and was mustered into federal service in October at Cape Elizabeth. The unit was reorganized again in April 1863 as the 10th Maine Battalion and in November of that year consolidated with the 29th Maine Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

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BREWER – Members of the Brewer Police Department will undergo a thorough training program conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was announced by Chief Ralph Willoughby.

Lectures and demonstrations will include all phases of police work and will specialize in various types of investigation.

The program has been arranged by Chief Willoughby through the cooperation of the regional FBI office in Boston and special agents will take charge of all classes.

100 years ago – Dec. 22, 1905

BUCKSPORT – Miss Catherine E. Delano and Robert W. Delano left for Bangor where they will join a party who will go to Montreal via Portland and the White Mountains to witness the ordination of three young Bangor men. Besides John A Sullivan, brother of Miss and Mr. Delano, John F. Nelligan and John F. Hogan will be ordained.

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BUCKSPORT – Walter R. Soper, who is shortly to open in the store back of Buck’s store, a machine shop for the making and repair of gasoline engines, hauled his boiler from Orland, which he is to install in his new shop.

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BUCKSPORT – Dinsmore Shoe company has a new and novel idea for the benefit of its large trade. They have had placed a large Christmas tree in front of their store and are to have placed on the tree attractive and wonderful bargains for all.

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ORLAND – Supt. Charles Atkins of the Craig Brook Station went to Stacyville on his way to Little Spring Brook station on the East Branch, taking with him three cases of Atlantic salmon eggs. The cases contained 372,000 eggs. The station at Craig Brook is to ship 2,000,000 to the Little Spring Brook station, where staff will liberate the fry in the upper waters of the Penobscot at the hatchery.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin