Yesterday …

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(As reported in the Bangor Daily News)

10 years ago – March 9, 1996

ALTON – Charlotte Fairbrother has become jaded. “Jigsaw puzzles with under 1,000 pieces just don’t do anything for me,” confided the aficionado who resides in Alton.

Fairbrother estimates that she and her adult daughter, Yvette Fairbrother, have put together around 500 jigsaw puzzles during the past three years.

In their quest for ever more challenging jigsaw puzzles, the Fairbrothers have turned to 3-D puzzles.

Relatively new to the jigsaw puzzle scene, 3-Ds are, according to fans, a cross between a puzzle and a model. Usually containing 700 to 1,000 pieces, some, like the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building and Big Ben, stand 3 feet tall or higher.

Eleven-year-old Lindsay Thornton of Brewer is finding that assembling “Tara,” her first 3-D puzzle, is a formidable task. The stairs and the walls of Scarlett O’Hara’s mansion based on the movie, “Gone With the Wind,” persist in falling down.

25 years ago – March 9, 1981

ORONO – Friends who play contract bridge with Sadie Duncan Jewell, an Orono nonagenarian, frequently hear, “I’ll double.”

The ardent bridge player celebrated her 95th birthday at her home at 351/2 Forest Ave. on Feb. 25. There wasn’t time for bridge that day. Many friends dropped by for cake and to extend greetings.

Mrs. Jewell has been celebrating her birthday since January when she flew to Arizona to visit her daughter, Marjorie Koss, at Pleasant Lake and her son, retired Col. Duncan Jewell of Sun City. On Feb. 22 she was given an open house party by her daughter, Mrs. Kempton (Frances) White of Ellsworth. Another daughter, Dorcas Schofield, resides in Pasadena, Calif.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Jewell taught in Maine for 25 years. She resided in Easton for more than 50 years and moved to Orono 26 years ago when her children were of college age. Queried about her longevity, Mrs. Jewell remarked that she had never smoked cigarettes nor imbibed alcohol.

She plays bridge in a foursome once a week, and once a month can be found “doubling” at the Woman’s Club of Orono luncheon bridge at the Penobscot Valley Country Club.

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BANGOR – An elderly woman learns to put on shoes and socks comfortably after hip surgery.

A 40-year-old construction worker regains the use of his hands which were badly burned by fire.

A housewife, confined to a wheelchair with arthritis, learns to manage her home from sitting height.

These people, their activities limited by physical injury or illness, feel more productive and personally fulfilled because they have been taught some daily living skills.

They received occupational therapy, a health profession that had its beginning during World War I but is just now coming into its own.

While most of us are familiar with physical therapy, which restores the use of muscles, occupational therapy is concerned with translating the ability to move into activities that are personally fulfilling. Patients are taught to regain their “occupation” which, in this case, refers to meaningful daily activities including work, leisure and play – rather than to a person’s employment.

Currently, there are some 100 occupational therapists in Maine.

50 years ago – March 9, 1956

BANGOR – In spite of the storm and the icy condition of the highways, many persons attended the eighth annual Better Homes Show at the Old Bangor Auditorium, high in their praise of the displays and the program provided by nationally known entertainers.

One of the attractions of the show gathered a considerable bit of attention outside the auditorium. This was the showing of two large trailer homes – one a double-decker. Those going through the trailers were amazed at the roominess, comfort and charming atmosphere in these homes on wheels.

The bright new recording star, Lucille Dane, gave excellent renditions of many American and Irish favorites in her beautiful contralto voice. Miss Dane has sung in the Sammy Davis Jr. Show, the Larry Storch Show and the slapstick Maxie Rosenbloom Show. She is considered one of the nation’s top “coming” singing stars.

Tom Harty, the pantomiming master of ceremonies who has appeared with the Dorsey Brothers, Rudy Vallee and other top entertainers, danced, sang and mimicked his way into bursts of audience applause.

Lew Fitzgibbon, who has just completed a tour of engagements in Canada as a xylophonist, set the audience to tapping their feet to his spirited numbers.

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BANGOR – Basketball is as much a part of community life in Maine as its town halls. In all areas it provides an opportunity for friends who seldom see each other all summer to gather for weekly meetings during the winter games, much as a civic affair.

Throughout the smaller towns, most of the fans not only know the players by sight, but by first name as well. But in the larger cities their only connection is by last name or a number on the basketball court.

The youngest member of the Bangor Rams starting five is Billy Cohen, 15-year-old sophomore son of Mr. and Mrs. Rueben Cohen of 7 East Summer St.

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BANGOR – For the second time in a week, Bangor had a power failure. The power went off at 4 a.m. and service was not completely restored until 10:20 a.m. The area affected was the State, Harlow and Central streets section downtown.

Two underground cables downtown let go almost simultaneously, which kept the Bangor-Hydro Electric crews on the jump for several hours.

Officials could give no reason for the cables breaking but did say that it could have been caused by water getting into the cable and freezing. This would have broken the cable and caused a short circuit.

100 years ago – March 9, 1906

BANGOR – Frequently during his present tour, William H. Crane has been referred to as having partaken of the waters of youth, and once again become a matinee idol. There has been much comment on this, all of which has amused the genial comedian, who is too astute to even harbor a thought that he alone is responsible for the fact that the matinee performances of his new play, “The American Lord,” draw heavily on youthful femininity.

In “The American Lord” there is a good deal of sweet sentiment, and it is an incontrovertible fact that women, being sentimental themselves, like sentiment on the stage. But love interest to be effective in a play nowadays must be among young people. No one is interested in the love affairs of middle-aged or old people before the footlights, unless there is a comic twist to them.

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BUCKSPORT – The ice business continues to be the principal subject of conversation. Work is going on briskly at Silver Lake storing ice for future delivery. The Finson & Brown concern had in their stock 1,000 tons. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they took out each day about 200 tons. The size of the stack is 44 feet by 88 feet. They have the walls all up around the stack and have lumber enough on hand to protect the ice as fast as stacked.

None of the chartered vessels have arrived to take part of the Buzzard’s Bay contract yet, but are expected any hour. Two of them have been on the way to this part since last Sunday. Captain Quinn of Orrington was in town Thursday morning to charter with Finson & Brown to take a cargo of the Buzzard Bay ice.

Capt. T.M. Nichols, who has been away all winter in Newfoundland looking after his business interests, returned Monday and at once commenced to look into the ice situation, with the result that on Thursday morning he had everything all ready to commence running ice from the pond to his stack. The pond is all staked out, and it is rumored that there is another party who will commence works at once.

Guy W. Richardson has more than 1,000 cords of stove and lath wood at his mill, and has quite a lot of stock cut and yarded in the woods, which he has not been able as yet to get to his mill, but will haul it as soon as the roads get settled. Mr. Richardson now intends to start his mill within a few days.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin