10 years ago – July 26, 1997

(As reported in the Bangor Daily News)

BANGOR – What was viewed as a pipe dream by some and a savior by others is now a reality. Cadillac Mountain Sports has opened its doors to the public, cutting the ribbon on an 8,000-square-foot retail space at the very heart of downtown Bangor.

After years of disuse, the first floor of the former Grant’s department store at the corner of Central and Hammond streets was gleaming. The walls were freshly painted, the tiled floors were well-buffed, new racks hung with sporty, rugged outdoor apparel, and canoes and kayaks set on the floor, perched in storefront windows and hung from the 20-foot-high ceiling.

It was a far cry from the nightclub scene that filled the space during most of the 1980s after the venerable Grant’s department store moved out and other retail experiments failed.

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BREWER – Jay Munson, a corporal with the Brewer Police Department, has been promoted to sergeant in that department.

Munson has been with Brewer since 1990 and was promoted to corporal in 1994. Before coming to Brewer, Munson was a corrections officer with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, having started there in 1988.

Brewer Police Officer Chris Greeley has been named a detective. Greely joined Brewer in 1994 and has been a police officer since 1990, having served with the Veazie Police Department and as a deputy assigned to corrections in the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department.

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BANGOR – Fresh from an NAACP gathering in Pittsburgh, the leader of the group’s local chapter aimed to help spread some of the inspiration and enthusiasm he found there.

James Varner, president of the Greater Bangor Area NAACP, was among the 11 delegates who represented Maine at the 88th annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People July 12-18.

One way to eliminate racism, Varner said, is to tackle the issue in the home, at church, in school and at social clubs in the hope that the dialogue will prompt change at local and state government levels.

25 years ago – July 26, 1982

OLD TOWN – Some men go through a second childhood but few go through a second bachelorhood – at least with as much pizzazz as Ralph Daigle of Old Town and Lake Worth, Fla.

“I was 25 years looking for a good woman who’d have me. I was married to her for 50 years. Now I’m widowed and I’ve spent the last 25 years looking again, but between you and me,” Daigle said with a grin, “I feel that at a hundred no woman would marry me. I haven’t got any insurance and I might only last two days!”

Daigle passed the century mark May 29 and was dancing at his birthday celebration at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall in Old Town on July 11.

Daigle keeps fit by exercising daily. He walks, jumps rope, shoots a good game of pool and loves to dance.

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BREWER – The long and narrow canoe that has quietly and nimbly moved through the water for centuries is making a majestic comeback on Maine lakes and rivers this summer, according to recreation officials.

“It’s the best boat ever built,” said Capt. Carl Selin, operator of Maine Wilderness Canoe Basin in Brewer.

Sales, rentals and registrations of canoes with motors gracing waterways throughout the state show at least a 10-percent increase in number.

50 years ago – July 26, 1957

BANGOR – A genuine baroness from Old World Europe was among visitors to Bangor this week, and her lovely graciousness and charm gave no indication of the experiences and precarious existence that she lived in a war-torn world before coming to America.

She is the exceptionally beautiful Isa-Maria who was born in the old university town of Greifwald, Germany, where her forefathers for centuries held the title of baron. An unwitting victim of the war, the background story is a tragic tale of a young girl being rushed from one refugee camp to another in a frantic attempt to keep ahead of the advancing Russians.

Currently, she is traveling in the interests of H.P. Hood and Son. She still manages to find time for a professional modeling career, specializing in high fashion.

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BANGOR – A boyhood dream to visit America, which was sidetracked by World War II, marriage and children, came true this week for Emile Leze of Paris, France, who has been visiting Mr. and Mrs. Martin Cantor of French Street.

The United States couldn’t have a better propagandist than this quiet-spoken Frenchman who owns a developing and printing laboratory in Paris serving the motion picture and TV industry in both Europe and the United States.

Speaking of Maine, the charming Frenchman feels that if this “air and these lakes were in Europe, millions of tourists would be flocking there.” Mr. Leze is completely sold on Maine as a place to rest and relax and he can’t understand why New Yorkers are not coming en masse for the rest which the quietude of the Maine woods affords.

100 years ago – July 26, 1907

BANGOR – Miss Gladys Towle, who, with her mother, has been spending a month visiting friends in Bangor, left for New York where she will begin rehearsals with the Western Company of the “Vanderbilt Cup.”

Miss Towle was with this company last year, appearing to excellent advantage and winning favorable comment throughout the tour.

Bangor friends of the young woman are watching her progress with satisfaction, as they are confident that she is achieving the things that will finally bring distinction in the dramatic world.

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BREWER – A large swarm of bees was attracting much attention in the neighborhood at the site of the old Rollins ice house this week. One practical citizen with extraordinary foresight soon had a box made and set as the bees had begun to make honey. But grand larceny of box, bees and honey occurred Thursday and the enterprising Brewerite who made the box was somewhat at a loss.

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BANGOR – Yellow posters have been put up on all the billboards and in other conspicuous places through the city, announcing that the new passenger [train] station will be open and ready for business July 29. The old station in the western yard has been given such a dose of them that it has a sort of yellow hue all over.

The paving job, which is so important, is being supervised by William J. Grady and a large crew is doing most efficient work. Every block [granite paving stone] will be laid by Saturday night in the section of the yard devoted to handling express, mail and baggage.

Work tearing down the old station at the foot of Railroad Street will begin Monday morning, and it will be demolished as quickly as possible and the new yard laid out.

“Knock away a few posts,” said an engineer, “and it will tumble down itself.”

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin