10 years ago – June 19, 1998

(As reported in the Bangor Daily News)

BANGOR – When he was young, William Cohen dreamed of pitching in a Major League Baseball game. He got his wish – sort of – when he threw out the first pitch at the Boston Red Sox home opener.

Worried that his pitch might not make it all the way to home plate, he practiced for days in front of the Pentagon.

When his time at the mound came, Cohen hurled the ball straight over the plate.

Cohen shared this and other anecdotes with students at Bangor High School to hit home the importance of having goals and working hard to achieve them. If he could go from his humble beginning in a tenement house on Hancock Street to being Secretary of Defense, students at his alma mater could achieve anything. All it takes is a good education, family support, a lot of hard work and a dash of luck, he said.

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BANGOR – Ernie Abbott thought it was a lot of fuss for an old man, but he was thrilled to have his missing World War II medals replaced by the Secretary of Defense himself.

“It felt great,” Abbott said, looking down at the new medals after Defense Secretary William Cohen and U.S. Rep. John Baldacci pinned them to his lapel at a ceremony in his honor at the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building.

Abbott, 76, who served in the Army in both World War II and the Korean War, had his medals stolen in a robbery at his Bangor home five years ago.

25 years ago – June 19, 1983

HAMPDEN – It seemed to Beatrice Elliott that all her life she has been the little girl with her nose pressed against the window waiting for her father to come back.

One day last spring, after a 55-year wait, she sat on her Hampden porch and watched him come up the drive.

“All these years he was trying to find me,” said Elliott, 61, who had to solve the mystery of her abduction by a maverick social worker and an illegal adoption to locate her father, Carlyle Gould, now 84.

Gould had won custody of his two children, Beatrice and Ernest, after his divorce in 1927. When his work as a machinist called him out of state for two months, he left his children, then 5 and 3 years old, in the care of a cousin.

When Gould returned two months later, his children were gone and the bureaucratic tracks of their illegal adoption were buried.

50 years ago – June 19, 1958

ORONO – Orono Town Manager Roland Clifford cut the ceremonial ribbon to open officially the new A&P self-service supermarket in Orono. The new store at 16 Mill St., a few doors from the former A&P store, will carry regular food items and non-food lines.

The store manager is William A. Bourbon, who has been with the A&P since 1936 and manager of the Orono store since 1939. Robert J. Duplessis of Old Town will be in charge of the meat department.

Various gifts and souvenirs were distributed to visitors and opening day carnations were given away.

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BANGOR – Terming credit a big selling tool in business, A. David Rappaport of the New Central Furniture Co. emphasized the need for warmth and friendliness in dealing with the public. Mr. Rappaport, speaking at the annual Bosses’ Night of the Credit Woman’s Breakfast Club at the Pilots Grill, said that friendliness and warmth are big factors in gaining the goodwill of the customer and promoting credit.

Speaking on “Credit Patterns and Designs for 1959,” Mr. Rappaport gave a highly interesting and informative talk about his personal credit experiences. He was optimistic about the future, declaring that he believed that 1959 will bring a bigger, better and busier Bangor.

He said Bangor’s present retail sales amount to more than $77 million each year.

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BANGOR – Buildings formerly occupied by the Snow and Nealley Co. foundry on Lower Main Street were ravaged by flames in a blaze that was visible for miles and for a time threatened surrounding property.

The foundry plant consisted of five main buildings, four of which were destroyed. A fifth building containing a stock of cant-dogs was blistered by the intense heat, but saved by the efforts of Bangor firemen. Part of the plant lay within a few feet of the overpass being built above Main Street.

The plant recently had been taken over by the state through the right of eminent domain to make room for the overpass entrance to the new industrial spur from Hammond to Main Street. Snow and Nealley Co. vacated the plant and moved to a new location in Hampden in January, but still kept a small amount of stock on site.

100 years ago – June 19, 1908

BUCKSPORT – The schooner Willie L. Swift, Capt. Elmer S. Barnard, sailed for Bangor with a cargo of salt from T.M. Nicholson.

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BREWER – The resignation of Capt. William Higgins, for the past 23 years captain on the ferry route of the Bon Ton and the Bon Ton II, will cause widespread regret. Captain Higgins’ kindly manner and genial presence have won for him the friendship of all patrons of the route and he will be greatly missed from the little steamer.

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BANGOR – The wedding of Miss Annie Higgins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P.C. Higgins of Bangor and Harry L. King of Orono took place in St. John’s Catholic Church, the Rev. John A. Driscoll officiating.

Miss Teresa Higgins, a sister of the bride, was bridesmaid and Frank Cowan of Orono, a cousin of the groom, was groomsman. Edward and Francis Higgins, brothers of the bride, were ushers.

The bride was charmingly attired in a gown of white rajah silk, wore a veil and carried a bouquet of bride’s roses. The bridesmaid wore a gown of white embroidered batiste over light blue silk and carried a bouquet of white pinks.

The young couple will reside in Orono.

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BANGOR – The schooner Omaha sailed for Boston with lumber from James Walker.

The Normandy is ready for Philadelphia with ice and the Andrew Wellinger for New York with lumber. The schooner Willie F. Swift is coming up from Bucksport with salt from an Italian bark, discharging there.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin