(As reported in the Bangor Daily News)

10 years ago – Jan. 26, 1996

BANGOR – W.A. Bean & Sons in Bangor has been producing hams and sausages for more than a century, but the company is realizing it can’t rely on longevity alone to survive.

Believed to be one of the last two independent sausage makers in the state, the company has turned to the state for help in increasing the company’s exposure and finding new markets for its high-end hams and meats.

For the past eight years, the state has published Maine Made, a guide touting the best that the state has to offer to gift stores, restaurants and other businesses around the country.

This year 22,000 copies of the catalog have been produced and most of those – 16,000 – will be mailed from coast to coast. For the first time, the whole catalog will be available on the World Wide Web.

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BANGOR – Anyone walking by Beth Israel Synagogue in Bangor must surely have witnessed the rafters being raised and the building rocking on its foundation; the klezmer group Tzena! Tzena! was rehearsing, and if ever there was music that can shake the very heavens, this is it.

Klezmer (from the Hebrew words kley zemer meaning musical instrument) is the traditional music of the Jews of 17th century Eastern Europe. It’s a colorful blend of European folk and classical music, with a hint of ragtime.

“Jewish soul music,” it’s been called – and listening to it is tantamount to riding an emotional roller coaster: One moment you can hardly contain your joy; the next, a slough of despondency lies upon you like a blanket.

The group’s name, which means “go out, go out,” comes from an Israeli pioneer folk song. “Go out to the fields and work,” the lyrics command. Members deem it an appropriate name since taking the music out is exactly what they intend to do.

25 years ago – Jan. 26, 1981

CASTINE – Adam and Eve will soon be hanging au naturel from the ceiling of Trinity Episcopal Church in this staid little town.

Eve is offering Adam, who does not know he is naked, a copper red apple. Maybe Eve has had just one little bite, but she hasn’t had a chance to get her fig leaf in place yet either.

A copper snake, undoubtedly reflecting the fires of hell, coils at Eve’s feet around one of the welded brass candelabras crafted by Clark Fitz-Gerald, the noted sculptor who lives by the lighthouse here on Dyces Head.

Fitz-Gerald has created art works for churches throughout the world. But he says this commission has special meaning because he used to be the church warden before he grew weary of institutionalized religion and stopped going to church.

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OLD TOWN – In a money-saving move, the City Council has tentatively recommended eliminating 31 street lights from the city’s public ways. The proposed 1981 municipal budget cal calls for the elimination of the lights to offset partially a Public Utilities Commission-approved rental increase rate for the lights.

Even with 31 fewer street lights than last year, remaining lights will cost the city $46,000, or $6,000 more than lights cost in 1980.

50 years ago – Jan. 26, 1956

BANGOR – Plans for a $500,000 restaurant and motel were announced by Angelo Stevenson, proprietor of the Brass Rail.

Stevenson said that the first phase of the project will be the construction of the 350-seat ultramodern restaurant “in the immediate vicinity of the western outskirts of the city.” He would not disclose the exact location, nor would he disclose the date for the start of construction.

The plans call for beautiful landscaping around the restaurant with plenty of parking space.

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BANGOR – A proposed addition and renovation to Bangor High School came another step closer to reality at the joint meeting of city councilors and members of the school board.

The project, as proposed by the school board, calls for the construction of a new building across Spring Street from the present high school on Harlow, and an extensive refinishing and modernization of the present building. An estimated cost of the project is $600,000, including approximately $500,000 for the new structure and $100,000 for renovations.

The proposed building would include a gymnasium and vocational training shops.

100 years ago – Jan. 26, 1906

BANGOR – He’s a wonderful dog, his name is Bob and he claims Great Works for a home. He is wonderful for this reason: Scorning the society of animals of his kind, he seeks that of man and would rather ride in a train than eat his dinner. Moreover, his intelligence is marked and it is safe to assert that he has more friends than any other of his kind, these friends consisting mostly of railroad men and travelers who frequent the road north of Bangor.

Bob’s pedigree is not known to the compilers of Who’s Who in Dogland, but it must be a royal and worthy one, or how else could Bob have acquired the dignity of bearing which is one of his characteristics? The canine may be a spaniel or a bull, but none has yet discovered his real descent. His color is black and he’s stockily built, with body rather long.

Bob spends most of his time traveling in the baggage car and very seldom in a passenger car on the lines of either the Maine Central or the Bangor and Aroostook railroads.

Bob’s almost-daily program is carried out in this manner. At Great Works, he boards the 8:54 a.m. train for Bangor. He may go through. He may drop off at one of the way stations, with one exception – Veazie. It is said that Bob has never left the train at this town. The dog will return near noon in one of the upward trains. After dinner, he takes another trip and returns at night. His favorite lounging place is a railroad station and he has become a familiar sight around them.

Every railroad man in this district knows Bob and he is always sure of a kind reception. Recently, the railroad men bought the dog a handsome collar with a brass plate inscribed: “Presented to Bob by his friends the railroad men.”

Recently, a BDN reporter made the acquaintance of Bob and was favorably impressed. Bob was occupying a seat and engaged in showing off his collar. To the question whether or not the remainder of the seat was engaged, the dog registered a negative by a friendly wave of his tail. The animal proved a good subject for an interview. In answer to the question: “Why do you avoid Veazie in your stopping places?” the dog half-closed one of his eyes and shook his head. The reply couldn’t be translated.

The train had now reached Basin Mills and Bob sprang from the seat and made for the door.

This fact should be impressed upon the reader – this story is true.

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BANGOR – Visions of a gorgeous speedway – a sort of horsemen’s paradise – filled the board of trade rooms when the Gentlemen’s Driving Club met to consider the questions of ways and means. It is the evidently expressed desire of the club members to build this speedway – which would be without parallel in the state – if sufficient enthusiasm is manifested and if sufficient funds are raised.

The track at Maplewood is not satisfactory to the majority of the horsemen – principally because it is in the form of an oval and not in a straight line. The desirable streets of the city [where horse racing might occur] are cutup with [trolley] car tracks and congested with vehicles.

A committee has secured first refusal of a piece of land on the westerly side of Stillwater Avenue, running northward toward the old Hogan Road, and upon it could be built a fine speedway 80 feet in width and 2,600 feet in length.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin