Bangor History - Wayne Reilly
79 results total, viewing 1 - 20
Bangor was fed up with state liquor detectives
Maine liquor detectives invaded Bangor during the spring and summer of 1909 in a major effort to crush the Queen City’s booze business. This was not the first assault by the much-reviled Sturgis … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 2/8/10 | 1323 views
Capt. Atwood saved ship from deadly fire and ice
Fire or ice? The conundrum posed by a famous poet failed to puzzle Capt. Horace Atwood in 1872. As his smoldering ship sped across the Indian Ocean, fire and ice were a deadly combination, conspiring … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 2/1/10 | 526 views
Just how good were Bangor’s ‘good old days’?
“Ah, the good old days. May they never return!” This old saying has ample meaning when we consider conditions in Bangor (and other cities) a century ago as reflected in the newspapers. I’ll … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 1/25/10 | 700 views
New garages in Bangor fueled early motor mania
When the first automobiles arrived in Bangor in 1900, some people laughed while others cursed. Many predicted the “devil carts” would never replace horses. By 1905, however, Maine began requiring … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 1/18/10 | 975 views
Analyst dubbed Bangor ‘a new empire of Maine’
Now that it was no longer “the lumber capital of the world,” Bangor was uneasy about its status in the rapidly changing global economy. Fate had decreed some time ago that the Queen City of the … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 1/11/10 | 1226 views
Ship sinkings outpaced construction a century ago
Maine ships were sinking faster than they were being built a century ago. “A net reduction of 8,000 tons in Maine’s vessel fleet occurred the past 12 months because of the failure of the … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 1/4/10 | 1068 views
1909 Bangor House Stable fire a terrible shock
The terrible Main Street fire that killed more than 50 horses at the Bangor House Stables a century ago is beyond the comprehension of those of us who have never owned or even ridden a horse in this modern age. more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 12/28/09 | 1220 views
Deaths of Engel, Cassidy heralded lumber era’s decline
Bangor’s lumber trade and its accompanying harbor traffic had been declining for decades. When iconic figures from those nostalgic days died, they got lengthy write-ups in the city’s two daily … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 12/21/09 | 1050 views
Inquisitive amateur tinkerers built Bangor’s first wireless
BANGOR WILL HAVE WIRELESS,” declared a jubilant headline in the Bangor Daily News on March 8, 1906. In an era of miraculous technology that included light bulbs, movies and automobiles, the Queen … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 12/14/09 | 901 views
Hazing dispute led UMaine students to strike in 1909
The great student strike at the University of Maine a century ago began quietly enough. more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 12/7/09 | 944 views
Bangor battled typhoid, scarlet fever outbreaks
Deadly contagious diseases nearly forgotten today in the United States were a constant threat a century ago. In the fall of 1909, Bangor was particularly bothered by scarlet fever and typhoid fever. … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 11/29/09 | 3309 views
Grand Banks fishermen sailed to Bangor
Bangor was known as a lumber port, not a fishing port. So when a Grand Banks fisherman began unloading cod fish a century ago it attracted a good deal of attention along the Queen City’s waterfront. more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 11/23/09 | 1102 views
Ives, Smith deaths are a sad day in history
The recent deaths of David C. Smith and Edward “Sandy” Ives mark a watershed in Maine historical writing that makes me nervous. Who will replace them? Over their long careers at the University of … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 11/16/09 | 1201 views
'The fuel question' was a hot topic in 1909 Bangor
"THE FUEL QUESTION," as the Bangor Daily Commercial put it in a headline, perplexed Mainers a century ago. Would there be enough coal or wood to heat their homes? Would they be able to afford it? … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 11/2/09 | 1542 views
Social reform activist Addams visited Bangor in 1909
Charity was largely a private affair a century ago left to churches and philanthropic organizations. Large government welfare programs such as Medicaid seemed far beyond the public’s … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 10/26/09 | 1278 views
Did political procrastination doom Bangor’s library trove?
The destruction of the Bangor Public Library in the Great Fire of 1911 was one of the Queen City’s great tragedies. Nearly 70,000 books along with irreplaceable newspapers and documents were lost. … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 10/19/09 | 1210 views
Bangor was fascinated by flying machines in 1909
AN AGE OF WONDERS IS THE PRESENT ONE, declared a Bangor Daily Commercial headline a century ago. LIFE IS REVOLUTIONIZED. As if they wanted to eliminate time and space, Americans were fascinated by … more
10/12/09 | 1049 views
Paying homage ‘to 42nd Street,’city’s theaters thrived on fanfare
Bangor was a hotbed of theatrical entrepreneurship a century ago. Within two years time, between 1907 and 1909, the Queen City had gone from having one full-time theater to six. The show houses and … more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 10/5/09 | 867 views
The historic flood of 1909
FLOOD SWEEPS DOWN ON KATAHDIN IRON WORKS, said the lead headline in the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 1909. more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 9/28/09 | 1422 views
Bangor lionized Robert Peary on way home from North Pole
Robert E. Peary was probably one of the two most prominent people in the world, said the Bangor Daily News the day after the Arctic explorer stopped in the Queen City on his return from the North Pole. more
By Wayne Reilly
Special to the NEWS | 9/21/09 | 1258 views
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