10 years ago — Feb. 25, 2005
(As reported in the Bangor Daily News)
BANGOR — When Vincent and Eugenia Franco have visitors, is easy to give them directions: It’s the brick house on the corner of Summer and Cedar streets in Bangor. The big one with the red painted façade and white pillars. You can’t miss it.
Nestled among parking lots and car dealerships, businesses and the waterfront park, the Greek revival stands as the final vestige of the neighborhood’s stylish past. The home was built in 1832 and it has remained very much the same ever since.
The property at 55 Summer St., called the Zebulon Smith house after the original owner, a Bangor jeweler, has been in Eugenia’s family since 1919.
Its unique features include pumpkin pine floors, nine fireplaces, slate mantels, nine-over-six pane windows in the kitchen ell, wood paneling and ceiling medallions.
The Zebulon Smith house was placed on the National Register of Historic places in 1974. In 1986, the Bangor Historical Society declared the house a community treasure.
BANGOR — A burst pipe caused more than $10,000 in flood damage to Justice Clothing, sweatshop-free clothing store at 48 Main St.
According to store owners Eric and Mandi Odier-Fink, the owner of the building had hired contractors to work on renovating the upper level of the building to turn it into apartments. One of the contractors hit a sprinkler pipe while he was working which caused the flood.
25 years ago — Feb. 25, 1990
BANGOR — Part of I-95 was closed for more than four hours as blinding snow conditions caused one disaster after another, officials said.
The interstate was closed from the Cold Brook Road exit ramp in Hermon south from about noon to 4 p.m. after an accident involving a tanker truck and two cars threatened to cause more accidents on the slippery road, according to members of the Maine State Police.
Details surrounding the accident were sketchy, according to Trooper Duane Jewell of the state police. Jewell said that no one was injured in the accident, which occurred between the Cold Brook Road exit and the Pond Road overpass in Hampden. The tanker truck, which was transporting caustic soda to a paper factory in Winslow, jackknifed, although no soda was spilled, Jewell said.
HERMON — A committee has been formed in Hermon to examine the town’s law enforcement needs and to determine if it is necessary for the town to form its own police department.
The town currently has a contract with the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department and pays $34,440 annually for 40 hours of service per week.
Town Manager Katherine Ruth said the committee was examining several options, including adding another contract with the sheriff’s department. She said another option would be to renew the contract for the sheriff’s department while employing the town’s own part-time constables.
Ruth said some people were concerned that the rapid growth in the community created the need for additional law enforcement.
50 years ago — Feb. 25, 1965
BANGOR — Hurricane weather came to Bangor early this year as the city was buffeted by a driving rainstorm that brought winds as high as 55 miles an hour.
Damage caused by the storm could not be estimated accurately, but it could run into thousands of dollars. Most seriously affected by the storm were houses and low lying areas. The rain and melted snow gushed into cellars and seeped down through rooftops causing many households real concern.
The Dow Air Force Base Weather Station measured 1.73 inches of rainfall.
Many cars were stalled on city streets as water splashed onto motors causing them to stall. Workers were called into service to clear the streets of the stalled cars.
Electrical crews were called out to repair phone wires that were arcing and giving neighbors the jitters.
On Broadway, near the park, as many as five cars was stalled in water two feet in depth.
During the storm the downtown temperature was 45 degrees.
BANGOR — It looked like a municipal United Nations as City Hall clerical and office employees from the various departments, dressed in their police or fireman blues, nursing uniforms, business suits and secretarial skirts, attended a briefing on telephone diplomacy.
The early morning session was one of a series arranged by Bangor Personnel Director Margret Medders. Included in the training program were subjects covering engineering, public works, driving, safety and public relations.
The topic was a simple one: How to answer and place a telephone call. A point of the briefing was that telephone courtesy makes for better municipal relations.
100 years ago — Feb. 25, 1915
BANGOR — The heavy rainfall and high wind in Bangor was our share of the storm which was central over Missouri a few days ago, moving to Chicago and the Great Lakes, thence proceeding to the St. Lawrence Valley, according to the weather wise.
The rainfall is said to have been equal to three feet of snow, consequently Bangor people may consider what would’ve happened had not the warm air currents predominated to cause rain.
A Bangor company which is getting out a large amount of cordwood this winter states that the woods roads are partly ice and partly bare ground, and unless the water in the swamps freezes it will be difficult getting out the thousands of cords which have been cut and piled. The lumbar operators are looking blue and unless there is a change for the better soon many logs will be left in the woods. With a reduced cut and a short season in hauling there will be an unusual shortage of logs next season.
Many predicted the continuance of the weather conditions for a few days would mean the going out of the ice in the river.
ORONO — Through the kindness of Capt. W.S. Higgins and W.R. Ballou of Morse and Co., Bangor, the forestry department of the University of Maine has been presented with laboratory specimens of several rare exotic woods and also some of the less common of our western species.
Among the foreign woods donated were fine specimens of the East India teak, Spanish cedar from South America, camphor wood from Formosa, sandalwood from Polynesia, white mahogany from Central America, and an interesting piece of black ebony from Ceylon.
Among the native woods, the most interesting specimens of those of California redwood and California laurel or spice tree.
The forestry department collection of native and foreign woods now numbers more than 100 specimens and is being augmented continually.
Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin