100 Years Ago: 1922

The regular meeting of the Lake View Club met Saturday evening, May 20. at Lake View Grange Hall. The meeting was called to order by the president. It was decided to have a five-cent collection at each meeting. Rev. T. Ernest Ham gave an interesting talk, which was appreciated very much. He was given a rising note of thanks.

50 Years Ago: 1972

(From a journal photo) Four members of Girl Scout Troop 280 became First Class Girl Scouts Monday evening at the Court Street United Baptist Church, during ceremonies in which all the Girl Scout troops sponsored by the church participated. Receiving their first-class badges were, left to right, Sheila Bonney, Karen Ray, Tammara Tripp, and Gretchen Gatz. Their troop leaders are Mrs. Lucille Ray and Mrs. Annie Ray. Mrs. Barbara Bennett gave them extra assistance in working for the new rank.

25 Years Ago: 1997

The Androscoggin River used to have some of the most fowl water in North America, whose fumes were once said to peel paint off nearby buildings.

Today to hear some outdoor enthusiasts tell it the Androscoggin is a 161-mile fishing hole waiting to be discovered. It’s just outstanding, said David Boucher, a state fisheries biologist. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

Of course, the river is not 100 percent recovered from the damaging pollution of 20 years ago. Swimming is still not advised south of Lewiston and fish consumption advisories remain in effect. But fishermen say the Androscoggin is on the rebound and offers some of the best bass fishing in the state, if not on the east coast.

“Honestly, even in summer smell is not a factor,” said Alan Smith of Jay, who grew up only a mile from the river, but never considered dropping a line in it until recently.

Most Mainers still avoid the river. A lack of boat ramps and the fact that along the river is privately owned doesn’t help either. Right now, there are only 12 boat access sites, two more are close to being developed. International Paper, as part of its dam relicensing, is planning to build six more sites.

Yet word has trickled out to the state’s bass anglers. Western Maine Bassmasters have held a tournament on the river for four years. Seven more clubs also have tournament schedules this summer.

Upstream from Bethel, trout and salmon are doing exceptionally well. What a tournament we’ve seen up there, said John Boland, state biologist for southern Maine. The water’s clean. We’re seeing really good fishing for rainbow browns, brookies and salmon.

If you take a day and canoe the river, you would be impressed.

With a cold spring the best bass fishing is still a week or two away, but Smith said there will be a solid three weeks of incredible small mouth fishing in the river in June.

The material used in Looking Back is produced exactly as it originally appeared although misspellings and errors may be corrected.