Ben Pinette

Showcasing what happened in the Skowhegan-area on this date for the week of August 5-12. Visit Centralmaine.com/archive to view nearly 200 years’ worth of history at your fingertips.

Welcome!

Aug. 4, 1987: Inmates at Kennebec County Jail helping fight polio by pledging to bake 19,000 loafs of bread, search continues for cause of gas leak at Augusta market, and construction begins on visitors center at arboretum next month

Aug. 3, 1993: Oakland’s new fire truck will have new state-of-the-art foam system, China school committee hires a new principal, and the new Walmart is taking shape in Waterville

Aug. 2, 2001: Somerset County Sheriff, district attorney tangle about music on lines of phone calls waiting to be transferred, wrecking crew dismantles 3 downtown Augusta buildings, and the day in the life of a cemetery mower in Augusta

Aug. 1, 1989: Meet Lloyd Liberty of Waterville, who traps skunks for a living. Also, the battle for where a new interchange on I-95 will be place continues on

The Way It Was in Skowhegan: Week of August 5-12

July 31, 1978: Coopers Mills man and his oxen win ox-pulling contest in Nova Scotia, wooden workshop destroyed by fire in Augusta, and ‘if you ain’t born here, forget it’

July 30, 1991: The road to the Capitol was a long one for Democrat Ruth Joseph of Waterville. Also, deposition of old Belgrade Lakes fire station and land has selectpersons frustrated

Breakdown: Read our series on Maine’s deadliest shooting

July 29, 1983: High-speed trains not likely to come to Maine says officials at Portland conference, sunbathers in Wells told to put clothes back on, and it’s either jewels or junk at Elmer’s Barn in Coopers Mills

J.P. Devine Podcast: I need a job