Not-so-good old days

Despite great improvements in the technology of putting fires out, firefighters today face many of the same problems as those 80 years ago. Norway Advertiser of March 3, 1933:

Stubborn Fires

High Wind Kept Firemen Busy

Spontaneous combustion in a barrel of waste in the basement of Mrs. Edith Harriman's house on Hillside Avenue, called out No. 2 chemical truck at 11:30 Tuesday night. The occupants were awakened by dense smoke which filled the rooms but succeeded in reaching the telephone and calling the department. Unable to reach the basement by the stairs, firemen smashed a window and emptied more than fifty gallons of chemical on the blazing coal bin and floor timbers. The heat was intense and smoke penetrated the masks of the firemen. Damage from fire and smoke is estimated at $57.20 and is covered by insurance.

About $30 damage from smoke is estimated at Edward C. Winslow's, Paris Street, where a hot and stubborn chimney fire Sunday, required more than fifty gallons of chemical. Flames raced the full length of the chimney while smoke backed into the rooms through the eaves.

On Monday the high wind started a brisk soot fire at the former Dr. Fogg place on Spring Street, occupied by owner Howard W. Palmer. There was no damage.

Now one thing that has changed is that we could no longer write "firemen" but instead use "firefighters," or even "first responders." This is due, of course, to what would have been unthinkable in the 1930s — women in the fire department who weren't there just to make coffee and sandwiches.

As far as crime is concerned, however, the 1930s were as open to sexual equality as today. Norway Advertiser of March 3, 1933:

Norway Municipal Court

Trio in Larceny Case

The cases of Eleanor A. Bennett of Canton, Albert Pomerleau and Irene Bois of Lewiston, charged with breaking, entering and larceny, were continued in the Norway Municipal court Monday, to March 7. They pleaded not guilty.

Irene Bois, 23, and Albert Pomerleau, 29, both of Lewiston, and Eleanor A. Bennett, 24, of Canton were turned over to Sheriff W. O. Frothingham, Sunday night after their arrest in a Lewiston garage by Sheriff Walton and deputies.

The chase for the trio began when Miss Sarah Reed of Canton saw a man come out of the Ellis and Son's store at Canton at 2 a. m. Sunday. She notified Ellis who found the store had been broken into and shirts, trousers, mittens and cartons of cigarettes and boxes of candy stolen. These goods are said to have been found by officers in the homes of the men.

According to their own admissions the trio are not only held responsible for the Ellis store break but for the breaking into of the John J. Julius garage at Brettun's Mills early Saturday morning and at a Green filling station owned by Arthur Greeley, last Monday night when a cash register was stolen.

A subtle difference is that nowadays some light-fingered clothing shoppers are more often caught in the act while the store is open. This is because the modern stores that sell the items listed as stolen 80 years ago are seldom closed.

As is our custom, we try to exactly reproduce the grammar, spelling, punctuation and style of the original. Commas might appear where least expected and remain absent where we’d expect them if the item was written nowadays. On the other hand, consistency was not considered of utmost importance, so variations of a spelling might appear within one story. In addition, some words were abbreviated differently than today. Where brief explanations of terms are considered necessary, they are presented in brackets [] within the quote. Otherwise, explanations appear at the beginning or at the conclusion, without quotes. Parenthesis () used in a quoted passage appeared in the original.