116 years ago, 1898

Emri C. Hutchinson was elected president of Milford’s Granite Grange.

Trains running from the Milford area back to the city were said to be heavily laden with returning vacationers getting back to their city homes after Labor Day.

In Lyndeborough, silo filling was in progress. It was said that many farmers in the town raised corn fodder.

In Amherst, George Secomb had a cow and a calf killed by lightning. They were not together, though: the cow was in the pasture, the calf in the yard.

Miss Gertrude Sawyer was leaving Milford for New York City to be director of a large mission kindergarten in connection with the Free Kindergarten Association of that city.

In Wilton, a storm was said to be the most severe for many years. A large chestnut tree on the Rodney Perham farm was struck by lightning and caught fire. The storm also caused attendance at the hurdy-gurdy party in Town Hall to be smaller than it was expected to be, but it was still called a financial success.

66 years ago, 1948

George Foster, watching for fires from Milford’s Federal Hill Road fire tower, warned that because there had been no rain for 27 days, woodlands were becoming tinder-dry.

Milford was preparing to dedicate its World War II memorial with U.S. Sen. Styles Bridges to be the featured speaker. The previous week, he was speaker at Lyndeborough’s Old Home Day.

Sherman Adams was seeking the Republican nomination for governor, opposed by John McIntire.

Milford weather observer Andrew Rothovius reported a thermometer reading of 100 degrees on Aug. 26, the first reading of that temperature since June 29, 1933.

The Latchis Theatre in Milford was showing “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” with Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. The Town Hall Theatre in Wilton was showing “Brute Force” with Burt Lancaster.

50 years ago, 1964

To raise funds for a skating rink in Milford, the Milford Lions Club was sponsoring Cott’s Carousel at The Bakery on the Oval, next to Wirthmore Stores. Soda and a ride were 15 cents.

Milford’s Bob Philbrick was back from the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, and a friend told him he’d seen him on television. This was reported by William Ferguson in his Rambling Reporter column in The Cabinet.

The Latchis Theatre in Milford was showing Elvis Presley and Ann Margaret in “Viva Las Vegas.”

The Wilton Old Home Days parade was led by Selectman Charles O. McGettigan. In charge of the parade were Samuel G. Proctor and Gilbert Testa. The horseshoe tournament had 24 contestants and was won by Nelson Brake of Tyngsboro, Mass., with Paul Dumont of Tyngsboro finishing second.

25 years ago, 1989

Voters at a special town meeting in Milford would be asked in October to appropriate funds to study two sites for an elementary school: one of adjacent joining parcels on West Street, the other at the intersection of Osgood and Mason roads.

A 54-unit housing complex for the elderly received unanimous site plan approval from the Milford Planning Board. It was to be a three-story,
colonial-style building parallel to the Souhegan River on Bridge Street.

Dr. Lana Wlodyka began practice at the Village Green Medical and Professional Center in Amherst, joining doctors James Kennedy and Keith Lammers.

Chris McKay was the starting keeper for the Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative High School boys’ soccer team. In Milford, the boys’ soccer team was preparing for its opener against Alvirne, a revenge game because Alvirne knocked the Spartans out of the playoffs, 2-1 in the quarterfinals in 1988.