April 17, 1991

Roland W. Albert, president, announced this week that The Men’s Shop, one of the oldest businesses in Westbrook, is going out of business. His stores in downtown Westbrook and downtown Saco will be closing this summer. Changes that are beyond anyone’s control are forcing the closing, Albert said. A principal cause is the credit squeeze, where manufacturers are not extending the credit they had previously. As a result, it has become harder to keep The Men’s Shop stocked with a full range of sizes, colors and styles. At the same time that credit was shrinking, costs were continuing to rise. On top of that, consumer confidence has declined, meaning that customers have been buying less. The Men’s Shop was founded in 1923 by August Albert, Hormidas Vincent and Emile J. Thuotte.

S.D. Warren Co. president Robert E. McAvoy “has elected to retire,” it was announced yesterday at the annual meeting of Warren’s parent Scott Paper Co., in Philadelphia. McAvoy, 62, is being replaced by J. Richard Leaman Jr., 56, a 31-year Scott employee who has held various executive positions in Scott’s tissue business for the past 20 years. Scott also announced that first-quarter earnings and income were half those of first-quarter 1990.

The Westbrook Police Department’s bicycle auction is April 20, rain or shine, at the public works garage, Saco Street. Over 60 bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds, household items and speakers will be sold.

Jeff Morrow of Gorham piled up 67 points to become the high scorer among all contestants in the Maine State Math Meet, April 9 at Bates College. Gorham’s is one of 11 math teams across the state that have qualified for the New England Math Meet, May 1 at Canton, Mass., High School.

The Gorham Lions Club and the Gorham Police Department collaborated last week on Project ID, an effort to raise the level of safety awareness among school children and their parents. The project involved fourth-grade students at Village School. Students who had parental permission were fingerprinted, and the fingerprints were sent home with the children, providing parents a way of positively identifying their child should the need arrive.

Army PFC Wayne B. Dunton III, son of Wayne and Jane Dutton, 107 Deering Road, Gorham, was in Saudi Arabia and is now in Kuwait and has been over there since January. He has served for about two years. He was first stationed in Germany, where his wife, Heather, resides.

April 18, 2001

Gorham town and school budgets are going up. A general revaluation will affect how much each taxpayer’s property tax bill will go up. The town manager’s budget message anticipates a need for 2.48 percent more in property taxes. The new superintendent’s message indicates a need for a 7.44 percent increase. That’s a combined increase of 9.92 percent.

Jeff Gaudette of Biddeford High trimmed almost 15 seconds off his last year’s time and won Westbrook’s 53rd annual Patriot’s Day Road Race Monday. Gaudette clocked a 10:20 time after pulling away from second finisher Pat Tarpy of Yarmouth in the race, sponsored as always by the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club. The top female finisher in the race, which covered 2¼ miles beginning and ending on Main Street, was Bridget Gagne of North Yarmouth Academy, finishing in 12.27. Top local finishers were a pair of Gorham High School students, Michael Downing third in 10:31; and Stephanie Drouin, top local girl, in 13:58.

Kristin Lee Hodges Gibbons, a 1991 Westbrook High School grad, ran the ultimate long-distance event Monday, the Boston Marathon. Now married to business consultant Jay Gibbons and living in Everett, Mass., Kristin ran as part of a group helping to raise money for a breast cancer fund at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She is a 1995 graduate of Gordon College.

Haven’s Candies owner Bill Webster had to swallow hard Saturday morning and put up another $1,000 for the prize to go inside the 3-foot chocolate bunny the store awarded to a raffle winner later that day. A burglar or burglars took the original $1,000 in cash, plus other items, after cutting phone lines and entering the store at 87 County Road, Westbrook, overnight, workers found on arriving at 5:30 a.m. The thieves ransacked two or three locked file cabinets and also stole some personal belongings and two laptop computers. Judy LeTarte of Windham was the raffle winner.

Geneva Nelson, Foster Street, Westbrook, saw two eagles sitting at noon in a tree at Cloudman Court. She often saw eagles in Madison, where she grew up and so easily recognized them. She was clearing her yard of snow when she spotted them. Seeing the eagles, she said, “made the shoveling easier.”

A teacher who came to Gorham from France with 19 students said, “We found it exciting to see snowy scenery.” They came from southern France, 200 miles from Barcelona, Spain. It doesn’t snow there. They students spend five of their 12 days attending classes at Gorham High School. French teacher Kim MacDonald said that Gorham students organized special events for their guests. The French group left Gorham for four days in New York City before returning home. MacDonald is hoping to keep the exchange program alive with a Gorham contingent visiting their school in France.

It’s mid April and high school spring sports teams are only just starting to get outside because of the lingering snow. The Westbrook girls tennis team finally got outside, but the girls, still bundled in jackets, are hitting over thin nylon cords stretched across the courts. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve seen,” said coach Michael Makin. “Here it is mid April and we don’t even have our nets up.” Dave Woodbury, a parent of a Gorham High School athlete, took a snowblower to clear the school’s track on April 13.

Keith Clarke’s Dairy Farm was located at 511 East Bridge St. for many years. Developer C. Sam DiBiase purchased the property in the 1960s and the large tract of land was developed into the Colonial Acres housing project. DiBiase used the barn for the storage of building materials and the house was occupied by one of his employees. When the project was nearly completed, the house and barn were demolished and houses were built on the site. To see more historical photos and artifacts, visit the Westbrook Historical Society at the Fred C. Wescott Building, 426 Bridge St. It is open Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon, and the first Wednesday of each month at 1:30 p.m., September-June. Inquiries can be emailed to [email protected]. The website is www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org. Photo and research courtesy of Mike Sanphy