News
news Prohibition Repeal Celebrated Quietly at the General Store
The end of the 18th Amendment is noted with a shared bottle of rye at the back of the General Store as Whitcomb's editorial observes that 'the noble experiment has ended.'
news Roosevelt Wins Landslide; Mill Workers Hope for New Deal Relief
Franklin D. Roosevelt's victory is greeted with cautious optimism in Willow Creek, as Ezra Homan begins his famous spiral notebook of Ice-Out conditions — noting barometric pressure on the same day the election results arrive.
news Town Relief Committee Formed for Families of Unemployed Mill Workers
As the Depression deepens, Willow Creek forms a relief committee to distribute food and firewood to families of the unemployed, chaired by General Store proprietor James O'Donnell.
news Mill Cuts Wages by 20 Percent; Workers Accept After Reviewing Books
A threatened walkout at the Willow Creek Hardwood Flooring Company is averted when the mill manager demonstrates the company's financial books to the workforce, who accept a 20 percent wage cut without striking.
news Stock Market Crash Brings Anxiety but No Panic to Mill Town
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 receives subdued coverage in the Gazette as the mill continues operating, but Whitcomb's editorial warns that the prosperity of the past decade has come to its natural end.
news Second Annual Ice-Out Draws 75 Entrants; Competition Formalizes
The Ice-Out returns to Homan's Pond with officially printed entry slips, a fixed dollar entry fee, and seventy-five entrants as the informal wager becomes an annual tradition.
news Albert Boucher Wins Inaugural Ice-Out; Predicts Within Five Minutes
The first official Ice-Out champion is crowned at Homan's Pond as Albert Boucher's prediction of April 7, 11:47 AM comes within five minutes of the actual ice clearance.
news Mill Workers Idled by Logjam Start Pondside Wagers — The First Ice-Out
With the mill shut down by a logjam on the Willow River, a group of workers gathered at Homan's Pond and began making informal bets on when the ice would clear — the unrecognized beginning of a Willow Creek institution.
news Mill Workers Turn Winter Standstill Into a Wager on the Spring Thaw
When a late-winter logjam idled the sawmill, a handful of men on the riverbank started something no one in Willow Creek had thought to try before.
news Route 11 Paving Completed; Bus Service Begins
The long-awaited paving of Route 11 through Willow Creek is finished, and a daily bus line from Bangor to Houlton begins service — the greatest improvement in local transportation since the railroad arrived in 1890.
news Seamus O'Donnell Opens the Willow Creek General Store
An Irish immigrant who worked five years at the flooring mill becomes Willow Creek's newest merchant, opening a dry goods and grocery on Main Street that would serve the town for generations.
news Ezra Homan, Age 16, Begins Work at the Flooring Mill
The eldest son of Elias Homan starts on the green chain at the mill at sixteen, beginning a 44-year career.
news Mill Closes for Three Months as Post-War Orders Dry Up
The Willow Creek Hardwood Flooring Company shuts down for the spring, idling 110 workers and sending families south to seek work in the shoe factories of Lewiston and Auburn.
news War in Europe Stalls Timber Exports
The outbreak of World War I disrupts timber exports, causing the mill to reduce hours and raising uncertainty across Willow Creek.
news Mill Expands, Adds Night Shift
The Willow Creek Hardwood Flooring Company adds a night shift, increasing the workforce to 130 men.
news Harold Finch Sells Gazette to Bangor Publisher
After 19 years, Harold Finch sells the Willow Creek Gazette to Walter P. Dinsmore of Bangor.
news Aroostook Valley Lumber Builds Rail Spur to River
A 14-mile logging rail spur connects the upper West Branch timberlands to the Bangor & Aroostook main line.
news Thorne Family Home Gets Indoor Plumbing
The original Nathaniel Thorne home on River Road is modernized with indoor plumbing and a coal furnace.
news Mill Manager's Residence Completed on Mill Pond Road
The Willow Creek Hardwood Flooring Company completes a two-story residence for the mill manager, built with materials shipped by rail.
news Carnegie Library Dedicated at Main and Elm
Andrew Carnegie's $8,000 grant builds the Willow Creek Free Public Library, stocked with books delivered by rail.