100 Years Ago: 1924

“Success,” Harry Collins Spillman of New York told a gathering of nearly 300 men at the Auburn YMCA Friday night, “is doing what you can with what you have where you are.” Mr. Spillman–businessman, lecturer and educator, was at once entertaining and inspiring, and fully lived up to the reputation that brought him for the third time to Auburn.

The meeting was held jointly by the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and the Auburn YMCA.

50 Years Ago: 1974

A Lewiston man who keeps a notation of his observations reported Thursday that he saw two flocks of geese winging northerly.

He said one flock of nine headed directly over Lewiston. He said from their actions it appeared they were seeking some open water as they would first head northerly, then veer off easterly, then swing back to a more northerly direction.

The second and smaller flock was noticed beside the Gardner Road. He said this flock appeared to be quite tame and did not fly immediately when approached by spectators. It appeared that this flock had settled into the field to await the return of better weather conditions.

25 Years Ago: 1999

His job is to protect and serve. Doing it for children is his joy.

“There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for kids,” says Tom Poulin. “Absolutely nothing.”

It’s why he works all year to prepare a Christmas party. To hundreds of poor youngsters, Poulin is Father Christmas.

It’s the reason he spends his free time making sure children have safe places to spend theirs – and why so many of them have bicycles to ride in that time.

For Auburn’s kids, Poulin’s energy is boundless. It’s the reason why, on April 29, he’ll receive an award.

The Maine Principals Association is giving him its 1999 Service to Maine Youth Award at its annual spring conference, to be held this year in Rockport.

It gives the award to people who don’t work for schools. Poulin, 45, is a police officer in Auburn. Administrators at Edward Little nominated him.

“He has a passion for helping people,  young people,” says Assistant Principal Steve Galway, and that was the case last spring. Poulin decided that a class of behaviorally impaired special education students deserved a field trip to the Fun Town Amusement Park. He raised the money to take them, He chaperoned. But he didn’t stop there. He had T-shirts printed for the excursion and gave them to the students and their parents, who were invited at his suggestion.

A native of Winslow, Poulin joined the Auburn Police Department 10 years ago. He’s not assigned to the schools, he’s a beat cop. Helping kids is a passion.

Poulin is also the director of the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Auburn. He just likes to see a child smile. “That’s more than enough, ” says Poulin. “When you make a child smile, that’s more than enough.”

The material used in Looking Back is produced exactly as it originally appeared although misspellings and errors may be corrected.

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