Hollis Times “Looking Back...”

By special arrangement with the Hollis Times, we provide reprints of the series "Looking Back." The series, edited by Jody Phillips, ran in the late 1990's. It highlighted articles dating back to the 1880's.

"Once again, in perusing the Hollis Times from five, ten, fifteen and 98 years ago, I find that the oldest issues of the newspaper appear far more interesting than more recent editions. I don't necessarily think that what was going on in Hollis then was of itself more interesting, but the stories that were considered newsworthy and therefore worth printing in August of 1900 definitely seem more colorful than those featured in the Hollis Times of August 1983, 1988, and 1993.

"Very seldom in the 1900 newspapers does one find a report on a Selectmen's, Planning Board, or School Board meeting. Perhaps because the town was so much smaller and life simpler at the turn of the century, there may have been fewer meetings and less important issues to discuss at these meetings. Instead, the Hollis and Vicinity section of the late nineteenth century Hollis Times announced comings and goings of Hollis residents, reported in detail on accidents and illnesses that befell Hollis townspeople and described their various social gatherings, both those held in private homes and those sponsored by town organizations. These old newspapers paint a rich picture of what life in Hollis was like 100 years ago."