We’re Under Attack, Retreat, More Pre Made Snowballs Over Here Stat.
There is nothing like seeing kids in Maine outdoors, not planted in front of a television screen, video game.
Using their imagination, filling their lungs with fresh air. Being neighborly, social. Here is a picture of a backyard winter scene behind my Houlton Maine home.
The boy, Luke was a neighbor who enjoyed our tree, first Maine snow, my older four kids.
Wonder what he is thinking? You can learn a lot from a kid. One of the biggest lessons is the importance of having fun, playing. And how it is done in case you forgot in the transition to being adult, off at work, building a career, making mortgage payments.
Pass The Hot Dogs And Vinegar French Fries Will Ya?
I wished my four kids had known the fun of going to the Borderland outdoor drive in movie theatre on a Maine summer evening.
Our closest one to Houlton Maine was the Borderland Drive In. There was the Cummings Theatre, an outdoor drive in in the Woodstock New Brunswick Canada are. One other one pretty handy was in Enfield, Maine. Another in Presque Isle and further north in Maine.
This Borderland outdoor drive in movie Maine theatre on the west side of the North Road, US Rt 1.
Hidden from the road by low trees so you could not see the rows of parked cars. But from the the highway you could not miss the bigger than life actors as you slowed to a crawl and drove by. Western mountain ranges, lots of horses, cattle and cactus. Sometimes a little more exotic. Not so “G” rated or family friendly now playing up on the big outdoor movie screen. Shield your eyes kids. Don’t look Ethel but it was too late. Like in the Ray Steven’s The Streak song.
And during the intermission of a double feature or before the first show started, dancing mouth watering hotdogs, candy, popcorn and happy beverage containers rotated.
Did a jig on the big silver outdoor movie screen. To entice, make you trot to the concession stand that was bathed in yellow light. For those hungry souls with a little spending money in the movie going audience.
That concession stand had two of the heaviest spring loaded outdoor screen doors closers known to mankind.
I bet you a ten dollar bill that door racked up a beefy pull snap with about an 80 pound or higher torque. Better get in quickly or lose a body part, getting grazed or caught by the swift shutting screened door. Everyone learned quickly and don’t think it was OSHA approved. The cooks and wait staff assembling your quick here you go take out food orders. They all wanted the night air flying pest to stay on the other side of that snack shack eatery screened doorways.
Houlton Maine’s Borderland Drive In Theatre Was Fun Place To Watch Summer Outdoor Movies.
The beginning drive in theatre show was preceded by the bright lights on, dancing food marching across the screen.
All designed to make you drool for fifteen minutes. For the call to action and get your butt to the concession stand before the movie reels and the arch lighting behind the film started projection started whirling. The take out food advertising highly effective to sufficiently plant the seed you really need hot dogs, hamburgers, clam baskets STAT. The local Maine potatoes sprinkled with vinegar on your home made fries and onion rings adults and kids. Work on your parents little ones. Those sitting on the wallet, with the pocketbook over their shoulder with money to buy them. If you whine convincingly long and loud enough.
The little brothers and sisters made use of the drive in theatre outdoor swings, slides and turn style rides in slippered pj’s in the night air.
It was a big deal to go to the drive in with your friends, a date. Your family depending on your age and if it was still cool or not. The end of the movie meant Lou Webber reminds you what was coming up for future film attractions. And to make sure you replaced your speaker. The tinny silver one on the end of a wire on to its matching white metal pole “saddle”.
What’s Playing This Week At the Borderland Drive In Theatre In Houlton Maine?
It seems my three older brothers did not always remember and I found quite a collection over the machine shed at the farm I grew up on.
Not exactly high fidelity. And in later years a shift to sound transmitted thru the lower radio band took over. Helped keep the mosquitos out of the car that did the limbo to one by one squeeze in by the hanger of that tinny speaker.
The Borderland Drive In Theatre had church services back in the 1980’s.
Stay in your car, roll in as you are. For worship, song, watching and listening by tuning into a low powered FM radio transmitter broadcasting the presentation this week. Maybe the Borderland will come back into operation. The drive in for future area high school graduations one by one commencement ceremonies happening outdoors in the open air. Your well wishers in their respective cars more than 6 feet apart on the rows and rows of raised mounds.
The high school graduations from Maine high schools during coronovirus sheltering in place and quarantined work arounds. Could bring outdoor drive in theatres back to life with more purpose. Than only nightly flicks thrown up on the summer night screens. Where you see no hand holding, hugging, zero fist bumps.
The graduation ceremony parties both stepping back six feet or more by those presenting and the high school senior student on the receiving end. Rolling down the incline, gravity sliding the rolled up tube or elastic wrapped curled tightly diploma. Here it comes. Launched tube for pick up at the lower exit point. Across a six foot or greater presentation sluice way. Over a squeaky clean prep table herded with a rod or broom handle.
Maybe using the “Grabber” bought on television from Ronco and they really work folks. Or a second one for half the price. Senior citizens reach for them nine to one over other brands as there favorite device the high rotation run of schedule ROS broadcast ad states. For reaching out to retrieve fallen items down so low or ones way too high up for the go go gadget arms secret power extension.
Oh look, at dusk there’s the graduating senior who everyone came to the event to see the ceremony huddled inside the Chrysler mini van or family sedan.
Get your camera ready to catch an image or two of the senior wearing that funny square hat with the gold tassel in the gown smiling ear to ear from the accomplishment. That might be the best work around during the COVID19 pandemic. Might mean putting the silver screen hibernating so so long back up and in better working repair condition. The screen “gone with the wind” from neglect lack of use and weather damage.
My real estate office secretary’s family members all connected and worked together with a little friction at the Borderland drive in outdoor theatre operation.
They started it. Talked to Brian Cole this morning out at his retirement home on Drews Lake in Linneus Maine. Brian worked at the Borderland Drive In with his brothers. He remembers people sneaking in from the B Road during Buck night. Recalls to that some people went to the outdoor movie that never ended up watching it. Not even one scene of the flick flashed up on the bigger than life screen beyond the car hood out front.
Pat Cassidy another work used to go car to car to offer to wash our windshield for free.
Usually got a quarter or more tip from those that did come to the sci-fi creature or whatever double feature. Maybe it was a big sky spaghetti Big Sky Western pair of movies or back to back James Bond shows. People who did want to watch and munch on pop corn. To eat homemade french fries with ketchup and vinegar that still has the potato peelings on them. Washing it all down with Bubble Up, their favorite flavor of local bottler Fitz’s Beverage or an adult barley pop drink.
Remember the concession stand with yellow light bulbs and wicked strong high tension door springs to keep the mosquitoes as big as robins at bay?
Double Feature Movies Show On The Big Outdoor Drive In Screen. It’s Summer Movie Time.
That little crack where the tinny sounding speaker with the long wire hung after rolling the glass almost to the top. Leaving a gap where the buzzing varmits looking for your fresh blood could squeeze into your car or pick up truck or van space.
Or you could use the coil you lit up with a match and placed on the dashboard.
The one that smelled like something sprayed over Vietnam jungles for a defoiliant or an insense stick. Something from the head shop named the “Zodiac” on Broadway in Houlton Maine owned and operated by the Moran family. You know the one next to the S&H green stamp store, Beals family restaurant near the Aroostook County jail. The green stamp store where you got your sporting goods, camping supplies. My aunt Charlene Been worked there I remember.
As a little Maine kid wanting a tennis racket or baseball glove.
To play sets back and forth up and over the net at the rec center. Or to field stitched little league leather wrapped balls at short stop or out in center field or whatever diamond location.
It took 2.25 books of green stamps to score one when money growing up on a Maine farm during a poor bleak potato year meant those sticky back currency was the only hope.
Dead River Oil Company, local grocery stores like Don’s Brewer, Sampson’s, Wilson’s Market on South Street or the C&G IGA Foodliner.
Everyone gave out the green stamps that spit out of a machine you dialed like a rotary phone. The more you spent, the greater the connected coil of green stamps showed up to fold into the grocery bill receipt and hand back with a smile and courtesy thank you very much. Everyone in my small Maine town gave out green and gold plaid stamps too as a bonus perk for your shopping patronage.
Nola a little gruff all the time on the Borderland grill flipping burgers, adding cheese slices and pushing the hot dogs around the sizzling greased surface.
Deep fried clam baskets Ruth Peabody created lots. Teamed the take out fried food fryolator hot grease corner of the busy drive in theatre concession kitchen. While the two sniped back and forth about “Get Out Of My Work Space” you old bat snipes and verbal jabs. Ralph downstairs eating candy bars after the show. As any diabetic in this blog post audience knows that’s a big no no. That you should not be munching on sweets. Later, Ralph getting a kidney transplant and struggling with a royally messed up sense of balance vertigo for the rest of his difficult adult life.
Lewis Webber, Ralph’s his dad in the projection booth always on the PA looking for his son. Harold Peabody, Lou’s brother in law handing out the upcoming movie flyer hand bills.
As vehicles with Maine and Canadian plates lined up and rolled through the Borderland Drive In ticket booth check point. To lower the glass in the passenger side door. To fork over the cash for the number of movie goers in the car unless it it was buck night. All happening around dusk, rain or shine as one by one vehicles rumbled in and drove slowly to their favorite location.
Two Movie Theatres, No Facebook, No Twitter. Houlton Maine’s Vibrant Down Town. Movies A Big Deal, Indoors Or Outdoors Later On Til The Mid 80’s.
Opens in 1949, closed for good in 1985 the end of an outdoor movie going drive in theatre era.
And 450 outdoor theatre car outdoor movie going car spaces went unused after that as the grass grew tall and unmowed. Thee buildings, big screen too all decayed slowly in hibernation. After movies, the employees all walked back and forth to comb the premises around all those raised mounds. The ones kepts mowed and tidy. Where you parked your vehicle just so to gain the best hump rock back and forth angle. To finally throw it into park or leave it in gear shutting off the engine.
Sit back, push the seat away from the steering wheel of if a T-bird push it out of the way. Away from your pot belly. To settle in for the night time movie show. The one now playing in your small Maine home town as you looked up at the big screen in front of all the vehicles in a row.
Dad would bring us back boxes of popcorn with a happy clown on the front. Some bottles or cans of soda too. But we always suspected, my three olders brothers and I hunkered down in the back seat of the family sedan wondered. That Dad appeared to have trace amounts of mustard on his cheek. I bet he was gone so long not because he got talking or ran into someone he knew. But sampling a few hurried eaten hot dogs of his own un-beknowst to the rest of the family, Mom included.
The debris and garbage after that show from overflowing way way too small garbage cans. It found its way to 55 gallon rusted refuse barrels behind the snack shack and torched.
Back when outdoor open burning was okay and the norm for garbage before recycling centers popped up to service many towns trash loads. The candy wrappers, empty beer cans, cardboard carry out food trays and napkins all rounded up to get ready for the next outdoor movie show. Families, teenagers with fresh driving licenses and Cupid’s arrow at work. Movie lovers of all ages flocked to the outdoor drive in theatre location around Maine and New Brunswick Canada my neighbor just a few miles distant. The outdoor big screen pretty special for a and outdoor presentation long before LED screens went all out for little money and indoor home theatre set ups for the movie consumption.
It was dangerous driving south on US RT 1 and looking out of the corner of your eye at the X-rated movies flashing on the Borderland Drive In screen.
The drive in party animals just a little too tee hee social were off to the left, the leave me alone crowd on the right. Everyone with families down the middle all enjoying the movie in different ways and parking locations. Kids in their pajamas with the sewn in foot protection with vinyl bottoms. So you can trot to the swings and play on the ground slides. Or spin the circular get dizzy motion ride. Or hop the teeter totter hoping for no silvers before parent hollered come back to the car. Or your big brother or sister was sent to retrieve you. While giant dancing food and candy of all types kept waltzing in mouth watering formation across the screen with flood lights on the corners. Your hunger increasing to the point of borderline border land starvation. The lighted path to you know where and reminder hurry.
You just have barely enough time as the minutes counted off lighting up the drive in theatre bright as the sun with high powered spot lights.
Before pitch black total eclipse happened and everything went darker than the inside of a cow. And then pipe down hollered to rabble rousers. As SHHHhhhh, settle in, watch the show. Or get reported and asked to start up your car and leave slowly without hitting anyone loaded up with take out food trying to find where the heck they parked. No texting your partner for help. No GPS on your cell phone during the 40’s through 80’s decade in history. It’s show time on a hot summer evening in small town rural Maine and you feel lucky.
Herman Moran, self appointed deputy sheriff want to be would be directing traffic with a moving flash light to make sure US Rt 1 was not a log jam.
Herman wielded the biggest known to man multi battery police version flashlight to shine the way to exit out onto the North Road, US RT 1 that was fast moving. Many drive in theatre patrons a little sleepy after being cooped up in the car or so long. Herman took the job serious and I don’t he was of German lineage. His heroics service night after night so everyone could get home for the night without fanfare, a big production or any delay. His civil defense training and road hazard yellow lights, all the highway motoring gear made the event seem more professional to a high school kid. Buck night and five dollar car load night meant a few extras brought in to stretch our allowances for the week too. Still a few Maine drive in outdoor movie theatres.
The International Super M Farmall Tractor Keeps The Maine Farm Groomed, Worked, Up To Snuff.
Less oomph, barely able to get out of her own way and knowing something was wrong.
She was born in 1953. Most of her years spent working hard on the same Maine potato farm. Laboring, straining out in the fields, no matter what the weather, any season. Dependable, not asking for much. Giving her all. No whining, complaining. Until now.
The Super M tractor pulling the bush hog on a Maine farm was operating mostly on three cylinders. Power loss. The noticable pop in the air breather signalling something inside the engine, the valves were not working like when she was shiny new. When she first arrive at the farm in “Vacationland” from out west on a flat bed railroad car destined for Houlton Maine.
Motor job. Not tractor engine replacement. But an appointment with Dr Rairdon, er I mean mechanic Bob Rairdon in this business of tractor repair most of his 76 years. I remember the last motor job done by Elmer Snell who worked on the farm and who kept everything mechanical purring, whirring. He is gone now and another mechanic needs to perform the update to the engine. While internal, replacing the fly wheel ring too that caused issues during routine farm operations when the starter stuck on, draining the battery. Interferring with the planned farm operations under sunny blue skies signalling time to make hay while the weather cooperated.
New sleeves, the valve head reground, new rings, bearings and stem to stern part upgrade, replacement where wear and tear shows on an internal exam.
Some asked me why not just buy a new, bigger tractor and store, keep the old girl, the super M Farmall International iron horse hidden away in a corner of the farm.
Out of sight in the machine shed under cover, put out to pasture so to speak. Too much history, time spent on this old girl to park her. I need her to keep the farm intact, groomed and she knows her way around the lay of the land in Maine.
The International Farmall super M tractor is scheduled for surgery soon and I finished up the bush hogging with less power, a little lower gearing. But like an athelete playing hurt, sick, injured thru the playoffs, she declared she did not have time for as Carly Simon sung, “the pain”.
You Can Run, You Can No Longer Hide Or Not Being Found On Line With Droid Phones.
On the run, crossing state lines, moving and shaking to get to Maine, anywhere.
We live in a mobile society. On a recent trip to Colorado I drove out with the youngest son to deliver him and a jeep to his second year of college. And climbed on a silver bird to return home.
At the airport, no need for a lap top to log on and check emails, post, stay connected with the new droid 3 and 4 G phones. Mini computers with slide out keyboard all fitting in the palm of your hands.
You can argue life is a blur, moving too fast and we are over connected. Or you can think of it as not missing a beat, being aware of others around us way way beyond the town limits.
Our lives are transparent, 24/7 live and in living color, full fluid motion tapping in to all our senses for a total experience.
The way it is or have an itch to go back in time. To resist and keep it simple, unconnected to others many zip codes away. With a mobile society, texting, emails are a way to track, stay in touch that fits, works. I really like my new Motorola Devour cell phone. It’s a toy that works fine and dandy. Until something better comes along, that technology allows, unlocks.
Droids, new cell phones and other devices to keep you mobile, wirelesss, untethered. Are you on board, in the swing of things?
More Space, Less People, Fresh Air, Lots Of Land, Trees, Nature.My dad grew up on a Maine potato and dairy farm and had a Saint Bernard. Duke was a gentle natured dog, not anything resembling Stephen King’s Cujo movie of an animal of the same breed that gets rabies and wreaks havoc on a Maine town. Duke was big, but not usually aggressive. My dad had never seen him reprimanded for any barn yard infraction growing up. Until one day.
A German sheperd, a neighbors dog use to come in to the dooryard and tease Duke. Nipping at him but not just in a playful way.
(Disclaimer: My family had several German sheperd dogs growing up and like the breed.)
Never learned the name of this visiting dog that stirred up trouble but over time it became more and more aggressive. Duke taking it all calmly as it happened and to the point that the family, field hands wondered how much he would stand for.
One day the German sheperd a third the size of Duke had the Saint Bernard backed in to a tight corner between a barn and connecting, angled machine shed. Everything changed as if a switch was thrown. Duke reared up, practically ripped the throat out of the German Sheperd.
It took three men to seperate the dogs even though the German Sheperd was trying to get away.
I’ve thought about that story, situation and wondered how it applies to people, to areas of over population. Maine is a place of elbow room, we don’t lock doors. Folks respect each other’s property, opinions, feelings. But if we were “in a corner”, our personal space invaded day in and out, with a twist of traffic, noise, crime, and continuous hurry hurry, well, the mild mannered help you out nature would change.
In my job I hear the line over and over in emails, communications on the phone or in person with Maine real estate buyers coming home to Maine.
“I just want to get away from all those people”.
It’s not being anti-social. More of an attitude of “what now” with neighbors too close, on top of each other down country and bothering others without trying. While the relocating, retiring moving to Maine people can, they just want to be able to wake up, have a day without drama of you did this, you should not have done that. The tension when you live between a rock and a hard place day in, day out takes it toll. Made them irritable, jumpy, not their true selves. Maine, whole different way of life here.
Maine Snowsled Groomer Taking Care Of Linneus ME Area Trails
The fun of hitting a just groomed Maine snowmobile trail.
Or one that man has not traveled on yet this winter. Seeing several white tail Maine deer. A jaw dropping view of Mount Katahdin at Baxter State Park. I admit I am a “sled head”. The places you can go by snowsled, snowmobile is limitless.
The Maine snowmobile ITS system works because of private land owners who allow the use of their properties to “link” the trails to explore “Vacationland”. The use of these properties requires respect, staying on the marked trails. Traveling “lightly” and to leave it like you found it without debris left behind or damage to say a tree plantation trail side hurt if you leave the designated trail.
Have a trail across a Maine farm I own and had a real estate buyer seem shocked that I would allow use with an ITS trail. I explained the use is a privledge not a right and I appreciate others allowing my passage on their land. To get to Northern Maine’s St John River Valley. Or over to Shin Pond, up to Oxbow and Masardis. Or down to Grand Lake.
The Maine Snowmobile Show is October 1,2,3 at the Augusta Civic Center.
This is the 14th event with tons of sponsors, exhibitors from lodgding, Maine snowsled clubs and snow machine groomers, snowmobile makers themselves.
