Category: Growing Up in Maine

Halloween Trick Or Treating In A Small Maine Town

Halloween trick or treating in a small Maine town.

Halloween is a big dea in Mainel. I know in large cities, parents worry about sending their little goblins, witches and monsters out on the door to door candy parade. But in small Maine towns, the trick or treating tradition is big. COVID caused a wrinkle. But with precautions in place, the candy show knock knock tradition continues in Maine with individually wrapped treats. The excitement starts early. Planning for what to be this year for a costume, a theme is part of the fun.

Everyone Puts In A Lot Of Thought For Halloween Trick & Treating In Small Maine Towns.

Do you remember trick or treating on October 31st Halloween growing up?

Did you or do you enjoy taking out your kids, grand kids to canvass the neighborhoods around you for candy collection? What was your favorite treat? Which stop growing up along the hop up and off open porches with lights on do you recall as your favorite?

I remember the Chamberlain sisters who lived on the corner of Frandklin AVE and Court ST in Houlton Maine. The pair made the Halloween holiday effort.

Each Halloween the sisters were as excited as the door knockers out front their gorgeous Maine home. Word gets around and you remember last year’s visit to each and every small Maine town home. So this house stop’s popularity only grew greater. Lining up to sample their home made donuts. The warm cider to wash it all down was another treat as they invited you in to their large Victorian Houlton ME home.

The take off your mask, show us who you really are under the Halloween trick or treating costume routine.

That happened in their formal Maine home living room. Kids escorted in and out and everyone got a home made from the kitchen treat. Sugar ed or plain, it’s up to howling werewolf. Looking back, what an effort this sister pair put out to add to the Halloween trick or treating in my small Maine town in Aroostook County.

I used to come in from the country where I lived on a Maine farm to trick or treat.

Not many homes along the Maine rural landscape when you are a couple of miles away from town. And out in the dark, on a busy highway is not a good combination for someone trying to navigate. Carrying candy loot and trying to get your bearings. Wearing a mask with just two small eye holes and maybe a flashlight in the other hand. My cousins lived on the Highland Avenue in a large yellow home that was always the beehive of fun growing up. Seven kids with one pair of identical twins in the mix, I would pair up with my cousins to ply the streets for treats. We covered a lot of ground, hit a lot of houses. Like a politician campaigning for a vote, it was all for the treat.

The Adults Snack Too, Lots To Eat For Treats At Home Or On The Neighborhood Candy Trails.

Some houses had the self service bowl of candy on the table to help yourself for a handful of Halloween treats.

Others decked the place out with a lot of time spent to create the spooky look. To make you question your judgement to really take the dare or not to ring the door bell or apply the knock knock knock. Many of the door to door candy vendors wore a costume too. You could tell who really was a kid again and made the effort to put on a show for the trick or treaters. Boo. Made you jump. Here, let me help pick up the spilled candy.. pretty dark huh?

Give Me A Musical Beat To Go Along With The Sweets. Light Shows For This Halloween Trick Or Treat Pit Stop On Commonwealth Avenue.

With my own four kids, I really looked forward to the door to door.

One of my favorite holidays really. You see other parents as you advance up the small Maine town streets. Say hello, hey there’s an old classmate or another relative walking across the lawn you just visited. Someone you work with is doing the same October 31st tradition. Orange, purple, weird eerie glow of green, it’s approaching. Halloween trick or treating in small Maine towns across the state. Do you stay at home and turn on your front porch light to attract trick or treaters?

Boo. Scared Right? Hey, You Gonna Eat That Snickers Bar?

To let them know you are open and now serving come one, come all as a cavity creators Or do you lay low, act like no one is home? Maybe high tail it to another candy central location to help dish it out and have a Halloween party of treats for all the supporting cast at the home away from home?

I remember one man, Forman Swallow who worked for Nabisco I think. He and his wife lit up their driveway with the weighted paper bags and flickering candles inside.

Dishing out large size cookie packages and candy like you used to only be able to get at the movie or outdoor drive in theatre. Looking back, you want to thank them for creating the experience of Halloween trick or treating for your kids.

Some households would have the apples, the century old dry as dust popcorn balls.

Others would give out a collection of treats in the orange, black and white bags with the witch on the front riding her broom. Someone took a lot of time, spent much time and money to hand out a quality treat. I remember one house stop, the kids waited, waited and were about to nix this visit to go on to the next porch.

The owner finally opened the door, seemed surprised and had forgotten it was Halloween.

He may have had a few too many barley pops and snoozed off watching “Wheel of Fortune” or Gunsmoke reruns. But he insisted, no candy treats to dish out but he pulled the five trick or treaters in the gang down to his kitchen pantry.

Lots Of Spooks, Might Be Halloween Haunted This Patten ME Home.

Each kid came out with a can of vegetables to show for the Halloween stop.

Makes trick or treating a good work out when hefting a couple of cans of corn, peas, green beans or carrots. Boo hoo if your arm gets tired and the next guy wants to give you a piece of firewood to

Yours Truly. Small Maine Towns, Everyone Gets Into The Spooky Halloween Mood.

lug back to the candy beehive. One household, the manager of Shop and Save Grocery store gave out cans of soda.

Hope you have a strong bag to carry the loot load.

Others with the can giveaway choice would strap and wrap a dollar or more around the cylinder. Nice.

Thank you very much. No eggs or toilet paper you older trick or treaters up to mischief for this five star Halloween eatery.

One group of three houses joined forces to create a theme park for Halloween.

Ultraviolet lights and snakes on a pulley. Giant mutant spiders from some other solar system climbing up the sides of houses.

An army tent with a casket and other skeletons, Halloweeen haunted house devices to entertain and scare. My youngest in his bat mat outfit taking it all in and jumped a foot when the body in the casket elevated to say “good evening”.

Some Maine neighbors cause the biggest flock of trick or treaters from their set it up and then tear it down production. Attracting hundreds of costumed characters to visit to pan handle for candy.

Trick Or Treat…Don’t Forget To Say Thank You!

What are you doing this Halloween trick or treating season? Individual wrapped and no handfuls from a bowl to be sensitive to COVID protocols.

What do you dress up as around your place of work or are you thinking just too old for this Halloween trick or treat game of make believe?

Anyone with grandchildren, young kids of their own will be swept into the holiday mood of Halloween living in a small Maine town.

There are a lot of folks with a sweet tooth across the Maine landscape. Trick or treat and go slow motorists to make it safe for all the ghosts, goblins, witches, fairies and super heroes with a candy craving.

Have a candy basket in the real estate office and folks reach for the candy corn, anything chocolate. The house hunters get hungry really from tramping properties and enjoy the treats year round. What’s your pleasure for a Halloween treat?

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

October 20, 2021
Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) | Simple Living In Maine

Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a term I just heard about today.

These Me In Maine blog posts have common themes about using common sense and distilling down into what it really important in life.

FOMO, learning more about a topic can be turned into a blog post as we explore the condition together.

So here we go exploring the anxiety called FOMO or fear of missing out. Crafted and created from a native Mainer’s perspective.

Bored, Wishing They Had Some Wire Cutters To Take A Vacation From The Pen. Do You Have FOMO? The Anxiety Called Fear Of Missing Out? Are You In A Herd Of Sheep Watching Others Every Move?

(Cracking of knuckles sound in preparation.) FOMO is a social anxiety.

Fear of missing out, believing others could be having fun while you are not present. If you are a stranger to social media circles, FOMO might be hard to grasp as so life and death important. But if you post lots of selfies. If you make your social media channels designed to create envy in others in look at me and all the exotic places I go that you don’t. You my friend are stoking the FOMO fires burning from within the followers you try to make envious.

FOMO is regret, that you missed a once in a life time opportunity that will scar or limit you down the road forever.

FOMO is worry about missing a social event or consciously opting out that may be the wrong choice to take for your perfect life ahead. Pressure, guilt, and frankly too much time watching or coveting others. Comparing yourself to others based on their social media feed. Simple living in Maine is not consumed by watching others. And for starters, life is not always as it appears from the outside looking in on a social media channel.

More Space, Always Outdoors, Less People In Small Maine Town Living. You Spend More Time With Yourself Finding Ways To Entertain And For Fulfillment.

Spin, giving a different perception, a slanted agenda hidden from view fuels FOMO.

That’s what highly effective marketing is all about.. to create a call to action. To spark a desired need for something being sold. To improve your life that is seemingly only available for a limited time. That you suddenly think you can not live without and better get on the stick to order before midnight tonight. Something is missing. You need something, you want something you don’t have and can’t quite put your finger on it as a consumer. Others will tell you exactly what you need and where your life is going astray. Lots of opinions out there and they are getting louder.

But like Tom Petty crooned “You don’t know how it feels to be me”.

People come, people go
Some grow young, some grow cold
I woke up in between
A memory and a dream.

Miss you Tom. Now there’s a guy that would not back down if you are looking for musical inspiration.

Small Maine Town Productions, Everyone Pitches In With Talent To Stretch The Budget. These Home Grown Experiences Build Creative Confidence.

To delve into FOMO, you have to back it up a step to anxiety itself.

Anxiety is dread, a feeling of fear or uneasiness that can keep you up at night. Make you feel restless or tense and affect your eating or drinking habits or the lub dub pace of your heart. Anxiety is not taking it easy. Not just doing the best you can and knowing things usually work out for the best in the long run. Anxiety is not confidence, not believing in yourself. Or maybe it is knowing you did not study enough for the test tomorrow crammed for tonight.

Preparing yourself for failure ahead is suppose to lessen the pain and suffering. Knowing that you are ill prepared and somehow not deserving a good grade because you did not work for it. That is what ignites a spark to create the blaze due to a swell of insecurities that sinks your boat over and over. There is a better, more prepared way to live.

Maine Home Offices, Working Online From Home Sweet Home Up In Maine. No Worry About FOMO Because We Are Grateful To Have Beauty & Space.

I think FOMO is boredom, not enough to do or poor use of your time management.

We have an expression in Rotary that if you want something done, give it to a busy person. They size up the situation, attack a problem not a person and git it dunn’ as Larry the Cable guy advises. These people’s life is full and productive. Sitting around swiping social media screens up, down, sideways. To study others to learn what everyone else is up to is a waste of time if hours of every day are consumed. Something else is suffering if that is happening. Like retail therapy, the buying stuff to fill a hunger hole is temporary and artificial and does not last.

This is where a place like Maine comes in.

The way life should be. Less people, more wildlife, a greater sense of your natural surroundings. Hiking up Mt Katahdin, a day trip to the Maine coast, on your knees in the flower or vegetable garden. Working on your house to get it painted or DIY projects completed is satisfying. You learn to entertain yourself, to work hard and create a life you enjoy based on what makes you tick inside. Not by watching what seems to satisfy others that you are told you need to adopt. You are not one of those sheep pictured above right? Right?

Farming News, Part Of The Local Beat For Coverage In The Garden Of Maine, Aroostook County! Lucky To Live In Maine And Don’t Suffer From FOMO Surrounded By All This Natural Beauty!

There is no YOU in that habit of watching others.

Maybe that what the younger generation in the turbulent 1960’s described as being lost, trying to find myself. Far out. Right on. Anyone know how to get to Woodstock? Let’s hitch hike in that direction together, want to? Turn up the CSN&Y.

When you have regular chores around the home growing up, you develop a skill set.

You gain confidence. Taking care of yourself happens and not being dependent on others. Maybe it’s not glamorous that you know how to mow a lawn or do laundry, cook and clean. But you learn to care more and more on your own. That prepares you for life. To fend for yourself. You don’t expect others to do these tasks. No one waits on you. You learn the feeling of accomplishment from a job well done. It defines you and you gain a source of pride.

The Snug As a Bug In The Little Red Log Maine Lake Camp. Telecommuting From Maine. Not Suffering From FOMO. Happy Where We Live.

Maine simple living is the cure for FOMO. Having far less free idle time to watch others and wishing your life looked differently.

Social media channels are programing, not so “real” reality in most cases. Rehearsed, photo shopped, practiced with a teleprompter. Marketing is the desire to get folks receiving the signal to buy a product or purchase a service. Or groove on you for attention. Something you need that you can not live without or that will somehow improve your life is what is being sold and are you buying it?

Time and money, how you spend it when you live in rural Maine is much more practically approached.

That wood pile for next year’s house heating that is worked on slow and sure whenever you can return to the splitter. It is energy independence and good exercise to be boy scout prepared. Not just writing a check to the fuel oil supplier for whatever they want to charge per gallon. You could but you don’t. The climbing up a ladder to strip a garage roof and re-shingle it is confidence. You gain self satisfaction because you know how and were taught not to hire everything out in life.

What’s Happening Around You In Uncrowded Maine. That Kind Of News Is Home Grown, Spread More By Locals Than Media Outlets. We Suffer Less From FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out).

The youngest in a Maine family and right on through up the line have a role to play in the daily chores.

Set the table, your turn to do the supper dishes. Help pick up. Don’t hog the bathroom. Please, thank you, be considerate. Remove your shoes, don’t leave a mess. No one sits out or is carried and the responsibility increases the older they get. Because the parents prepare them for life flapping their wings outside the nest.

In small town rural Maine, money is not handed to you and if it is to be, it is up to me.

But the sky is the limit if I am willing to work hard and make good decisions. Get my sleep, eat good nutritious food, exercise, volunteer to help others. Those basic but to some boring life ingredients can provide rich real lasting results from the no pain, no gain learning lessons.

When You Live In Maine, No Fear Of Missing Out. You Are One Of The Lucky Ones To Just Be In Vacationland.

Patience, respect for property to take care of what you buy with impulse control shopping to make sure to get quality.

People pay Dave Ramsey to learn this stuff that was missed because no one else showed them the ropes to healthy rewarding simple living. Your parents, family, teacher, your boss because you have a job for spending money are all your mentors and life coaches for free.

FOMO has already been around to a small degree.

Keeping up with The Jones meant awareness of a few successful people around you. But social media channels amplified the watching just a few to hundreds, thousands as you make lots of new “friends”. The needing to fit in, to have more friends than others means conformity to the sea of faces. Letting others make decisions for you to fit in and be hip is not living your life. It is mirroring around others that are not you. More on how FOMO does not help your self esteem.

Lots Of Lobster Fishing, Tourist Boat Rides, Other Industry In The Maine Harbors Of Vacationland. When You Live In Maine, All This Is In Your Backyard And Less FOMO Anxiety Levels Drop.

Embrace JOMO (joy of missing out) because you started making your own unique set of choices.

That’s when you start living your own life and stop the habit of shaping it modeling only others perceived day to day based on social media insertions. Remember the mirror mirror on the wall habit of one aging queen? The need for attention, to be envied or coveted by others is not healthy. No time for it in small town rural Maine where happiness is not found on a glowing eerie blue screen but in the drop dead gorgeous full color outdoor landscape.

Sheltering In Place, Small Towns In Maine Are Ideal For Sheltering In Place. We Are Happy, Self Contained!

True Mainers are outdoors everyday, just dressed a little bit different to reflect the season.

We get what we need from out in nature. What we have is earned the old fashioned way. Not by buying a power ball chance for a million dollar pay out, because we are high on what we already worked hard to earn.

Are you addicted to know what is happening in other people’s lives?

Meet Your Neighbors, Kinda Shy, Have Four Legs. Whew. You Made It To Maine.

Is social media making you feel inadequate or depressed?

Shut it off or at least limit the screen time to create time for healthy rituals. Or use it for inspiration ideals from a Pinterest pin or a DIY YouTube video to glean ideas and skills. But not to see how your life sizes up compared to the thousands of so call online friends. Maybe those you follow are not so happy and part of the enjoyment is to take you down a peg or two to feel like a loser. Who needs friends like that? And who wants to be a toxic friend like that?

Thank you for stopping by our Me In Maine blog post weekly installment on FOMO.

Juggling Your Life Work Balance And Keeping Perspective. More Time In Maine Helps Clear Your Head.

Being grateful for all you do have, for what you cherish. Worked hard for to create, protect and to enjoy living in up in Maine.

Counting those blesses and not lamenting or longing for a long list of what you think you want that you don’t need. That’s the right direction I think most down to Earth Mainers decide to take. Less whining and watching others and more pitching in to help out. And that they pass on to their children by living those kind of examples in the mentoring and skill building to not just survive life. But to glean more from the life they create. Living it fully and richly by keeping it simple all natural outdoors in four seasons Maine.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

September 19, 2021
Veterans Memorials In Maine | 4 Corners Veterans Memorial

Veterans memorials in Maine.

The Veteran Memorials, In Maine You Find Them No Matter How Big Or Small The Town. Working Together With Multi Maine Communities Makes The Impacts Greater.

4 Corners Veterans Memorial in Southern Aroostook County towns of Oakfield, Smyrna, Merrill, Dyer Brook, Maine. Statewide there are lots of them listing who served and died in the protection of freedom. The number of older veteran monument style honor rolls remind you just how big a place in history the service and sacrifice is given by the locals. Families, friends, local heros from your home town in Maine is a big deal.

Small Maine communities treat their veterans very special.

Big statutes from civil war era, streets lined with American flags, fund raising and construction of veterans honor rolls listing familiar family names. All part of the landscape as you tool around a small Maine community. Maybe Maine’s older population is part of the increased honor and respect. Maine families all have someone who served a hitch or two in the armed forces for Uncle Sam. The local American Legions, the Veterans of Foreign Wars outposts for veterans to do good service work also helps keep the spirit alive.

Maine Veteran Monuments. Check Out This Four Town One In Aroostook County!

The loss of a community member in a war or conflict far from home is felt harder due to the tight knit fabric of small Maine towns.

The connection is stronger, deeper and folks are more connected when the community depends on its members to comfort each other.

Maine Veterans Memorial Monuments. Four Towns In Maine Join Forces.

Saturday I took the time to stop and study one new “Four Corners” veterans memorial tribute.

Built near the corner of several Northern Maine town lines, the towns of Oakfield, Smyrna, Merrill and Dyer Brook rallied the troops. To organize, plan, fund raise and put the dream into action. Large black granite walls of veteran’s names lined up in formation. Standing perfectly straight up and down covering all the branches of the armed services. Plus remembering the missing in action, even paying tribute to the Spanish American war.

Many Gave Some, Some Gave All. Maine Veterans Are Memorialized, Never Forgotten!

Those that died while serving, all the names from four towns in Northern Maine chiseled top to bottom to study.

World Wars, peace time service, the Civil War, Merchant Marines, MIA’s, all the branches of the armed services are presented. While the flutter of several flags happens overhead in the background. I remember the experience taking the family into the USS Arizona in Hawaii and recalled no one talks. No one whispers. You slowly move into the chamber where lists of those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor cover the marble walls. Plus with a twist.

Maine Local Folks Love And Respect Veterans Who Served. Good Luck Finding Any Maine Family Without Several Veterans In It.

After you study the veteran names and move side to side something clicks.

Wait a minute. Dates for death inscribed that are not December 7th, 1941 appear in your field of vision. You process the down low 2008, 2012, etc names of veterans who died later.

Veterans who their service, competed their tour and stayed alive until the end of the war.

Then one by one the survivors of that surprise Sunday morning attack return. To the place that brought our country into war with Japan and have their remains capsuled an d names added to the scrolls at the Pearl Harbor, Hawaii monument. Survivors of that historic day lived to eventually return to the watery grave with their ship mates.

Spanish American War, Civil War, Not Just Vietnam, Korea, The World War Skirmishes Honored And Preserved. MIAs, Peace Time Service, Merchant Marines, All The Arm Services Branched Get Spotlighted.

The Four Corners Memorial also has paved in the walkway as you enter the veterans monument.

More personal family tributes and listing the advertising local community supporters from individuals and business members. I recognized lots of names from the local monument and was proud in my home town my Dad, Uncle Fred, two brothers, lots of cousins appear on that Veterans monument behind the Cary Library.

My Dad was a tail gunner in a B-24 Liberator four engine bomber plane flying missions over Germany during World War Two.

His home away from home was an Army tent with a gas heater and each morning there were briefings at sunrise on where the daylight bombing run would entail today. What the targets were and what if weather does not cooperate. Then what, where to divert for secondary targets to avoid the civilian population losses?

Maine Monuments, Veteran Memorials Like The One In Four Corners, Aroostook County.

This Four Corners monument was a smart approach so each town did not struggle with the fundraising but joined forces.

Collectively worked out the details of the engineering involved with earthwork, buying the materials at the best price, lining up the contractors through a bid process. Lots of free help and aid to construction of materials happens in small Maine towns too. The local towns people feel connected to any project that benefits and represents the community. Home town proud.

These memorials for veterans not a case of someone write a check and here we go. All in and all done.

No no, it’s a long process to decide where to put it. How to pay for it, to get the locals rallied around the project and to pull off the fund raising. Getting all the names, from died in combat, missing in action, prisoners of war, etc. Don’t leave anyone out or mess up the spelling. Big project to get it right and be respectful to honor the living and deceased veterans of Maine communities.

Memorial For Veterans, The Monuments For Four Maine Communities Joining Forces To Honor Area Vets. No Matter How Recent Or Long Ago The Vet Served. None Are Forgotten.

The Four Corners Veterans Memorial makes you think about raises and lowers the flags or replaces them when it’s time.

There is power to light the memorial monument, grass to keep trimmed, spring raking for winter road sanding to do. Planting flowers and keeping them watered. Respect is what you feel and take the time to stop and study your local Maine veterans monuments. Or get behind efforts to raise funds to erect one if it is missing. To restore one that has been neglected along with veteran sections of local cemeteries scattered around Maine that come in all sizes.

Foot Pavers, Not Just The Black Granite Walls Of Vet Names.Room For Expansion, More To Come On Board To Respect The Vet. To Honor Their Service Now Or Long Ago. Never To Forget The Vet..

Remember the veterans who served.

If more people served, maybe more respect for veterans would happen. Giving some, giving all. It helps increase patriotism, nationalism for the red, white and blue we all hail from no matter what political persuasion or views. Everyday is Veteran’s Day if the sacrifice is not allowed to fade and lose importance. I know as a kid, we visited family graves and it was respectful, not morbid. You saw the rows and rows off straight as an arrow white crosses. Each marked with who served, where, what rank, maybe what battalion or group.

Veteran friendly and appreciative towns, more than a painted plywood sign rider on the welcome to town announcement of where you are in Maine. Thank you veterans in my home town, county, state, country and beyond that fought for freedom. Some gave their live for freedom, the ultimate sacrifice.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com | MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

July 19, 2021
Agricultural State Fairs In Maine

Agricultural state fairs in Maine, they are underway around Vacationland.

Many were scaled way back or not held at all during the pandemic. But the COVID virus is in the rear view mirror and all around the state folks are returning to traditional life. Here’s the list, the circuit of agricultural state fairs in Maine. This blog posts to showcase what happens going into an local agricultural state fair and why they are so important to the area of Maine where they happen.

What Would You Do With This Maine Farm Land Acreage? Critters Or Crops?

Maine has a deep, rich tradition roots with family agricultural farming.

The lumbering of forest tracts and timbering vast tracts is right up there too. Managing your woodlot is a big way of our life when you are 91 percent wooded too. And we won’t leave out the vital importance of the Maine fishing industry. How important harvesting what’s below the water off the coast of Maine is at meal time and for the state’s tourism.

Hi. Maine Dairy Cows Itching To Get Turned Out, To Kick Up Their Heels, To Roll In And Eat The New Spring Field Clover.

Farming in Maine, there was a time when the state was number one in agricultural food production.

In small farming communities around the state of Maine, it was not uncommon to need the ten fingers of both hands to list them all. Up and down each country road you could recite the small family farms in Maine that worked the dirt. Those folks who carved out a living from agriculture. Feeding others, being a farmer is and always was a noble profession. Now less than two percent of individuals grow the food consumed by the masses. There was a time in Maine when ninety six percent of folks tilled the soil and worked, raised families on farmsteads. Maine is right up there with a resurgence of micro farming. The average age of the national farmer is pushing sixty years of age.

Working For Winter Clothes, That Jacket, To Help Out Family Expenses. Kids Learn Work Ethic Early On In Small Town Rural Maine.

The number of small family farm spreads dotting the countryside around Vacationland was pretty impressive.

It’s why the Grange hall was big in membership and the Future Farmer Of America chapters flourished. In Northern Maine, schools went in three weeks earlier than the rest of the state. To close for the same amount of time so students could help area farmers harvest their potato crops. Many a kid earned their winter jackets, helped out with the family needs by picking potatoes for area farmers.

Farming in Maine is such a big part of the state’s history and locals cherish the rich experiences learned by being part of area agricultural operations.

Baby beef, sheep, goat, raising chickens and egg production on a small scale and large truck gardens. They all are enjoyed as a big part of the simple lifestyle of farm to table living in rural Maine. So it is no wonder that state agricultural farm fairs are popular around Maine.

Here’s the list of 26 licensed Maine state agricultural fairs for 2021.

Kids chasing a piglet with the winner who lands one in the burlap bag getting to keep it. Can I Mom and Dad? He’s so cute. Oink. What’s that about you think I should call him Bacon? Hamchops? Why’s everyone laughing? 4H exhibits, baby beef, sheep being sheered for their woo. Ribbons in all colors awarded for everything from bread and butter pickles to dried flowers.

Quilting, art, photography, home cook food competitions. Raising goats, rabbits, chickens means responsibilities on a Maine farm and everyone in the family has a job. All the Maine farm family members are important parts of the agriculture operation.

Maine Farm Sheep. Beating The Heat Wearing Summer Wool On A Maine Farm.

Bored, Wishing They Had Some Wire Cutters To Take A Vacation From The Pen.

Tractor and horse pulls, oxen displays, demolition derbies, vendors peddling fair food of all kinds.

Have a dough boy, sprinkled with confectioners white powdered sugar. My favorite, the Italian sausage smothered in onions, mingling with green and red peppers sauteed on the grill. Everyone hungry? Local service and church clubs have hot dog booths and burger wagons and you know the folks that take your order in small Maine towns. I’ll be on the Rotary gate to the park for a shift or two to exchange money for ticks to the state fair in my hometown this weekend. Everyone pitches in and helps make the local event home grown special.

Working Together On The Land In Maine. Amish Families Resettle In Vacationland To Strengthen Local Agriculture.

Take a number and socialize with others you see on the state fair agriculture midway while waiting for the food order preparation.

Fireworks, little miss and mister firecracker pageants when your Maine agricultural state fair happens to land around the 4th of July. Exhibits of all types, car shows, carnival rides depending on COVID restrictions or the size of your fair. And farm tractors new and old appeal to a big segment of the fair audience who worked with them growing up. Someone’s Uncle or Grandfather owned a Maine farm spread and everyone has memories haying, picking potatoes, raking blueberries, repairing fencing, haying, etc.

Barns In Maine, Some Store Bought From Sears And Roebuck. Others Hand Hewn Post And Beams Created On Site.

Have you ever been to the agricultural state fair in Maine called the Common Ground?

2021 is the 50th anniversary of the Common Ground Fair. The multi day state fairs in Maine require year round planning. Sometimes insurance to be taken out to hedge the bet because so much is riding on the gate size and event coming off without a hitch. The living off the land lifestyle of simplicity. To appreciate the basics and what is real, all natural and not store brought. The Common Ground Fair is worth the annual t-shirt, the experience so many share so freely for the skill set gleaned from the agriculture “down on the farm” lifestyle.

Big Barns In Maine. They Fall To Their Knees If Not Maintained.

The state fairs in Maine have to have a full slate of activities and events to be well rounded to appeal to all ages year after year.

Fireworks, horse harness races and shows, parades, craft exhibits, carnival rides all are part of the state fair agricultural in Maine circuits. The cooperative extensive service, 4H, Future Farmers group all come together with the Maine agriculture families to celebrate rural living.

Treats, Fair Food, What’s Your Favorite? Cotton Candy, Dough Boys Or Grilled Sausages Smothered In Onions And Peppers?

More on Maine agricultural fairs, kicked off with the one coming up this weekend in Houlton ME.

Here is the link to the Houlton State Fair website. Beef, dairy, goat, alpaca shows are listed on the events list. Tractor pulls, open stage musical event, fireworks to cap it all off on our Nation’s 4th of July celebration. If you can sneak up into “The County”, see you this weekend at the lead in Houlton State Agriculture Fair for the 26 on the circuit around Vacationland.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

June 29, 2021
Maine School Graduations, Now What?

Maine school graduations, now what?

The square hats thrown in the air, the gowns used once and tucked away in closets. Ready or now, here he and she goes out into the wild blue yonder. What you need to not just survive life but to benefit those around you. Making a difference in a million small ways. Having some fun along the way. What advice for new graduates of Maine high school and area colleges could you provide anyone who would listen?

Graduates Of Maine High Schools And Colleges, Go Forth And Prosper.

Keep your eyes and ears open. Look down and see the path you are on is well beaten or scarcely used. Make decisions considering the consequences. Don’t take yourself too seriously but know you can be part of something beautiful if you stick with it. My Dad’s University of Maine commencement speaker told his college crowd of graduates congratulations and I hope you know adversity early on in life to benefit from it. Charmed lives, no set backs is not what to expect if you truly wish to stretch and grow. Learning takes a lifetime right?

Attitude is everything in life.

Your outlook can be Eeyore or optimistic. Staying happy, content, focused won’t be popular with everyone around you though. As soon as you start meeting your own needs, there will be those who don’t like it. Relationships, are they toxic, encouraging and does the signal go both ways for mutual benefit. You are in it for the long term right? Patience is a virtue. Living in a small Maine town has you better prepared than most rural graduates realize. Be proud of your roots and the skill set you developed because of small Maine town living.

Living In A Small Maine Town. Kids Learn Skills, To Pitch In And Everything Not Handed To Them.

I think back on lessons learned from my parents. Dad reminding the four boys to get your sleep, hang loose and don’t get shook up. Mom, easy does it and moderation rules the day. Stick with it, read, learn, stay the course. Growing up on a Maine farm and staying on that patch of family dirt takes fortitude, creativity, focus and plan “B”, “C” to quickly shift gears the plan for the day ahead suddenly changes. Roll with the punches. Rise to the occasion. Be your best. It is all about others. Your best teachers growing up where your hardest. That knew you could do better and challenged you to reach deeper, search harder and produce a higher quality output.

Changing the world, volunteering and making ends meet to live a little below your means.

To save that nest egg and expect bumps, dips in the road ahead. See and expect the curves life will throw at you right? Are you better at giving advice than taking it though? Like dieting, what you need to do long term is loaded with high calorie and carb temptations. Peer pressure, that refrigerator calling your name during movie commercial breaks. Just one more piece and I’ll work it off tomorrow. Fibbing, rationalizing to ourselves is taking place on a large scale. Be true to thyself.

Cut To The Chase, Maine Frankness Keeps It Simple And Honest.

The village in small town Maine is a big part of the education outside the high school or college institution hallways. The education is all around you to feast on if you make the time to look for it. Make the most of what you have rather than always wanting something you don’t. Don’t grade people or put them in bins of good or bad or somewhere inbetween.

You learn a lot about the person dishing out the advice to Maine school graduates.

Sometimes it is a politician using the opportunity to well wish and provide words of wisdom but also to advance an agenda. Don’t turn cynic, but look for red flags and the spin. But no one wants to be “sold” anything. Sincere how can I help you without the cameras or credit. The rich snippets of how to live live, ways to improve it are gleaned in the private moments with someone who has logged a few more sunrises and sunsets. Tap into that resource around you of well traveled and seasoned individuals and you can save yourself needless missteps. Or to know you are on the right course after all when doubt floods the gray matter behind the eyes and between the ears.

Freedom On A Maine Beach. Winter Helped The Pandemic Spacing On The Sand. Spend Time Alone Or In Small Groups Not Just Large Crowds. It’s The Way Rural Maine Rock And Rolls.

If it is easy, where’s the reward in that?

Ditch the entitlement, the it has to be entertaining and thinking everything is going to be fun and games. A feeling of satisfaction from a job well done. Not just once but for the rest of your life when you set your mind to be the best. Ego, turn down the volume but reason it is part of what drives you good and bad. Folks that are better at something than you. Don’t hate them, embrace them and learn all your can. The education is just beginning and not stopping when you move the gold or white or whatever color tassel from one side to the other from the square hat you perch on your noggin for a temporary lid.

Don’t expect easy but it does not have to be made harder than it really is.

But it will be if you fight it, don’t think you should have to be going through this. That’s feeling sorry for yourself that never produces anything of value. It takes the spotlight off what is really important at any given time.

Horsepower, A Pair To Pull The Potato Digger Through The Maine Farm Field.

Go along to get along and don’t stand up in the boat or cause it to rock needless. Sit down, close the pie hole and open up the ear canals. Actively listen and know there is much to learn that you don’t know. Blind spots, perfect imperfection, thank God we are not all alike or life would be very boring and highly predictable. If you strive to be happy, you will be told by some to cut it out. Asked what are you so happy about? Remember, you may have no idea what they have been going through or how life is treating them. Love them anyway, say a prayer for them but don’t let them steal your joy. Hold the door open anyway and strive to find ways to make their day a tad brighter because you should and can. Be a mentor. Have lots of mentors.

What is going to happen next?

The jury is out on that one folks but believe more good than bad will be the score at the end of the day. Start the next one with a clean shaken Etch-O-Sketch. Don’t let yesterday if it was not one of your best ruin the next. Look for the good. Be a team player and pitch in. All the time. Your effort is contagious and collectively major mountains can be moved shoulder to shoulder.

Pure White, All Natural Not Man Made Snow. Maine Winter Is Coming, Locals Are Excited. You Learn Much In The Solitude Reflection.

Expectations. Are they realistic?

Down to Earth and not too lofty or quick fix slam bang works best in your approach. You may know it but do you throw in the clutch, slide your stick into the right forward gear to achieve heading in that direction? Read, develop your faith, be sincere and remember we are all in this together for the greater good. The best is yet to be. That’s my advice for Maine school graduates.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

June 17, 2021
“As Is Where Is And If It Is To Be It Is Up To Me

“As is, where is” and if it is to be it is up to me.

Your approach to day to simple living in Maine is different in rural parts of the Pine Tree state. When you are raised working hard for what you have and respecting other people’s personal property too. Life becomes crystal clear.

Using What You Have That’s More Than Enough In Small Town Maine Living.

Your appreciation for what you have and what is really important in life starts early in small town Maine.

Independence, a skill set to not just survive life but to glean lots of enjoyment from it means hands on training. Shaping the right attitude and take away from life events now playing around you. How dependent are you on others? Even say replacing the inside toilet valve with a new one when even jiggling the handle won’t stop the run run run of supply water to the tank.

Or shingling the garage or porch roof when it needs it before it leaks. You climb the ladder, strip the shingles to prepare the roof for a new protective layer. The lawn work is done by members of the family not hired out each week. Our exercise is win win because it’s not at a gym on a tread mill boring. There are line items on the chore list accomplished at the same time. But saving money that maybe you just don’t have… That does not stop you from tackling a DIY project like the low cost Maine home for sale with 4 acres of land below.

The video for that one to sneak a peek and check out for $27,500 if you are ambitious and full of fire in your belly to bring it back to life.

Do you know how or can you round up friends who exchange the bartering help to perform the task?

Or are you highly trained in one discipline and pretty much helpless in all the rest so you have to stop everything. And wait, and wait some more for a someone hired to do the simplest of jobs?

Survival Skills Living Up In Small Town Rural Maine. Locals Have A Larger Skill Set. And A Better Approach Daily Attitude To What Life Brings Their Way.

I grew up on a small Maine family farm and all the household members pitched in and had important roles.

Working together to perform tasks also meant more time for conversations to learn about the family. To have the older family members teach the younger ones what they learned to save time and do tasks correctly around the four farm seasons.

Had a fellow from the Windham Maine area come into the real estate office lobby this past week.

He shared with me how he learned to sheet rock. He was young, a teenager and his uncle was low to the ground short but tall in reputation for hanging sheet rock. This uncle known for his expertise at applying just the right amount of joint compound mud after lift after life of sheet rock was skillfully put into place. With just a couple men in the crew, an entire single family Maine home was sheet rocked in a day.

Moving on like gypsies to do it again and again as the work week progressed in southern Maine hanging sheet rock to prepare the place for the first home owner.

Living In A Small Maine Town Like Say Patten ME. Kids Learn Skills, To Pitch In And Everything Not Handed To Them.

How did you learn when starting out green I asked this jack of all trades seasoned Maine carpenter?

Quickly was his answer. It was like sink or swim or no time to fuss or coddle. What does coddle mean? The word definition …

Coddle is an old word. Originally, it meant to cook gently in water that is near boiling, as in coddling an egg. It most likely gained its association with pampering and taking care of someone via a drink made for invalids that was prepared by coddling. “Mollycoddle,” a synonym for coddle, originally meant a person who coddles himself, or an effeminate man.

This fellow says his uncle had no doubt whatsoever that the nephew was going to be a quick study and a true asset to the sheet rock hanging crew. There was little time for pampering or “there there counseling” in the early on trial and error A – A indoctrination. To develop valuable skills in how best to hang to tape to mud and sand sheet rock placed on the walls and ceilings of his uncle’s job assignments.

Big State, Small Town Values, That’s Maine’s Approach To Simple Living.

Knowing that confidence comes from within not outside forces.

As you yourself figure out if it is to be, it is up to me approach that works best. The nephew says he watched the hanging, the finishing process in action all around him. As he lifted on one end of the sheet rock board to deliver it room by room to where needed.

Seeing, listening and watching any task performed in action is lots better than just reading about it. Before the first day on the job was done, the uncle moved the nephew into the closet. No no, not for punishment or attitude adjustment for misdeeds like a time out corner after a melt down occurs.

Why moved to the home under construction closet?

To sheet rock where it shows the least behind all the clothes and in the darker regions of the house. To begin the building confidence and developing the skills that would stick with him for life. Then after the six or so closets in a typical 5-3-1 ranch style home, to move on out into the ceiling and wall work through out the house.

Outdoor Simple Living In Maine. Is Lack Of Space And Too Many People Sapping Your Quality Of Life?

Too much attention and too few boundaries back when a child is being raised. Spoiling a child does not just mean giving them everything and the Sun without working for a thing. The approach behind the eyes and between the ears in simple living rural Maine is to be grateful for what you have that you worked hard to obtain.

As a child growing up in a small Maine community, you know in the family you are loved conditionally but that life comes with rules.

It is not all about you. You have to pitch in. It’s about others. You don’t want to be known as lazy or self centered.

Being tough skinned but tender hearted helps not to take things personal. And instead of any delay looking around for someone to wait on you or for help or coddling, a Maine youngstercan quickly moves forward. No fuss, more get the job done and do a good it like you were taught. The self satisfaction feeling just opens the door to learn more if a parent will not deprive the child of chores and the skills needed to do them.

You Hear What Time It Is In Small Maine Towns. The Circles Are Smaller, The Connections Tighter Around You.

Feeling good about yourself starts way back in childhood and avoiding over indulgence. Meg and I had the privilege of taking care of a two year old granddaughter last night. I am proud of the parents who are teaching this hair of gold one of three grandchildren to be responsible. To gently remind her to pick up toys when play is done, that the household has structure and routines without being militant about it. They practice what they preach in a playful but firm consistent way.

Please and thank go a long way in creating an atmosphere of healthy appreciation in a household.

Instant gratification does not mirror real life either. And sticking with it, you can do it encouragement helps the child clear the life hurdles with too much parental intervention.

Fast forward to buying a Maine home and the buyers and sellers I deal with today.

It is no secret the Maine real estate market listing inventory is selling faster than the supply replenishes. There are shortages of all types of real estate categories and bidding wars are not uncommon.

Home Grown, Local Everything DIY In The Small Maine Town Living Approach. The Quality Of Life Is Pot Lunch Rich And Satisfying.

To win the bid to get the price, the house or land or lakefront property in Maine.

The buyer must put on their big girl and big boy pants if they hope to be selected by a Maine real estate seller. In this hot seller’s market, the property owner does not have to agree to much other than conveying with a clear title.

The last Maine REALTOR’s state convention before the COVID pandemic arrived, legal beagle Linda Gifford who shepherded our group for many decades told the large room at Sunday River in Newry she had to counsel her own kids. On just how to approach buying or selling a home in Maine.

Her kids were making an offer on a property and loading up the wish list of what they expected the seller to do in their contract property pitch. Linda reminded them think like a seller. Would you accept a heavily loaded up Christmas tree list of pork barrel purchase and sale agreement items if presented that way?

Living On A Maine Lake, Who Wouldn’t Want To Experience That Maine Waterfront Real Estate Setting?

To win the bid and expect success negotiation the real estate sale. Up the size of the deposit, do the top to bottom inspection rounding up your family members you trust in the trades to know what you are buying without the home inspection contingency. Keep it simple, even pay over the listed price “as is where is” and roll up your sleeves. To ‘if it is to be, it is up to me” thinking on your approach to buying a house, anything in life. To make your offer stand out from all the rest and to help the seller in the pick me, pick me please.

Expect more from yourself, less from others and you won’t be disappointed.

Pull the focus off the outside World by working instead to a shift from within. As Dale Carnegie reminds “it isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what are doing that makes your happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.

Lake House Of Glass In Maine. Listed, On The Maine Real Estate Market A Matter Of Days. Watch The Listing Video.

No place for “stinking thinking” especially during this time of high school and college graduations as a new crop of students enter the workforce.

I think growing up in small town Maine really prepares an individual for the wild blue yonder. Life skills come from experiences and being taught how to do it yourself with confidence. Never giving up but being patient and realistic is just common sense right?

As is, where is and if it is to be it is up to me approach to each new day. Hope you have a great week Me In Maine blog post readers.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

May 23, 2021