June 24th, 2023 is the race date for the 27th running of the soap box derby race in Houlton ME. Today, if you want to derby race in Maine, “Derby Hill” in Houlton ME is the one state site for gravity racing. Once upon a time, there were five local derby racing site locals in Maine. The Northern Maine soap box derby built a two lane racing hill.
I think the big reason Houlton ME survived the one by one closure of the other four local Maine soap box derby programs.
The Road To Race In Akron Ohio’s All America Downhill Event. First You Have To Win A Local.
The Soap Box Derby youth car racing program began back in 1933. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio.
Un-powered cars bit from a kit compete using only gravity for fuel. Kids between 7 to 20 years of age are eligible to race in the All American soap box derby program.
Getting a car sponsor or buying a derby car to assemble is part of the education.
Workers to set up a hill, tear it down after a derby race is one of the biggest cost in manpower and logistics. Someone needs to be on the top of the hill to load cars into the gates. To launch each heat from “Topside”.
Other individuals at the bottom of the race course to help pull cotter pins, rotate wheels, load cars on trailers to head back to the top of the hill.
To keep racers with their cars for quick pairing.
So the day is no longer than it has to be to determine your winners in each division.
So we can move on to have the big soap box derby party and lots to eat. While watching the awards presentation after all the fun winds up in this year’s local Maine soap box derby race.
Timing the lane heats to determine who advances up the soap box derby racing brackets.
Lots of jobs for volunteers to fill year after year. Weather is always an unknown but heck, we live in Maine. Get lots of different types of weather to work around all year long.
Our Houlton Maine derby racing program trains drivers and their support teams to expect blistering hot, pouring rain, maybe even snow and gusty wind conditions on the track.
If you live in Maine, if you want to sponsor a soap box derby car, visit this link for the costs involved buying a stock racer. For larger, older racers, this is the link for buying a super stock derby car.
All Colors, Styles Of Graphics Make Each Soap Box Derby Car Unique Like Their Drivers.
There is a master division to keep the interest of the oldest derby racers.
I helped one of my four kids who all soap box derby raced and can attest from experience. It takes way more than 30 hours to build a masters kit car. Here’s the link to the newest version to buy a soap box derby master kit car.
We Have A Green Light On Derby Hill! Heat 109, Drivers Ready..
There are lots of existing soap box derby cars around the state of Maine.
You see them for free and wearing layers of thick dust and rust from laying around the back or up over head a Maine garage.
Sometimes you see them in sell swap trade guides. A Maine stock or super stock soap box derby car will be mingled in among the list of for sale item bargains. Most seem to be free to a good home.
The only problem with old derby race cars is having to update floor boards, making sure the axles or other parts are not outdated.
There is time, expense, dedication and a lot of gravity aerodynamic science that goes into building or maintaining a soap box derby car.
Kids grow up and learn to drive real cars out into the big wild World. But they never forget what an allen wrench is for or an lock washer. How to adjust weights, tighten a steering cable or change a brake pad.
The derby race cars that impress me the most are not the ones where one sponsor or someone’s parent bought the kit out of pocket.
But rather the derby race cars passed down with many sponsors each contributing the money to buy them, splitting the cost of paint, updates, helmets, new brake pads, graphics, etc.
Rather than read read read, let’s watch a couple Maine soap box derby race program videos.
It’s all downhill, gravity racing where weight, alignment is your “engine” with the trick to get from top to bottom quicker than the other lane driver.
The Houlton Maine local derby race was the largest five years in a row. It takes 66 volunteers, around 200 derby race car drivers. Lots of car sponsors, program advertisers to pull off that kind of accomplishment! Kids are king and queen and the whole village raises the youngsters in rural small town Maine! That’s why year after year, Maine soap box derby has kept rolling in “The County”, in “Vacationland”.
Mini vacations in Maine, Whaleback Lighthouse in Kittery ME.
Maine is a big state. But when you live here full time, exploring every nook and cranny happens. Return trips to parts of Maine that hit you deep inside are common.
Metal Extension Is No Longer On Whaleback Lighthouse, Kittery Maine
This blog post about a weekend getaway heading from Houlton Maine south on I-95 to visit a new granddaughter, a tad older grandson in the Boston MA area.
The travel distance, how far away in Maine is everything? This time of year it depends on the weather forecast on actual travel times for safety sake, not just the mileage.
If you have followed the Me In Maine blog, lighthouses are always a stable to cover.
The state tourism folks say there are 65 lighthouses in Maine. I always thought the number was 68 Maine lighthouses. Somehow Whaleback Lighthouse in Kittery ME escaped coverage. Once you start collecting them for photo and video capture, you realize one thing.
Some are easy peasy or very hard to access in the collection of Maine lighthouses.
Not the prettiest of lighthouses in Maine, Whaleback is made of granite blocks.
I think West Quoddy lighthouse in Lubec with the red stripes is the most attractive. Whaleback Lighthouse is at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor. Started in 1829 and finished the next year, Whaleback Lighthouse set Uncle Sam back $21,000.
Then over two years starting in 1870, a new better built version of Whaleback lighthouse was constructed.
The Maine lighthouse had a cast iron fog signal attached seen in the black and white image. The metal addition did not improve her looks but with lighthouses in Maine, the purpose in communications is far more important than glamour.
The original lighthouse had poor construction but also is in a location hammered by the ocean waves at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor. Probably could use a breakwater to help buffer the pressure from wind, water, ice.
Some Maine lighthouses are far far out to sea.
You need a Maine lobster boat or ferry ride to access. Or they are on an island close to the mainland parked at the harbor entrance but facing the Atlantic Ocean. From the shore these lighthouses not visible from shore. This is like the location of the lighthouse in Cutler Maine, Little River lighthouse.
Whaleback lighthouse is just off shore and Portland head light has just as convenient drive to easy access where to put your car.
Just park it and enjoy your walk around the trails. The areas of both Whaleback and Portland head light utilized as former forts to defend the Maine coastal regions from intruder attack. Used as observation points. To detect any possible hostile enemy force floating in hoping to be undetected from the seaward approach.
Can you imagine the lonely but important life signalling dangers in all kinds of Maine weather living in a lighthouse? With only ledge rocks and pounding waves rocking your small tight quarters and supplying all that ice cold sea spray.
You have to be able to entertain yourself with a good book or strive to be a writer, a painter.
To capture the experience off the coast of Maine calling a lighthouse home sweet home. The lighthouses with some patch of dirt surrounding them were often farmed.
Your own farm fresh local eggs, small animals and a modest harvest from the lighthouse garden soil.
Can you imagine life as a Maine lighthouse keeper? One lighthouse keeper I read about bought a piano for his wife’s entertainment. But only one sheet of music could defeat the purpose and cause emotions to rise in the solitude and a single tune over and over. Could too much peace and quiet most of the time challenge your sanity?
Walked the cobble stone streets to different Old Port places to eat on each visit. Last winter, on the same trek to Boston to see family, a stop in the Old Port happened.
The Sound Of Food Traffic And Vehicles On Old Port’s Cobble Stone Roadways. Hear, Feel The Rumble?
Perfect Blend Of Atmosphere, Friendly Staff And Farm & Sea Fresh Meal Ingredients At Fore Street Restaurant, Old Port Maine Place To Dine.Old Port Maine Dining Experience At The Fore Street Restaurant.Top Notch And Like Many Old Port Dining Option, First Class Food, Staff, Location.
After the Whaleback Lighthouse walk around the “fort”, a drive through the twisting, winding Kittery Maine roadways to catch some of the local scenery.
Kittery Maine, Can You Imagine Living In The State’s Southern Most Community Point?
Taking you along as readers, followers of Me In Maine blog posts.
Along The Coast Of Maine, Maine’s Southern Most Lighthouse Visit.
Feel so so lucky to live in Maine and to share what it is like in Vacationland. Down and back leaving Friday afternoon and returning Sunday night on this mini vacation in Maine.
Beat feeting it to avoid icy driving conditions along I-95 heading north up into Maine on the way back home.
Fort Kent Maine Is As Far North As You Can Go. On The Other End Of Maine, One Tall Wide State.
Getting another daughter all settled in for another semester at Husson College one extra to do list item on the way home.
In Bangor the freezing rain was just starting but Meg and I were able to drive out of it. Cloudy but no ice, warmer temperatures and no snow once we hit Lincoln Maine on the journey back into “Aroostook County”, the Crown of Maine.
Stay tuned. More lighthouses in Maine to explore and other popular and lesser know tourist suggestions to come.
Protecting water quality, the Maine wetlands wildlife regulating the use and construction in the shoreland area. Maine shoreland zoning regulations are the do’s and don’ts for the permitted use and new construction along the waterfront today. And Maine’s Shoreland Zoning Ordinance is a working document steadily being amended and improved to preserve and protect this precious natural resource.
Crystal Clean And Maine Shoreland Zoning Protected Waterfront Property.
Prior to 1971 when the Maine legislature passed the mandatory shoreland zoning act, there were no statewide standard rules for waterfront use and development.
This blog post about Maine shoreland zoning regulation of waterfront property.
Shoreland zoning in Maine established land use regulations for real estate properties within 250 feet of ponds, freshwater wetlands that are 10 acres or larger. Maine shoreland zoning rules cover development and use of rivers with watersheds 25 miles or more and land within 75 feet of specific streams.
Maine’s many small towns needed help in coming up with a set of rules to follow for new waterfront construction or use and expansion of existing structures.
Soil erosion control, heck a cutting operation many miles away can affect a Maine lake’s quality because of run off and contaminants dumped into from the watershed drainage.
Watch a Maine shoreland zoning regulations video for the do’s and don’ts around waterfront properties.
Maine shoreland zoning regulations are all about controlling erosion in drainage areas, coastal wetlands and tidal water to protect the natural resource.
Prior to 1971’s enactment of shoreland zoning regulations, a Maine lake property owner might not have thought much about a woodlot cutting operation many miles away. But environmental education, best practice workshops, media coverage and shoreland zoning regulation enforcement changed all that. It spelled out clearing your lot, what you had to keep, what could be pruned and opened up or not.
Shoreland zoning defined conforming or non conforming uses and limitations or presented an outright ban on what a property owner thought they could do on their property.
Maine Shoreland Zoning Waterfront Regulations< Check With DEP Before You Buy Existing Or Building. !
The shoreland zoning in Maine statutes increased awareness of what helps or hurts the waterfront environment. It provides constantly update rules each Maine community has to adopt.
The 450 townships, plantations and unorganized areas of Maine not just the handful of Maine cities all have waterfront development and use rules. Some stricter than the Maine shoreland zoning ordinance allows. So check with your local Maine code enforcement official empowered for the area of the big state of Maine you want to develop or are thinking of buying before you do.
Protecting Maine Precious Natural Resources. Maine Shoreland Zoning Does That.
Protecting the Maine environment through adoption of shoreland zoning rule and regulations.
So current land owners and future generations can appreciate the waterfront that makes Maine such an attractivr state and vacation destination for many.
Before the standardization for the state to follow or elect to beef up with something stricter for shoreland zoning waterfront land use, it was anything goes.
Maine lake loons, fish swimming in the water out front, wildlife around the waterfront has little protection. Development done the wrong way around the Maine waterfront shoreland zones threatened their natural habitat.
You Hear Them, Admire Them And Shoreland Zoning In Maine Protects Them. Maine Lake Loons, Other Wildlife, Fish!
Prior to 1971, creating a land bridge to an island, putting out a gravel pier or altering the shoreland by removing rocks or adding a load or two of sand or gravel.
Anything goes with no boundaries set backs to follow for where you could build. No concern on how many trees you can clear and in what period. Missing enforceable regulations lon size and density limits. Or number of structures you can build what size and where had no regulation.
It was take a bulldozer out into the water to move rocks more to your liking. Bring in a dump truck load of sand or gravel to have it your way along the Maine shoreline. Throw in a 55 gallon drum for a septic system. That no one needed to use disclosing tablets down the toilet or camp kitchen sink. To see what is leaching into the water out front of your crudely built cabin or camp with no water resource protection supervision
Forget what Mother Nature provided and rework the shoreland landscape as you see fit for your own personal enjoyment consideration only.
Maine shoreland zoning standardized regulations were much needed in Maine. To set up procedures, what to do in this case, that one. Plus the penalties for enforcement teeth if you were a renegade. Causing havoc and harm for neighbors, wildlife, fish, loons and anything around or in the Maine waterfront.
Maine’s Waterfront Shoreland Zone Is The Protected 250′ Buffer Strip Of Land Surrounding, Bordering The Wetlands.
Human nature kicks in and removing lots or all of trees to improve the view or ripping out protective shoreline vegetation. That’s not what protects the waterfront natural resources Maine is fortunate to possess.
The septic system to handle sewerage loads of laundry or a swinging door of too many guests next to the delicate Maine shoreland waterfront was up to the property owner. Along with Maine shoreland zoning regulation, much was done to tighten up the state’s plumbing code to protect and preserve the waterfront.
Leachfield designs to handle seasonal or more demanding year round Maine shoreland loads kept the wastewater on shore instead of dumping it into the fragile waterfront.
Maine Waterfront Rules & Regulations. 450 Maine Small Town Communities, The Handful Of Cities All Adopted Shoreland Zoning Regulations To Go By.
How Many Trees Can You Clear, Which Ones And Where Are Untouchable? Study Maine Shoreland Zoning Regulations.
Maine shoreland zoning helps waterfront property owners know how to protect against erosion while affording scenery and preserving recreation.
Protecting resale value of the Maine waterfront real estate should not be the driving force to do your part to protect the natural resource you are lucky to border. Although the Maine REALTOR’s Shoreland Handbook is a valuble resource.
Being a good steward, passing on the waterfront property to the next person in as good or hopefully better shape than you received it. That is what Maine shoreland zoning is all about… resource protection. Before expanding an existing waterfront property structure, check with the local shoreland zoning officer in your area of Maine.
What Can You Do Around A Maine Waterfront Property?
Don’t just start building. And a seasonal camp needs to go through some inspections and certification to show you are allowed the conversion to a year round residence.
Ever heard of milroil in a Maine lake, pond, watershed?
This is what it looks like and you don’t want it in your waterfront resource. It messes with oxygen levels for the fish, affects the water temperature and enjoyment with the invasive vegetation of a milfoil family plant.
Milfoil Free Lakes In Maine, Go Further North, East, West. Away From Development And Population Centers To Avoid Already Infested ME Waterbodies.
I hope this blog post, video and photos on Maine shoreline zoning is helpful. Please reach out if you have any waterfront development questions about existing or new construction projects you are considering. Here is another excellent state of Maine soil and water erosion protection publication to glean.
Stay tuned for more on Maine shoreland zoning developments and best practices.
For many years I was president of a Northern Maine lake association in Aroostook County. All the camp waterfront owners learned much from the workshops on what causes the harm. We were lucky to get funds to study the entire shoreland of Drews Lake and where to identify problems needing solutions.
Protecting Maine’s Waterfront Shoreline Takes All Of Us. Get Involved! Be A Good Steward To Help Our Natural Resource.
Money from soil and water conservation awards help our lake association from successful grant writing to protect the Maine shoreland.
To address non source point pollution, constructing riparian buffers, how to slow water from racing down a hill, what to do to battle milfoil, etc. It’s our Maine waterfront to protect and if we don’t, it’s gone and wasted. You stuck around to the very end of the blog post. Thank you! See you next time on ME In Maine blog and thank you for being a loyal follower.
Maine’s highest mountain and the source of hiking, camping joy for many. Photographers, wildlife enthusiasts and anyone wanting to be smack dab in the middle of nature all return again and again to Mt Katahdin, Baxter State Park.
Climbing Mt Katahdin, Baxter State Park Trails With Your Kids. Like You Did With Your Parents. Priceless.
This Maine blog post is to highlight Mt Katahdin, the dream of Governor Percival Baxter ad the jewel for so many in love with her majesty.
First off the facts about Mt Katahdin, the corner stone of Baxter State Park.
Mt Katahdin is horse shoe shaped, with five separate granite peaks.
Howe Peak (North Howe is 4612′, South Howe is 4734′). Pamola Peak is 4912′. Hamlin Peak is 4751′. Baxter Peak is 5267′ and Mount Katahdin’s highest point.
I learned early in my childhood about the wonder of Mt Katahdin at Baxter State Park.
My parents bought a JC Higgin’s canvas tent and along with my three older brothers, the family would go on sleep overs at Baxter State Park.
We all had jobs from setting up the tent with the front screen “porch”, gathering fire wood, helping prepare or clean up camp fire meals. Mt Katahdin herself only represents about 16% of the hiking trails at Baxter State Park.
Like I did with my four kids, as a little shaver Horse Mountain was the first peak to conquer.
Slowly working the way up to the main attraction, Mt Katahdin which means “Greatest Mountain” named by the Penobscot Indian Nation.
You don’t just hop off a couch and decide to climb Mt Katahdin.
Starting off slowly on a smaller elevation before tackling Mt Katahdin is a safe idea. Plan on an 8 to 12 hour day of climbing, rest and snack stops.
Mt Katahdin is the first stop on Appalachian Trail heading north to south.
Ending up in Georgia, nearly 2200 miles away. Mt Katahdin is not a easy climb.
Nearly vertical and twisting with granite boulders. there are places on Abol Trail with metal bars to grab and maneuver around, over or under giant rocks that make up Mt Katahdin.
Before you plan you day of climbing Mt Katahdin or any of the trails, make sure these hiking considerations are covered in your group preparations.
Secure a parking reservation. Here’s how to get hold of the folks at Baxter State Park for any climb, your dream of tackling Mt Katahdin. Check your local weather forecast for the Baxter Park area. The park rules limit your party size to a dozen hikers.
Stay on the trails to avoid being mentioned in search and rescue headlines in the local newspapers.
If you are not at the peak of say Mt Katahdin by mid afternoon, plan to reverse your direction and begin the trail climb descent. Being caught up on a Maine mountain of any size in the dark is not the memorable adventure most are seeking. It’s all about safety first, middle and last on your climb up Mt Katahdin, Baxter State Park.
For every five children, there must be an adult connected to the buddy system of trail climb hiking in Baxter State Park.
Follow The Light Blue Dashes Marking The Baxter State Park / Mt Katahdin Trails.
Making it back to the base camp should always be your goal, not reaching the top of Mt Katahdin.
Register your climb at the base trail head. Stay on the trail. Remember before anything else, get your parking reservation. If you don’t have a place to park, you aren’t going hiking that day. If the weather is unsafe, the hiking climb is not going to happen either. There are 82 trails at Baxter State Park and over 220 miles of out of this World hiking adventures ahead.
Baxter State Park, A Big Horseshoe Of Granite With Five Main Peaks.
The incredible views that you slow by sure work for that take time and determination are part of the fun.
Seeing wildlife, experiences the smells of fresh fir and pine, feeling and hearing the breeze around you. Mt Katahdin, Baxter State Park is not a once and done check off of a bucket list item.
Mt Katahdin especially, South Branch Pond, Knife’s Edge… they all grab your heart strings and you can not shake loose. The toughest trail, Cathedral. The easiest hiking trail on Mt Katahdin? Saddle trail but the most roundabout to pick.
Feel The Breeze, See The Moisture Clouds Floating By? The Tableland Of Mt Katahdin, Baxter State Park.
Whatever the approach to climbing, plan and expect to at least chew up 10 hours or more in your hike of Mt Katahdin. Knife’s Edge with 2000′ vertical drops on a trail that narrows to only four feet wide is something you will never forget. But your hiking squad, the team. Anyone with fear of heights? Wobbly on bad knees or bad back?
The connection at the top of Mt Katahdin peering out in all directions after traversing the table land, above the tree line, is like no other natural setting.
Mt Katahdin and her distance north to travel makes the other hikers you meet more dedicated, more committed. Mt Washington is way way closer to attract the Boston area of population.
No matter how many times you have climbed Mt Katadhin, the feeling of accomplishment, the thrill of what sticking with something surrounded by jaw dropping views everywhere you look never dull. Preparing your year’s vacation in Maine and looking for ideas? Carry in, carry out. Tread lightly on your Mt Katahdin Mountain climb. Have the utmost respect for nature, the wildlife. your surroundings.
Maine Governor Baxter donated the park, here is his dream.
No People, No Man Made Structures Or Noises. Welcome To Baxter State Park’s Mt Katahdin.
The element of danger combined with winds, precipitation making rocks slippery are part of the emotional build up working your way to ply the trails of Mt Katahdin at Baxter State Park.
Seeing your kids continue the climb up Mt Katahdin and exploring sections of Baxter State Park for return trips. Watching the older ones helping the younger ones hike up the trails. Knowing this introduction to Baxter State Park is a big part of living here and enjoying Maine. It is hard to explain or put into words the admiration for what Governor Percival Baxter envisioned for the local and out of state people visiting Maine.
Hiking trails in Maine.
Which ones to pick and put into combination for your hike in Maine?
You Are In Their Home Now. Maine Moose Cool Off, Enjoy Vegetation Shoots.
Hunt, Dudley, Helon Taylor Trails, Chimney Pond, South Branch Pond too are all places you never forget once you experience them first hand. You don’t do the trails alone. Plenty of wildlife to meet along the trail hikes. From snowshoe rabbits to bigger size Maine moose and white tail deer.
Where you park and start your hike is not always the same place you will finish your day at Baxter State Park.
How you get from where you start the climb and end it is part of the planning too. My family has had a park ranger say hop in, climb on the back. To ferry the tired but excited bunch of hikers back to our vehicle. Where the talk is totally about the hike, what kind of day we all had and how it compared to past trail experiences.
Your Signs, The Hiking Trail Blue Dash Marking. You Are On A Baxter State Park, Mt Katahdin Trail!
Before long, the discussion all about when to return to Baxter State Park for a day trip visit. Or longer time cut out of the calendar for an overnight camping trip plans are formulated.
Plan you next trip to be a mile high in the sky or somewhere else along the trails surrounding your day or longer at Baxter State Park. Pick up the $20 trail Guide to Katahdin, Hiking Baxter State Park. Don’t waste the natural resource splendor of Mt Katahdin, Baxter State Park! Exercise, being unplugged and outdoors recharging your mental batteries is why we live or visit Maine.
Shopping more than one grocery store, hidden valuables in a Maine home.
First, the grocery store ad sale flyers in Northern Maine part of this blog post.
Coming To Town Thursday Or Friday Night, To Line The Square And Grocery Shop For Deals. To Watch Parades, To Socialize Before Facebook, Instagram.
Many thrifty Northern Maine grocery shoppers scan the ad food flyers inserts in the local newspapers.
And the week’s grocery shopping now or year’s ago still not done in a hurry or at one store only.
No no.
Carefully thought out slowly deciding what to buy on sale at this grocery, that one. Stocking up on the deals, the loss leaders designed to get you into these Maine stores.
One after another grocery store is the weekly, all pre-planned out attack for the lowest food prices.
To get the best deal that each grocery store in Maine offers this week. Today a local office supply vendor for printing supplies told me about his Aunt. She never was blessed with children and lived out her years in the Caribou area of Maine.
Simple Living, More Outdoors, Less People, Lots Of Wildlife, That’s Maine. Looking For Grocery Store Deals That Jump Out At You. Too Good To Pass Up.
The Aunt who this nephew would pick up and each week take to the five local grocery stores one by one. To shop for what each offered as their grocery store’s “loss leaders”. The bargain priced household and fresh produce, canned goods, dairy products and meat items offered at each area Maine grocery store to attract shoppers.
I asked him if she died with quite a bit of bank savings squirreled away and he said yes she did.
One heck of a grocery shopper and saver. But he also shared with a smile that she sewed money into an old winter coat. For safe keeping but that only her sister out west knew about this DIY savings program location. And one day she woke up dead.
The Aunt in Northern Maine died, her sister did not make it to the funeral.
Saving Your Hard Earned Dollars In A Lining Of A Coat Not A Maine Bank Safety Deposit Box.
The winter coat with the cash stashed inside the inner liner given away to Catholic Charities. No idea where the winter coat with the hidden cash ended up all those years ago.
Or if the carefully saved up and hidden sewed in the coat liner cash currency funds were ever discovered by the new garment owner. If not, it’s like holding the winning Power Ball lottery ticket and never claiming the windfall that changes your life forever.
Do you have family members who were not so trustful of banks or credit unions and did some behind the scenes savings at home schemes?
Old shoe or cigar box repositories that lacked FDIC insurance protection with your Maine relatives? If you remember the run on banks and failure of lending institutions during the Great Depression, it does not seem so foolhardy to hide away the cold hard currency.
These folks created their own safety deposit box locations scattered around their Maine home nooks and crannies hiding spots.
Every family has stories passed down that shape our actions to how we live life in Maine. Working hard, developing careful impulse control on the household spending. Money wrapped up in tinfoil and tucked in back of the freezer for safe keeping is one common method folks use to tuck away the funds.
Maybe where the “cold hard cash” term was er… was coined. (Blog post audience groan sound)
In the mattress of a bed is another common place to hide away savings at Maine home.
Under a loose floor boat or tucked away in a wall cavity. Hope there is no Maine house or apartment fire.
From Market Square, The Houlton Maine Apartment House Fire Smoke.
Banks nowadays when you are buying a Maine home want to know where the savings came from and documentation.
A paper trail and chain of custody to back it up asked for at the time of applying for a Maine home mortgage loan.
The lenders fear if borrowed earnest money deposit funds, there are hefty interest rates associated to pay back the mortgage with loan shark terms and conditions.
A paper trail for the last two months and evidence it has been on deposit at a Maine bank or savings institution is part of the pre-qualification these days to get a Maine home loan.
Top areas folks also use to hide savings money in their home include the back of the toilet tank in a waterproof container. In hollowed out books or behind the stacks of reading material. We’ve all watched enough James Bond movies to envision a variety of secret hiding places for jewels, other valuables that you and I would select as a safe spot.
Saving Money, Working Hard, Life Lessons Taught Early On. Generation To Maine Generation.
Big fire proof safes that someone got a hernia rolling into place. That’s why they are still where some family member left them. You see them all over old Maine homes. The safe number combination to dial in on the tumblers long lost when a family member passed on to his or her six feet down under grave.
The bottom of the flour bin from yesteryear kitchens that had the pull out features for bulk cooking supplies. Another hiding place for valuables in a Maine home.
My Mom had a writing desk with a lid that pulled toward you revealing a slew of special compartments.
False hidden ones to stow away the fine jewelry were in those old writing desk every lady at the time possessed. Money saved at home without anyone knowing also buried in the backyard. Inside a wall during construction, in hidden canning jars.
You used what you had and everyone lived frugally.
A simple Maine lifestyle working hard for what they earned with the sweat of their back. The savings in an envelope taped under a bedroom bureau, behind a mirror or some out of sight location no one talked about or would think of as safe. Where would you think valuable could safely be stored in your Maine home?
Older generations lived as thriftily as possible and most prone to save for hard times ahead and just
Every Mom, Lady In Her 80’s It Seems Has A Writing Desk For Family History Storage.
lurking around the next life corner.
Many when they passed away from living so modestly surprise you at how much was saved from a lifetime of being frugal with their spending and savings.
The calling ahead to make sure your purpose of a trip destination is open in rural Maine.
Or has the item or service you need. No wasted trips and running a tight ship to eliminate waste of gas or time.
Part of how they had money saved was because of lessons about living below your means and taking care of items purchased.
So you did not have to replace items from too much wear and tear. Also, impulse spending control was strong and research to make sure you got the best product or service for the lowest possible price.
Ask anyone who picked Maine potatoes or raked blueberries, worked on a fishing boat or in the woods growing up about how they spent their hard earned money. Carefully, slowly or not at all.
Do I need it or do I want it?
Do I have to have it and right now, this very moment? That sense of urgency can mean poor planning.
When you have to step out and spend hard earned money right this minute, you have no time to shop around and get the best deal.
It’s now or never, do or die clock ticking to make your expensive moves with no wiggle room or other options.
Saving money and stretching dollars using S&H green stamps and other sales promotions was a sport that most of the population played.
Collecting S&H Green Stamps Given By Stores That Could Be Redeemed For Camping Gear, Your Little League Baseball Glove Or Tennis Racket.
Shopping for groceries at Maine stores offering double or more S&H green stamp premiums. Returning bottles and cans to pocket the redemption fee and planning careful, well thought out purchases for needed items.
Get a deal or wait for one.
No materials thrown away that could be needed to do household repairs either. We did not live in a throw away society.
Some dealt only in cash and carry. No credit ever. And as you save money, if your trust in banks is low from past experience or hearing family stories about lost fortunes during the “Great Depression”, it’s easy to see. How some just avoid banks, credit and ATM cards. Too tempting, too easy, too expensive.
Hidden home cash valuables in special places in your Maine home.
It’s not hoarding, it’s survival. And you keep anything of value you might need to do household or vehicle repairs. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure when money is tight and hard earned.
The same kind of thinking, planning ahead meant your winter supply of firewood was all cut, seasoned, split and stacked for next year.
You were working on the year after that for piece of mind. Your exercise was not running on a treadmill at the local gym. It was processing the woodlot firewood from large hardwood trees.
Walks, Talks, Everyone Brings A Covered Dish To Enjoy For A Picnic. That’s Small Town Living In Outdoor Four Season Maine.
Chopped down, twitch dragging them to yards to process into smaller lengths. Then split down further to the length your wood heater would hold for a future winter ahead. Families getting together to jointly help each other create the firewood fuel needed to heat each of their Maine homes.
Everyone has done home remodeling and in Maine’s older housing stock you find hidden treasures from the past owner.
Inexpensive jewelry, money.. the coins or folding kind. Family heirlooms, old newspapers left like a time capsule. Those newspapers are fun to study the entire daily or weekly news, the ads and the prices for the times. Had a lady recently bring in one newspaper addition from the early 1980’s that showed me as president of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce.
Hidden in closets with wallpaper patches, tucked away in Maine home attics and forgotten.
Ever find treasure in your house hidden cavities? Pocket watches, old photos, stash from the past. You will find items in Maine’s older housing stock. Not if it’s a shoe box 5-3-1 ranch or simple cape built in the last twenty years in a 300 lot subdivision. Maine is full of older homes that carry lots of history. You lived in your Maine home. Did not spend more time running the roads, eating out and rarely home. Your home in Maine was your castle. Is your home treated that way where you live now?
Thank you for follow our Maine blog posts on the Me In Maine channel.
Maine Tourism, snowmobile ITS trails and club house locations. Maine is Vacationland.
Not just for summer coastal vacations, fall hunting trips or spring river paddling outings. Maine winter tourism is all about snowmobile ITS trails, downhill and crossing country skiing, snowshoeing, pond hockey and ice fishing.
This Maine blog post concentrates on snowmobile ITS trails and clubhouse locations.
For one link to hook you up with snowmobile trails around Maine and far beyond, visit this link. It is one neat, interactive GPS to move you in and out of regions with groomed trails and active snowmobile clubhouses.
When I was a little shaver and tinkering on a 1966 Sno Jet, there were not trail system maps to study.
No groomed snowmobile trails and you made your own. The snow machines were heavy, lacking suspension systems. Narrow skis helped you get between a pair of woodlot trees and crossing rivers, you waited for many inches of frozen ice to create the natural bridge. My Uncle Carl Hagan sold Sno Jets, another Uncle Cedric was a Polaris dealer.
Blue Sno Jet With A German Made Hirth Motor, Around 13 Horsepower.
The Polaris Apollo snowmobile 440 power plant was a step up from the Sno-Jet’s 13 horse power motor.
The next machine as an adult was a 1989 Polaris 650 three cylinder water cooled snowmobile. Stuck with the Polaris line with a snow checked 1993 Storm 750 three cylinder power plant.
As new snow sleds were purchased for outdoor winter fun, trail system ITS maps showed up all over the place in Maine.
Try out the trail riding in the Shin Pond area. Buzzing around the North entrance of the Baxter state park.
Snowmobile up into Oxbow, Masardis and enjoy the two way trail system around the Madawaska and Fort Kent area of Aroostook County.
The people you meet and sights you see along the winter snowmobile trails in Maine are unforgettable. You may think you know Maine but what season do you spend the most time in the state? The change of season makes all the difference in the vacation experience or living here full time with re-visits to favorite haunts.
Seeing Maine On A Snow Sled, Snowmobile Means Getting Places You Can Not By Car.
If you are thinking of snowmobiling in Maine, it is always wise to call ahead first.
You can do a lot online and checking the weather for regions of Maine is not hard with the Internet. But Maine weather changes fast and snowmobile trails rely on temperatures, snow fall amount and careful round the clock grooming. Join a snow sled club in Maine, take part in the statewide and local raffles, fund raising events.
Maine tourism in the winter.
Money raised supports keeping the trail groomers online, repairing or replacement of bridges and new and old trail maintenance.
Maine Snowmobiles, Snow Sleds Way More Complicated. No Boogie Wheels, Better Suspensions, Four Cycle Less Gas Guzzling. Grew Up With Sno Jets.
Snowmobiling in Maine helps the local community economy during a traditionally slower time of the year.
Local sporting lodges can expand their market for vacationers by pairing up with local Maine snowmobile clubs.
Some Maine snow sled clubs even have free memberships. Offering on the house membership for next year if you put in 25 hours of public service work on the trails, bridges, signage or whatever is needed to improve the sledding experience.
The Maine winter snowfall is iffy and the state is large and expansive.
Anytime you depend on the weather for anything in Maine. the only thing to plan on is change. Watch a news report video on Maine winter snowmobiling.
If you have never snowmobiled, you have no idea of what you are missing. Parked on top of a Maine mountain top or hillside trail with one expansive view in your lap. Or listening to the sound of roaring river water on a waterfront side trail is peaceful, private and very special.
You can get to places on a snowmobile in Maine that you would never see otherwise riding a machine.
Get off the couch. Dress warm and head outdoors up in Maine. The wildlife you see while snow sledding in Maine is an unique experience too. You are in their home and stay on the trail. Ease into the corners and back off the throttle crossing wood’s roads. Active logging operations mean keep your eyes peeled for hazards ahead.
Hearty Lunch, All Fueled Snowmobilers And The Trail Riders. Exploring Northern Maine.
Local snowmobile clubhouses can tell your about the condition of trails because they run the groomers day and night to give the best ride.
Private land owners in Maine that share their property with snow sledders deserve thanks and respect.
Property owners are a major part of the partnership that makes for more miles of exciting snowmobile trail riding around the state of Maine. Again, join a club or two because each sledder member helps make the duties of a Maine snowmobile club lighter to carry.
Most Maine snowmobile clubs have a Facebook and some a website to help you feel connected when not enjoying the Maine snowmobile trails.
The Maine Snowmobile Association has five regions and becoming a MSA member means you get club reports and more.
Every licensed Maine snowmobiler gets a copy of the Maine Snowmobilier, a publication of the Maine Snowmobile Association.
I grew up in a time of 50 flavors of snow sleds. You worked on your bogie wheel suspension snow machine long into the night.
The expression “tinker for two hours to ride for one” was so true in the early days of snowmobiling in Maine before complex grids of ITS trails came into play.
Want To Rent A Snowmobile Up In Maine? NOEC Has Them For Hitting The Groomed Trails.
Consider renting if you don’t own a snowmobile and taking to the trails this winter up in Maine. Winters are not long and riding to a place to eat, to a club house breakfast or supper is a scenic diversion. We don’t stay cooped up inside living in Maine. We are outdoor everyday of the year and loving it!
