Category: Maine Small Towns

What’s It Like Living In A Small Maine Town?

Maine is a handful of cities and over 450 small community rural towns.

Sixteen counties and the one I live in is the largest east of the Mississippi in land mass. Aroostook County, sparsely populated, a little longer drive time to access but so worth the extra effort.

What’s it like living in a small Maine town?

How to share the experience short and sweet? To reflect an accurate representation of day to day life here today, yesteryear and with a hint of tomorrow. To “bring it all home” for someone curious about the area or to use promoting a small Maine town.

Houlton Maine, State Soap Box Derby Site For Down Hill Racing.

This blog post realizes people use their past as a measuring stick of the future.

That your previous experiences heavily influence your perspective of any new place. Plus what works best for you for surroundings shifts and changes throughout a person’s life stages.

So when someone, anyone asks you “what is it like living in (fill in the blank with small Maine town name)?”

It’s important to realize the longer you live anywhere else on Earth, the less you arrive to a small Maine town with a totally blank slate.

It’s like music, food, school, work, relationships, anything. Everyone does not come to the same take away conclusion describing anything.

The bullet points on what we love and dislike the most is not in the same order on the gotta have / don’t want list of where to call home.

Maine’s Highest Mountain, Mt Katahdin. Do You Like To Hike?

So the what’s it like here in a small Maine town question is answered with what was it like where you came from before?

What did you like where you used to live? What was missing or in short supply that you wish was in greater abundance? Something caused you to want to leave your own home and to consider a small Maine town as the new setting.

Brand new to Maine with just the tourism blurb, a little local past history to shape your expectations?

If where you lived last was a sardine packed together crowded city, your take away reaction to small Maine town life will differ greatly. Then say the perspective from a person relocating from another typical rural small-town experience. Not so sharp a contrast to adjust to over time for the latter.

Wagons Pulled By A Team Of Horses. Still Happens Farming In Maine. Welcome To Wide Open Space, Four Seasons Of Maine Recreation To Discover.

If you want your small Maine town to grow, you have to tap into your local brain trust.

Knowing the value and skill set of your local individuals is key. Community involvement from each and every one is needed so no one is sitting on the sidelines. Someone should not be trying to describe the small Maine town if they have not experience what it is like first hand.

They may do the best they can with generalities but after awhile, all the small Maine town write ups and presentations kinda sound the same. Many have a negative spin and it is obvious the writer can not see themselves living here by their description.

The people who live in the small Maine town are the community.

Maine Needed Water Fountains In Their Community Down Town Areas.

Not just the grid work of streets, empty buildings along Main Street, the rows and rows of housing stock.

It’s all about working together with other locals unique individuals to make sure your community shines brightly online. Putting your best foot forward, proudly believing in the local area in Maine you call your hometown.

The vibe, what’s it like summed up in a few words and short sentences is searched day and night online about small Maine rural towns.

That sound bite or snippet is amplified and pushed out into the media stream.

Unfortunately, trying to learn more about a small Maine town is difficult for web visitors if there is not a strong, positive hyper local online presence. Or just a lack of abundance of information to glean.

Bottle Like Maine Lake. Not A Ripple Today On The Lake In Maine.

Relying on a Reddit thread about your hometown or county from eight years ago is not accurate information.

Especially if posted by someone who has never ever stepped foot in your small Maine town.

Or as an unhappy teenager with a poor home life, they picked up and high tailed it never to return to said small Maine home town. And now feel the need to spread discontent and somehow blame the entire town for what went haywire.

Warning others to stay away, don’t you dare go there.

That black eye for the entire small Maine town population is not deserved but it’s everywhere you look with strong opinions from a keyboard warrior.

Even scanning what the tourism folks put online about your small Maine town can make you cringe. Lots of Maine towns had economies revolving around a single lumber mill, fish cannery or agriculture enterprise of some kind. Not very diversified and in deep trouble when that one trick pony employer industry locks the gate and shuddered the factory windows and doors.

Sponsoring A Small Maine Town Little League Team. Go Team!

Not all Maine small towns enjoy thriving economies.

But that’s what develops grit and fortitude and a higher degree of creativity. It makes how you spend volunteer time and financial resources done extremely carefully.

It’s what causes the feeling of being very invested in protecting, advancing and making the small Maine town what it can be. It’s not about just throwing lots of dollars at the problem. Or expecting your local, state and federal government to “fix the problem”.

Living in your small Maine town is like being a member of a very large family.

So when you read a tourism snippet that says your hometown used to be a happening, thriving place.

But not anymore, and everything is described past tense. Why would you instantly feel enticed to visit? You would not. And that write up is not how the locals who live in that small Maine community feel. They are protective, a little stand offish when they see the out of state plate. Sometimes more so from one state over another because of personal experience.

Maine Lighthouses, Big For Tourism And Fun For Locals To Visit. Over 60 Of Them To Collect Around Vacationland.

It takes broadcasting your local achievements, not relying on someone with their own slam bam personal slant to get the spotlight.

I think home grown, fire your belly writers that live where the four color chamber of commerce flyer describes are key. So do local social media feeds from around around the town, the region and county that are fresh, plentiful and constant.

So do whatever you can to put your small Maine town on the map. Study what works in other communities around Maine is easier than ever with the Internet that connects us all.

So it all circles back around to local what’s happening now.

Lots of buzz, local news, local events, plenty of eye candy on the outdoor natural beauty. And making sure every local who is lucky enough to be interviewed in anyway conveys the excitement, enthusiasm.

Making Music, Local Volunteers Fill The Outdoor Theatre To Make Music For Locals.

Building on the rich local community history but not being boat anchored stuck to the past. To a point in time when the economy suddenly shifted in a major way the wrong way.

Smart Maine town planners head in the direction of promoting what we have lots of… space, unspoiled four-season recreation space.

Fewer but friendlier hard-working people, a simpler way of living that’s lower cost, less crime, all about family.

Space, quiet, natural beauty, outdoor recreation, solitude, the intimacy of how tight small Maine towns can be. It’s special. That is the drum beat sauce in the background of everything getting posted, promoted online in many small Maine towns.

Small Maine Town Sports Teams. Hockey Players Go “Good Game Good Game” Down The Line.

Because It’s not like this that many places. Maine, the way life should be remember?

A small town in Maine can not try to compete with a larger population area who has the people to financially support what they promote as a reason to visit. But it can turn the tables and promote what we have so so much of that is lacking in rural areas.

The face cards for a small Maine town are playing the advantage of what we have an endless supply of that never runs out. Taking a David with a sling shot simple but effective approach to nimbly out pace the slow moving Goliath.

I love shoe string creative marketing approaches to get the word out.

Hitching a ride with others in your network sharing on their channels what you produce on your own.

What is the local area like?

What Was It Like In Black And White. Small Maine Towns Have Rich History To Preserve.

What’s it like living in small rural Maine town?

Let’s hear from the locals who have lived her for a considerable amount of time. Not from someone who has spent very little time in your Maine community if at all. Or anyone who their expectations were not well matched and the fit was poor from the get go. And they will harp about it to anyone who will listen.

You don’t want that kind of community thumbnail sketch to be all there is to glean online.

Failure to thrive happens when you stop believing in your small Maine town. I see in my job as a Maine real estate broker the tide is coming this way. There is a shift of folks wanting to live a different day to day. And we all need to speak up and explain why this is the place we are proud to call home here in Maine.

Curious About Why You Live In A Particular Small Maine Town. Ask Locals, Give Them The Mic, Quote Their Responses In Your Local Press.

Why do you live in this particular small Maine rural town?

The person on the street is the best source for print, photo or video capture to share the local community spirit. The more you hear from the real World average Janes and Joes, the broader the appeal because each has their own specific private reasons. Let’s hear from real people in small town Maine communities.

Willing to concede some of the perks heading to Maine.

Replacing them, trading them in for ones that just don’t happen where they live now. A place that is expensive, impersonal and pretty much everything store bought.

Lobster From Maine Anyone? No One Has Anything Close To The Taste Of Fresh Maine Steamed Lobsters!

Welcome to small Maine towns where resourcefulness abounds and passion glows hot and strong.

Someone who moved from a crowded city will experience a small town very differently than someone who moved from a remote farming community. What one person finds peaceful and slow-paced, another might find boring or isolating.

So the focus on small Maine town living should be on the person. The ones living here, the one asking the question “what’s it like” and fishing for a relocation move if they like what they hear.

Rigging Up To Ski Down A Maine Snow Capped Mountain Slope.

What did you expect coming in to a small Maine town?

Everyone has a different take on what is pure bliss in life. Most of the gain is through the pain of pitching and creating what is missing. Or coming along side a group already struggling to create what you desire and you showed up at exactly the right time.

Help row the boat. Stoke the fire.

Be a positive proponent of your small Maine home town.

Whether you were born there or not is not the issue. Your attitude and willingness to pitch in is what matters most. You showed up. Listening, contributing, having a role in how things roll in your small Maine town.

Bored, Waiting For Someone To Show Up With A Pair Of Wire Cutters. People Leave Crowded Cities For The Same Reason Of Feeling Penned In.

Knowing the small Maine town’s history, the ups and downs and why they happened as the locals struggled to adjust through trying economic times.

That’s important to combine with taking stock, creating the inventory of what we have that is attractive to someone that no long does.

Anyone moving to a small Maine town has a background, values and personal reasons for looking for a relocation. It is good to introduce yourself to anyone new to the area by listing why you love living here.

Welcome To Maine. You’re Here. You Made It!

It is also good to describe what the local small Maine community is not, how it might not be a good fit for someone looking for a faster pace of life.

You can not be all things to all people and an honest assessment of the local area has to take priority.

There is plenty to do for new community members and to replace ones that dies and fade away.

Maine Social Media Explained.

Here’s a Maine PBS film on how small Maine towns solve big problems.

My hometown of Houlton Maine just had a film premiere of A Moment In The Sun. The film showcasing the total solar eclipse that happened earlier this year in April in Houlton Maine.

Totality In The Last Place In The USA To Experience It. Houlton Maine’s Total Solar Eclipse.

If your small Maine town had a documentary story to share, who would you pick in the community to make the points? Build a case for living here? If trying to leave a positive impression and the best presentation, what local events or ways of life traditions would you salt and pepper through out the local production?

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

September 7, 2025
Maine High School Class Reunions

Going back to be with classmates, your Maine high school class reunion.

Have you been to a Maine class reunion at whatever school system you finished high school? If you have not, I suggest making every effort to attend your Maine high school class reunion.

Some say there is nothing more exciting, rewarding than reuniting with your childhood and high school class mates. Others would argue that period of my life was not all that rosy and why would I go back to relive the pain?

Maybe it is the 10th or earlier class reunion that spoils the habit of making an effort to attend your Maine high school reunion.

1975 Houlton Maine High School Class Reunion For The 50th Year!

If the classmates that moved away to return in swanky (leased) red sports cars and keep talking about their success, not asking about yours, that could sour the reunion.

In small Maine towns, the local community steps up and volunteers which in my book makes all the high school class graduates a “success”.

The longer you are out of high school and the more one by one you lose another reunion graduate, the tighter your class becomes.

Instead of a competition and comparing or defending your life so far since high school graduation, your class mates all pull together closer at reunions. News of the death of a high school classmate is a big part of it. That helps the rest wake up and notice we are not getting any younger. In my class of 1975 from Houlton High School we have lost 26 class mates since graduating.

Class of 1975 Class Reunion. This One In Houlton Maine To Celebrate 50 Years Being Out In Life.

The discussion when the get together is, say your 50th school reunion, shifts from jobs and promotions to how many grandchildren and comparing notes about health issues. How are you surviving losing your mate, the divorce, recovery from cancer, etc.

Just had my 50th Maine high school graduation celebration over a four day span.

Still thinking about the conversations, the laughter, the feeling of how much you miss these guys and gals. Some of my high school classmates for a slew of reasons missed the last reunion we nicknamed “The Shindig”. But I would bet most that were at this 50 year milestone reunion over the weekend will not want to miss another one for any reason.

Graduating From High School 50 Years Ago. Whoa. Long Time, Big Class Of 164 Members.

How do you answer in ten words or less “what have you been up to over the last half decade?

In my small Northern Maine town in Aroostook County of Houlton Maine, the high school’s alumni association is very strong and active. We get magazine newsletter editions of high school happenings around the year. I think this publication keeps fond thoughts of your classmates in focus.

When the latest alumni news edition comes in the mail or is opened up online and thumbed through digitally, most classmates beeline to their class year of high school graduation.

Maine 50th High School Graduation. Our Local Alumni Association Is A Strong One To Keep Us Connected.

News from your class, anything from a birth announcement to where someone took a trip or got together with another classmate or two. That hyper local Maine small town information is huge to stay connected with your high school classmates.

If you see the year you graduated but no one took the time to insert a paragraph or two of something pertinent to just your class, it is sad. I feel bad when a class above or below me is left blank. No news is not good news. It’s MIA and off radar. Draws a blank of just white space.

There is always something to report that others would love to read and to help the connection with your year graduating high school class.

Looking to re-connect with old classmates that you lost touch with after grabbing the rolled up sheet of paper and tossing the square hat with the dangling tassel high in the air?

Here is a video below that shows just one event of many held during my class of 1975 Houlton Maine high school graduation activities.

Do you regularly attend high school class reunions?

Does your high school education center hold a multi year event to celebrate with graduating alumni? When was the last time you re-toured your old high school or is it still standing? Remember where your locker was and who shared one beside, up or below you? The memories come back with the aid of a high school open house tour with your other classmates who help you “remember”.

The relationships began in the halls of your Maine school, from walking to it or riding the big yellow bus together are ones that only grow stronger.

What about you? As the years advance after graduation, after logging some miles outside the “My Old School”, the heart string tug of a Maine high school graduation reunion intensifies for me. Can’t wait for the next class reunion here in rural Maine.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

August 20, 2025
Maine, More Room Around You

Look around and it hits you, Maine, more room around you.

Unspoiled space, being out in nature with room to roam around in Maine. It hits you sometimes instantly or after a few visits to Maine. As you hike a woods trail or paddle a Maine river or lake, the sense of wide open space.

Are You In This Dream About Maine Vacations? Low Cost, No People, More Wildlife, Better Sunrises, Sunsets. Maine.

Something you can not easily find in a crowded urban setting. It’s missing where there are lots of Interstate cloverleaf exchanges and the hustle bustle of population centers.

Maine is rural, unspoiled and offers tremendous amounts of space, peace and quiet.

Don’t you think having plenty of space around you to maneuver is right up there with lots of sleep improving the day to day?

In Maine, the natural beauty hits you. But the lack of what just too many, what lots of people can cause to impact your surroundings. It’s easy to forget how lucky having all this space in rural Maine around you really is.

Space, Trees, Water, Wildlife Not People. Maine Is Rural, Unspoiled And Unforgettable.

When you live in Maine, do you think a local forgets how lucky they are?

Does the wide open sense of space excitement diminish as you log more hours in the great state of Maine?

Not if you get out on the water or trek the trails in Maine.

More Land, Less People, That’s Huge In Maine! Space Happens All Around You.

Many come to Maine for one long weekend or a longer string of days and then that’s all she wrote until next year.

When you live in Maine, the outdoor adventure is on tap and always available to sample.

It just takes getting outside and not wasting a season of living in Maine. Berenstain Bears children’s book about “too much television”.. remember that one? You do have to get in a habit of getting off the couch.

More on Stan and Jan that cranked out over 300 books.

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With four seasons, the state of Maine serves up so many opportunities for outdoor enjoyment and recreation.

Small town charm, the locals full of stories and a sense of intimacy, closeness and working together.

The wisdom of the woods, lessons learned in farm fields, working together on the local events, there is a strong awareness of community.

What’s It Like Waking Up On A Maine Lake? Like No Other Experience. How’s That?

Smart as a whip and doesn’t miss a trick. Talented and skill set rich. You see a lot of those kind of people in small Maine communities. How come?

More hands on direct involvement in the home grown not store bought small town rural communities makes everyone tighter.

All this space helps the process too.

No one bumping into you, less traffic on the roads. Less time spent getting out of anyone’s way or stepping aside to get out of their space. Less time spent trying to avoid or get away from people to “hear yourself think”.

Your View Where You Live Now. Is It A 300 Lot Housing Subdivision Or Wildlife, Trees, The Waterfront?

Small, simplified, rich and rewarding day to day in Maine starts with all kinds of space around you.

Simple living in Maine.

That’s what living in small town Maine is like, everything kept simple. Do you have that feeling surrounding you, it is like that around you where you call home now?

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton Maine 04730 USA

July 30, 2025
Blogging About Maine Winter Weather

When you start a blog about Maine, there is no shortage of topics to hunt peck post.

The Me In Maine blog is easy to feed because the state is so full of all this natural beauty.

Maine offers so many daily opportunities to collect and post photos, videos and simple daily experiences collected to share from around unspoiled Vacationland.

What’s It Like Waking Up On A Maine Lake? Like No Other Experience. How’s That?

Uploading personal photos of Maine is one easy way to fill a Maine blog post installment.

What’s It Like In Small Town Maine Rural Locations? Each One Shines Uniquely, Brightly.

These Maine images say a lot more than anything a typewriter tries to express. The small rural communities in Maine have plenty of neat activities and beautiful settings to promote but are often the best kept secret! Not a lot of press in small Maine communities.

Over the years, the travel blog posts to here and there around the state of Maine have been the easiest installments to create.

Go to some new location, sample the food, see the sights and post the photos with local copy on what this corner of Maine is like. So much to experience in Maine and it involves a little traveling even when you live instate!

Winter In Maine, We Are Outdoors Every Day, All Year Long.

But I think the meatiest ones are sheer FAQ.

You and I search for information daily and notice the questions asked around any query. To me, those frequently asked questions are the meat and potatoes of any blog about Maine.

I am lucky to live here and have past and present experiences to draw from whenever it’s time to feed the blog. But the questions asked by folks who do live here and have limited knowledge about Maine are the hungriest blog post readers.

So here goes for a Me In Maine newest blog post about a couple FAQ.

What are our winters like in Maine?

Who’s Walking Who? Maine Winter Stroll With Dog, The Owner.

This Maine weather question comes up daily and the answer for it is no longer cut and dry.

I used to carefully explain up here in Maine there are no polar bears, no one lives in igloos. That we are not amateurs handling winter snow in Maine.

Basically, explaining the stories about winter snow and temperatures in Maine are grossly exaggerated.

Maine Winter, The Golfing Is Usually Done By Snow Birds Who Beat Feet South Where A Snow Shovel Not Needed.

Why does Maine winters get the harsh press?

Because many who do not live in Maine and never experienced a winter just repeat what they heard or fear.

For starters, Maine winter snow is a big part of the economy.

New Maine Winter Snow Sugar Coats The Landscape.

When no snow shows up, harder to attract the Maine snowmobilers.

Hard to groom winter snow sled trails without accumulations of the white stuff.

You can make snow at Maine ski areas but it adds to the overhead costs.

Maine Winter Homes, Snow Has To Be Managed, Plowed, Shoveled.

Man made is not the same as homemade courtesy of Mother Nature and Jack Frost working in tandem.

Those spreading the bad press about Maine winter weather need to consider a few things. First, how you dress is a big part of how comfortable any season in Maine is. Second, the weather patterns in Maine have changed our winters.

Lack of snow, warmer temperatures during Maine winters have seriously changed the season.

So daily I explain Maine winters were never as bad as many portrayed. That we are outdoors daily in Maine all year long. That you dress for the occasion here in Maine. And if you cross country ski, snowshoe, etc you have to be careful not to be over dressed.

Maine’s Highest Mountain, Katahdin. Snow Covered And Majestic Towering High In The Clouds At Baxter State Park.

And last but not least, our Maine winters are tamer and lost some of the crisp clean and clear air bite.

The state of Maine just does not get the snow accumulations and colder temperatures to keep it around over the winter months.

So does Maine have four seasons? Sure does. Some would argue there is a fifth one, mud season.

Small Town, Living On A Maine Lake. Priceless.

Are winters harsh in Maine?

Not if you dress for them, prepare for them and tackle them like a boy or girl scout to be prepared.

Warm As Toast Inside. Dressed To Be The Same Outside During A Maine Winter.

What is it like living in Maine during the winter?

Great, fun, snow covered fluffy white and offering a whole ‘nother level of outdoor recreation fun!

Does Maine get much snow?

Not as much as she did. The stats for snow in Maine.

How Many Inches Do You Think We Got Last Night Of New Maine Snow?

What state has the worst winters?

Not Maine. I can only tell you from experience in Maine and not venturing out on a limb to judge other states, areas I know zip about. Have spent some time in Colorado and the terrain adds to the snowy adventure.

What are winters like in Maine?

Fine, great, fun.

Maine Outdoor Winter Snow Does Not Hamper The Farm Yard Animals.

What do people do in the winter in Maine?

Snow ski, snowmobile, ice fish, ice skate, snow shoe, sliding and all around enjoying being in Maine winter, the other three seasons too.

Crust, Ice Glazed Maine Winter Snow. Pretty Total Sundown.

Once all the weather in Maine questions are addressed, we move on to what the pay scale is like?

How do people make a living in Maine. Like the weather, I have to explain how simple living in Maine works.

You live your life easy does it in Maine and savor the outdoors, woods, wildlife, waterfront and nature.

Others around you who feel the same way and respect the environment. Are good stewards of the land and pass it on in as good or even better shape than they received it.

This attitude and approach to life helps shape how you chose to live it in Maine. We deal with anything that comes down the pike. Take it in stride and prepare for all possible outcomes.

Mainers expect there is going to be adjustment and corrections necessary in our day to day living.

Maybe it is the weather that sets the ground rules of preparation, expectation living in Maine. Have your own set of questions or concerns about Maine? Reach out, here to help and let’s talk! Email, text, come visit us and start the communication connection.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

June 24, 2025
Hub Bub About Maine Lawn Grubs

Do you wonder about what happened, the big hubbub about Maine lawn grubs?

Damage to your Maine home lawn due to grubs. Like a lot of things, to get rid of lawn grubs in Maine requires near perfect timing and a tested method matter a lot. Grubs are most vulnerable in late summer to early fall when they are small and feeding near the ground’s surface. It’s not once and done.

Maine Lawn Grubs Messing Up Pretty Green Landscaped Lawns In Maine. See What’s Happening Around The Ridgeway Sign Post In Houlton Maine?

Fall application, spring/summer maintenance to guard against the lawn grubs in Maine are needed.

One DIY organic method is applying beneficial nematodes.

They come live, refrigerated and time is of the essence to help them get established on your grub infested lawn.

These microscopic worms attack and kill grubs in the soil on Maine property owner lawns.

A box that covers about 2,000 square feet usually costs $30–$50.

Apply them in the evening after watering or rain, and keep the soil moist for at least two weeks to begin the lawn grub evictions.

Results can take a few weeks, but it’s a safe, natural approach that won’t harm pets, children, or pollinators.

Milky spore is another organic treatment that targets Japanese beetle grubs. It costs about $40–$60 per 10 lb bag and needs to be applied 3–6 times in the first year. It can take one to two years to see noticeable results, but it lasts for up to 10 years once established in the soil.

For faster results, chemical treatments are available to Maine home owners to apply to their lawns.

Preventative grub killers like Scotts GrubEx (active ingredient: chlorantraniliprole) cost about $20–$30 for a bag that covers 5,000 square feet. Apply in late June to early August. It prevents new grubs from developing and lasts several months. Helps to continue to attack lawn grubs.

If grubs are already active and damaging your lawn, curative treatments like Bayer 24-Hour Grub Killer Plus (active ingredient: trichlorfon) work faster.

See The Bare Spots, The Places No Grass Is Growing That Look Burned Out?

These cost about $25–$40 per bag and act within 24–72 hours use in your warfare with lawn grubs in Maine.

However, they only last a few weeks and should not be used repeatedly on your Maine lawns.

This grub fighting treatment can also harm bees and beneficial insects if misapplied.

For best prevention, Maine homeowners should avoid over watering Maine home lawns.

Grubs thrive in moist soil.

Water deeply once or twice a week rather than daily. Raise your Maine home lawn mowing height—beetles prefer to lay eggs in short grass.

De-thatch in early summer to reduce places where grub eggs can be laid around your Maine home lawn.

And attracting birds like starlings and robins by providing birdbaths or feeders is smart thinking—they naturally eat grubs. At night you can see where raccoons, starlings, skunks, lots of prey out in the backyard looking for a grub snack.

Looking around my Southern Aroostook County location, lawns with grub damage is everywhere. The local weather has called for rain a lot in the forecast and local grub predators have gone right to down. Big business for lawn repair outfits in Northern Maine. Do you mow your own lawn? Is there a problem where you live with lawn grubs?

Welcome To The Crown Of Maine, Aroostook County.

In places, it looks like large sections of lawn have been rototilled. Sod ripped back and exposed with pecking, rodent tilling obvious around my local area of Maine.

Getting rid of the pests once they move on to your property is not the easiest solution for lawn grubs in Maine.

To check if you have a grub problem, lift a square foot of sod in late August or September.

If you see more than five grubs per square foot, it’s time to treat. Living in Maine, somethings you have a grub hub bub to deal with but ask your neighbors.

Just have to ask around when you live in small Maine community.

Quiz the folks down at the corner store where you refuel with coffee each morning or where you get your hair cut and styled.

Mainers are quick to help and offer solutions that work like a charm that cost the least.

They will humbly share the mistakes they made that you want to avoid.

Or to relay what provided the best results for any life situation like lawn grubs in Maine.

Simple, want to help Maine towns are a rich resource. All you have to do is ask, let your Maine family, friends and neighbors know about your grub or whatever problem keeping you awake nights.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

June 9, 2025
Maine Boy With A Leaking Boot

The boy was in rough shape, problems way beyond just a leaky boot.

It took two men and another small boy to heft him up and onto an ambulance stretcher. 600 pounds was the legal limit for the gurney. The boy’s over 600 pounds maxed out the stretcher’s legal weight limit warning tag.

What happened to the Maine boy?

Exposure and too much time left outdoors through all types of weather had caused the steady decline. Loved by all, he was a popular boy known by many. But the years of cold wet weather and wind combined with harsh baking sunshine exposure were catching up to the boy with the outdoor home.

Houlton Maine’s Town Ambassador Clancy. Boy With The Leaking Boot! See The Careful RX Notes On The Clipboard?

The ambulance snaked its way to Hodgdon, going out the Calais Road and slowly turning onto the Catalina Road.

The situation was dire, the long list of ailments and need for emergency surgery called for special attention stat.

After backing beep beep beep into the location where the boy would spend months of rehabilitation, it took many hands to carefully, slowly pull out and easy does it lower Clancy and the stretcher to ground level.

Rolling him into the open, well lit garage bay door, the rehab work began immediately under the watchful eye and skilled hand of Rod Hemingway. (Silence) What?

Why Rod Hemingway? I mean, gee I know he is a skilled plumber and bee keeper, boy scout team leader and pretty crafty at rebuilding yesteryear early snowmobiles but why Rod? Does he have a medical degree?

Fix The Leak, Lots Of Other Issues. Rod Hemmingway Tapped To Do The Intricate Work.

The boy was so heavy because he was made of pig iron. Bulky like dead weight cast iron radiators.

His head had come off and his arm held high all those years holding rock steady a perpetual leaking boot was compromised too.

Kids Laughing, In Safe Small Town Surroundings. Not Noisy Cities. Saying Hello To The Houlton Maine Boy With The Leaking Boot Called Clancy.

Everything canceled. No more shows, no more public displays. And probably no more moving back and forth to his winter home at Houlton PD where he wears a festive Santa hat.

Ho Ho Ho.

He is the best gift to a town a kind person could ever give in memory of her dearly departed husband.

Life had caught up to the boy despite Mike Clark and Kay Trickey and Bob Aucoin among others providing emergency care and touch up over the years.

Too much outdoor living and picture taking with selfie posing tourists. Too many HFD ice cream cones enjoyed while listening and admiring his leaking boot. Everyone admires His distinctive red shirt, blue pants and turn of the century hat.

Houlton Maine Statue Welcome To Houlton Maine Ambassador To The Shiretown.

The 1916 Ambassador of Houlton Maine purchased by Clara Frisbe for the area to enjoy and to welcome out of town guests was in seriously poor condition. Needing more than a cosmetic patch and a dab of new paint.

Rod Hemmingway is old enough to know about soldering, welding the brittle and outdated materials used back in 1916. His mission was to reattach the boy’s head, to reinforce and make the boy’s body parts solid and better than new.

Or at least get the boy back on his feet and able to climb back up on his dark green 8 water fountain pedestal perch.

Where is his home? His home today in the Pierce Park triangle where Main and Military merge in Houlton Maine is a common tourist destination stop. Where the PD and FD can be close at hand if the need arises.

Under Repair, Fixing What Ails The Boy With The Leaking Boot!

How did the touch and go life and death operation go? (Sound of medical equipment beeping monitors and respirator puffs of air)

It was nip and tuck. Lots of consulting, using the cell phone shout outs, the computer for technical advice consultations.

Long hours in the garage under the shop lights with construction of special brackets and jacks to hoist the heavy boy up and spin him around during several reconstruction procedures.

Some of those operations were trial and error but eventually the reinforcing was done, painting complete and all just in time for the summer tourist season.

Thank you Rod Hemingway for so so many hours of precision attention to Clancy, our friendly welcoming symbol of Houlton Maine, the Aroostook County seat, our beloved Shiretown.

Only a few these boys were produced back in 1916. Leigh, please jump in and tell us more about Clara Frisbe’s $1000 dollar gift that brought the boy to Houlton Maine from New Jersey.

Remember when the boy was parked in front of the Cary Library? https://www.flickr.com/photos/mooersrealty/3272470515

The newly rebuilt boy with the leaking boot is getting finishing shiny cosmetic touches.

Experimenting with paint because his color looked like iron poor blood. So much intricate work done to reinforce and replace the damage of time.

(You try holding a heavy water filled boot high in the air for 109 years and see how your body reacts.) Probably hard on L3 and L4 or other parts of your back and neck structure no?

Paul Bunyan, Welcomes You 365-24-7 To Bangor Maine.

Stay tuned for Clancy’s like new factory fresh appearance.

His plastic surgery did not involve use of Botox.

No, he did not need a tummy tuck or stomach staple, dentures or hair plugs either.

This morning Rod and his associate Cheryl Welton are working steadily to complete the final touches.

Will post new images and please share the news and your fond memories of the boy with the leaking boot.

Do you have a beloved well known symbol of your small Maine town?

Houlton Maine, Everyone Some Kind Of Pumped Up Excited About The Total Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024!

A covered bridge, a Paul Bunyan that represents the vast wooded forest sections of 91% of Maine?

What would be a good addition to your local small rural Maine community if not and let’s start fund raising?

The boy with the leaking boot was a big hit during the solar total eclipse in Houlton Maine too.

If traveling through Houlton Maine in Aroostook County, don’t miss sampling an ice cream and photo bombing the Boy with the leaky boot as a keepsake remembrance.

Tourism in Maine is not not so hot and heavy in small rural Maine communities. But the simple lifestyle and outdoor recreation opportunities they offer are no longer a secret.

The word is out and more folks outside Maine was what we have had for years.

These Me In Maine blog posts are designed to one by one spill the beans. Friendly, no traffic, low crime all pure and natural outdoor splendor. Maine, the way life should be and yes, the locals know how lucky we are to live, work and play in Maine.

I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker

207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |

MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA

May 19, 2025