Vacationland is what is stamped on the bottom of every Maine license plate and yes we are so spoiled to live in a four season outdoor paradise.
Most Mainers are pretty darn excited, grateful to be so close to natural unspoiled resources. But it is easy to fall in to a false security, lull of it must be this way everywhere. NOoooooo. It is not.
If I head a mile and half in any direction from my intown home, I am in the country.
No wall to wall people, no need for a taser or to worry about my property, my personal security.
People wave at each other, help each other out. Are friendly. Pitch in and volunteer.
Folks that live in Maine has lives with purpose. They volunteer. Pick the passions they love and year after year you can count on them to put their shoulder in to making local community events happen. Everyone benefits. And it causes other individuals to think what they should step up and do. To look and find a place in the local Maine community for them to give back.
The volunteers raise their kids to do the same in Maine, or wherever they move to. If you live out of state, you would be hard pressed to find a harder working individual than someone that grew up in Maine.
Lazy is not a word used to described 99% of Mainers. And if someone is, that is the worse opinion you could have of someone.
Can over look a lot, but not lazy.
No reason to be a bump on a log and just take take take. Give back to the area you live to make it a better place because you live, work and play there.
Pick A Side, On The Maine USA Border Crossing Looking In To Canada
Maine, Are We Near Canada?
To be on the US Canadian border is neat, special and the question comes up regularly “how close” are we to the country with the great hockey players waving the red maple leaf flag proudly.
This image pretty much sums it up. I listed a Hodgdon Maine farm property yesterday and one photo can spell it out clearly, without a doubt that we are right on the USA Canadian International Boundary.
Maine, are we near the Canadian border?
Half our relatives are from Canada to begin with and it is amazing how often we get asked is it dangerous living that close to the border? I chuckle because Canadians are not the enemy, they are family.
The only temporary friction might be when your kid on ice skates is across the border, way ahead in a hockey game but suddenly gets blown out, loses.
And our pride for our team is bruised, gets a little bent out of shape. Until the next match up on the sheet of ice on this side of the Maine US borde. And the results flip flop, reverse.
Since 911, that US Canadian International Border crossing also represents one major labor contributor to the local job economy too.
It is sad 911 happened, but the good that comes out of tightening up the US border is more employment of US Customs, Immigration, Border Patrol employees. And the goods and services locally that that beefed up US Canadian border represents in local sales that would not be there otherwise.
Come up to see the US Canadian border.
Cross in to Canada, either the Atlantic or Quebec provinces. And see how lucky we are to be at an International border crossing. For cultural exchange. Come see how some of your notions about Canada may need some updating, serious revisions. I an fortunate to live in the border town of Houlton Maine in a state far enough to by rights be in Canada had the lines been drawn just a little differently years ago.
Are we near Canada living in Maine?
Always Close To Canada! Love To Head From Maine To Canada!
Yes we sure are.
Depending on the value of the American dollar, the Canadian looney, it can be a good economic boom to either side of the USA International Border with cross country traffic. Lots of Maine milk dairy products, gas car fill ups and turkey head from the USA in to the Canadian provinces from my home town of Houlton Maine.
The weather was wet, the enthusiasm of the Maine State Soap Box Derby Racers hot in Houlton ME’s 2011 running.
Tech day to make sure all the stock and superstock cars were safely put together by driver and his or her support team happened Friday. The video background sound from the hail on the Millar Civic Center roof is loud at some points as it pours cats and dogs outside. Watch the Maine 2011 soap box derby video.
Super stock car winner Frankie White of Houlton and stock car winner Chris Bruen of Hampden will both be heading to Akron Ohio for the 74th All American Soap Box Derby Race In Akron Ohio July 23, 2011. The Northern Maine venue is the only state race venue in Vacationland.
Soap box derby racers learn the “thrill of the hill” on Derby Hill, a specially engineered course carefully built to eliminate the many man hours taken to set up a race track on a neighborhood public street. And then tear it down, this year it would have been in the pouring rain.
If you are looking for a very worthwhile family event to participate in and volunteer for, you will be hard pressed to find anything better than Maine soap box derby racing program.
Initially started in 1934 the program has been a spirited, competitive family racing event across the nation. Now racers from around the world take part.
We met two race directors from St John New Brunswick Canada Saturday who came to watch our 16th event. The run a corporate derby race where each car is bought, built and the drive just shows up. The two winning division derby cars were in Houlton Maine to be delivered to Akron Ohio with Marty Sullivan, Derby All American District 10 director taking them back to New Hampshire. To help get them on their way to the big race next month in Akron Ohio.
One of the neat components of derby racing is the entire family from 8 to 17 can be at the event, competing in it. Good sportsmanship is emphasized and there are no losers of heats run during the Maine soap box derby events. The race is a double elimination event so many chances to work your way up the brackets of the heat sheet as a particpant.
Each car like the kid driving them have different personalities.
Like Nascar, with sponsors, many sponsors. And instead of exhaust fumes and deafening motor high rpm, the driver has to harness gravity and negotiate the faster way from the top of the hill to the finish line.
Our Northern Maine race is known as the Wayne Miller Memorial, in honor of a Houlton Maine racer who back in the 1960’s built a car, and like many locals headed to Bangor Maine for the state race. Wayne’s enthusiasm as a soap box derby car builder and racer is the backbone spirit, essense of the program we work hard to foster in Aroostook County. Maine, family first.
Boys and girls 8 to 17 from around Maine will be climbing in to soap box derby kit cars this weekend in Houlton Maine for the big state race.
The thrill of the hill, to pick up speed when the gate ramp launch is released, and gravity kicks in. Think it is exciting? If you were a Maine kid, going upwards thirty miles an hour in a car you built with Mom, Dad, Uncle Bob or your neighbor, big brother it is a big deal.
If you are in the Houlton Maine, Southern Aroostook County area this weekend, June 18th, plan to watch the race at the top or bottom of Derby Hill in Community Park. This is the 16th annual Northern Maine Soap Box Derby Race coming up this weekend. But the twist is for the second year running, this race is the entire state venue. For five years straight, the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby Race has been the largest in the country for five years running.
It is a thrill to for the racers but for the parents, car sponsors, the entire Maine community gets involved in these races from the grass roots up. I was able to go to Akron Ohio twice for the All American Soap Box Derby race running. A daughter and son won the local Houlton Maine soap box derby race and represented Northern Maine in the All American in Akron Ohio. It was an adventure, memorable sporting family event the entire family will not forget.
Maine, family, community is everything.
The Maine Soap Box Derby Racing program is spirited, competitive, run down hill car racing. Watch the video and follow the program. Sponsor a car, help a youngster build one. Being Mr Good Wrench explaining what an allen screw is, a wheel pin, a lock washer, a plunger brake pad looks like.
If you worked at an over the road big truck company, building a better vehicle that sold more units would be the goal.
To get that better truck designed, built you had best be very curious. Asking the truck drivers who live in those 18 wheelers what they like.
What they don’t.
About the rig they drive, that others use. And learn what they have experienced or heard at truck stops about the pros and cons of all flavors. 10-4?
Even if you had engineers from the best college schools in the land back east working for you, have to still tap in to the guy or gal behind the wheel racking up those millons of miles. Those truck drivers with the chain drive wallets are the real research and development crew. They live in that home away from home on wheels for weeks, years at a time.
My dad was a Maine potato farmer for twenty four years. In addition to growing spuds, he was a broker for them.
Buying Maine potato loads to get to the Boston, Hartford, New York produce markets for the most part.
He had ICC comodity rights for hauling back loads of paper products. Usually the back haul was a load of french fry cartons.
My brother Brian, other brothers and myself would take truck trips. We had fun going to the big city, riding shot gun in the cab overs my Dad bought. Helping the truck drivers unload. Having a bag of potatoes left over to trade for fresh off the Florida tree grapefruits or oranges.
The first trailer truck bought after the Maine railroad started loosing loads to over night efficiency was a 1963 White cab over 250 Cummins diesel single screw with a tag axle.
And the first trailer a Fruehauf 1957 box. My parents eventually had eight trucks parked out behind our Maine farm barn that became a truck terminal.
Have two brothers that ended up engineers. But the mechanical one was my Brother Brian. He would designed truck after truck in his bedroom. Dad and Mom had a desk built just for drafting. Brian drews cars too. Very detailed, very well.
He worked his way up through the ranks of Freightliner and married a lady from Portland Oregon. And when he became plant manager, he also had experience with designing a new series.
To get the best Freightliner built, he sent the engineers who thought they could design anything out on the highway with coast to coast truckers.
To take off their white shirt and tie and live like, think like a trucker.
Those engineers designing the new series truck came back with tons of information. Complaints from some drivers of older models that their back and kidneys hurt due to the seat suspension. Others complained how hard it was to change a truck electrical fuse. Or reach way over to change a station on the radio without nearly a jack knife accident happening.
But also a long list of what the drivers liked about their current truck were gleaned, gathered and factored in to the design of the new class eight truck line. The engineering is key. But the guys and gals working on this module, that system have to communicate too. The truck does not just go together the most efficient, ergonomic way without study, timing, discussion.
I’m am glad my parents ran lots of businesses and exposed the four boys to many endeavors.
It was not just a childhood of one type of living or career and we all became more well rounded because of it.
One brother went in to truck design because Dad and Mom had Whites, International Transtar and a Peterbilt.
Another went in to civil engineering because of my parents building a new centralize packing potato shed.
I got exposed to Maine real estate due to my parents working in that and the property appraisal field.
I was lucky to have hard working, creative parents that exposed us to a very education childhood in Maine.
The long driveways at the Maine farm I grew up on are lined with large mature maple trees.
The buildings are set off the road. And one day as a very young boy growing up on that Maine farm I may have lamented that my bike with the training wheels was too slow. Watching my three older brothers ride large bikes very fast around those three driveways had caused the whine to be uttered. Made public.
So one brother decided let’s help the little guy out, with a long rope. Hooked to my handlebars and the seat of the bike he was riding. The intial bike launch went very well. My feet could not keep up with the speed and I just hung on for the driveway down hill staight away. But as my brother suddenly remembered, thought of busy US Rt 2 at the end of the driveway, quick thinking was needed. All those cars, trucks, oncoming traffic made him decide to swerve. Across the lawn, between those large maple shade trees. Rope in tow mode, engaged, fully operational.
His bike made the safe passage across the Maine farm front lawn.
But that long 75 long rope caused quite an angle of entry between those large maple trees for my little bike on the tether.
I tractor beamed right in to a maple, causing both bikes to cease to be in motion. My brother the bike pilot on the other end fetched up, rope tight then suddenly slack as his bike stopped. He topple off over his bike handlebars. The speedometer recording “0” for speed as the dust settled.
My bike got pretty twisted, tangled up, embedded in that farm maple. My face a wall of blood as I got a straight on up close and personal look at that large fixed positioned Maine farm rock maple tree. Mom was summoned. Brought in to the post bike acceleration exercise mayhem. Then I was wisked to my grandmother the nurse trained professional a half mile away on another Maine potato farm. To be tended, cleaned up, made bike riding worthy again. What does not kill you makes you stronger right? An oh scar? Oh sure. Look under my chin for the big cut, skin tear that should have had stitches from that bike land speed record accident. Ah, childhood memories on a Maine farm.
