Small town pride in a Maine community swells around the tournaments for the local sports teams.
The squads followed through out the regular season compete for a chance to represent their small Maine town at a regional and state competition.
It is last guy or gal out of town turn off the lights. Great for the economy of the Maine city that hosts the playoffs.
To one by one go through the bracket pair ups to determine who represents half of the state.
To defend the other chunk playing in a winner takes all on some neutral field, court, arena.
This past Maine school vacation week was such a marvel.
For all ages of a community to wear the school colors, put the signs in their vehicles to tell the world that they are rooting for the small Maine town home team.
Our kids that everyone in the community helps polish, make grow straight and true, responsible.
All the local population is hooting and hollering for the home team. The dreams of what if and the honor from all the hard work of years of practice and play. That leads to a championship trophy for the locked, glass school display case. Or a sportsmanship banner to hang high in the gym or arena.
The championship titles help define the local Maine community. To keep score and a sport on the roster.
Puts the little burg on the planet and helps all the locals know their Maine geography a little better. When two fans quiz where is whatever that First Settler sounding name town is located. Or share what it was like on brief visits to the place because of an early meeting high school sports wise.
And the small Maine town fans in the stands are some how directly related to the local players on display during the streamed tournament competition.
And with a ten percent drop in school enrollment in the last decade, consolidations and regional approaches to education make the small Maine town school performance on the list for extinction. These games bitterly important to relish.
No small Maine town wants to lose it’s identity and everyone in the state knows that some of the colors, mascots and sports players, bands won’t be in the next round. Making the Maine sporting news sound bite and ink highlights.
Not because of failing to make the finals. But because of just no more small Maine school where there was a few years ago. As Maine mills become dinosaurs and rust, and hope dims. As resourcefulness enters the room very quickly to centralize and then out source or just plain cut services.
To stop the bleeding of the life blood of what makes the small Maine community sparkle. Or even just tread water waiting for something to change all that.
Dwindling small Maine town populations makes local control a luxury more and more communities won’t be able to enjoy.
Deepening an identity crisis for the small Maine town that struggles to stay one.
No ones likes higher property taxes and if enough to run the small Maine community is just not in the pockets or checkbook of the local residents, everything screeches to a deafening quiet halt.
When the small Maine town can not afford to be one. Waves the white flag and surrenders.
Administration from a central level is happening across the board in rural, under populated drop dead gorgeous Maine communities. Cherish the Maine small home team sports performances. And enjoy the hoopla while it lasts. Before it morphs and becomes watered down, diluted and plain less teams, but larger consolidated school systems in Maine.
When small Maine towns deorganize due to state mandates, from the tax burden of the pie piece being just too large for citizens to swallow.
Too much going out, not enough coming in.
To pull off the educational cost component. For enough locals to step up and fill the positions to run the small Maine town.
From animal control officer to shore land zoning and planning board duties. Pot hole filling, cemetery grass mowing, election behind the curtain decision making duties.
Lean and mean happens quick when the money runs out. Has to or there goes missing the small Maine town from the eerie green glowing radar sweep. And Maine towns give up local government. Like the circus that has to unbolt the rides, stack and rack to get on the road again to the next Maine small town venue for cotton candy, dough boys and carnival rides.
It is lonely outside those cozy small Maine six by six mile corner boundary lines.
Lost but not forgotten as the small town or plantation that gets shepherded by the county, the state of Maine tries to find a new identity swimming with a larger school of students miles down the road.
Over 5000 home schooled, grass roots under the same roof fed three R’s a day students in Maine.
Considering Maine cyber education is on the rise with charter schools.
These are exciting, trying times in the educational transition from the norm to the new and improved, best we can do with the resources we have in Maine.
Trying to keep up and not make a misstep from waiting too long and making poor decisions because just no time provided for to ace the local small Maine school test. To stay alive and thrive.
To make it better than it was and the best it can be.
Without lingering too long looking back in the rear view mirror to see what the small, independent small Maine town used to look like when lumber and paper mills were king, farmers were everywhere.
And before the Interstate, Internet happened to change the face of the small Maine town that is forced to adjust to the fast moving events that forever change it.
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The way we approach and appreciate everything earned and respected in the Pine Tree State is through hard work, small town family values and a creative spirit to preserve what we hold dear. There is a strong connection, a tug at the heart strings when small Maine community pride is displayed. And desperately searched for ways to maintain the character of a small Maine community.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |
MOOERS REALTY 69 North Street Houlton ME 04730
