Another thing about Maine: It doesn't shut down after Labor Day
If you're a summer visitor to Maine, as well as you think you know the state, there are often some commonly held misconceptions.
I have been guilty of harboring some of those assumptions.
One is that Maine shuts down after Labor Day. As my family and I have discovered, that has been anything but the case. Labor Day is just the kickoff of the fall festival season, the Common Ground Fair, pumpkin festivals, ski-swaps, art fairs, Sugarloaf Homecoming Weekend and so on.
We who came to Maine from elsewhere at some point clung to big cities because they supposedly had the high-paying jobs or because the quality of life included museums, good restaurants and great coffee shops. Or that the schools in its suburbs were the best in the nation. None of it is as true as some summer visitors might like to believe. And Maine — year-round Maine — has more than its share of all of the above.
By now you are chuckling about my naivete and I am feeling stupid for having admitted all of this. But I had to get it out there.
My wife Jen says I have developed something she calls, “Never-want-to-leave-Maineitis.” Every time I've had to leave the state — and, in just the past six months that's included trips back to Philadelphia as well as Baltimore, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Long Island, N.Y. — I am overcome by anxiety, cold sweats and the stress of driving on roads that weren't designed for the number of Cadillac Escalades they now host. I've found I can no longer devote hours to sitting in traffic. I've developed an allergy to standing in line. I'm miffed when I can't nod hello to someone in the street.
There's something I remember from going to school in Vermont: In northern New England, people may live farther apart and have less human interaction, but they have to stick together. It's a necessity. That's why Town Meeting Day (the first Tuesday in March) is so crucial — it's the time when Vermonters have their say about how government is run, but it's also when they reconnect with neighbors and townspeople.
The fact that Maine, in so many ways, comes to life after Labor Day is another version of this. It's a long winter — no one denies that — but it becomes shorter by getting outside, saying hello to your neighbors and going into town.
Nevertheless, in this issue of Mainebiz, we realize that there are plenty of businesses that recognize the need to develop neighborly connections to other countries. Senior Writer Lori Valigra devotes the main cover story to Maine companies that are looking abroad to sell products. EnviroLogix, Southworth International Group and L.L. Bean are just a few of the companies looking to Asia and other markets for trading partners.
Closer to home, our Lewiston-Auburn focus section offers profiles of two longtime Maine companies, the iconic furniture maker Thos. Moser and Lamey-Wellehan, the shoe retailer. Correspondent Tina Fischer does a great job with each story, showing how two businesses offering old-school products can adapt to the times — and generate some healthy revenues in the process.
Senior Writer Jim McCarthy follows up on his earlier coverage of the Affordable Care Act, this time looking at the second round of the sign-up process.
Finally, you might recognize the byline of one of our new correspondents, Jennifer Van Allen, another person suffering from “Never-want-to-leave-Maineitis.” Jen finished up her temporary stint on the business page of the Portland Press Herald and, for this issue, conducts a Q&A with John Holden, incoming president of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.
We hope you'll take this issue to the nearest coffee shop and sit down for a while.
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John Holden takes helm of Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council
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Retail footwork: Lamey-Wellehan, battling competition, remains 'fast on our feet'
The business of craft: Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers profits from hands-on, Maine-based production
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