Downtown has changed but charter has not

15 years ago

To the editor:
    ‘Tis the season … I did the bulk of my Christmas shopping right here in Caribou this year. If you look around, there really are quite a few places to go. Phil’s Florist and Noyes’ Flower Shop were beautiful, and you can find some really great gifts at Rite Aid. We also have Millers and Mr. Paperback, and now downtown there is Expect More for a Dollar, Family Dollar, Buzzell’s and the craft shop that is open at the old Powers Theater building during the Christmas season.     It was fun to walk along Sweden Street and pop into the stores, and in the craft shop I actually ran into friends I hadn’t seen in ages. In fact, I ran into one of my classmates that I hadn’t seen in perhaps 25 years! That got me to thinking about all the businesses that used to line Sweden Street back in the mid 1960s when I was in high school. I took out my 1965 Reflector yearbook and counted 70 or so ads for businesses in Caribou, most of them in the downtown area. There was L.S. Hall Co., Wyman’s Music Store, Johnston’s Jewelers and Day’s Jewelry Store, Chain Apparel, Doctor’s Pharmacy, F.W. Woolworth, J.J. Newberry Co., J.C. Penney, Landau’s, Taylor’s Shoe Shore, Lupo’s, Shaw’s Specialty Shop, Waite’s Clothing store, and of course, the Viking Inn, just to name a few.
    But that was over 40 years ago, and many things have changed during those years. However, one thing that hasn’t changed in that time is the Caribou city charter. Oh, there may have been an amendment here and there, but as a whole, the last time the charter was really taken apart and revised was in 1967. Citizens for Responsible City Management (CFRCM) believe that it’s time to take a really good look at the charter and bring it up to date with the current times.
    You will be asked to go to the polls in June 2010 and vote on whether or not you would like to see a charter commission established. We sincerely hope everyone will take the time to vote on this very important question. During the upcoming months, CFRCM will be studying the charter and offering suggestions for possible changes, and will be keeping you, the voter, informed of our progress. Please check out CaribouWatch.com often, as we will be placing information about upcoming meetings and other activities involving the charter commission question on that Web site.
    In the meantime, Citizens for Responsible City Management want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Our meetings will resume in January, and everyone is welcome to attend. We will post the next meeting date on CaribouWatch.com.

Joan Theriault
Caribou