Editor’s Note: The following is the first of two articles highlighting some of the top business stories from 2011. This article highlights January to June. Next week, the Houlton Pioneer Times will feature July through December.
The first half of 2011 featured a number of prominent stories in the field of business and industry. Among the many events highlighted below are the announcements of Tractor Supply Company opening a store in Houlton; new owners taking over the classic First Settler’s Lodge in Weston; and the announcement of the 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year award by Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development.
January
• The Southern Aroostook Cultural Arts Project (SACAP), was enjoying success with its gallery — Visions — featuring artwork, jewelry, photography and other items made by local artists. Sales were up 20 percent over the previous year, as more and more artists began contributing to the gallery.
• Gina Parent of Hodgdon fulfilled a life-long dream by opening her own business — the Antique Emporium, an antique boutique located at 17 Court St.
• Pioneer Broadband has completed its new fiber optic connection from Pioneer’s datacenter in Houlton to Woodstock, New Brunswick. This new connection provides increased broadband capacity for Pioneer’s Internet traffic, and also completes construction of a new segment of the Internet superhighway for other businesses in the state of Maine that need Internet diversity and redundancy.
• Officials of the local WorkReady program, which prepares individuals to be successful in the workplace, presented the importance of the program to local employers at the Region Two vocational center in Houlton.
• Trustees of the Maine Higher Education Assistance Foundation (MeHEAF) announced the awarding of a scholarship in the amount of $1,000 to Laura Schools, a business administration major at UMPI. She is a graduate of Houlton High School.
February
• First Settler’s Lodge in Weston was under new ownership after Steve and Sue Mine purchased the business. Located in the East Grand Lake area on U.S. Route 1, 28 miles south of Interstate-95, First Settler’s Lodge had provided a cozy place for people to stay and a good meal to eat for the past 13 years under the guidance of Elbridge and Judy Cleaves. The lodge was named in honor of the Cleaves’ family relatives who settled the area nearly 150 years ago. Several Cleaves’ family photos still adorn the walls in the lodge, which sits atop Gilpatrick Hill Farm overlooking Mount Katahdin and East Grand Lake.
• Friday mornings at the Maliseet gym on Foxcroft Road were eventful as Dale Flewelling, executive director of Friends of Aroostook (FOA), and Eugene Stewart, an FOA worker, were busy processing winter squash in the organization’s newest endeavor to support its outreach to feed the disadvantaged.
• Julie Delano, assistant store manager for TD Bank in Houlton, won an all-expenses-paid trip to Florida as part of the bank’s “CEO Wow Leadership Award,” which recognized bank employees throughout New England based on their performance.
• Linda and Don Goodridge celebrated their 25th year in business at the Military Street Laundromat. The Goodridges celebrated with an open house that included coffee and doughnuts.
• Snow blowers were flying off the shelves of local stores thanks to a couple feet of snow falling in the County. Sears, Duff’s Service Station and the Light House all of Houlton and R.C. Logging in Smyrna all reported they were sold out of the popular snow-clearing machines.
March
• The County Federal Credit Union marked its 55th anniversary. The financial institute, first chartered in 1956 as The Loring Federal Credit Union, was established to serve military and civilian personnel assigned to Loring Air Force. At that time there were very stringent rules for membership.
• Houlton Tire Company on Smyrna Street added a new truck parts division to compliment its already full line of service. The new truck parts division was introduced not so much by demand, but as a necessity. “By doing the commercial inspection for truck and trailer, we were always running for extra parts that we didn’t have here,” said Keith Hersey, manager of Houlton Tire Company. “Or, on our road calls at night, if you needed something and we didn’t have it, we had to call someone to go in [to their store] or we couldn’t repair the job until the next day.”
• The Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce held its 2011 annual business dinner and gala event at the Houlton Lodge of Elks. Awards were presented in the following categories: Business of the Year — Elm Tree Diner; Community Spirit — Rae Johnston; Community Service — Houlton Volunteer Fire Department; and Lifetime Achievement — Ed and Dawn Degenhardt.
• A popular hunting and fishing business was on the move. MACS Trading Post owners Darrin and Michelle Crane announced they were moving from the Route 1 location to a spot closer to town. The new location was the former Brake Service building, located on North Street next to Tangs Chinese Cuisine. Opened in 2003 by Matt and Rebecca Cox, MACS Trading Post has been a popular Route 1 spot, especially during hunting season when the business serves as a tagging and weighing station. The Cranes purchased the business in March 2008.
• Scrapbooking Dreams in Island Falls opened for business. Located at 1143 Crystal Road, just off Interstate-95 next to Porter’s Cash Fuel, Scrapbooking Dreams was owned and operated by the self-proclaimed “Dream Team “ of Jen Hartsgrove, Emily Hosford and Jennie MacArthur.
• Just down the road, the New 2 U Consignment Shoppe in Island Falls was enjoying a brisk business. Owned and operated by Gerda Goodwin, New 2 U Consignment Shoppe is located on Main Street in downtown Island Falls and provided opportunities for individuals to sell their articles of clothing and other house wares in a retail environment, as opposed to selling them with a yard, tag or garage sale.
April
Tanning Plus and Specialty Boutique in Houlton celebrated its 10th anniversary. Nestled upstairs in her husband’s chiropractic office, Michelle Harvey assembled an assortment of the latest trends in formal wear, pants and tops, footwear to jewelry and a selection of accessories.
• Houlton native Bert Audette was named director of information technology at Unity College. He brought a wealth of green computing, network, programming, and related experience providing information technology (IT) services and solutions in the college setting to his new position.
• Clowning around was commonplace for Tanya Lawrence who started County Clownz, a group of local individuals who underwent training to become clowns.
• Houlton’s Tim Witmer was one of five finalists in the Toyota “Ideas for Good” contest. The contest asked individuals to submit ideas on how Toyota’s current automotive technology could be adapted into everyday situations and put to practical use. Later in the year, Witmer was announced as the winner of his category, receiving a brand new Toyota Highlander Hybrid from Yorks of Houlton.
• Sports enthusiasts were rejoicing as Olympia Sports opened its 30th location in the state with a grand opening ceremony in the Shiretown. Located at the former Movie Gallery store on North Road, next to Rite Aid, Olympia Sports plans to hire two full-time and nine part-time employees. It will be the 187th Olympia Sports outlet nationwide.
May
• If there are two things Cheryl Lovely knows, it’s music and horses. And based on the success of her music store business, it only made sense that a similar venture for horses was long overdue. Last summer, Lovely opened the Mini Music Shop and Country Store — a musical instrument and supply store next to her home on the Drews Lake Road. That business has done so well, that Lovely decided to open the Mini Tack and Horse Supply store in a building adjacent to her music shop.
• Thanks to the generosity of a local woman, the history of the Northland Hotel lived on at the site of its former location. A watercolor, painted by Esther Orr Faulkner, was hung in the lobby of Bangor Savings Bank’s Houlton branch, on the exact site where the majestic hotel once stood.
• Cameron Clark, son of Bruce and Jayne Clark of Houlton was already becoming an astute businessman. He started a picnic table business a year ago and added lawn mowing services to his repertoire.
• Putting safe drivers behind the wheel of a car is what Mountain’s Driving School has been doing for the last 12 years. Theodore “Bud” Mountain decided to make a career change in August of 1999 when he took over a driving school in Dexter from his former teacher. Mountain had been in management for 21 years with the Dexter Shoe Company and 14 years with the Dexter Police Department.
• Students from the Houlton Southside School After-school Program and their parents teamed up with local Rotarians for a “Spring Spruce Up.” With guidance from Southside After-school Program Coordinator Suzanne Lawler, the group hit the streets of Houlton to pick up trash and other debris visible after the spring snowmelt.
June
• Thanks to the efforts of Houlton High School’s Jobs for Maine Grads program, a local organization was better able to help families or individuals affected by abuse and violence. Houlton’s JMG program presented $1,000 to the Hope and Justice Project, formerly known as the Battered Womens’ Project in Presque Isle, during a special ceremony at the high school.
• The future of the automotive painting industry appeared to be in good hands. Students in Ammie Toby’s Region 2 auto-collision course painted a race car owned by Roy Crawford and sponsored by Hogan Tire and the TNT Road Company at the school on Bird Street. The paint job was awarded “Best Looking” in the Fast Four division during the second annual Motor Sports Show held at the Forum in Presque Isle.
• Houlton Regional Hospital hosted an Employee Recognition Banquet at The Linneus Sno Club. There were 74 honorees recognizing 1,070 years of service. Receiving a 40-year pin was Joyce Foster. Receiving 45-year pins were Pauline Hogan and Barbara Bossie.
• Combining both dairy and beef, Lilley Farms on Smyrna Center Road under second generation owners, Jim and Perry Lilley, continued to diversify to meet the ever-changing climate of farming in Aroostook County. The farm started in 1946 by Burns Lilley and his wife Juanita, after he came home from serving in World War II. Lilley Farms, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and its dairy operation had a 140-cow Holstein milking herd, which is one of two local farms (Cowperthwaite Farms) serving to supply Houlton Farms Dairy.
• Two UPS drivers — Jeff Stephenson and Vaughn Farrar — were recognized for 25 years of service to the company.
• Construction was under way on the new Tractor Supply Company store in Houlton, the company’s 12th Maine location. The new Houlton store was located at 337 North St. and slated to employ 12 to 17 full- and part-time team members. The 19,097-square-foot store also includes sales floor and support service space. A fenced exterior space will be used for storage and displaying items such as fencing, sprayers and livestock equipment.
• Houlton Power Sports on the North Road was now stocking watercraft docking systems to continue building its outdoor recreation base. The business already sold campers, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and sporting accessories.
• Videographer Mike Fawcett transformed an area in Max Lynds’ garage into a mini-studio for a unique collaboration between Houlton Star Bright Children’s Theatre and F.A. Peabody Company. With three young actors, Fawcett recreated a 1964 commercial for the insurance company.
• Scott Galbiati and Jessica Jewell of Houlton, creators of Twenty 2 Distilled Vodka made in Houlton’s Industrial Park, were named the 2011 Entrepreneurs of the Year by Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development and Momentum Aroostook and held at the Edmunds Conference Center at the Northern Maine Community College. The couple received a check for $500, a plaque and a sculpted award.
