Houlton area Business Year in Review 2017 (Part 1)

Editor’s Note: The following is the first of two articles highlighting some of the top business stories from 2017.  This article highlights the events from January to June. 

January

Forty-one years after the old building with the distinct copper roof and wood-burning fireplace was built and three months after it was razed, a new McDonald’s restaurant opened in Houlton on Dec. 28, 2016, just in time for the new year. Approximately 30 people attended a ribbon cutting and early preview of the new Houlton store before its official opening. Owned and operated by Daryl and Heidi Abbotoni, the new store has a bright, expansive and open floor plan that includes a gas fireplace to replace the wood-burning one.

The town of Houlton recently had a booklet created to give residents a better understanding of what each economic development agency does for the town. Members of the committee in charge of creating the document included Kent Good, Rosa McNally, Jon Gulliver, Town Manager Butch Asselin, Josh McLaughlin and Brent Dickison.

The owners of Uncle Willy’s Candy Shoppe, a popular candy store in downtown Market Square, announced they were closing their doors. Karen Keber Sutton opened the store in Houlton in November 2008 and has since opened another store in Camden with her husband, Matthew Sutton.

After a five-month, three-phase process, Volumes Bookstore emerged as the winner of the inaugural Houlton Entrepreneur Challenge. Volumes, which is one of a handful of book stores north of Bangor, received a prize package of more than $10,000 which includes a $7,500 forgivable loan and incentives from program partners totaling over $2,500. Volumes has been a local mainstay for more than 25 years. Proprietor Gerry Berthelette has owned the store for 18 of those years and seen it through three locations.

For many rural communities, the benefits of the digital revolution took a long time to appear, especially when it came to local news. But that changed in January for subscribers of the Houlton Pioneer Times, Aroostook Republican and Star-Herald newspapers as the parent company of all three publications unveiled its new, digital first website TheCounty.me.

February

The Houlton Elks Lodge No. 835 donated $1,500 to the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum to help pay for a new $42,000 heating system.

Aroostook Milling announced it would soon carry new, advanced nutritional offerings for its livestock community, thanks to a new partnership with Cargill Animal Nutrition. Through the new partnership, Cargill was to provide Aroostook Milling with the latest research updates from its Animal Nutrition Innovation Campus, as well as advanced ration formulations and more resources to better serve customers. One of those resources is Dana Brown, a Cargill dairy focus consultant.

March

The Maine Military Authority was set to receive $7 million through the governor’s supplemental budget, putting the state business on track to move forward on the paused contract to refurbish public buses for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

The continued effort to bring new playground equipment to students in grades 3-5 at Houlton Southside School received a big boost thanks to a $2,000 donation from the Houlton Rotary Club. HSS Principal Cindy Peterson informed the RSU 29 board March 6 that the school had over $24,000 in its playground account from fundraising, grant writing and Rotary donations. Of that amount, $10,000 came in the form of a grant from the Putnam Family Trust, while Louisiana Pacific donated roughly $6,000 for the project.

After a lifetime of serving the community of Houlton, the late Albert Pearce Putnam was awarded with the Greater Houlton Area Chamber of Commerce’s highest honor. Presented to his family, Putnam was posthumously honored at the 2017 Chamber annual dinner and gala with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award. It marks the first time in the history of the chamber event that an award has been given to someone after his death. Putnam died at the age of 70 at his home on Nickerson Lake on Dec. 31, 2016.

Houlton Southside School received a $2,000 check from the Houlton Rotary Club to go toward a playground for students in grades 3-5 at the school. Accepting the check is Cindy Peterson, right, principal at the school along with Rotary President Matthew Nightingale.
(Joseph Cyr)

Heidi and Darryl Abbotoni, owners of McDonalds in Houlton, were presented with the Chamber’s Business of the Year award, while Clint Cushman and Peter Blood, received  the Chamber’s Community Service Award. The Northern Maine Woodturners were honored with the Community Spirit award,

Residents in need of food supplies had a new place to pick up canned goods thanks to the efforts of the Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church congregation. Ruth Foss, pastor for the church, dedicated the new food pantry “Heavens Blessing Cupboard” and immediately saw local residents utilizing the service.

Local author Betty J. White has penned a new science-fiction novel that features scenes from the greater Houlton area. “The Tellurians,” story begins in Houlton at the Community Farmer’s Market but quickly transitions to a fantastical journey, 140-million miles away.

April

The F.A. Peabody insurance company celebrated its 90th anniversary with an open house at its Houlton location.

An Old Orchard Beach-based group was looking at southern Aroostook County as a potential test site for industrial hemp. Peter Mourmouras and his son Thomas Mourmouras of the Maine Commercial Growers Association spoke to members of the Houlton Town Council about their desire to introduce hemp to the Houlton area.

A change in leadership took place at one of Houlton’s oldest businesses. Greg Sherman was named general manager for the Houlton Water Company, becoming just the fifth general manager in the company’s 115-year history. He succeeds John Clark, who served as the general manager from 1984-2017. 

Nancy Putnam, center, addresses the crowd Saturday evening as her late husband Albert Pearce Putnam posthumously received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce. With her are Emily Putnam, left, and Martha Putnam.
(Joseph Cyr)

Citing increased competition from a large retail store and a general decline in downtown foot traffic, another longtime downtown business decided to call it quits. Beals Variety closed its doors after 18 and a half years in downtown Houlton.

Dale Flewelling of Friends of Aroostook was eyeing new growth opportunities with his charitable food program. Embarking on its ninth season, the farm was working with both of northern Maine’s Area Agencies on Aging, the Aroostook County Jail, the Bangor-based Eastern Area Agency on Aging and was setting its sights on other programs throughout the state to bring a range of produce to seniors and families in need of fresh food.

Houlton’s Sears store was celebrating a grand re-opening as part of the company’s transition to “Sears Hometown” stores. Located at the Houlton Plaza Shopping Center at 114 North St., the updated store included new product assortment, re-designed merchandising, new fixtures and signage, and comprehensive employee training.

May

Vona and David Libby sell Libby’s Mill Pond Dairy Bar in Hodgdon to their daughter, who re-establishes the eatery as Anderson’s Mill Pond Dairy Bar for its grand opening.

Modern Beauty Salon, located at 48 Main St. in downtown Houlton, celebrated its grand re-opening. The salon unveiled a remodeled customer area with all new floors, walls and a redesigned layout to give the business a warmer feel.

Priority Auto Sales officially opened for business on U.S. Route 1 in Houlton. Ben Adams has returned to Houlton as the manager of the automobile venture, which is connected with Houlton Power Sports.

Josh McLaughlin expanded his construction business at 174 Bangor St to include bulk landscaping items such as gravel, mulch and stone.

June

Roxanne Bruce of Ludlow opened a new business called Green Bean Saves, LLC which she hoped would connect small farmers with consumers on both a local and national level. Based out of her home, Bruce created an online network of small farmers (www.shopsmallfarms.com) that was designed to not only help farmers market their goods, but to also provide input on what types of produce consumers are craving.

Roy Beaulieu of Presque Isle was the lucky winner a John Deere X330 select series lawn tractor from the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum spring raffle. Theriault Equipment partners with the museum and proceeds from the raffle support ongoing projects at the museum in Littleton.

The Houlton Rotary Club celebrated its annual dinner and passed out several awards, including to Darryl Scott White as the recipient of the Paul Harris Award. The award is the highest honor bestowed by Rotary.