HOULTON, Maine — Growing up in Houlton, Jon McLaughlin knew from a very early age that the Shiretown was where he always wanted to be.
Born and raised in Houlton, McLaughlin has spent his entire life in the Shiretown, with the exception of the four years he spent at the University of Maine at Orono. A third-generation Orono Black Bear, McLaughlin earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration.
McLaughlin, 64, is the executive director for the Southern Aroostook Development Corporation, following in the footsteps of his father Aubrey, who from 1957 to 1964 served as the director of the Houlton Regional Development Corporation — the precursor to the corporation.
Although his father was born in Dyer Brook and his mother, Eleanor, was born in Merrill, Houlton became the couple’s destination of choice for raising their family and taking over a prosperous business, Ward Cabin Company, which later became known as Ward Log Homes.
It was at this company that McLaughlin got his start in the business world, working during his high school days and continuing during his summers through college.
“Ward Cabin Company had a fire in 1964, and my dad, as the economic director for Houlton, helped get that company rebuilt,” McLaughlin said. “After it was back up, he became very interested in the company and ended up purchasing it.”
McLaughlin worked his way up through that family business, starting as a sales manager, then a construction division manager and all the way up to chief operating officer when the family sold the business in 1998. He then moved on to become the first, and so far only, executive director for Southern Aroostook Development Corporation after selling the business.
Family has played a large role in McLaughlin’s life and that heritage has been passed on to his son Josh, who is the owner of a successful construction company in Houlton.
Growing up in Houlton was also a time to forge lifelong friendships, he said.
“I loved growing up here,” McLaughlin said. “We had a very close-knit group of friends and we have remained close all these years later. Other people I met later on in life would tell me how lucky I was to have that connection.”
McLaughlin said the downtown was the epicenter for all activity, as that was where all of the stores were located. During his school days, it was not uncommon for children to head downtown for lunch, grabbing a bite to eat at the “5 and 10 Cent” store, which featured a lunch counter complete with a soda fountain.
“It was a different era, for sure,” he said. “Kids could go just about anywhere their bikes could take them, and as long as you were home by supper everything was fine.”
McLaughlin was introduced to Susan, the woman who would become his wife, shortly after his college days by a mutual friend, Steve Bither.
“Steve called me up one night and said he had a friend up visiting and asked me if I was interested in joining them on a trip over to Woodstock [New Brunswick] for Old Home Week,” McLauglin said. “We had a great time and it was just, boom, I knew. We met in August and by the first of October we were engaged and married the next February. We just clicked.”
In his spare time, McLaughlin said he enjoys snowmobiling in the winter and working in his garden during the warmer months. He also spends a great deal of time mowing his lawn, which is about eight acres and can take upwards of six to eight hours to finish.
“I have a job that some days you might not be able to see what you accomplished,” he said. “But with mowing, I can look at it and see that I accomplished something. Plus it gives me a lot of time to do some thinking.”
McLaughlin and his wife will celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary in February. They have two adult children, Josh and Jason, and five grandchildren.
