Editor’s Note: We took a look back to spotlight some of 2023’s important business stories compiled by Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli.
January
Canadian junior mining company, Wolfden, filed a second rezoning application with the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, following the withdrawal of a 2020 rezoning attempt. The mining company is asking the LUPC to change the zoning for a 374-acre parcel near Pickett Mountain from limited use to industrial use, to pave the way for a proposed metallic mineral mine.
A Littleton couple is using ancient methods to create natural healing products from their home. Jennifer Noonan and William Sarante, plant perennial herbs and harvest native plants, including pieces of trees and branches that they turn into essential oils for cosmetics, aromatic sprays, salves and massage oils for their new business, Big Brook Botanicals.
Area farmers will get access to diagnostic tools, following an agreement between John Deere and the American Farm Bureau Federation. Under the agreement, Deere will provide farmers access to the diagnostic tools, product guides and parts so they can perform their own repairs.
February
Ward Cedar Log Homes of Houlton celebrates 100 years of craftsmanship. The company still follows the hands-on lead of its founder by milling and cutting cedar in their Houlton facility. The company’s home kits are packaged and shipped out to U.S. and international locations like Japan, the Dominican Republic, South Korea, Canada, Taiwan and the Philippines.
The Maine Land Use Planning Commission gave Canadian mining company Wolfden 30 days to answer a long list of questions regarding its rezoning application for a 374-acre parcel at Pickett Mountain. Questions related to the number of employees, blasting, rock crushing, spray irrigation and snowmaking, underground facilities, traffic, development plan and storm water and mine water management.
During a Houlton Town Council meeting, residents said the proposed $2 billion King Pine Wind project should have more rewards for local residents. The project is planned for 175,000 acres of forestland in Aroostook County. The 170 wind turbines snaking along a large swath of mountain tops from Monticello to Oxbow to Knowles Corner and New Smyrna will generate 1,000 megawatts of power and link the region to the New England electric grid via new transmission lines starting in Haynesville.
March
Patten officials decided to put a resolution approving a Canadian mining company’s Pickett Mountain Mining Project to a town vote. Wolfden circulated the resolution to several area towns in a show of support for the proposed mine located near Mt. Chase. When Patten pushed back on the ordinance, the company devised a shorter resolution for the town to consider.
A nationally known developer, Todd Thompson, bought the 16,000 square foot Monticello-Wellington School for $84,000, along with an adjacent 25-acre parcel to build a snowmobiler retreat. The project, Katahdin North Plaza and Monticello Meadows Campground, will offer camping, bunkhouses and a plaza with restaurant, laundromat and more for outdoor visitors including snowmobilers and hikers.
Katahdin Forest Products closed one mill and laid off 20 employees with its cedar stock nearly depleted. The combination of warmer weather and a 30 percent reduction in the number of Maine firms harvesting timber made it difficult for the Oakfield company to keep pace.
April
Hogan Tire, run by the same family for nearly 50 years, with locations in Houlton, Presque Isle, Caribou and Lincoln, was sold to Gill’s Point S Tires & Auto of Portland, Oregon. The new owners planned to keep all of Hogan’s 48 employees and all locations open.
Houlton eclipse planners get serious about the April 2024 Eclipse and share with the public that 20,000 or more visitors could pile into the small Aroostook County town for the event. Houlton is the United State’s last stop in the path of totality.
May
Sewall House Yoga Retreat, owned by Donna Amrita Davidge, was ranked as the No. 2 yoga retreat in the nation, beating out venues like Virginia’s Yogaville and Drala Mountain Center in Colorado. Davidge, who saved her family’s home from the auction block, is William Sewall’s great-granddaughter.
Oakfield residents slammed the door on a Houlton business woman’s request for a liquor license to open a bar and restaurant in the town. Oakfield currently does not allow liquor consumption on-premises and in a 124 to 15 vote, the town voted against Lori Spaulding’s request to change it.
Hidden Spring Winery, East Hodgdon, expanded, adding an event center to seat 150. Winery owners, Veronica and Richard Sloat, create 20 different varieties from all local and hand-harvested berries, grapes and dandelions. Their wines have been awarded five medals and a Best Maine Wine distinction from the Eastern States Exposition in Massachusetts.
June
The Maine Legislature approved the construction of a high voltage transmission line connecting northern Maine to New England. The project is expected to alleviate renewable energy concerns and paves the way for the Longroad Energy King Pine Wind project and the LS Energy’s $2.78 billion transmission line to move forward.
The initial phases of a $30 million Houlton Land Port of Entry improvement project got underway with construction slated to begin in 2025. The Houlton border crossing project is one of 26 planned port of entry structural upgrades throughout the United States, including four others in Maine. In addition to the slated Houlton improvements, other state locations include Calais, Fort Fairfield, Limestone and Coburn Gore.
One of the oldest continuously operating movie theaters in the state will keep its doors open after Fred Grant, president of Northern Maine Media Inc. and owner of Market Pizza in Houlton, purchased the 1919 Temple Theater on Market Square in Houlton.
July
U.S. Congressionally directed funding will help the Houlton Water Co. upgrade a 40-year-old aging power transmission line. The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved $1,749,000 million in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill.
In an eleventh hour belt-tightening move, Katahdin Cedar Log Homes in Oakfield averted closing in June as it predicted it would, and the company is back to making log homes at a slower pace, said a company vice president. They consolidated resources, reduced staff from 80 to 48, shut down its Ashland mill, although it still uses the property as a log yard, and consolidated wood stockpiles from Ashland to Oakfield.
Financial deficits for the University of Maine System’s Houlton Higher Education Center are projected to keep increasing for the 15,500-square-foot building, designed for in-person university-level courses. But the university uses about 75 percent less of the space it did in 2001 and the university is looking for a partner to purchase the building and lease space to the university for continued services.
August
Jayden Stevens, 16, started her own business, Specialty Sweets by Jayden, after discovering how much she loves baking just about anything. This Aroostook Softball All-Star bakes cheesecakes, pies, any flavor whoopie pies, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, coffee bars, no-bake cakes, bars, lemon squares for customers. But cheesecakes are really her specialty despite the five-hour baking time.
The final funding piece for the expansion of Tiny Homes of Maine manufacturing facility at the Houlton Industrial Park was awarded to Houlton’s Shiretown Development Corp. on Aug. 23. One of 16 state organizations to receive Northern Border Regional Commission funding, the Shiretown Development Corp., which is run by the town, was awarded $500,000 toward the 12,000-square-foot $1.867 million project.
September
The Houlton Town Council approved a liquor license for the downtown Temple Theater. Fred Grant, the new owner of one of the oldest movie theaters in Maine, is transforming the historic movie house. It will offer film festivals, live-streamed concerts, top-of-the-line laser film and streaming projection, plus beer and wine.
Three Houlton businesses destroyed in a fire at the Houlton International Airport are still reeling from the shock as they wrestle with what comes next. The businesses leveled by the blaze are Family Roots, a medical marijuana dispensary; Tiny Homes of Maine, a tiny home manufacturer; and HSC Auctions, an online auction house for estate furnishings. The Houlton Fire Department and 29 firefighters responded to the call.
October
During the last of four Land Use Planning Commission public hearings on Oct. 23 in Bangor, there was a nearly unanimous opposition — 50 to 6 — to a Canadian junior mining company’s rezoning request for a 374-acre parcel located near Katahdin and Baxter State Park for a proposed metallic mineral mine. Speaker after speaker urged the Maine Land Use Planning Commission to deny Wolfden’s rezoning application for the Pickett Mountain Project.
Almost as soon as a new Houlton day care center opened its doors, the infant room was full, and the waiting list topped 100. Mrs. Kaitie’s Laugh & Learn Academy at 18 High St. was fully licensed by the Maine Department of Health for 49 children from ages six weeks to school age at the end of September. Owner Kaitie Gilmour hopes it will help meet a dire community need for additional day care in The County.
November
New York-based LS Power’s contract negotiations with the state over a 345-kilovolt transmission line connecting a wind turbine project in Aroostook County to the New England power grid have stalled despite months of discussions and negotiations, according to regulators. In an effort to break the impasse, the utilities commission’s staff drafted an agreement with their recommendations. The parties now have the opportunity to comment. The commissioners will determine next steps for the contract for power transmission after a Dec.1 deadline.
Three businesses nearly destroyed by a fire at the Houlton International Airport in September are back in business. Tiny Homes of Maine resettled in an 11,000-square foot building in Dyer Brook, about 22 miles from its previous location. HSC Auctions got a new name, Pink Gavel Auctions, and a new location in downtown Houlton and Family Roots remains at the airport location.
December
Randi Farrar, who co-owns Lotus & Leaf, a downtown Houlton tea shop, with her husband Tom Farrar, just kicked off a new line of chaga brews with Birch Bark Brews partner, Alyssa Hutchinson. Initially, the tea shop, which opened earlier this year, only sold the self-harvested mushroom in its original conk or chunk form. But the day after Thanksgiving, they kicked off their new Birch Bark Brews.
With the 2024 total solar eclipse less than four months away, it’s crunch time for Houlton organizers. With visitor predictions for the April 8 event as high as 40,000, community sponsors and volunteers have helped Houlton planners create a logistical blueprint that includes star parks, shuttle routes, porta-potties, warming tents, food trucks, directional signs, parking and large public meal venues.
The Maine Land Use Planning Commission deliberated on Dec. 13 in Brewer following 11 months of document gathering, public comment and four days of public hearings on Wolfden’s application to change the zoning for 374 acres at Pickett Mountain in northern Penobscot County for a proposed underground metallic mineral mine. Commissioners questioned Wolfden’s finances and its plan to excavate metallic minerals in the middle of the state’s waters and wildlife habitat. A decision is planned for February.
