Editor’s Note: The following is the first of two articles highlighting some of the top business stories from 2020. This article highlights events from January to June. The second installment will appear in the Jan. 6 issue.
January
For generations, Chadwick Florist and Greenhouse has provided southern Aroostook County with a variety of fresh flowers, house plants and gifts. And for just the fifth time in its 112-year history, the business was under new ownership after Tammie and Rob Mulvey purchased the business from Amanda Linscott on Dec. 20, 2019, and took over Jan. 1.
Northern Maine Development Commission recently announced it has been awarded $500,000 in financial assistance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The award was part of $188.7 million in financial assistance awards to 284 institutions that were to enable organizations to increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communities across the nation.
The Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton hosted its annual membership supper featuring a free roast beef supper for those renewing or joining the membership for 2020. The museum has been collecting items since 2002 and provides a variety of displays.
The University of Maine at Presque Isle received high marks in college rankings released by the Washington Monthly magazine. Washington Monthly listed UMPI as No. 50 out of 386 for the Best Bang for the Buck Rankings in the Northeast.
The Houlton Rotary Club hosted students who have participated in the Club’s Youth Exchange program during its Monday, Jan. 13, meeting. Joining the Rotarians were Quinn White, Alyssa Abbotoni, Jamie Brown and Rylee Faulkner.
Katahdin Trust announced a monetary donation of $1,000 to The Center for the Advancement of Rural Living for the Caribou Performing Arts Center Revitalization Project.
The Houlton Community Golf Club was searching for a new operator of the Lakeside View Restaurant. (Courtesy of Houlton Community Golf Club)
February
The Houlton Community Golf Club was searching for a new operator for its Lakeside Restaurant. For the past four years, Bill Roderick and Nancy Levin operated the Lakeside Restaurant, but the couple told golf officials in early January that they would not be returning for the 2020 season.
Veteran sports broadcaster Dale Duff, originally of Houlton, left 92.9 The Ticket in Bangor to work for WHOU radio, which is based in Houlton.
The Houlton-based Aroostook Milling Company announced it had closed its Presque Isle location.
Katie Sloat was announced as the new owner of Jean’s Serendipity, having purchased the business from her parents, Jean and Richard Sloat. Sloat also said she was changing the name to Serendipitous Dragonfly.
Dr. Ron Blum of Patten was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Maine Academy of Family Physicians at an annual meeting in Bar Harbor. It was the first time the award was presented in more than 40 years.
A new funeral home was scheduled to open in Presque Isle as Bowers Funeral Home, which has locations in Houlton and Island Falls, announced plans to expand.
March
Alexander MacDougall joined the staff of the Houlton Pioneer Times as a general assignment reporter for both the weekly newspaper and the Bangor Daily News. He is a native of Massachusetts and lived there for the first 26 years of his life before moving to Maine.
Those looking for a shave, haircut or new hairstyle in the Patten area had a new place to patronize with the opening of the Broken Arrow Barbershop and Salon. The salon was operated by Beth Ann Carver and Kevin Bernier.
The Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce unveiled its top businesses and volunteers at the 2020 Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce annual dinner and awards ceremony. A smaller than normal crowd turned out for this year’s event, due to growing concerns about the coronavirus in the nation.
Seiders Hilltop Lanes was the recipient of this year’s Business of the Year award at the 2020 Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce annual banquet. Accepting the award are Laura and Geno Seiders, along with Jane Torres, executive director of the chamber. (Joseph Cyr)
Seiders Hilltop Lanes was the recipient of this year’s Business of the Year award. Carl Campbell was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award. Erica Fitzpatrick Peabody received the Young Professional Award. Fred Grant was presented with the Above and Beyond Award, created three years ago to be given to an individual or business who went that extra mile to do something wonderful in the Greater Houlton area. Priscilla Monroe was the recipient of the Community Spirit Award. The Southern Aroostook Development Corporation received the Community Service Award.
Several banks in Aroostook County are closing their lobbies to customers as a precautionary measure for the health and safety of customers and staff due to the coronavirus.
April
Several members of the Maine Potato Board recently met with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, while in Washington, D.C., for the National Potato Council Fly-In annual meeting. Attending were Dominic LaJoie of Van Buren, Susannah Cooper of McCain Foods in Easton, MPB Director of Operations Jeannie Tapley, Collins, MPB Executive Director Don Flannery of Presque Isle, Brent Buck of Mapleton and Gregg Garrison of Blaine.
The Houlton Rotary Club held its first virtual meeting using the website Zoom, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual meeting was well attended and it was nice for everyone to interact after having not met the previous two weeks.
In an effort to stimulate the local economy, “Corona Freedom Bucks” were making their way around area merchants in the greater Houlton area thanks to the efforts of several local business owners. The bucks were gift certificates that could be used the same as cash at local businesses, with the amount doubled by the program. That meant a person who purchased $50 in Corona Freedom Bucks received $100 worth.
Shelly Butler of Houlton was selected as the Assistant Manager of the Year by Dunkin franchise owner Micheal Ouimet. It marked the second straight year that Butler was selected for this award.
Nick Morse has opened Nick’s Auto, a full-service automotive repair shop, at 162 Houlton Road behind the Millyard Restaurant in Danforth. Courtesy of Dave Conley
May
An alum of East Grand High School returned to his roots to open his first automotive repair business. A graduate of the Class of 2012, Nick Morse opened Nick’s Auto in a spot behind the popular Millyard Restaurant and gas station at 162 Houlton Road.
Social distancing practices were in full effect, and the weather barely topped 40 degrees, but people flocked to Houlton Farms Dairy Bar for its season opening May 8. Customers lined up across the side of the building, everyone following the social distancing parameters of staying six feet apart. Many took their orders back to their cars, with only one member of the family getting out to order for everyone in the vehicle.
MMG Insurance donated $10,000 to the Aroostook County Action Program to assist children and families in Aroostook County experiencing COVID-19-related hardship.
Aaron Paul is the new executive chef at the Lakeside Restaurant at the Houlton Community Golf Club. He has been in the food industry for the past 10 years. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
The Lakeside Restaurant, a popular eatery conveniently located on Nickerson Lake and connected to the Houlton Community Golf Club, was now open for the summer with a new chef managing the establishment. Aaron Paul, a longtime resident of Houlton who graduated from Houlton High School in 2005, took over the restaurant business from Bill Roderick and Nancy Levin.
June
Though many traditional spring and summer events in the Houlton area have been canceled or delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Houlton Community Market started its season on Memorial Day weekend, just as it always has done.
The towns in the area surrounding East Grand Lake in southern Aroostook and northern Washington counties received a community broadband planning grant from ConnectMaine Authority, a state agency tasked with improving public access to broadband service.
Bob Theriault delivered a John Deere lawn tractor from Theriault Equipment in Presque Isle to Gordon Hagerman of Littleton. Hagerman won the mower through a raffle sponsored by the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum. A total of 550 tickets were sold to raise money for the museum and its ongoing projects.
