Special offer

Your Local Area Is A Unique Collection Of People, Traditions, Events Right? That Way In Maine.

By
Real Estate Agent with MOOERS REALTY ME Broker License 106759

The areas we serve in our real estate business have unique traditions, community events, special customs, that are sacred elements of day to day life, growing up in a home town in Maine, anywhere.

maine fall potato harvester

Rural areas like Maine have lots of deep rooted home grown volunteer events that if the locals did not step up year after year to preserve, they would not happen.

 There is not the same fire in your belly passion, internal spark excitement to come together if the event only happens with people hired to pull it off.

 There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer in Maine.

Especially if kids are involved because the whole Maine village raises, guides those kids.

Maine is know for a work ethic. Kids helping clam, blueberry rake, work in the potato and other farm fields. Getting the value of a dollar up close and personal training.

Not letting go of the dollar earned in entry level manual labor so easy either. If the purchase does not equate to the work involved to earn the dollar, the wallet stays in the pocket. Moving on, looking for a better deal or waiting until one comes along.

In northern Maine, the potato harvest does not happen during summer vacation like other work opportunities. So for decades a three week Maine potato recess happens with summer ending three weeks earlier. Then getting out usually three weeks later to get the crop in to storage. Off to the potato markets maine youth potato harvest workerdown state, out of state.

Maine has a Governor LePage who is pushing for "kitchen table discussions" around Vacationland to put common sense back in to the way the state is run. Less bureaucratic red tape, delays, reduction of waste and lack of productivity.

Tinkering with the state educational mandates that do not provide for the unique area events that define life in the sixteen Maine counties is critical to keep what makes each area shine beaming brightly. I know when I worked down country, I saw job discrimination in a good way loud and clear.

When they read on a resume I was from Aroostook County, they safely assumed this guy, all those cats in the north half the state are workers.

It all goes back to lessons learned in the potato field. Being on the chain gang, out in the fall harvest helping area farmers get the crop in around the black clouds and early morning frost.

To ever take away those traditions is like ripping out the heart one by one of what makes your area special. Stand up for your local traditions and keep your home town heritage in place. Don't and your apathy and folks that do not know the benefits will dismantle, remove that special unique flavor of your zip code, gps coordinates. Maine, big state, folks are a tad outspoken but hard workers and you know what's on their mind without games, any punches pulled.

I'm Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers Broker

Comments (6)

Glenn Roberts
Retired - Seattle, WA

Farm work definitely builds character. It should be mandatory for all kids ages 12-15 to do two summers of hard labor.

Feb 08, 2011 02:32 AM
Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573
MOOERS REALTY - Houlton, ME
Northern Maine Real Estate-Aroostook County Broker

Glenn.. Thanks for popping in. It is critical for the youth to know entry level hard work so they can benefit from life with starting at the bottom. Kids do so much better with money they earned, hustled and worked for and the local farmer needs them. The kids knows it and feels part of the operation, community. He or she is. Do these kids look unhappy working in a Littleton Maine potato house? All four of my kids, myself as a kid worked our tails off in the harvest. Did not hurt us and everything we know today we learned, can trace back to the fall Maine potato field. During harvest, anyone associated with the potato industry growing up would like to take weeks off just to work it. It's that special in our hearts. Many folks do and drive bulk body trucks, work in the potato houses. I say don't mess with the Maine potato harvest and do everything possible to preserve it for the special event it is. Work experience outside the class room and who knows, some of these kids with that exposure will want to farm. No FFA program so this is the Ag Economics lesson, course. Out in the field. 

Feb 08, 2011 02:52 AM
Ed Silva, 203-206-0754
Mapleridge Realty, CT 203-206-0754 - Waterbury, CT
Central CT Real Estate Broker Serving all equally

Andrew, it breaks down to values taught as a child and respect for the things around us. Without that the family unit and values mean nothing. I wasn't brought up on a farm, but by parents that lived through the depression and understanding the meaning of respect, working hard and not trying to take short cuts.

Feb 08, 2011 05:30 AM
Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573
MOOERS REALTY - Houlton, ME
Northern Maine Real Estate-Aroostook County Broker

Ed ... you learned the life skills. Awareness of what is going on around you early on helps a kid. Weather is an known, but you make the most and adapt to it. Making hay while the sunshines. Shifting gears to do inside work when it rains. But to keep moving, never whine, be productive.

Feb 08, 2011 03:14 PM
Pam Jank
Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty - Coeur d'Alene, ID
Your Coeur d'Alene & North Idaho Real Estate Pro

Ed, Great Post.  A good work ethic makes for great kids that don't use the "entitlement" card.  We need to get back to those good ol fashioned roots!

Feb 10, 2011 04:47 PM
Andrew Mooers | 207.532.6573
MOOERS REALTY - Houlton, ME
Northern Maine Real Estate-Aroostook County Broker

All four of my kids picked potatoes, worked the harvest. Oldest daughter Elizabeth and I were at the local Walmart, store 1974 and with his picking money in her pocket from her first week's wages, she saw something she thought she wanted. Picked up the item, studies it, shook her head, put it back on the shelf and said "Dad, that's not worth six barrels of potatoes". Meaning I worked way way too hard for 60 cents a barrel (165 pounds, 4 big baskets of potatoes to fill) to to let go of it for something in her mind was not an equal trade of sweat, toil, money in the exchange. Still wanted it but would wait for a price that seemed in line with the what $3.60 represented, meant to her in potato barrels to make that much.

Feb 10, 2011 09:28 PM