What is the Maine Mystique?
According to Dictionary.com “mystique” means : an aura of mystery, power, and awe that surrounds a person or thing.
I think the mystery surrounding Maine is that people manage
to survive through cold winters in an economy that is perpetually depressed. You
might wonder why people live in remote places where decent paying jobs are as
scarce as four lane highways. Mostly it
is the natural beauty of Maine that offers more than monetary appeal and holds
people in awe.
A physician in New Jersey asked me once if we had
hospitals in Maine! Others occasionally ask if we have indoor bathrooms. Yes,
to both, although some of the latter still exist. The focus of most Mainers is not
only on the basics of shelter, heat, and food, but on ways to play in this
environment. Without enjoyment, there wouldn’t be any point in living here.
Southern Maine, often considered part of Massachusetts,
offers beautiful un-crowded, sandy beaches, coastal marshlands, estuaries, and
islands. There is little evidence of poverty and the expensive coastal real
estate will make your jaw drop. Go inland a few miles and things change. You’ll
find lovely rolling hills and rock-framed lakes and rivers. The real estate is
more affordable than along the coast, and you’ll find more modest homes. Go
North and you’ll see a mix of real estate, a few places with unadorned basic
homes, gray, unpainted clapboards, sagging roofs, and yards full of rusted out
autos and debris – different type of jaw drop.
The mountains and northern scrublands provide hiking,
snowmobiling, fishing, and hunting opportunities. Paper companies changed the landscape
of northern Maine beginning with the Industrial Revolution. The need for pulp
to make paper caused rivers to be dammed, creating more lakes. Log runs left lots
of driftwood along the banks of lakes and rivers, and inspired competitions to
see who could stand on a floating log in the water the longest. A web of dirt
roads used to haul logs out of the forests now provide access to the public and
replaced the log drives. The paper industry is all but gone from Maine, leaving
thousands to find other ways to make a living or move away.
Most of those who leave Maine are high school graduates
who, naturally, want to see what the rest of the world is like. Living in Maine
is not for everyone, which is why Maine’s population is about 1.3 million. Given the size of the state, that is 16.65
acres per person.
To survive in Maine, people depend on family, friends,
and strangers. There is an unpretentious camaraderie among people in Maine.
Fashion is whatever you want it to be. Often warm clothing comes from the
Goodwill or from hand-me-downs, and mud boots can be worn to a formal wedding
if the weather calls for them.
Maine folks are as much a piece of its mystique as its
beautiful landscapes. There is, unfortunately, among Mainers an unhealthy
skepticism of “people from away.” Even
though many people from out of state have settled in Maine, locals wonder if these
newcomers will survive, take their jobs, make changes, fit in, or exploit the
land and people. Sometimes Mainers, unfortunately, remain aloof to “outsiders.”
But don’t be fooled, Mainers are the first in line to help a stranger when
trouble knocks on the door.
Most people living in Maine are hard working and seek a
life that respects family, friends, and environment. There is a power among the
people who struggle to live here that is stronger than the Nor’easters that hit
our shores or the Northwest winds that blanket us with Arctic air masses. Mainers
are tough and confront the harsh weather and economy by creating events like
the potato blossom festival, pie and paddle (with a pie warden), lobster boat
races, dump parade, giant pumpkin festival, boat building competitions, and
more. The sign that greets people as they cross over our border is, “Maine, The
way life should be.”
Betsy Hanscom is the owner of Maine Warmers and designs microwave heating pads which are
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