“Where, Oh Where Has Our Maine Gone?”

Being from Maine and just like my parents before me, I have seen lots of “progress” while I have lived here.  In fact, I even moved north from the region I was born in, to get away from all that “progress.”  Whenever I go back to my mom’s house, I cannot wait to leave, I hardly know the place much less see many people I know! I am proud to be from Maine, proud of the way I talk and how I think.  It may not be the perfect place for everybody, but it is the perfect place for ME.

And as life gets more complicated,  I find that I long for traditions and things that are familiar to me. Because sometimes life isn’t so easy We have lots of humor and humorous people here.  My dad used to listen to Marshal Dodge of Bert and I albums and roared. My dad was also a friend of Judd Strunk – the folk singer that made the small towns of western Maine famous with a song called “Daisy a Day.” And like the true storyteller Judd Strunk was, this one is my favorite, “The Biggest Parakeets in Town”

Now with YouTube, podcasts, blogs and Facebook, we have all kinds of other ways to stay tuned to the old stories, accents and our old friends.

Here are a couple of some of the new kids on the block that I would like to share with you!  If you are a current Maine inhabitant or “Maine-iac”  (or a Mainer in Exile as I refer to my brother), there are some great resources that can link you to the minds of those doing great things to keep our heritage in tact!

Here is a quick funny tune for you…

Then there is Dickie Baker or Dickie Richards. He has a YouTube Channel.  He has a video cast he does called, “What’s f’Suppah?” My favorite one he does is showing us the recipe for Moxie Boomers.  Of course Moxie being a Maine beverage, he also has some other more random, fun videos, about Cutter Bug Dope and Port-A-Potties.  He is a gem, I don’t know him personally, a friend of mine posted one of his videos and tagged me on Facebook and instantly I was a Fan.

Then, the truly multi-media treasures I JUST learned about are Rose and Trout.  They have a website, blog and weekly podcasts that are just wonderful.  They tune up their downeast Maine accents and have a conversation similar the ones my brother and I used to listen to at Jack’s Trading Post in Farmington.  We used to hide in the back of the store and just love listening to the stories that were told.  Now we do the same at MC’s in Birch Harbor. My brother comes for a visit each year and every day he goes to “the beer store” and I get to do it nearly every weekend in the summer.  The locals  don’t think what they are talking about is funny, it is just their life and we love how they stitch the words and humor together!  It is the “realness” of it all that makes it extra special.  Check out Rose and Trout  – I promise you will not be sorry!

My friend Brett Slater of Slaters Garage just shot a commercial for Dick Stacey.  For all of you that know Dick Stacey’s Country Jamboree on Channel 7 out of Bangor about 20 odd years ago, this is just for you!  Here is a video Bret shot promoting the DVD for Dick Stacey’s Country Jamboree.  And of course, there is Jenny Shontelle with the “On the wings of a snow, white, dove…”  It is a bargain and you can order it now!  I know a few people that I will be stuffing their stockings with that gem of a gift!

Being proud of our heritage and having a sense of humor is something we are desperately trying to hang on to here in Maine, we have lots of folks “from away” that move here because they like it so much only to want to change it to be exactly like the places they left behind.  We like our dirt roads, our small towns without WalMarts, early frosts and our state flag with the motto of “DIRIGO” on it.  (Most of us even know what that Latin phrase means!)

So the next time someone teases you about your accent and asks if you are from Maine – just give them a jolly “YES-SAH” or a “WICKED” with a big smile and know you must be doing something right!