GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: Why do customers use your company?

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Growing your businessby Dan Beaulieu
Business consultant

How often do you ask yourself that question? How often to you ask you customers that question? Think about that as a different approach to your messaging and your advertising strategy. The true purpose of any business is to find a need and fill it. No less but often a lot more.

Yes, they hire you because they have a need for what you offer.

People need to be fed; they need a restaurant.

People need to be fed pizza; they need a pizza parlor.

People need to have their house remodeled; they need a contractor.

People need a new bathroom; they need a plumber.

And… well, you get the picture.

Now the next step is to dig a little deeper. This mean finding out things like.

What do people consider a great restaurant? Or another way to look at it, what do people hate about restaurants?

What kind of pizza do they prefer? Or another way to look at it, what do people dislike about pizza parlors?

You see where this is going right? You will not have a business without customers. And you will not have a successful business with happy, contented and most importantly repeating and returning customers. And the best way to do this is to find out what they like and give it to them.

In the end it is all about not only giving customers what they need and want but it is also figuring out how to give them more. It is about something called the customer experience.

Customer service is one thing. Customer service is giving the customer what they asked for. It is about making sure that they are getting what they want when they want it. It means taking care of a customer when they come into your store. It is about mowing their lawn or plowing their driveway the way they asked you to do it. It is about giving them what they expect, what they pay for. That is customer service and that is a certainly a good thing.

Customer experience is taking it to another level. It is much more than giving the customers what they want it is delighting them as well.

It is the extra handful of fries that Five Guys throws into your bag of fries.

It is the car repair service department that also washes your car before they return it to you.

It is that special sample of new top shelf Tequila that your local Mexican restaurant asks you to try out.

It is that beautiful poinsettia that your landscape company leaves at your door at Christmas.

It as all of these special things that lead to great customer experience that goes beyond merely satisfying your customers but keeps them coming back for years and years and that is the very best way to grow your business.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Brown-tail moth caterpillar is back in the news in 2021

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browntail moth caterpillar

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Well, it looks like the brown-tail moth caterpillar is back in the news in 2021 with news that they are abundant in the central Maine area, including Waterville, Vassalboro, China, Albion and Winslow, according to a Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry report. In all, 54 Maine communities were on the list.

I have seen and been around brown-tail moth caterpillars before, but the summer of 2020 was my first contact with one.

We had been doing some extensive outdoor renovations at camp this spring. With the tick population at record high numbers, we’ve been clearing and pushing back growth and decaying leaves further back into the woods, away from the camp. We had also torn down our old screened-in room, and prepared a new platform for the new one to be installed later. During all of this, we dress accordingly, long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and boots, to try to alleviate the possibility of ticks jumping on-board.

Apparently, there was another enemy out there. With the high, sustained winds, I somehow came in contact with airborne hairs from the brown-tail moth caterpillar. Saturday found both my arms, left shoulder and upper thigh on my left leg, covered with a pinkish rash, that itched like the dickens.

I have since dispatched three of the caterpillars I have found strolling along my deck.

They were accidentally introduced to the United States in the 1890s. During the early 20th century they were present from eastern Connecticut northward into New Brunswick, Canada, but a subsequent severe population collapse reduced the territory to parts of coastal Maine and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, by the late 20th century. One theory for the decline appeared to be a parasite introduced to combat gypsy moths. Starting in 2015 there has been a population spike and territory expansion along coastal Maine.

Hairs from the caterpillars are toxic for humans, causing a poison ivy-like itchy rash of up to weeks duration due to mechanical and chemical irritation. Direct contact with larvae is not necessary, as the hairs are shed and can become windblown. Toxins in the hairs remain potent for up to three years. Outdoor activities such as mowing a lawn or raking leaves in the fall can cause exposure.

The brown-tail moth is an invasive species in the United States and Canada, having arrived in Somerville, Massachusetts, circa 1890, and becoming widespread there and in neighboring Cambridge by 1897. Initial outbreaks were most evident in pear and apple trees. Doctors reported “poisonings” (skin rash) far worse than poison ivy rash. Within a few years it was seen as a serious, fast-spreading, horticultural and health problem – apparently, not enough though, to cause a complete shutdown of the country. Through the early parts of the 20th century it was present in much of New England from eastern Connecticut to Maine, and northward into New Brunswick, Canada, but the 1906 introduction of the parasitic fly Compsilura concinnata to counter gypsy moths collaterally impacted brown-tail moths. By the late 20th century the habitat was reduced to the coast and islands of Maine, and also parts of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Cold and wet weather hinders re-expansion of the population outside its current territories, although starting in 2015 there has been a population spike and territory expansion in coastal Maine, from Portland to Bar Harbor.

Photographs taken from aerial fly-overs are used to identify areas where the trees have been denuded of leaves, by the moth, and where the branch-tip tents are present. The white-winged adults are nocturnal and strongly attracted to light; a report from 1903 likened their appearance around streetlights as being akin to heavy snowfall.

The brown-tail moth produces one generation a year. Eggs are laid in July and hatch in August.

In the United States, many species of birds prey on the winged adults, including English house sparrows and blue jays (I wonder if that is what has led to an increased number of blue jays around our bird feeders at camp?)

How to control it? Branch-tip webs can be clipped in winter and very early spring, and either dropped into a bucket of soapy water or burned. Gloves should be worn. Appropriate pesticides should be applied before early May because that is when the larvae start to develop harmful hairs. For organic garden and farm situations there are sprays that use a strain of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

Cicely Blair wrote a paper about the rash caused by the brown-tail moth caterpillar in the British Isles. It, and other descriptions, confirmed that loose hairs can break off and cause very itchy rashes on contact with skin, as well as breathing difficulties similar to asthma if inhaled. Rashes can persist for weeks. The same symptoms have been reported as far back as 1903. The reactions are due to a combination of mechanical and chemical stimuli, the barbed hairs in effect becoming lodged in and physically irritating the skin.

The species should be handled using protective gloves at all stages of its life cycle. Shed hairs blow about, and can be brought indoors on clothing and shoes, so rashes can occur without the victim coming in direct contact with the caterpillars.

Brown-tail larvae have been reported as feeding on 26 genera of non-resinous trees and shrubs belonging to 13 different families. This is considered unusual. Non-specific host plant feeding combined with its tendency to reach extreme outbreak densities makes this species a major pest of fruit orchards, ornamental trees and hardwood forests. Partial list of plant species: apple, cherry, beach plum (Cape Cod, Massachusetts), beech, elm, grape, hops, maple, oak, pear, raspberry, rose and willow. An early description of the introduction to the United States in the 1890s identified pear and apple trees as most greatly afflicted, but mentioned that once trees were entirely bare of leaves, the larvae would descend to the ground in great numbers and move toward any leafy plant, including vegetable plants.

The hairs are almost like silent attackers. You may acquire the rash without even knowing it, as I did. All the precautions and protections I took were to no avail once the hairs became airborne.

I did find out, though, that baby powder will relieve the itching, but the best “antidote” I found was Benadryl spray or cream. That completely took away the itching, although the rash remained.

Meanwhile, be on the lookout for the little irritating critters come warmer weather.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

In Super Bowl LV, the Kansas City Chiefs failed to score a touchdown in the game. This has happened three times in the Super Bowl era. Once in 1971 when Dallas defeated Minnesota, 24-3. When was the other?

Answer can be found here.

SOLON & BEYOND: Going back to when Flagstaff died

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

It brought back many memories of what was happening in Flagstaff and the Dead River area way back then! It is taken from a very old paper, probably almost 50 years ago; yellow with age and ripped in places. There are no words left of what newspaper it was printed in, or who wrote it; (but it wasn’t me!) Some of the headlines say, Dead River Dam; Maine’s Hydro – El…words that finished some of that part were missing.

Maine’s hydro-electric output will be increased by thousands of kilowatts with the completion of a giant multi-million dollar project now in its initial stages at Dead River .

Already axes have sounded clearing away the heavy timber growth to open up the area where the engineers and construction crews will build a dam which will create a 26-mile long lake increasing the Kennebec River storage capacity by one-third. The entire project is expected to be completed sometime during the summer of 1950, culminating years of studies, surveys and preparations.

Like all progress, it will not be accomplished without some heartaches, for the waters to be backed up by the dam will cover the land on which is now located the little community of Flagstaff.

In 1944 the population of the sparsely populated plantation was given as only 97 and since that time most of these people have gradually moved away. Still the few remaining ones, sadly watched the preparation for construction of the dam which will inundate their land and that of their forefathers. But land purchases started 20 years ago and they knew that someday the dam would be built.

They will receive financial remuneration for their property losses but will look with regret as the waters slowly rise over the land of their childhood memories .

However, their nostalgic losses will be far outweighed by the benefits the new dam will bring to the rest of Central Maine in electric power output and river control.

Added Power Capacity: The Dead River storage basin will contain no generating equipment at its Long Falls dam but never the less will provide additional prime capacity from the Central Maine Power Company’s five generating stations on the Kennebec River.

This will amount to an estimate 17,000 kilowatts and capacity for periods of short duration up to 30,000 kilowatts.

Provisions will be made in the construction for the installation of a generating unit at some future time.

Situated between two high points of land split by a narrow flow of white water known as Long Falls in the southeast corner of Township 3, Range 4, the dam site is in part of Somerset County near the Franklin County line. This point is 20 miles from The Forks where the Dead River empties into the Kennebec River some 16 miles above the huge Wyman Station near Bingham.

Backing up from this 25-foot high 500-feet long dam will be a new lake created along a tortuous section of Dead River. In some places it will spread out over low lying lands and in others it will be confined by shaped, 26-mile long lake will rest on the new dam at Long Falls.

(The next couple of inches got torn off in this old paper sometime in its long life, so I will skip down a bit.)

Participating with the Central Maine Power Co. in the dam construction of the $4,800,000 project are the Hollingsworth and Whitney Co. and the Great Nothern Paper Co., both of which have plants on the Kennebec River. Thus far, work in the project has been confined to clearing operations and construction of roads into the site of the dam. The W.H. Hinman Co. has made considerable progress on the new road with the coming of Spring.

I will be continuing with more from that old paper next week, and probably some about all the fires that were around us during those sad days.

But as always; here is Percy’s memoir: Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self control, diligence, strength of will, content, and a hundred other virtues which the ungrateful will never know.

Don’t worry, be happy, especially on Valentine’s Day.

Give Us Your Best Shot! for Thursday, February 11, 2021

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To submit a photo for this section, please visit our contact page or email us at townline@townline.org!

SHARING: Pat Clark, of Palermo, photographed this indigo bunting and rose-breasted grosbeak at a feeder.

CLEANING UP: Joan Chaffee, of Clinton, sent this photo of a red winged blackbird finishing up on an orange.

TRIO OF TROUBLE: Michael Bilinsky, of China Village, captured these three chipmunks in his garage.

 

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Poems That Can Help With Healing In Hard Times

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A new book—by a woman who’s been there—can, with empathy and even humor, help many people get through difficult times.

(NAPSI)—You may be able to bring some comfort to your friends and family members who have been grieving a loss in these difficult days.

Poetry And Emotion

There’s a new book that can help heal the hearts and minds of people who have lost jobs, opportunities, homes, even loved ones. Called “Words for the Unbearable: A Journey Through Loss” (IngramSpark), it was written by psychologist Enid Sanders, who has had her own losses to deal with.

When her first child, Keri, died, the young mother spilled out a series of poems and put them away in a drawer. Decades later, when her husband Andrew died, she took them out and started writing again. At first she wrote for herself, for Andrew and to Andrew. A poem would rise up out of nowhere and she’d jump up and scribble it down, not knowing how it would end until she wrote the last word.

Little by little, she shared the poems with friends and fellow therapists who pushed her to turn them into a book. The title comes from a friend who read the poems and said, “These are words for me, words for the unbearable.” Because it is poetry, the book reaches people at a deep level, helping therapists, patients, hospice workers, clergy, and anyone who grieves.

Yet the book is not really sad. It’s helpful, engaging and even rather funny in spots because it tells the truth about grieving without self-pity—including the fact that it can make everyone a little crazy.

Dr. Sanders also brings 34 years of experience as a noted clinical psychologist and bereavement counselor to writing this book. Having trained with internationally renowned child abuse expert Eliana Gil and specialized in helping abuse survivors for 18 years, she now focuses on helping clients negotiate grief and transition.

Doctor’s Opinions 

As Dr. Gil herself put it: “I am wiping tears so that I can write…I feel as though I’ve been seen and heard and understood. Each poem is a picture memory, a reminder, a suggestion, a loving gesture, words that attest to the author’s love. I thought only I loved so deeply and hurt so profoundly, but she’s captured and clarified grief so well, it was comforting to read her words, even though many hurt like hell…Enid Sanders’ words evoke strong feelings and encourage reflection, while providing the strange comfort that comes from being understood.”

Added psychiatrist Daniel Kostalnick, MD: “It is rare that an author can capture both the emotional and intellectual experience of grief, but Dr. Sanders has succeeded…Most of us find it impossible to express that experience, but Dr. Sanders uses her work as a psychologist—and a poet—to help the reader identify, name, and deal with the profound and universal aspects of grief…a work of compassion and understanding that comes from the soul of someone who has loved deeply.”

Many therapists recommend the book to grieving patients and it can inspire people to write their own poetry, or to paint or find another creative outlet for their feelings.

Learn More

For further facts or to order the book go to www.wordsfortheunbearable.com. It’s also available from Amazon and other booksellers.

PAGES IN TIME: The Leeman Sheepscot Lake fish trap

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Leeman trap on Chamberlain Lake

by Jim Metcalf

A Maine ice shanty is a temple reserved for those who consider ice fishing a religion. Being invited to enter a shanty is a privilege reserved for those few who can respect the language and rules of the house. All others must stand outside and only address the shanty’s congregation if the door is opened from the inside. Occasionally an exception can be made if someone falls through the ice and is freezing wet or if a member’s wife brings out a platter of food.

Leeman Ice Fishing Trap.

Archie Leeman’s Sheepscot Lake shanty was such a temple. It was placed off Bald Head where most of the lake could be surveyed. The congregation consisted of Archie Leeman, the builder of the shanty and skilled stone mason; Manley Scates, owner of the Scates General Store, in Palermo; Harold Sennett, owner of the blueberry barrens on level hill road; and Jim Grady, Palermo farmer and first snowmobile owner in town. These four friends could sit in the shanty for hours without ever talking. They communicated with each other only using sounds, grunts, mumbles, coughs, looks and the occasional word “flag” which was the signal for congregation members to look out the windows to determine whose trap had a flag and who had to walk or run, Other members would watch from the shanty’s warmth unless there was a yell for help.

Everyone’s fish traps were homemade ranging from a whip stick placed in a chiseled slot in the ice to a tip-up type trap with a red handkerchief attached as a flag. The line may be coiled on the ice or later wrapped on homemade birch spools. Although everyone sat quietly in the shanty the common thought was to always develop the ideal fish trap which would stay together in heavy wind, instantly notify the fisherman of a fish near or on the bait and finally set the hook and hold the fish until the fisherman got to the hole.

The only exception to fishing with traps was Manley Scates, a jig fisherman, who was damned if he was going to walk all over the pond checking traps. Manley never left the warmth of the shanty. His seat was over a jig hole next to the wood stove in the shanty where he would wrap the line around his fingers and sit quietly strumming his wrist like he was playing a guitar. It would not take very long for Manley’s head to drop into sleep. This was the time for Harold to mumble something about full bladder and leave the shanty. Harold would quietly move around to the corner outside of where Manley sat to reach under the shanty and yank Manley’s jig line. The explosion that occurred when Manley came alive sometimes kicking the stove off its stone while yelling, “Jaesus, wicked monster. Damn, lost him.” Harold would then enter the shanty zipping up to listen to the one that got away story. I don’t know if Manley ever figured it out or if anyone ever told him, but the rest of us never dropped off to sleep while Harold was with us in the shanty. Harold looked like a grumpy old man, but he had this twinkle which masked a full of fun brain, thinking about who would be next to experience his practical jokes.

Archie was the one who introduced all of us to ice fishing and the shanty. Since my wife Sandra lived with her Grammy Lil and grandfather Guy and uncle Archie during her younger years, we always enjoyed staying with family for a few days during ice fishing season. Archie and I or Norman would wake before dawn, drink a glass of milk with a couple raw eggs then stuff our pockets with Grammy Lil’s biscuits and head out on snowshoes down to the river and on to the lake. We chiseled our holes and set up our traps before we entered the shanty. Often others from the congregation would come snowshoeing in to join us. It was during these shanty meetings that I learned to love the rules and silent language of the shanty. No talking or humming unless you did it while walking around skimming ice holes. No questions, as you were an apprentice with the responsibility to watch, listen and learn. The ultimate compliment, if you did something well, was a pat on the back or a seat in the shanty to get warm.

Leeman four foot trap

Everything was going well during winters of fishing, grunting, pulling Manley’s jig line and reading the inside walls of the shanty which were covered with pieces of tintype from the Kennebec Journal. Then there was the day that Jimmy Grady came roaring down the river and out on the lake sitting on some sort of contraption which looked like a seat on skis with him in front and a noisy engine in back. Jim said it was a Polaris snow machine which could take him anywhere he wanted to go all winter. Further, he announced that he would be the local dealer for these “snow machines” and when would each of the members of the shanty congregation like to order theirs. Everyone’s words cannot be repeated or printed, but they mentioned that nothing would replace snowshoes or driving out on the ice in the trucks when it got safe enough. However, by the end of that winter each of the congregation had to eat their words as they rode their own snow machines purchased from Jim Grady’s snow machine dealership.

Now you could set your traps further away from the shanty as the quick 8/mph ride to a flag made for more lake to fish and less fish lost. Everyone started living happily ever after until the snow machine cowboys started racing, spinning out and doing tricks on the lake. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the number of times these machines ran over and destroyed fish traps. This destruction by snow machine yahoos resulted in loud shanty meetings trying to find a solution. Of course, the first idea was to ban machines from the lake, but with the shanty surrounded by members’ machines banning would not work. A couple of guys cut six-foot ash poles to mark the fish holes. Another shoveled up piles of show to protect the fish traps. Instead, Archie Leeman figured he had to make a fish trap which was big enough to be seen and unique enough not to be ignored.

One day Archie caught a beautiful 17-inch brown trout. The light went on. Why not pay tribute to this brown, the most sporting of all trout, by putting the fish on the trap as the tip up. When Archie got back to the farm, he laid out the brown on a piece of plywood and traced the outline. He sawed out the profile and determined where the balance point would be. If the trap upright was notched and a bolt positioned across the notch, the fish profile could pivot on the bolt. The bolt could also pass through a line spool. It all sounded easy, but the fish trap had to be tested and modified so Archie would sneak down to the lake when no one was around to fish with this new trap. It didn’t take long to figure the Leeman fish trap could be introduced to the shanty members. Archie set up five traps with the brown trout profile as the tip up then came into the shanty and sat down. Harold offered the first comment, “Putting a fish decoy on top of the stick could call the keepers into the ice hole.” Archie replied, “That’s what I was thinking.” Manley’s contribution was, “Craziest thing I ever saw. No way am I going to give up my jig hole for a flatlander fish trap like that.” Jimmy Grady said, “Crazy or not no sled operator is going to hit a trap that visible.”

As luck would have it, Archie had a busy day of getting flags and catching fish. But he also began catching people on the lake. Everyone on the lake had to swing by the traps to try to figure them out. More people stopped by the shanty to ask why would anyone put a fish on a stick. The replies ranged from every conceivable reason which resulted in people walking away shaking their heads and four old friends filling the shanty with laughter. The immediate result was that three members, each wanted a set for themselves. Manley still refused to fish with a damn trap when his jig hole was right in front of him.

Sheepscot Lake Fish and Game club held a derby on the first Sunday in February. This was the ideal time to show the world the Leeman fish trap. Surrounding the shanty was 25 or 30 Leeman fish traps tended by the shanty crew and a few nephews who wanted to be part of this showcase of the Leeman trap to all at the derby. Snowmobilers, fishermen, and just people visiting the derby had to surround the shanty to see this trap in action. In fact, there were so many people attracted to the traps that the shanty members couldn’t see flags. But it didn’t matter as people would yell flag and run over to the trap just to see how fish were handled. That derby was a success as was the Leeman fish trap. Archie and Norman Leeman estimated they made 3,000 – 4,000 Leeman traps in the years following the introduction.

For the next few ice fishing seasons, the Leeman fish traps could be seen from Eagle and Chamberlain lakes to Moosehead to Sebago lakes, and constantly on Sheepscot Lake, in Palermo. Mainers were identified as members of the ice fishing congregation if they set out the Leeman traps. Unfortunately, over the years, the trap lost the name of the inventor Archie Leeman as it became known as the Sheepscot Fish Trap paying tribute to where it was first used in the Sheepscot Ice Fishing Derby. Even today Norman or one of his sons build a set of these famous traps as a prize for biggest derby fish. There is even a trap made with a four- foot fish which sits on top of an eight-foot pole which only comes out for the Sheepscot Derby to keep the story of the revolutionary Leeman Sheepscot Ice Fishing Trap alive.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Unusual uses for toothpaste

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by Debbie Walker

Hi! I want to share some things I came across today. Pour a cup of tea or coffee and find a comfortable seat. Relax. Some of these things you may already know so I apologize , but just maybe you needed a reminder, as I did with some of these items.

I collected these from numerous magazines and online.

The first I came across today was just plain old fashioned white toothpaste (not gel or whiteners). One way was to use the toothpaste is to clean your faucets. I believe I have done a little cleaning with it but quite by accident, pure laziness. And little did I know…

You can also clean your car headlights with that white pasty stuff. Just use paper towels to rub the paste on then wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Toothpaste can be used to remove ink from fabric (so can hair spray. That one I have used.) Put a dab of toothpaste on the spot, put fabric face to face, rub until stain starts to disappear. Rinse and toss into washer.

This tidbit was perfect timing for me to use to hang pictures. It said to put a dollop of toothpaste on the hanging loop of each frame, level it and press it against the wall. Toothpaste will be left on the wall. Ta-Da, a spot for the nail or hanger.

I can’t wait until one of you try this one and let me know. I don’t have any glass tabletops. The story is to rub a dime size dollop of toothpaste into the scratch on the glass top with your fingers. Let set until dry, then wipe away with a soft cloth.

When I was still dying my hair, I could have used this information. Auburn dye is hard to clean up. Massage a dab of toothpaste onto counter areas until pigment disappears. Warm water washes it away.

One little tidbit is if you are having trouble lighting a candle, match not long enough to reach. Clip a match into a clothespin and you have a longer match. No burns.

With wet hands in the shower, I often lose my grip on my shampoo bottle, before next use put a wide rubber band around the bottle. This gives you a grip without a slip.

Other hints to help:

Cut snow shoveling in half, spread one cup of shortening over the paddle of your shovel (or move to Florida).

To remove food odors from your skin sprinkle salt on your palms, rub all over hands then rinse clean.

There is also a note about salt sprinkled over a carpet for ridding fleas, let sit overnight, then vac in the morning.

These were someone’s version of new words:

Prairie Dogging: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm and people’s heads pop up over the walls to see what’s going on.

Woofs: Well-off Older Folks

I’m just curious if you will find these helpful or at least interesting. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org with your questions or comments. Have a great week and thank you for reading.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Lee Marvin

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Lee Marvin

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Lee Marvin

For me, Lee Marvin (1924-1987) was one of the most consistently fascinating actors to grace the movies and television. He was considered a director’s dream because he instinctively knew how to move for the camera. And his ability to convey character was formidable.

Some background on his life is in order. He and his older brother Robert were both named for the ancestral family fourth cousin, Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Another ancestor from 200 years further back than General Lee, Matthew Marvin, emigrated from England in 1635 and helped in establishing the city of Hartford, Connecticut.

Marvin took violin lessons as a youngster. Also, to quote a May 1964, article in the magazine Gun World entitled Elk Hunting with Lee Marvin, he “spent weekends and spare time hunting deer, puma, wild turkey, and bob white in the wilds of the then-uncharted Everglades.”

As an adolescent, Marvin attended several boarding schools in New York and Florida but was kicked out for rowdy behavior.

He joined the Marines and fought in the Battle of Saipan where most of his unit was killed, his sciatic nerve severed by machine gun fire and his foot wounded by a sniper’s bullet. He spent over a year in the hospital and was awarded the Purple Heart and five other medals for bravery, yet was busted down to private from corporal for speaking his mind too freely.

My first experience of him was as a kid when I watched his show, M Squad, in which he starred as a detective.

His portrayal of evil characters was vividly manifested in guest appearances on Wagon Train, as a sadistic wagonmaster replacement, after Ward Bond died, for two episodes and as a gunman on The Virginian. An early ‘50s TV appearance was as a serial killer on Dragnet who’s also a vegetarian.

His most famous role of venom was a majorly billed appearance in Director John Ford’s 1962 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, in which he thrashed Jimmy Stewart with a horsewhip during a stagecoach holdup and squared off unsuccessfully with John Wayne. Just the way he menacingly walked into a saloon and sat with an attitudinal smirk conveyed his natural gifts as an actor.

In 1964, he and Clu Gulagher were two professional hitmen in The Killers, which was based very loosely on Ernest Hemingway’s story (the late former President Ronald Reagan very convincingly did his only role as a mobster in what would be his last film before his political career took off).

Other memorable roles – the movies Pete Kelly’s Blues, Bad Day at Black Rock, Cat Ballou, Point Blank, Paint Your Wagon, Prime Cut, Pocket Money, Violent Saturday, The Caine Mutiny, Emperor of the North, The Iceman Cometh, Missouri Traveller, Gorky Park, and The Dirty Dozen with a sequel.

He turned down the lead role of Jaws – “What would I tell my fishing friends who’d see me come off a hero against a dummy shark?”

Lee Marvin died of a heart attack on August 29, 1987, at the age of 63.

MAINE MEMORIES: Pets and how they affect our lives

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by Evangeline T.

Hello and welcome to Maine Memories, little snippets of life from our home state.

This week, I have a story about pets and how they affect our lives, young and old.

People love having pets. Dogs and cats are the most popular, but you’d be surprised at how diversified some people are, especially when it comes to pets. Here’s my example:

When I was younger, living on a small farm in Maine, I learned that animals were a lot like people. They all have different built-in habits. For instance, pigs love to rut, dogs like to bark and chase cats, and most cats love to catch mice, and the list goes on.

As a naïve young child, I thought any animal would be happy if you fed them and loved them. Boy, was I wrong! I’ll never forget the day I caught a raccoon in a barrel. Oh, wow, what a cute and cuddly pet, I thought! I didn’t realize he really wasn’t a pet and didn’t particularly want to become one, either.

Daddy explained everything to me, and I listened carefully. This raccoon was a wild animal and probably had a family somewhere that missed him. “You don’t want to make his family worry, do you?” Daddy asked. No, of course not. Much to my dismay, I did the right thing and let him go. Still, I cried buckets, and it wouldn’t be the last time.

My next pet was a long-haired fluffy white kitten named Snowball. She allowed me to dress her in doll clothes and didn’t mind riding around in my doll buggy. During the winter, I’d wrap Snowball up in a blanket and put her inside a red doll’s sled I had. We’d walk outside, over snow and ice, and my kitty never complained. Honestly, she was mild-mannered and sweet.

I don’t remember Snowball’s departure, but I haven’t forgotten crying once again. She had been my best friend, as I was an only child, and losing a best friend is always hard to take.

In May of the next year, my parents bought me a puppy for my birthday. He was so adorable, and an instant bond formed between us. I named him Rusty. He’d also would ride in my doll’s carriage and wear my sun glasses.

Rusty became the best pet ever. He loved everyone and went everywhere with me, even ice skating. He’d run and slide on the ice, and we’d all laugh.

While I was in school, mom taught him to call for me. He would utter a whine that sounded as if he was saying, “I don’t know,” to her question, “where is Evangeline?” He would run to the window in the direction of the school bus. What a smart doggie!

Years passed, and I grew up, fell in love, and got married, and Rusty came to live with us. Only one problem. He was so jealous of my husband. He was the only person ever that Rusty growled at. Over time, things got better, though!

My husband was in the Air Force, and he received orders to go to Texas. We knew it would be too much for Rusty, at age 13. He wouldn’t be able to withstand the trip and intense Texas heat.

I had four cousins, all girls, and they were delighted to give him a nice home and so much love. It was the right thing for me to do, though I missed him terribly. Still do.

My friend, my dog, my companion, my wonderful pet, Rusty lived the rest of his years making four little girls happy. That’s what a good pet does.

INside the OUTside: After five years, Saddleback is now up and running

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by Dan Cassidy

It’s been five years since ski enthusiasts were able to ski one of Maine’s top ski resorts, Saddleback and the lifts were turned on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.

The effort became a reality when Arctaris Impact Fund purchased the mountain in January of 2020. Dopplemayr USA was also present to bless a new Quad chairlift for the Mountain.

Although the resort was closed for five years, many locals never gave up on it. “Over the past five years, the Rangeley and Oquossoc communities have shown a remarkable resilience,” said Andy Shepard, general manager at Saddleback. The mountain raised the towers on the new detachable quad that attracted hundreds of spectators from all over and inspired their donor base and also sent a clear message to the Saddleback family that even in the midst of the CVOID crisis, the mountain was determined to open on December 15 and that indeed took place.

Saddleback Ticket pricing:

With a new high-speed detachable quad, the improvements made to the base lodge and the expansion of their new snowmaking system, Saddleback has developed a Fair Ticket Pricing Plan that is intended to make skiing and riding more accessible and fair to everyone while intending to allow the mountain to be sustainable and remain sustainable. Check out the Saddleback website for ticket specials.

The mountain, located in Rangeley has a vertical drop of 2,000 feet, is serviced by two quads, two double chairlifts and one T-bar. Terrain consists of 23 easy/green, 20 intermediate and 23 back diamond trails.

Andy Shepard is the new general manager at Saddleback, Douglas Doc Tulin is director of marketing and Patricia Baker is communications director. Many improvements including the quad lift is a welcome addition to the Mountain.

Ski resorts under pressure:

With the coronavirus continuing to spread it is putting ski resorts under a great deal of pressure throughout the state.

Many ski areas are no longer allowing skiers and snowboarders to enter the base lodges to dress, boot up or warm up. Some have installed porta-potties outside, however visitors are facing problems during cold or snowy weather, as it’s not only difficult to ‘boot’ up in a parking lot then carry back packs and skis to waiting busses then transport them to the lifts. This is creating longer lift lines.

Needs have changed:

The time has come when both individuals and families will have to change our habits before getting to your local ski area. First, you’ll have to change the way you get to your destination, that is, carrying a backpack filled with hand and foot warmers and other gear, you should bring along a chair to sit in next to your vehicle to boot up and dress up.

It’s not how we’ve all enjoyed winter skiing and riding in the past, but during these Covid trying times, let’s hope a better season will be here before spring skiing.

Ski and ride safely, use your head and don’t forget to wear a helmet.