Main Street Monday

With all the politicians trying to distance themselves from Wall Street and attach themselves to Main Street, I have decided that for a while anyway (until I get bored with it), I will feature Maine Main Streets on Mondays.

Dixfield's hub is at the intersection of Weld Street (Rt. 142) and Main Street (Rt. 2).

Doug's Dogs is a staple of the intersection. Every day from the time the snow melts until it comes back again, Doug is selling hotdogs from his little cart in the parking lot of the American Legion. Doug has outlasted at least four restaurants who have opened and closed in the time that I have lived in town. In the winter months, he travels to Florida with his hot dog cart. I suspect that he is a very successful businesman, I know he's a nice guy and Charlie takes every opportunity to pick up a Doug's Dog for lunch.

Across the street from Doug's Dogs is the Bangor Savings Bank. If Bangor Savings Bank has had to be bailed out by the federal government, that news hasn't broken in the Rumford Falls Times yet. National news reports say that small local banks are the safest from the current financial sunami.

Alot of big trucks rumble through town. We have a lumber mill and there is a paper mill downstream in Jay and one upstream in Rumford. Huge 20 ton trucks hauling logs rumble through town at all hours of the day and night.

The gas price at the new Towle's Corner Store is at $2.69 per gallon today. Lower gas prices have to help the truckers and loggers whose incomes support the other businesses in town.

The Towle's Corner Store is a new business by a family who also owns the adjacent hardware store. The Corner Store opened up last fall and features really tasty meals and wireless internet along with the usual convenience store stock.

The Towle's Hardware Store is undergoing extensive remodelling and expansion even in the face of headlines that scream recession.

There are a lot of houses for sale in town and some that have been sold for far less than they should have been worth. I have no doubt that people are suffering greatly from the current financial situation, from fuel prices and fear but I also think that people on Main Streets in Maine and probably all over the country try to live within their means, pay their bills, raise their children, take care of their elders and they can't really comprehend what a trillion dollars looks like. I know that I can't.