Every Thanksgiving week, the Houlton Rotary Club collects over $50,000 worth of items to auction off..it is part of Thanksgiving in Houlton Maine.  College kids home for the holiday drop into Watson Hall at the Episcopal Church on Main Street to visit, to bid, to meet old friends. Bidding on happy meals from McDonalds...tshirts, basketball tickets, yards of concrete, homemade items galore. The proceeds from the four decade rotary auction going to youth projects like exchange trips overseas, funding new lighting and sound equipment in local school systems.  Or helping the local Houlton Regional Hospital purchase blood gas analyzers and other equipment that might not be purchased otherwise.Sponsoring little league teams, soap box derby race cars, helping build an outdoor ampitheatre f... 10/26/2007

     It's sunday morning a day of worship, rest and time with your children.  In Houlton Maine where do you attend your house of worship? Here is the list along with service groups for Southern Aroostook County.Service Organizations and ChurchesChurch Of Christ Of Houlton 207-532-3730County Road Baptist Church - Houlton207-532-3381First Baptist Church - Houlton207-532-3196Good Sheperd Episcopal Church - Houlton207-532-2927Gospel Light Baptist Church - Houlton207-532-2200Houlton Elks Lodge #835Houlton Full Gospel Assembly207-532-2414Houlton Rotary ClubHoulton United Methodist Church                                      207-532-3332Houlton Wesleyan Church207-532-9480Literacy Volunteers of Aroostook CountyP.O Box 522Limestone, ME 04570207.325.3490Maine Council of ChurchesSaint Mary Church ... 10/05/2007

     Low cost power, water and sewer means local community of Houlton Maine gets low utility bills.  Plus industries locate here for a smaller share of their operating dollar being drained by power consumption.  Rates compared with rest of New England look like this.  ResidentialIndustrialConnecticut$0.1819$0.1388Massachusetts$0.1794$0.1455New Hampshire$0.1493$0.1490Rhode Island$0.1387$0.1223Vermont$0.1371$0.0873Maine$0.1408$0.1316Houlton Water Company$0.0868$0.0790New England$0.1688$0.0790Note: HWC  Tranmission and distribution cost .0250        Houlton Water Company is community owned, and the town gets paid dividends plus locals get rates lowered when the utility makes money....unheard of in most utilities that have a monopoly and are not so kind hearted and more profit driven. Click... 10/05/2007

       Go ahead..Get up from that desk with three stacks of papers and wander around to one of the comfy chairs you use to greet and quiz buyers and sellers in.  Feel uncomfortable? It shouldn't .  It's part of your office. Sit like it was the first time you had been in the office, look around at this guy's awards, family and hobby pictures, community involvement evidence..and look thru new eyes.  Don't use your own eyes...make them the next buyer from New Jersey or the elderly lady who is going to trust you with the listing on her home of 40 years and five kids.  See some need for changes from this perspective? Was the place remodeled eights years ago and ready for an update plus removal of boxes, piles or just desk clutter.  While you update, think what the folks that sit in these cha... 09/16/2007

        Man's best friend? No...its not a real estate broker...its a loving cat or dog.  In the Southern Aroostook area, the Houlton Human Society is active, healthy and now housed in a brand new facility.  Funds raised in the Houlton area from individuals and civic groups like the Houlton Rotary Club that saw the need to take good care of man's best friend.  Visit the Houlton Animal Shelter for new adoptees and organization news.  You may find a furry friend you want to share your home with too!  For more articles on pet food recalls, animal care and links to tons of hepful pet sites, visit here ! If you are in the Houlton Maine area, drive out to the new shelter built with state of the art materials on the Callaghan Road.  Cathy Davis, the head of the non profit group says many folks ... 08/19/2007

When the ice storms of southern Maine caused long power outages, northern Maine just received a thick blanket of white snow...so much that the arena where youth play hockey caved in.  Luckily no one was inside and FEMA money plus insurance funds helps make a bigger, better facility with ice making! For youth hockey news visit here.  For high school hockey news, click this site! 08/19/2007

       Ready to race your soap box derby car?  Cars, kids and parents come from all over the country to experience gravity racing to win points to go to Akron Ohio for the big world series of racing! Houlton's fall race application available here!  Registration form here! NORTHERN MAINE SOAP BOX DERBY                                                             HOULTON, MAINE                                                 SATURDAY NIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS"                                              SATURDAY & SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8&9, 2007  LOCATION:  DERBY HILL, HOULTON PARK, HOULTONTIME:  CHECK-IN 7:00 TO 8:00A.M.:  OPENING CEREMONY, DRIVER & PARENT MEETING 8:15 A.M.  RACE BEGINS PROMPLTY AT 8:30 A.M.  REGISTRATION:  PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY:  REGISTRATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY WEDNESDAY, SEP... 08/17/2007

               So you hope to buy a piece of land...just wander into a bank like a home loan, right? No. Unlike the secondary mortgage market where you can buy a home with no down payment and the mortgae gets sold to investors, land is a different animal.  In Maine, you will need 20 to 40 percent down payments and the bank making the loan does not sell the mortgage.  For this reason, if the bank is hanging onto the mortgage for 15 years, the rate is higher too.  The Maine bank wants to make it worth their while  waiting for the loan money to trickle in. Sooo..sellers that will carry the note or mortgage should be sought out. You can customize the loan to fit your down payment and monthly installment budget. Some cut - over woodland is available with 100 percent financing with the thinki... 08/12/2007

         The Party Is Underway! Lots of planning and events for the entire family available for the Houlton Maine 200th Birthday Celebration!  For highlights of events thru out August visit here. The Southern Aroostook area is rich in history and here is more on the past for Houlton Maine here!  Spread the word and help Northern Maine get the attention this event deserves! Joseph Houlton cruised in to area in 1805..and two years later the settlement because a town and lots of folks from Salem Massachusetts area made the long trek north to start new! Plan to visit "The Shiretown" Houlton Maine during this historic event..from fireworks, to reanactments, to early farm demonstrations, plays, open houses and a town reunion..there is something for everyone!       08/06/2007

Earlier had a post on the Houlton Rotary Club , but thought it wise to show other groups that are very active in Houlton Maine.  One such entity is the Houlton Lodge Of Elks and another is the Houlton Masonic Lodge.  Scope them out.  These groups are strong and a vital part of making Houlton Maine a better place to live, work and play! Will add more to this in the future to help viewers / readers that have never been here. Visit here for links on tons of other local groups and for local images! 08/04/2007

      In Houlton Maine, the Rotary Club is over 80 years old and a strong force in Southern Aroostook.  Meeting each monday at noon at the Episcopal Church's Watson Hall, nearly 70 members plan out fund raisers and stage events to make the community a better place to live, work and play.  The biggest fund raiser is the TV & Radio Auction held at Thanksgiving week each year.  In the past, funds have been raised to build the Houlton Ampitheatre in the park behind the local library for outdoor concerts, moneys put into the Farmer's Museum's new barn, and funding for the Northern Maine Soap Box Derby Hill to mention a just a few endeavors.  Youth oriented causes and helping Houlton Regional Hospital purchase equipment are two major areas that Rotary has put its shoulder into to push hard to... 08/02/2007

For starters, in Houlton Maine there are five local banks and a credit union.  Start with these local banks first as they know the turf, get better turn around from appraisers and attorneys and save you tons of time. The local banks are  Machias Savings Bank  Katahdin Trust  First Citizens Bank  TD Bank North  Key Bank  Bangor Savings Bank  For  mobile home loans but not the big ticket real estate, visit Houlton Federal Credit Union  For a list of many Maine financial institutions, click here!  Northern Maine is the size of four states alone in land mass, so there are many more Central Aroostook and Northern Aroostook County banks! Email me and I will help you locate the latest lists on line today! 07/25/2007

Please take minute and introduce yourself.  I am new on Active rain and would be pleased to here from anyone who loves Northern Maine. What is your Favorite spot? Time of Year? Let me know what you love about Maine.   06/20/2007

The Race Is Over, The Weather Was Great! Here's The Group...State's Largest Race  In Houlton Maine Was June 16th! In The fall 2007 two rally races under the lights on Saturday night.  Second rally for points to get to Akron Ohio another longer route is this weekend in Houlton Maine on Derby Hill.  Visit site to learn about rally racing! 06/19/2007

You listed a corker older victorian.  The owner has a bunch of yesteryear photos on the dining room table as you complete the paperwork to get this victorian on the market.   Don't just ooh and ahh over those old photos...scan 'em , use 'em in the marketing mix.  Why? Well they show the vintage old car, the row of elm trees before dutch elm disease took them out, and maybe the original color is more to the liking of the prosepctive buyer.  You just showed them what the historical record holds on this special place.  The older photos make this one extra special..not something you can just step out and build from stratch.  Sometimes the trees are a little over grown now and you can not get a present date good photo either.  If the place is still in great shape, the photos show it always w... 06/08/2007

     The 12th Annual Northern Maine Soap Box Derby Is Coming! For Five Years Running The Race In Houlton Was The Largest In The Country With Close To 200 Racers! Youth From Around Northern Maine Learn "The Thrill Of The Hill"! Visit http://samhahockey.tripod.com/nmsbd For The Full Scoop On This Competitive Family Fun Event! June 16th Is This Years Race On Derby Hill At Community Park in Houlton, Maine! 05/20/2007

Year after year, muscial top honors.  Houlton is a strong musical town with a variety of show choirs, jazz bands, and percussion ensembles. Band Director Joe Fagnant was nominated for teacher of the year in Maine 2007. Last years trip was to New York City to compete in large cathedrals and again, domination and top honors! Here pictured returning tired and happy from Boston Mass trip which is a $50,000 fund raiser event.  The kids get into gear, nearly 200 of them and help the Music Boosters group raise the funds. Houlton has one of the largest percentage of high school students that play a musical instrucment and / or are in chorus.    05/14/2007

 The Houlton Maine airport has had more than one location over the years.In the beginning it was on the North Road, US Rt 1 in Houlton Maine. Then moved over to the Maine / Canadian US international border crossing to be next door to all the action. In World War Two especially when it was a bustling place. With a buzz of activity out at the airport on the border in the Shiretown of Aroostook County. John Deer tractors with Houlton farmers at the controls carefully but quickly wisk hell diver planes into Canada which had been flown into Houlton Army Air Base which is on the News Brunswick border. Neutrality treaties with Germany/Italy/Japan forbid flying the planes into Canada, a dominion of England.  But the loop hole said nothing about "driving" or dragging them in by locals, helped Am... 03/31/2007

     In the 1960's there was a major movement for "back to the landers", or affectionately nicknamed "granolas" to the Northeast.  Carrying new issues of Mother Earth News, brochures on Yurts (canvass covered goat hair wrapping for exterior of their new house) a couple with often a row of little ones in similiar coveralls and Mr Green Jeans clothing would seek a piece of land to farmstead or homestead on.  Many locals would stratch their heads but had to admit these folks were friendly, a little naive but on the right track to eat right, live right and who were not afraid of working the land to create a living, shelter and food for their families.       Heating with wood, and not wanting to be on the grid to protect the neighborhood from too many new neighbors, these folks started food ... 03/28/2007

     Do you give others a wide berth...or are you in a bumper car that is constantly getting hit and you did not see it coming?  Do you carry a carrot in your pocket or are you armed and ready with a big stick with the safety off?  Do you bask in the sun and enjoy the moment...or are you loaded down with american tourister issue baggage that keeps opening and robbing you of peace, contentment, joy?  Well with all the talk of depression with agents around the countryside...maybe inventory of how you operate each day is in order.  Where do you live?  At the office? In the city?  In rural america?  Are you where you should be on the planet?  In a comfortable rut..with beautiful surroundings, quality housing, above average kids and still a hole of something missing in your gut when you stop... 03/21/2007