A Few More Memories of Days Gone By

A few of my childhood friends got together today and we took the time to recall some of our memories of growing up in the area. Houlton used to be a thriving town, with a much greater population than it now has.

One of the things we can recall was a trip to the park to watch the horse races in the old grandstand. Sadly, it burned down and was never replaced. I can even recall watching snowmobile races there at one time, although they couldn't have been too fast in those days. I never really remember them(snowmobiles) too much before 1965.

I can remember taking a trip to Gallops Animal Ranch on the Calais Road. It is really amazing if you stop and think about it now, but we really had a zoo in the area in those days. I saw my only live giraffe there. It's a really shame that they could not have continued to keep that going.

As youngsters we all took swimming lessons through the Rec Center. We would get on the Rec Bus and head out to the Public Landing and Nickerson Lake where the lessons were held. It didn't matter how cold the water was , you were going in. Those bus rides were fun and we all learned to swim in those summers. Some of our best lessons however were learned on the bus rides to and from the Lake.

As we got older and cars became a big part of our lives, so did the Borderland Drive- In Theater. Everyone in Town , it seemed, would head up there at dusk. You would get your car parked just at the right angle on the small inclines to get a good view, and grab a speaker off the pole and put in your window. A great place to take a date or go with your friends. We used to make a game of it by trying to see how many people we could sneak in by putting them in the trunk. Our group even had a car with hinges on the rear seat, for easy access to the trunk. Those were the days of our youth.

Some evenings we used to hang out at Hats Diner, which later became Applebees, and is now Howland Construction offices. I had my first "Italian Sandwich" there.

Other nights we used to drive up to the top of the hill to Drakes Dairy Bar and get an ice cream or one of thier famous hot dogs and hit a few golf balls on their driving range.

On winter nights, the Rec used to keep the outdoor rink open for our skating pleasure. Good music, over what today would be called a poor sound system, made our nights enjoyable. On weekends we would ride the old Rec bus out to Hovey Hill to the Ski Slopes. It really wasn't much of a hill, but it was good enough for us. It was near the back of the airport. I doubt there is much left up there now as it is another thing that has gone by the wayside in Houlton.

Growing up in Houlton, we always seemed to have lots to do. It just doesn't seem to be that way anymore as the times have changed.

That's the View From My Couch.