"The County"

Aroostook County is the only one of Maine's sixteen counties that is known simply as "Aroostook" or "The County." I'm from Somerset County originally, and you'd never hear anyone from there say, "I'm going up to Somerset this weekend." I can understand, though, why Aroostook County is called "The County." It's the largest county in the state; it's THE county.

Aroostook County folks are a distinctive people. First, there's their pronunciation of certain words and specifically their attention to the letter "r". In Aroostook, a car is a caR, not a cah. A horse is a hoRse, not a hoss.

Aroostook folks are friendly, down-to-earth people who value a simpler life than we see in so much of the world today.

The thing about The County that mystifies me is this: You can stand at almost any spot and feel as if you're on a hilltop. You have a panoramic view. How can this be? I mean, if there are hills in Aroostook, shouldn't there be valleys, too, with limited views? You can drive forever in The County and see for miles. And what glorious views they are: rolling hills, green fields, many of them once potato fields and some of them still potato fields, lakes. We were there when the lupines were at their height, so we saw field after field of beautiful pink, white, and lavender lupines. The air feels cleaner and fresher in The County.

While at Midsommar in New Sweden last weekend, one of the first things Lynn and I did was run into one of our friends from home. The three of us belong to Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary organization for teachers and retired teachers. So when we spotted Karen, we of course had to have our photo taken together. I had Karen's three daughters as students, and each one of them was as delightful as she is.

The Midsommar Festival involves more than decorating the Maypole and dancing around it. Crafters set up tables and sell their work; homemade ice cream is sold for 75¢ a cone. (I had two coffee pecans and one raspberry. I figured at 75¢ a cone, it was my civic duty to enjoy more than one.) The New Sweden Historical Society offered raffles; the New Sweden Museum was open for visitors. In the evening, we went to the New Sweden School, which sits high on a hill overlooking the surrounding villages and which has one of the best views of any school in the state, for sure. This K-8 school has an enrollment of 78 students with an average class size of 11 students! How lucky the students are to attend such a beautiful school with such a small student body. At the New Sweden School on the night of Midsommar, a local church put on a smorgasbord dinner. I've attended many church suppers over the years, but never before have I attended one better organized or more attractively presented. Over 200 hungry folks poured into the school and, in a well-planned fashion, were escorted to the smorgasbord tables for fruit soup, inguld sil, cucumber salad, cold cuts, steamed salmon, and more. Each item was identified by its Swedish and English name, and each item was delicious. The smorgasbord tables weren't simply loaded with good, Swedish food: they were decorated with Swedish crafts and sprigs of greenery and flowers. With our plates full, we were then taken to our table. All volunteer workers for the evening were dressed in Swedish costumes, of course. After the dinner the room was cleared of tables, chairs were rearranged, and Swedish dance lessons ensued. New Sweden's citizens, old and young alike, took to the dance floor and had fun with the traditional Swedish dances.

This is a close-up of the top of the Maypole. Beautiful, isn't it?

Here's a shot taken from Lakeview, a restaurant in Saint Agatha. (Saint Agatha, by the way, is pronounced "Saint Agat," to rhyme with "a cat.") We had dinner here on Friday evening and were treated to an amazing sky as we left to head back to Caribou.

Oh! And Monica's Scandinavian Imports! How could I forget? This shop, located on the Sweden Road in Caribou, consists of several rooms, both upstairs and down, of all things Scandinavian: foods, glassware, jewelry, toys, Christmas decorations, clothing and shoes....A person could spend hours in there, and Lynn and I almost did. It was only the nagging knowledge that two husbands were patiently waiting in lawn chairs outside that motivated us to leave the shop.

A weekend in The County, Swedish festival or not, is rejuvenating and relaxing. Ken and I recommend it.