Air force brats just get used to an area, make friends and then its time to move to another base. As a kid my dad was a Maine potato farmer and had eight trucks that hauled those spuds to market in the cities of Boston, Hartfort and New York. So I learned the world was not flat by going on truck trips at the age of 10 and seeing the markets of these cities. My parents took my three older brothers to Winter Carnival in Quebec and we rented many places on the Maine coast for a family vacation. They also took lots of picnics and hiking trips to the many parks in Maine. So we grew up knowing there was life beyond our little town. I think traveling is key to know other areas and to settle where you are supposed to be in an area that fits. I have taken my own kids on many Carribean cruise... 02/18/2009

   Lots of talented folks meet here at ActiveRain. They are real estate agents, brokers, owners and bankers stagers, home inspectors, attorneys, escrow companies, technology pioneers and everything in between.  I enjoy "broadcasting" about the neat small town I live in of Houlton Maine, Aroostook County and the great state of Maine. Learning about new developments in the real estate industry, having a question pop up and posting it, and bingo...a slew of answers or varied perspectives make this a think tank. It's a place to brainstorm with a slew of professionals on free "retainer" 24/7.  Over the last 3 decades of being a full time real estate broker, I have seen several economic cycles, met so many nice buyers, sellers and folks associated with the business and been blessed to love go... 02/11/2009

     While the technicians are fixing the electron tube of the translator diode circuit on the transporter beam machine, you have a hour to spend in Houlton Maine. What do you have to see, do while here for that hour? For starters you visit Cary Library on Main Street and are amazed at the large collection for a smaller town and realize this is not your typical library.  The children's library portion has an original fireplace used during Christmas story time and Cary Library has an innovative summer reading program to teach children the joy of reading books. Next you stop in to the Houlton Chamber of Commerce door to bulk up on information brochures for Aroostook County and Maine.  Looking at your watch you still have time to tour the Historical Museum and then trot up Main Street to s... 02/09/2009

The Images Show You The Fun.  Imagine Hundreds Of Kids Sliding, Laughing, Competing In Different Age Groups For Prizes. Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides! Suppers, Gut Busting Breakfasts, Free Movies At The Temple Theatre, Free Skating, Hockey Games, Bon Fires..Sliding On Derby Hill, Wild Winter Foot Race, Snowsled Parade Thru Houlton Maine ... Okay..You Get The Idea That Being In Houlton Maine This Weekend Is Important!Have Some Fun And Celebrate Winter This Weekend And Every First Weekend In Houlton Maine Because "The Moose Is Loose!"Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers - Promoting Houlton Maine Real Estate And Special Local Events        02/05/2009

    Bonfires, arena and outside skating, ice fishing derby, a snowmobile parades. Thru down town Houlton Maine, with free passes to our movie theatre, a Moosestomper's Ball, baked bean supper, sled poker run, half dollar scramble, horse drawn sleigh rides, cross country skiing, winter games and sliding down "Derby Hill" . Maine winters..we celebrate them, not hibernate or dread them.  The weather is predicted to be super..blue skies, crisp air and kids laughing as they scramble in the half dollar search in different age groups. Play in other family fun games and events in Houlton Maine.   "The Moose Is Loose!" idea came from past Houlton town manager Alan Bean who was the commander of Loring Air Force Base in Limestone where the event first started. With the closure of LAB, the winter c... 02/03/2009

The living room in your northern climate home is warm as can be as you eat popcorn and watch reruns of "Gunsmoke".  Meanwhile, the pipes in the cellar rec room and upstairs in the mother-in-law bedroom are slowly freezing from lack of heat.  Pellet stoves...they heat the space you are in but unless you have a pellet furnace that's providing central heating thru out the Maine home, oh oh.  Or you could install another pellet stove and like the five fireplaces in some old New England victorians, stay busy making sure all those stoves are burning brightly. The thermostat that is often in the living room is told there's plenty of heat so it does not call for heat in other areas in homes that are not multi zoned in the case of hot water baseboard heating.  With hot air, same problem with th... 01/26/2009

You may have had a Walton's like up bringing, free of much tragedy or drama.  But say you had a fire as a little child that you remember, and everything was wiped out. That stays with you. The event imprints within you.  As a REALTOR working with someone that had a fire as a child, you start to realize the fire department in your town is critical to this person. Others wonder about your library and judge your area first on what type of library you have and how it is supported. A buyer with a medical condition suddenly makes the local hospital the number concern that decides if they locate in Houlton Maine or Portland Maine.  Asking questions of the buyer is helpful, but posting details on every aspect of the local turf that you can image, descripe, video and promote.  As a broker, when ... 01/23/2009

     Living in a small Maine town with roughly 6700 people, not 6.7 million locals means new dollars put into the revenue stream is critical.  Unlike a city worried about urban sprawl or protective zoning to control development, small rural Maine towns put their efforts in to different endeavors.  Instead of worrying about where this subdivision goes or how large to allow it to be, you put your efforts into different planning exercises. For starters, if you have an ice arena and a strong local hockey program, helping set up tournaments where teams, their parents and fans travel to your town is economic development. These tournaments bring in new dollars...the out of towners spend money on gas, food, tournament and get a hopefully good first impression of your town.  It is part of local ... 01/18/2009

Climbing on a big bus, traveling four hours to a pair of hockey games... and an overnighter.  Ice hockey in Maine is big and here's a video of the highlights of a game between the Houlton Hodgdon Blackhawks ice hockey team and Greely. Fast paced, shift changes every minute and a half or less, players jumping over the boards, working together as the pace intensifies. As a fan, the games are a trick to catch everything happening on the ice, and you have to pay attention. No..not sitting down or talking with you fellow sports fans. On your feet, hollering support, proud of your hometown and the work ethic of the players on both teams, their coaches, their fans! Watch a game below. Visit the Houlton Hodgdon Blackhawks hockey site. Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers - Following Maine Hockey And Bas... 01/13/2009

The Houlton Maine Humane Society has your Christmas present. The perfect gift for any age recipient! With close to 160 cats of all sizes, color, ages, and personalities, consider giving a living, loving present this holiday season. Don't adopt if the newness of something small and cute is going to wear off. Adopt because your family will be responsible for the care and attention of a four legged purring machine.  Or adopt because you or someone you know is all alone much of the year.  A cat is always glad to see you, especially when they hear the can opener going or wonder what you are snacking on. You will find yourself talking to the cats, reaching down no matter how busy to pat them on the head or stratch behind an ear.  And they are always near by...when you watch tv, my cat Allie, ... 12/19/2008

You may start by watching some movies or videos on Maine before investing, selecting the area. You read somewhere Maine's crime rate is the nation's 4th lowest.  You like the sounds of that. In Aroostook County, the northern section of the state is as big as Connecticut and Rhodes Island with half the state's crime rate, no traffic and 11 people per square mile.  You can warm up to those numbers in your day to day life.  Top it all off with low low cost homes, farms, waterfront and land and Maine has gotten your attention as a place to live, to spend time for four season recreation. You want to invest here and are hungry for more details before you slide behind the wheel to drive here or climb aboard a plane to see for yourself first hand.  That's where video comes in...you don't tell t... 12/10/2008

The Millar Civic Center ice is back on line and local Southern Aroostook Minor Hockey Games (SAMHA Website) And High School Varsity Blackhawk contests are underway! The Bangor Rams traveled north to battle the Blackhawks in the season opener.  The Blackhawks held the Rams until the third period when penalties tipped the scales for a Ram win 4-1.  In the second JV game, the Blackhawks won 6-4.  Watch the highlights in the Blackhawk's video below.  Log on to the Blackhawks website! Next game is against the Presque Isle Wildcats on their home ice at The Forum. December 9, 2008. Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers - Local Houlton Maine Sports Part Of Living In Aroostook County 12/08/2008

Music is B-I-G in Houlton Maine. This year's Winter Concert was tonight at the Houlton High School Auditorium that the kids haver out grown.  A new Houlton Community Arts Center is underway and the area is excited.  Watch the video thrown together to show you a taste of this concert.  The campaign for new seating continues. The Houlton Rotary club helped raise $10,000 in pledges for that area of the new arts center! Watch the video for the concert below! The bands and chorus of Houlton are well known around the state for incredibly success in competitions from jazz bands, percussion ensembles to show choirs year after year! Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers - Houlton Maine..Music Town Of Maine!   12/04/2008

The newspapers made it official today although hammering away at it around the economic edges for months.  The country is in a recession...or correction.  My Dad used to preach "Son...you can't have everything going and money in the bank". Saving money for times like these were part of daily life in rural Maine. We had less money to manage and were better managers for it. Every day we watched our resources, took care of our property and treated others and their belongings with respect too.  With Christmas approaching, telling your kids that this season can be bright, filled with family fun, tradition, lots of holiday food but Santa is going to be a little light on the expensive electronic, latest fad "toys".  Reaction from kids should be a lesson in life that they will apply and recall ... 12/02/2008

     Over $35,000 raised from the 1200 items contributed of goods, services and home made items in the Houlton Maine Rotary 53rd Radio/TV/Internet Auction. An extra $10,000 on top of that final tally above and beyond to make a dent in the new seating budget for the Houlton Maine Performing Arts Center too! In additon, more funds from the Dead River Oil 50/50 raffle and more pewter "Boy And The  Boot" $1000 statues pledged for the Houlton Regional Hospital's Health Foundation. Auction figures up from last year according to chairman John Tribou...great job all Rotarians, contributors, bidders! Watch night three of the auction...slick operation that helps fund projects this year like the Little League's "Field of Dreams" project and puts a big push into the HHS new music/arts wing! Picture... 11/28/2008

     As a kid, let's have fun, full time.  For adults to talk among themselves about how peaceful and beauitful being in the north Maine woods camping, hunting, fishing did not register totally then.  Oh sure, growing up and climbing Mt Katahdin with your family or hiking and those picnics with mom's world class food were fun.  Family gatherings every Sunday afternoon taking turns on which aunt or uncle's home we would visit.  Family and all the ages that occupy it together, laughing, sharing. But the great outdoors without people mixed in time to time was part of everyone's life in rural Maine too. Everything in balance, playing with your friends, getting your chores done and likeing the small town you were born in. Safe, secure, loved. Contenment. Seeing the older folks build into the... 11/16/2008

You work hard. The week is over, here is something to look forward to in Houlton Maine.  "Footloose" based on the 1984 hit movie is a high-energy musical about a young boy who moves to a small town and shakes up the status quo.  The Houlton High School music program is well known for its state champion show choirs, jazz bands, percussion ensembles.  Houlton has been nicknamed "Music Town Of Maine" so you know this production will be first class in entertainment and performance. Show times November 21 to the 23rd.  Visit the site for more! Or contact 207 532 6551. Cost of show $8 adults, $5 students. See you there! Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers - Houlton Maine Real Estate And Area Information  11/14/2008

Houlton Maine Rotarians make calls, canvas businesses, collect items and services.  Every year the week of Thanksgiving has an exciting three nights of bidding in the Southern Aroostook area. Local folks of all ages make bids on half hour items.  Bids are read on the air, collected and when the half hour is done, read the winners, reset the bid board, start another set of items. Over $53,000 worth of itreasures collected to peddle on air, being broadcast on Polaris Cable, streamed on the internet thanks to Pioneer Wireless, and broadcast on WHOU FM 100.1.  The local Houlton Pioneer Times inserts the auction program in the local weekly newspaper so listens can be ready to bid on the list of items they would like to own.  With Christmas a short time away, items for loved ones on your list... 11/12/2008

   You have decided to have some recreational fun this winter in New England.  You like to snow ski, ice skate but wanted to see some country and not be restricted to a small area.  Maine is one big state and to cover lots of ground, climb on a snowmobile. The snow sledding industry is a big one when you have the top five trail system to ride on.  Many clubs work year round to take care of their corner of Maine. Making new trails, widening existing ones, building bridges and doing everything possible to enhanced the experience.  Imagine stopping a machine and watching deer and moose feed...or the back drop of a stop to stretch when Mt Katahdin is covered in snow in the in your lap or you can hear and see a roaring river falls with icicles, clear crisp air, and a bright sun making the sn... 11/08/2008

    Old apples that were brown, the world's smallest in size did not make the top ten either.  What really  impressed this goblin as he tramped with his friends and cousins was the older lady who made fresh hot donuts and warm apple cider. She would escort you into the living room where you would tell her who's son you were while munching a donut just off the stove coated in sugar.  The home owner who got the little Halloween bags and filled them with a variety of goodies was also a standout in my mind.  I realized this person enjoys the holiday, likes kids and made the effort to have a better treat for the monsters ringing the bell and tromping up and off her front porch.  Halloween...canvasing neighborhoods like we still do as a real estate broker.  But trading candy with your friends... 10/31/2008