Monday, March 9, 2009

A Pipe, a Remington Shotgun, and a Man Named Butch


Driving down 202 on Sunday, I spotted a man perched on his deck wearing a blaze orange hat and smoking a pipe. I pulled a U-Turn, turned on the hazard lights, grabbed my camera, and introduced myself as college student taking photos of central Maine. The old, weathered man was standoffish at first, but we eventually struck up a conversation about his 33 year career as a boiler operator at paper mill, his four years in the Marines during Vietnam, guns, his love for American made goods, and the state of Maine economy.

Butch and his Remington 16 gauge shotgun. He let me shoot it.

Butch goes through one pipe per year and smokes about a bag of tobacco per week.

He proudly showed off this one, commenting that it had, "recently been broken in."

Butch owns American made Toyota cars. When asked why he owned Toyotas, he responded, "Do you know where GM cars are made? Mexico. Do you know where Fords are made? Canada. My Toyotas are made in Texas and Tennessee, no wonder they (American Automakers) are going belly up."
I asked Butch if he was born and raised in Maine, he responded, "No I was born in Connecticut and moved to Maine when I was 4 weeks old." Butch swears by LL Bean.

After talking with him for half an hour, I finally asked him his name. "Around these parts they call me Butch." I left it at that.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haha love his response to the Toyota question.

Foster Huntington said...

i was pretty pumped on that too. it makes a lot of sense.

A TIME TO GET said...

Do you teach a photography class I may attend? All I got here is my grandfather's digital camera and a borrowed belt to stick it in. Great looking stuff as always.

Foster Huntington said...

nick,
for you i will teach one. i am glad you like them. keep up the good work.
foster

designerman said...

i was getting a real maine vibe from your other site, now i know why!

great stuff...

Foster Huntington said...

thanks designer man. I try to include as much of my own photos as possible on my blogs. thats why i think your blog is such an awesome idea.
foster

world of sekimachihato said...

jumped to your blog via designerman's.
great photos & great subject!

Foster Huntington said...

thanks for checking out my blog. i am glad you like it. good luck on your travels.
foster

Erin said...

Awesome. Really, really cool. Love that you had the gumption to turn the car around and introduce yourself. I love the pictures but I particularly love imagining what your short stay with him was like.

Foster Huntington said...

It was quite the spectacle. I had one of my friends wait in to car so i would be less obtrusive and after talking to him for a while and taking out the shot gun i had him come talk with us. At first butch said wouldnt let me take his photo. but the more we walked the more comfortable he got.
Foster

heavy tweed jacket said...

Absolutely amazing set of photos and story about "Butch." Great post.

Foster Huntington said...

thanks heavy tweed! i am glad to see you read my blog. butch sure was a character.
foster

Sildenafil said...

What a style of this old man he reminds me my uncle Sildenafil Citrate who likes to spend time smoking at the balcony that's great for me seeing that.