Maine's Largest General Store

The sign says it all: Guns, Wedding Gowns and Cold Beer. Located on ME 32 fifteen miles east of Augusta, the Hussey's General Store provides central Mainers with all things required for life in Maine. Open for business for 87 years, the store has changed little in the face of competition from chain stores like Walmart.

Many times on my journeys throughout Maine I have stopped by Hussey's to poke around the store's 30,000 square feet of retail space. Sometimes I buy venison sausage, other times I chat with the sporting goods salesmen, and occasionally I frantically search the store's countless aisles for a restroom sign. The sheer texture of the store and its juxtaposing goods always catch my eye regardless of my reason of stopping by.

The tools have changed, but the story hasn't.

Wedding Gowns...

Cold Beers... PBR long necks are as rare as stores like these.

Guns...

Customers.

Vintage military canteens and leather shoelaces.

Every color of the rainbow.

All the Carhartts you could ever want.

Just in case you have enough lamps to necessitate gallons of kerosene.

Do you feel lucky?

Woof.

Hussey's has a great selection of Emerson of Maine Boots.

I couldn't think of a better place to buy the supplies for a shotgun wedding. The guns and the gowns are literally 30 feet apart.

Anyone visiting Maine should make the trek to the Hussey's General Store. They are a dying breed and as much a part of Maine as Bean boots and lobster fishing.

Here are some more links,
Hussey's General Store (Picasa),
Hussey's General Store.

A Wall in My Room: Part 3

People's taste evolves. It grows more complex and requires more to satisfy its increasing appetite. Starting in August, I decorated my wall with pieces of things found in the world around me. I started small with a piece of driftwood from Lake Champlain in Vermont and a few odds and ends from a flea market in Woolwich, Maine. From there I found a blanket at a garage sale and an American flag at an antique mall near my school. Recently, I pulled everything down and added some new finds.

My most prized piece of L.L. Bean clothing I own: vintage barn jacket.

My two favorite packs.

Face t0 face.

Shoes I have loved.

I like red details.

I enjoy the process of envisioning something and then trying my best to execute it, even more than the final result. In a few months I will grow restless and take it all down again, but I am okay with that.

Here are some more links,
A Wall in My Room: Part 3 (Picasa),
A Wall in My Room: Part 2 (ART),
A Wall in My Room: Part 1 (ART).

Logging Antiques and a Shack my Family Built

Eighteen years ago, my family built a small building on our property in the Columbia River Gorge. We salvaged flooring from a nearby house and used wood from a fir tree on our property to construct the the one room, 180 square foot building. At first, we intended to use the building as a sauna, however its single layer wood walls held heat like a pair of wet cotton gloves. For the better part of the next two decades, the building housed my grandmother on her frequent visits, numerous middle school sleep overs, teenage debauchery, and most recently, my mom's shit.

Upon returning home for the holidays in mid December, I undertook the project of clearing out the building and setting it up with some antiques and furniture. Inspired by Skamania County's logging heritage and the rugged nature of the building I decorated the the walls with old logging equipment and camping gear as an ode to the logging camps that once occupied the surrounding woods.

Paul Bunyan?

I love augers.

This basalt column acts as a step and a reminder of the building's close proximity the area's iconic basalt formations.

These old gas cans were used on Jeeps during the second World War and since have been adapted to all sorts of applications including carrying water and fuel throughout the world. The raw steel shows through wear in the red paint, resembling the worn teeth of the eight foot saw blades.

My mom bought the Coleman Lantern at the Catlin Gabel Rummage Sale a few years back. The Yellow newspaper can visible in the lower left dates back to the 50s.

These tripods were originally used for surveying equipment and large format photography. My mom and I plan on converting them to lamps. I like the 50's aluminum helmet on the raw fir.

Despite my affinity for vintage clothing and Americana antiques, my furniture taste lends itself to modern Scandinavian design. The juxtaposition between the old logging axes and raw wood of the building and the Scandinavian couch works for me.

As my college career quickly winds to a close, the immense prospect of spending less and less time in the place where I grew up hangs in my mind like lingering email that I need to respond to. This building will serve as a reminder of my rural roots on the few days a year that I will be able make the three-thousand mile trip back to the Northwest.

Here are some more links,
My Happy Place (Picasa).

Flags for Memorial Day

In honor of Memorial Day, here are some photos of flags draped on houses or barns throughout New England. I love how the character and charm of their surroundings transfer to the fabric or paint of the flags.

Down East Maine.

The Berkshire region, Massachusetts.

The Berkshire region, Massachusetts.

Central Maine.

I want these flags.

Here are some more links,
A Walk Outside (Picasa),
Memorial Day (Picasa),
Millard Wardwell (Picasa),
First Day of Summer (Picasa).

Marlboro Miles and the Marlboro Country Store

While many people talk about how they are going to spend their AMEX points or Delta Sky Miles, more daring individuals debate the use of their Marlboro Miles. From 1994 to September 30th 2006, Philip Morris, Marlboro Cigarette's parent company, had a merchandising promotion program whereby a satisfied costumer could mail in their proof of purchase coupons (5 "Marlboro Miles" per cigarette pack), and buy various products ranging from licensed Marlboro Zippos to denim jackets and sleeping bags from the catalog or the Marlboro Country Store.

The products in the Marlboro store are an extension of "The Cowboy Code: A cowboy is courageous. Keeps his word. Pulls his own weight. Returns what he barrows. Closes gates behind him. Is always on time. Minds his own business. Sometimes exaggerates, but never lies. Doesn't cuss another man's dog." The archetypal American Man.

Everything a cowboy or cowgirl needs put in cigarette pack denomination. I would go with the Stetson, the Time Track by Swiss Army, the Canvas Coat and the Blues Harp with my stockpile of 2000 packs of cigs. I also find the satirical allusions to jail culture where people use cigarettes as currency amusing, but that's a different matter all together.

Few ideas are more American than buying products, often made in China, created as extensions of a marketing campaign with proof of purchase coupons for an expensive, carcinogenic, addictive product.

Here are some of my favorite finds from ebay,
Marlboro Swiss Army Knife (Ebay),
Marlboro Brass Belt Buckle (Ebay),
Marlboro Swiss Army Pocket Watch (Ebay),
Marlboro Duster (Ebay),
Marlboro Country Zippo (Ebay),
Marlboro Miles Poker Set (Ebay),
Marlboro Country Store BBQ Set (Ebay)
Marlboro Country Denim Shirt (Ebay),
Marlboro Country Denim Jacket (Ebay).
Marlboro Country Cook Book (Ebay),
Marlboro Stetson Hat (Ebay).

I guess a Marlboro Denim jacket purchased with six hundred packs of cigarettes is icing on the cake for a dedicated smoker.

Here are some more links,
Explanation of Marlboro Miles System,
Marlboro Country Store Goods,

Western Comic Books: 1930-1960s

Early Western Comic books from the late ’30’s and early ’40’s, were based on and complemented early western TV and movie stars such as Roy Rogers and Charles Starrett. From there, the genre gained popularity and DC, Prize, Marvel launched multiple series in the ’50’s and ’60’s with names like Tomahawk, Six Gun Heroes, Blazing Six Guns, Two-Gun Kid, Ringo Kid, Apache Kid and my favorite, Bullet Code.

I love the heavily romanticized and stereotyped view of the American West through the lens of the mid-twentieth century.

These comics are all racially appalling, "If you survive our tribal test, Tomahawk, you and the boy win your freedom!"

Check out the golden eagle on his headdress and loincloth, it looks like something form the Third Reich.

Check out his Van Dyke mustache.

Love the Spanish.

Indian or White Man?

Crackin’ skulls.

I love John Wayne’s outfit, his wool shirt is amazing. I cant get over the fonts, titles and colors.

Check out this advertisement from the back of a Two-Gun Kid. Everything a boy needs.

Yeeeeehhhaaaaaaaaa!

I have never liked comic books. I usually find people’s obsession with their set formulas and one-dimensional characters almost as boring as US Weekly or Perez Hilton. However, these Western Comics are an awesome romanticization of the American West and and interesting look into the ’30’s, ’40’s, ’50’s, and ’60’s. This is what the people who wore Filson, Woolrich and Pendleton read when they were 11. Check out my picasa album for a lot more pictures.

Here are some more links,
Western Comics (Picasa),
All-Star Western (Wiki),
Western Comic Marketplace,
The First Western Comic Book,
Amazingco.com comic Book index (there are some gems in here),
All John Wayne Comics,
Two-Gun Kid (Wiki).