Marking Time

When the Penquis Leadership Institute Class of 2006 was charged with creating a tourism product that would drive economic development, they took that mission literally. The 16 students created the blueprint for an historical driving tour of their region, stretching from Greenville to Brownville Junction. As the leadership course neared its end, this energetic group decided to take the project the extra mile—by turning Villages of Piscataquis County into a full-fledged tourist route, complete with educational signage.

“We realized we were not going to be able to complete this during our class time,” said Villages chair Gayle Watson, of Guilford. “We decided to carry on afterwards.”

And carry on they have. Over the past year, the “Village People” as they have affectionately come to be known, have researched town histories, designed their own signage, raised funds, and tangled with the powers-that-be over sign placements. The first sign erected was at Low’s Covered Bridge in Guilford, a county landmark that’s been washed away by floodwaters and resurrected three times. The most recent signs were unveiled this fall in Brownville, at the old town square, the municipal office, and at Davis Recreational Field in Brownville Junction.

The Villages of Piscataquis County project has continued to evolve beyond roadside signage. The 134-mile driving route will eventually include an audio tour, printed guides, and a website, along with about 30 educational signs spread across 15 communities. The first loop of the tour will guide visitors from Dover-Foxcroft through Guilford, Abbot, Monson, and Greenville on Route 15, then along back roads through Shirley, Blanchard, Elliotsville, and Sangerville. The second loop moves visitors from Dover-Foxcroft through Milo, reaching a turning point at Brownville Junction, then back along the road-less-traveled through Williamsburg Plantation, Barnard, and Sebec Village.

George Barton of Dover-Foxcroft is the group’s historian, meeting with townspeople and pouring over historical society artifacts to find just the right story for each locale. Other members have made presentations to town boards of selectmen and potential project sponsors. Brownville artist Suzette East designed the project’s logo and donated art to raise money for the signage.

Together their efforts are dotting the landscape with forgotten stories. “The sign in Sebec Village is about the development of a small town in this area—what actually happened in every town in the area—the grist mill was built and the lumber mill was built,” Gayle Watson says. “Sebec was the first village in Piscataquis County and was very large at one time.”
Like Sebec, most of the towns in Piscataquis County grew up around the rivers and lakes. The challenge, Watson says, is to find the unique history of each town and put that story into the signage.

“For instance, the sign we have ready to go up in Shirley is about Shirley Industries, which was a townwide business,” she says. “People knit wool socks during the Depression to make money and most every home there had a knitting machine.”

Many towns, citizens, and organizations are pitching in with cash and in-kind donations to help defray the cost of the Villages of Piscataquis County driving-tour signage, which tops $300 each, not including installation. An additional $200 per sign must be set aside for future maintenance and replacement costs.

The yearlong Penquis Leadership Institute is designed to teach local people how to be better leaders in their town, county, and region. After a two-day orientation and team-building session in August, each year’s class meets monthly to get an inside look at the major employers, small businesses, nonprofits, volunteer efforts, and recreational opportunities in their own backyards. They also meet in between class time to work on an annual class project. Sometimes projects, like the Villages of Piscataquis, take on a life of their own.

Merlene Sanborn is director of the Penquis Higher Education Center, which runs the Penquis Leadership Institute. Though Sanborn is a lifelong resident of the region, she, too, has benefited from the class of 2006 driving-trail and signage project.

“I’ve learned so much from their work about the wonderful things we have in this county,” Sanborn says. “Pride of place is extremely important, and to be able to utilize it in a way that enhances our region for visitors and residents alike, and contributes to the economy—it’s awesome! The Villages group took our hopes and went far beyond our expectations.”

Though the erection of new signage won’t begin again until spring, the “Village People” may soon be busy creating audio scripts and web copy. The group is currently waiting to hear the outcome of a $5,000 Maine Humanities Council grant that would fund the audio and Internet portions of the project.