Page 12 - Newsletter_Summer_2018

Brian Stewart’s FARM

Homegrown
HOULTON

By Paula Woodworth ‘70

I sat down recently with Brian Stewart (1972) to talk about his life since
graduating from Houlton High School, and the path that led him to Six
Point Farm in Linneus.

One of the things Brian stressed in our conversation was his appreciation
for the great education he received at Houlton High School and the
teachers who made a difference in his education. He credited his 8th grade
science teacher, Margaret Churchill, with influencing him in wanting to
learn about the world. He also noted Ervin Stone, and Rodney Coffin
who was his physics teacher. He said that many years later, while taking a
thermodynamics course in college, he realized Mr. Coffin had taught him
everything he needed to know to be successful in this class. He wanted
readers to know that his high school friendships, that have endured to this
day, are one of the most important things in his life.

Brian has had quite an interesting path from HHS to Six Point Farm.
Following graduation, he entered The University of Maine at Orono where
he received his degree in Natural Resource Management and Soil and
Water Conservation with the thought of getting a job in the USDA. The Recession of the 1970s meant a federal
government job never materialized.

A fall from a ladder and a broken wrist paved the way to an Engineering degree. After college Brian returned to
Houlton to work in catering with Al Cowperthwaite. The broken wrist meant he couldn’t do the work required so
By Karen Donato ‘69
he got a job in the survey crew working in the I-95 construction. This led to an apprenticeship with Carvel Hatfield
who encouraged him to go back to school to get his engineering degree at UMO.

After completing a year of study, he took a year off and took a job with a National Geodetic Survey crew that took
him away from Houlton and out into the world. He traveled around the U.S. from upstate New York through the
Atlantic Coast and Southern States. He then returned to UMO to complete his degree in 1984.

Brian worked in Gorham for three years before returning to Houlton to work again with Carvel Hatfield for several
years before opening his own business after he received his engineering license.

So how does one go from engineering to farming? Brian had a great grandfather and great-great-grandfather who
were farmers in Linneus, so, in a way, it’s in his blood. The second component was a test he took in college that
showed an interest in farming, dentistry, and accounting. He ruled out the latter two but still didn’t really see
himself as a farmer either.

When Brian moved back to Houlton in 1987 he purchased a farm on the New Limerick Road where he intended to
build a house. A field needed to be planted so he borrowed a tractor and started working the land and planted hay.

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