Page 14 - Newsletter Spring 2021

Return of

HOMEGROWN
HOULTON

the Native

By Paula Woodworth ‘70

“Where we love is home-home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

“Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave and grow old wanting to get back to.”
“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You
realized what’s changed is you.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

Home. That word conjures a lot of thoughts and memories. Writers and poets have mused on it. We have longed to leave it
and longed to return. If you moved away from Houlton at some point, have you wondered if you would be happy returning?
Could you live again in a small town with a long winter after years away? Yes, you can. Here is my story.

After graduating from UMO, I moved to North Carolina in 1975 and lived there for 39 years. I loved life in the South even
though I could not shake the “Yankee” term. Kind of like being “from away”. Every summer I returned to Houlton for the 4th
of July week because who would miss the 4th in Houlton? I loved my visit
home and always wondered if I could ever come back to live permanently.

That question became reality in 2014 when I retired and headed back up 95.
At that point I had lived in the South longer than I had lived in Maine. How
was that going to work out?

“Home is a place you grow up
wanting to leave and grow old

wanting to get back to.”

I will admit that there was a period of adjustment. I missed the South, my friends, and all the things I did there. But slowly I
started to make a life here. My family was all here and part of my reason for moving back was to help care for my Mother.

I reconnected with old high school friends and started going out to eat with the 70’s Chicks. I looked for volunteer activities
and got involved with the County Co-op, the Agricultural Museum, and the Alumni Association. I met new people through
these activities and started feeling like part of the community again. I decided to embrace winter and get out to walk every day.
The Co-op became my new hangout and I looked forward to the morning coffee group much like my Mother did when it was
the Shiretown Bakery.
There is a comfort and familiarity to small town life. I like the connections to the past. Everywhere I go I run into a cousin.
I like knowing the people I deal with daily. I had a postal problem I needed help with, so I called my friend, the Postmaster.
One beautiful Fall day I found myself pressing apple cider with my old classmate, Woody Howard. I had not seen him since
high school graduation. I have enjoyed meeting the new people moving to Houlton from as far away as Australia. I did some
work on a political campaign. I love being able to walk the Riverfront Trail and walk to so many places I need to go. I love the
beauty of the four seasons. I love picking fiddleheads and seeing harvesters in the potato fields. I love seeing the covered bridge
and the view from the Ridge in Littleton. I get a kick out of working at a Museum supper in the same kitchen where I helped
serve lunch as an elementary student. I love interacting with people I have known since I was a child. I love watching the 4th of
July parade from the same spot by the Chamber where I watched as a child. The connections to the past are strong. That means
something. As we grow older, that means everything.
You too are Homegrown Houlton. Come home. We are waiting for you.

www.houltonalumni.com PAGE 14