Times have changed

17 years ago

To the editor:
    I remember when Sweden Street was lined with businesses such as J.C. Penney, J.J. Newberry Co., F.W. Woolworth Co., Currier Furniture, L.S. Hall, Chain Apparel, Landeau’s 5 and 10 cent store, Martin’s Clothing Store, A&P and First National grocery stores, two movie theaters and four pharmacies, three of which had soda fountains. I could go on and on.     I remember when we went downtown on Friday night because the stores stayed open until 9 p.m. and we could park downtown and shop or just watch people come and go. We touched base with our friends and neighbors; it was a place like Cheers, where everybody knew your name. Businesses popped up and homes were built and Caribou thrived!
    Times have surely changed, and rather than trying to aggressively bring back those times, some of our leaders would rather see Caribou become a bedroom community. And a bedroom community seems like a nice, peaceful place in which to live. But, in order to have a bedroom community, we have to be able to build those bedrooms. I don’t know about you, but I have heard from many, many people how difficult it is to do just that.
    I’ve been down this path before, but I think it bears repeating. When I hear of contractors living and working in Caribou who tell of how difficult it is to work here, and contractors living outside of Caribou who say they would rather not work in Caribou because it is so difficult, and people who are building or remodeling homes who run into one brick wall after another, I have to wonder in which direction our “leaders” really want to take us. I have asked many people who have told me of their “difficulties” why they don’t come forward and speak out, and I have heard the same reason over and over again. Fear of retaliation! “I still have more to do, and I’m afraid it will become more difficult if I say anything!”
    Every time a building is torn down and not replaced, our tax dollars sprout little wings and fly off into the sunset, never to be seen again. Every time a business closes and cannot be re-opened by a new owner for one reason or another, those little wings sprout again.
    Please don’t get me wrong; I love our town. I especially love the new Wellness Center. There are so many great things about our town, but we need more. And, I for one think it’s time for a change. Those tumbleweeds are lurking on the edge of our town, just waiting for the chance to roll down our dusty, deserted streets.
    Like William Holden in “Network” said, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!” Get mad, speak out, voice your opinion through this newspaper, call your councilors, and if, in the end, you get no satisfaction, make a change when you go to the voting booth in November. We need to make it easier to do business in Caribou. It is just that simple.
    I remember when the uncomplicated, simple, common sense approach of leaders like Charlie Hatch, Terry St. Peter and Dave Ricker reigned in this town. Do you remember when?
Joan Theriault
Caribou