Mall seating needed for socializing

15 years ago

To the editor:
    I want to comment on the food court at the Aroostook Centre Mall. What an unwelcome place.
    I went there on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 10 a.m. There was one man sitting there. On every table is a sign — “Do not sit here unless you buy something from a vendor” — only one vendor was open and that was Tim Hortons. It goes on to say if you want to visit with your friends, you must go to the mall area and use one of the benches.     There are several hundred seats there and even at noon or for the evening meal, only about a third of the seats are in use.
    Some elderly folks used to meet there to see friends, only 10 to 20 at any given time, for some the only socializing they have. I sat down in one of those seats to wait for some of my family that was joining me and my thoughts were, why would anyone want to come in here with this unwelcome attitude.
    There is no place for this in Aroostook County. I don’t even want to go to the mall to shop.
    Where are the merchants on this?
    Maybe the mall manager should let us get back to “our way of life.”

Mona Blanchard
Presque Isle