Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
LOOKS TO THE FUTURE — Ben Torres stands in front of the hangar at the Houlton International Airport. As airport supervisor, Torres said, “It can stand a lot of polishing. But, it is very impressive for a small town to have an airport this nice.”
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Ben Torres, 23, Houlton International Airport supervisor and Haley Nickerson, 24, Millar Civic Center supervisor, are both glad to have found jobs in their hometown.
Torres has been on the job since May 20 and Nickerson stepped in as the interim supervisor at the civic center in September, but was officially hired on Feb. 4.
“It’s getting on four months, it goes by quickly,” Torres said.
Both supervisors are 2008 Houlton High School graduates and both had very similar experiences after high school.
Torres studied in Bridgewater, Mass., about 40 minutes south of Boston, while Nickerson spent her freshman year in Blacksburg, Va. at Virginia Tech. Torres spent four years at Bridgewater State College, but Nickerson transferred her second year to the University of Maine Farmington.
“I went to Bridgewater State College, which is one of two schools closest to Houlton with aviation,” explained Torres. “The other is Daniel Webster in New Hampshire. They were similar in distance, so I figured I’d go down to the big city.”
Nickerson, who decided to move closer to home, came to Farmington where she graduated with a degree in social enterprise.
When the two left Houlton, neither thought much about returning to pursue a career.
“I never thought about coming back because I had never seen the airport here,” said Torres. “I came back from school floundering and trying to look for a clear path. There are only so many things you can do without breaking the bank.”
Torres was pointing in the direction of joining the military where his love of flying and education could blend.
“I thought I’d get the Army to let me fly their helicopters and pay for my training,” he said.
Torres came home one day and his mother showed him the advertisement for airport supervisor in the paper.
“I am pleasantly surprised how it all came together,” he added.
After graduating from UMF, Nickerson worked at the “Just for Kids” Playground program like she had during the summers while in college.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
BUILDING A CENTERPIECE — Haley Nickerson, Millar Civic Center supervisor, is hoping to keep working to make the civic center a centerpiece to the community.
“This gave me a chance to weigh my options and to figure out where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do,” she said. “I really didn’t think staying in Houlton for the long term was a super viable option for what I was looking for … a likelihood a career would form … but it just kind of did.
“I am glad I stayed,” she added. “I had thought about moving and then looking for a job, but I ended up sticking around and I am glad I did.”
Torres ready to get started polishing
Torres is ready to roll up his sleeves and use some elbow grease to put a shine on the Houlton International Airport.
“It can stand a lot of polishing,” said Torres. “But, it is very impressive for a small town to have an airport this nice.”
Houlton International Airport is a public-use airport located two miles east of town on the border of New Brunswick, Canada. The airport is publicly owned by the town of Houlton. At one time, it had scheduled airline service of Northeast Airlines.
The airport originated as Houlton Army Air Base and from Oct. 1944 to May 1946, it housed Camp Houlton, a prisoner-of-war camp.
It is 1,615 acres of land and has two asphalt runways, runway 5/23 5,001 feet x 150 feet, and runway 1/19 2,700 feet x 60 feet — has a weather station and fueling area, as well as good sized
hangars for plane storage.
The airport was a hub of activity in its day, and Torres is hoping once again to shed light on one of Houlton’s hidden assets.
“If I were to average it out, the whole time I have been there, the number of planes coming in per week we have between 10-15 aircraft per week that are not based in Houlton,” explained Torres. “They don’t have any affiliation with us except for stopping to get fuel. That could be the little guy with a single engine piston aircraft just out bumping around on a nice sunny day or it could be the $15 million charter jet that comes in from Greenland or across the pond from Europe stopping in to get fuel. It is a very mixed bag – you’d be surprised, all walks of life come to that airport.”
At last count, Torres said 15 aircraft were housed in the airport hangars ranging from the small ultra light kit to more extravagant twin-engine aircraft.
Torres planned on becoming a pilot. Though he has not achieved that goal yet, it still remains.
“It would still be a dream beyond a dream,” he added. “This job is a great stepping stone for that, as well.”
Torres is intrigued by the notion that someone can fly into Houlton in the morning, refuel and be in New York, down south or all the way across the West coast by afternoon talking to someone else.
But, when he was exploring the possibility of a career in aviation, Torres never unearthed the gemstone.
“In high school, I had a thought of aviation and thought it would be fun to do, but I never actually thought to check out our airport; I really wish I had,” he said. “I had no idea what we had in high school. I had never been over Drake’s Hill. A lot of people would be surprised at the number [of aircraft] we have and about our facilities in general.”
Day-to-day operations can be from outdoor maintenance to courtesy service.
“It’s a mixed bag. There is lots to do out there,” said Torres. “The place has not gotten any really serious attention in a number of years. There are always projects going on, with plenty of buildings needing to be painted; roofs needing to be changed, lawns to be mowed to filling up jets or anything that might fly in to customer service.”
One of the services inquired about most recently has been flying lessons.
“It would be a huge, huge plus in my book, if we could somehow get a flight school back in Houlton. That would just be above and beyond. That would be amazing. If I had opportunity to take flight lessons in high school, I definitely would have. It would have been on Mom and Dad’s dime, don’t get me wrong,” Torres laughed.
The largest event to draw people to the airport was held in July with the Cruise-in, Fly-in.
“That went spectacularly,” said Torres. “It was good to come over the hill and see hundreds of people. It was beneficial for people to see what we have at the airport and the fact that it is still here.
“It might be over the hill, but it is not forgotten,” he added.
Torres studied aviation science [flight concentration] for two years, aviation management [learning the ropes of an airport] and physics [in case he wanted to design aircraft] in his four years of college.
“I got a nice little taste of it all,” he said.
Though Torres has not explored the spectrum of the world, he is content with living in Houlton.
“I never anticipated getting an airport job here, but I am completely fine with it,” he said. “I haven’t seen a whole lot of the world, but of all the places I have been, there is no where I would choose to raise a family other than here; hands down, it is a great community. I like it a lot.”
Even though he is young, Torres isn’t planning on lifting his roots yet.
“There are a lot of projects, a lot of things to do, I probably can find four or five years of things to do,” said Torres. “This might just be a stepping stone, but there is a lot of polishing to do and I am not going to leave until it is done. So we have a long road ahead of us. It will be a good one.”
Torres considers himself among the lucky to have found his chosen career near home.
“There are opportunities like this for people in other industries,” he said. “You just have to look. Just don’t take it at face value. Actually, dig deep and see what the community has to offer. It can be a good thing and never discount the fact that you might want to come home someday.”
Building a centerpiece
When Nickerson started her job as civic center supervisor, she didn’t realize how soon a suggested closure of the John A. Millar Civic Center would be on the table.
The town council decided not to pursue a closure and councilors are looking to help Nickerson build a thriving facility during ice and non-ice seasons.
“I think it really came to a crossroads this year with the civic center and the Southern Aroostook Minor Hockey Association,” Nickerson explained. “Everyone realized, we need to come together and we need to work really hard to make this more successful.”
Despite a dropping economy, it costs money to run the facility.
“When everyone realized the potential fate that it may not be here forever … it is not a given … we are working hard together,” Nickerson said. “People have been supportive of me and trying to help me and SAMHA has been more proactive. So, I think we are on the right track.”
Nickerson has been affiliated with the SAMHA as a player in the sixth grade to aging out of the program and becoming the recipient of the Ivan G. Wilson Commissioner’s Award.
She is also familiar with the civic center operations, as she worked in the pro shop and has done concessions since she can remember.
“I think I have been in this building since it was erected,” she laughed.
Nickerson’s day-to-day operations vary a great deal during the ice and non-ice seasons.
“During the ice season, my days are pretty full,” she said. “When it isn’t as busy, non-ice season, I am planning or setting up for events, exploring new opportunities for the civic center and looking into grant possibilities.”
Planning for the non-ice season is tricky and will involve creativeness on a slim budget. Some options are concerts, fairs and exhibits to private rentals.
“We’ve started a Trash and Treasure Sale and I think those will get bigger each time we do them,” added Nickerson.
“We looked at a lot of things this year, but they just weren’t viable yet,” she added. “A lot of it depends on capital — it is not inexpensive to start a new event — we would like to gradually bring in and try new things each year and gauge the response.”
Nickerson believes in the winter months, the civic center does as much as it can.
“I want to keep ramping up different activities that the civic center has to offer,” she said. “Nothing is going to happen all at once. But, I want to be able to start with events the civic center can offer to the community.”
Scheduled activities to be offered include an After-School Program and Game Night.
“We tested them out last year and they seemed to go over well,” Nickerson added. “It is just a matter of resources to bring those into fruition in the long term.”
Currently the civic center makes public skating, stick time, “Parents, Tots and Seniors,” along with SAMHA time available to the community.
“We, as a town, will be doing an after-school skating program one day a week,” Nickerson explained. “SAMHA, which is not a town or school sponsored activity, does offer great programs such as Learn to Skate. I think the youth programs are invaluable.”
Throughout the week, the most popular skating time is Friday night. “They are busier with lots of young kids,” said Nickerson, with families enjoying the rink at a slower pace on Sundays. However, a list of public skating hours is posted as are the special activities.
Among the most popular winter events is Corporate Skate Night, with free entry, skates and refreshments.
“Each one we had last year had about 200 people, which is a lot,” said Nickerson.
Gliding her way through the challenges, Nickerson hopes to make the civic center a more sparkling attraction.
“I think if we keep working away it can become a centerpiece to the community,” she said. “It is important to a group of people, but I think it can be important to a wider range of people as we go forward.”
Nickerson is researching and inquiring about opportunities for the civic center, while attempting to incorporate new ideas.
“I don’t want to leave until I have accomplished these goals or at least got the ball rolling,” she said. “I really like Houlton. I haven’t lived a ton of other places just Farmington and Blacksburg, Va., and both of those towns have a great sense of community too, but it really didn’t compare to Houlton. Everyone here cares a lot about the people around them. The community gave a lot to me growing up, specifically the civic center and hockey programs.
“I like Houlton so much. Partly because it is home, but when you go away, you compare that place to home,” she added. “I haven’t found anything yet that makes me feel as happy as being here.”
