By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Governors from all 50 states will be receiving 7-pound boxes of potatoes in the coming days thanks to the rejuvenation of the Governor’s Potato Plot project.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
TAPING A COPY of a letter from Gov. John E. Baldacci to a box of potatoes are, from left: Danny Stewart, of Stewart Farms, and Presque Isle Rotarian Steve Richard. Governors from all 50 states will be receiving 7-pound boxes of potatoes in the coming days thanks to the rejuvenation of the Governor’s Potato Plot project, a project undertaken by the Rotary Club, Stewart Farms, and the Maine Potato Board.
Last Tuesday, 10 members of the Presque Isle Rotary Club, as well as three employees at Stewart Farms, gathered at the U.S. Route 1 farm store to wrap and pack potatoes that were picked earlier this fall.
“We picked the prettiest potatoes in the barrels,” said Sharon Campbell, past president of the Rotary Club. “We’re cleaning them, wrapping them individually in gold foil, and putting them in decorative boxes that we got from Northeast Packaging. We’re putting our best potato forward.
“Potatoes are a trademark of Aroostook County,” she said, “and we wanted to share that with the other governors.”
Campbell said the aluminum foil was done for presentation, plus a more practical reason.
“This way, if they just want to pop them in the oven to bake them, they are all set,” she said. “They’re great looking potatoes.”
The idea to reimplement the Governor’s Potato Plot project was more than two years in the making.
According to City Manager Tom Stevens, Councilor Don Gardner was doing some housecleaning two years ago when he came across a Presque Isle Centennial booklet from 1959 that featured a story and photo about the Governor’s Potato Plot that was located on the Merle Duncan Farm, about two-and-a-half miles south of Presque Isle on the Houlton Road.
As part of the city’s 100-year celebration, the Presque Isle Centennial Celebration Committee planted “a special crop of potatoes which upon harvest will be shipped to the 50 governors of the United States. These special potatoes will be handpicked, washed, packaged and mailed by the Centennial Committee.”
“Don and I thought it was a very interesting project … maybe we should do that again,” said Stevens. “I approached the Maine Potato Board and they thought it was a good idea, too, but they felt we should get another group involved. I approached Sharon Campbell, who was the president of the Rotary Club at the time, and she, too, thought it was a neat idea. One thing led to another and here we are.”
The Maine Potato Board put the Rotary Club in touch with Danny Stewart of Stewart Farms. This spring, Stewart planted an acre of Superiors next to the “Welcome to Presque Isle” sign, and earlier this fall, members of the Rotary Club ceremonially picked the spuds. The Board paid for the signage as well as the shipping of the potatoes.
Each box of Maine potatoes includes a letter from Gov. John E. Baldacci.
“In an old Maine tradition, I am pleased to send you a sample of Maine potatoes known as ‘Superiors’ included with my letter. This round white variety of potato is very tasty and may be served either boiled or baked,” wrote Baldacci. “These potatoes have been grown, dug and packaged as a result of the combined efforts of the Presque Isle Rotary Club, the Maine Potato Board and local school children [who picked the potatoes during harvest recess] located in the heart of Maine’s potato country.
“Thank you for joining me in celebrating a part of Maine’s proud heritage by accepting and enjoying these Maine potatoes,” read the letter.
The boxes were shipped by UPS Nov. 13.
“It will probably take longer for the Hawaii and Alaska shipment to get where they’re going,” said Campbell, “but I would think within 10 days everyone should receive their potatoes … just in time for Thanksgiving dinner.”
Campbell said the Governor’s Potato Plot project would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Rotary Club, Stewart Farms, the Maine Potato Board, and the Department of Agriculture.
“Commissioner Seth “Brad” Bradstreet III and Ned Porter, deputy commissioner, both agreed right up front that they would be supportive of the project,” said Campbell. “The support staff was instrumental in helping write the letter, and they deserve a lot of credit, too.”
Stewart said he was honored to be involved in the project.
“It’s nice publicity for my farm stand,” he said. “I was happy they asked me to help start up that program again. It’s neat to think that my potatoes are going to go to Hawaii, Alaska, and the other states.”
The Rotary Club plans to host the Potato Plot project again next year.
“We think it’s a great ambassadorial project,” said Campbell. “We’d like to do it every year if we can. It’s a relatively inexpensive way to promote our state and certainly our county, and the heritage of farming.”
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
TRANSFERING POTATOES from a basket to a barrel are Joe Clukey, president of the Presque Isle Rotary Club, and Sharon Campbell, past president of the club. Together with Stewart Farms and the Maine Potato Board, the Presque Isle Rotary Club rejuvenated the Governor’s Potato Plot project this year in which 7-pound boxes of Superiors grown on Stewart Farms were sent to governors from all 50 states.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
DISPLAYING SOME SUPERIOR POTATOES planted by Stewart Farms are, from left: Joe Clukey, president of the Presque Isle Rotary Club; Sharon Campbell, past president of the club; and Danny Stewart. This spring, Stewart planted an acre of Superiors next to the “Welcome to Presque Isle” sign on U.S. Route 1, and earlier this fall members of the Rotary Club ceremonially picked the spuds. The potatoes have since been shipped to governors from all 50 states as part of the rejuvenated Governor’s Potato Plot project.
Contributed photo
REP. JEREMY FISCHER (D-Presque Isle), left, presented Gov. John E. Baldacci with a 7-pound box of Superior potatoes Monday. The potatoes were planted on Stewart Farms this spring as part of the Governor’s Potato Plot project, a combined effort by the Presque Isle Rotary Club, Stewart Farms, and the Maine Potato Board. Governors from all 50 states recently received a box of locally grown spuds.
