A course in picking potatoes for Bowdoin students

By Karen Donato
Staff Writer
    A dozen Bowdoin College students traveled from Brunswick to spend three days in Aroostook County this past week. This is part of the freshmen orientation program. Students are given a variety of choices for these adventures and they are randomly selected, not always getting the first choice. The groups travel to a variety of destinations throughout Maine and New Hampshire.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
COUNTY EXPERIENCE — Twelve Bowdoin College students had a lesson in picking Maine potatoes at Dan Stewart’s farm in Presque Isle this past week. The students were participating in their freshmen orientation program and volunteering at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton. From left in front, Jenny Stobiecki, Sarah Levin, Audrey Blood, Chloe Huang, Tasha Sandoval, Annabel Boeke, group leader; Sam Vitello, Emma Cutler, Chase Taylor, group leader; Noah Glennon, Jason Kwong, Rodolfo Edeza and Advisor Dr. Allen Delong. Lisa Bloom is the truck driver and Stewart is on the truck body.
    The students that come here stay at the Meduxnekeag Snowmobile Club and enjoy swimming in nearby, Cary Lake. This is the fourth year Dr. Allen Delong, formerly of Monticello and now an instructor at Bowdoin has brought a group.
    The students spend each morning doing volunteer work at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton. This year, they painted the new addition built onto the Ross School, painted some outdoor furniture and touched-up the trim on the dugouts. They also set up tables for the public supper and washed windows.
    The afternoons were spent touring the area and a few students visited Houlton High School to speak with the new senior class, answering questions about college applications and the interview process.
    This past Thursday the students traveled to the Mars Hill Country Club to enjoy the view and scenery. They toured the massive wind farm atop Mars Hill Mountain and received some first-hand information from Bob Lunney, regarding the most modern potato harvester used on the McCrum Farms in Mars Hill. They climbed aboard and got a view from inside the cab.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
TEAMWORK — At left, Jason Kwong from Ohio and Rodolfo Edeza from California, both Bowdoin College freshmen enjoyed picking potatoes at Dan Stewart’s Farm in Presque Isle.
    Then they stopped by the Dan Stewart Farm on Route 1 in Presque Isle. Stewart was waiting with potato baskets for each of them. They watched him operate his two-row digger laying the fresh potatoes out before them to pick. At first they were quite awkward, but after a few lessons from Delong and myself, both seasoned farm kids, they got the hang of it.
    Each one of them sincerely had a great time and afterward said they would have picked more. Before coming to The County no one really knew anything about potatoes and never thought about how they were harvested or for that matter the process of growing them.
    Once they finished filling the barrels they helped load the truck and opted to ride on the body back to the Stewart’s vegetable stand rather than in the school vans. Back at the stand, one student from New York bought one of Stewart’s custom made barrels to take back to his dorm room. Leaving for the anticipated balloon launch in Presque Isle, Stewart filled the barrel with bags of fresh potatoes, ears of corn, onions for their burgers and honey for their toast the next morning.
    Before leaving Presque Isle they stopped for dessert before dinner at the Houlton Farms Dairy Bar, a tradition for each Bowdoin group.
    The students hailing from the states of California, Connecticut, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Florida and the country of China were all impressed with the Maine landscape. Every night they spent time outside just looking at the stars, something they say they don’t see much of where they come from.
    Everyone was also surprised by the friendliness of the people they met and how appreciative the museum volunteers were for the extra tasks they helped out with.
    Chase Taylor from Nashville, was surprised to see volunteers who were in their 70s and 80s shingling a roof and doing other jobs at the museum.
    Many of the students hope to come back for a visit and thought their parents would love to come to this area in the future.    The students that come here stay at the Meduxnekeag Snowmobile Club and enjoy swimming in nearby, Cary Lake. This is the fourth year Dr. Allen Delong, formerly of Monticello and now an instructor at Bowdoin has brought a group.
    The students spend each morning doing volunteer work at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton. This year, they painted the new addition built onto the Ross School, painted some outdoor furniture and touched-up the trim on the dugouts. They also set up tables for the public supper and washed windows.
    The afternoons were spent touring the area and a few students visited Houlton High School to speak with the new senior class, answering questions about college applications and the interview process.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
ROLLING ALONG — Several Bowdoin College students tried their hand at rolling a full barrel of potatoes at the Stewart Farm in Presque Isle last week. Shown here are from left, Sam Vitello of New York, waiting a turn, Lisa Bloom, farm worker, Chase Taylor of Tennessee taking charge and owner of the farm, Dan Stewart. The students were participating in the freshmen orientation program.
    This past Thursday the students traveled to the Mars Hill Country Club to enjoy the view and scenery. They toured the massive wind farm atop Mars Hill Mountain and received some first-hand information from Bob Lunney, regarding the most modern potato harvester used on the McCrum Farms in Mars Hill. They climbed aboard and got a view from inside the cab.
    Then they stopped by the Dan Stewart Farm on Route 1 in Presque Isle. Stewart was waiting with potato baskets for each of them. They watched him operate his two-row digger laying the fresh potatoes out before them to pick. At first they were quite awkward, but after a few lessons from Delong and myself, both seasoned farm kids, they got the hang of it.
    Each one of them sincerely had a great time and afterward said they would have picked more. Before coming to The County no one really knew anything about potatoes and never thought about how they were harvested or for that matter the process of growing them.
    Once they finished filling the barrels they helped load the truck and opted to ride on the body back to the Stewart’s vegetable stand rather than in the school vans. Back at the stand, one student from New York bought one of Stewart’s custom made barrels to take back to his dorm room. Leaving for the anticipated balloon launch in Presque Isle, Stewart filled the barrel with bags of fresh potatoes, ears of corn, onions for their burgers and honey for their toast the next morning.
    Before leaving Presque Isle they stopped for dessert before dinner at the Houlton Farms Dairy Bar, a tradition for each Bowdoin group.
    The students hailing from the states of California, Connecticut, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Maryland, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Florida and the country of China were all impressed with the Maine landscape. Every night they spent time outside just looking at the stars, something they say they don’t see much of where they come from.
    Everyone was also surprised by the friendliness of the people they met and how appreciative the museum volunteers were for the extra tasks they helped out with.
    Chase Taylor from Nashville, was surprised to see volunteers who were in their 70s and 80s shingling a roof and doing other jobs at the museum.
    Many of the students hope to come back for a visit and thought their parents would love to come to this area in the future.