It’s great to know the rumor mill is alive and well in Caribou. How would we ever start a conversation with anyone in Aroostook County, if it wasn’t for the weather or the latest rumors? Over the past few weeks the quality of the rumors has certainly improved. Maybe that’s a positive sign. The first one I heard was that Target was going to be building a store in Caribou. I always say if you’re going to start a rumor, go for the gusto. Shortly thereafter I heard that the Colt Firearms Company was looking at moving to Caribou; another rumor possibly worthy of recognition in the Caribou Rumors “Hall of Fame.”
It’s not difficult to understand where these two rumors got started. Our new City Administration has been very proactive in sending out letters to various companies to introduce Caribou as a great place to open a business. These letters were all initiated by the city. They were not in response to inquiries from companies looking for new or additional sites for their businesses.
You can almost see the rumor mill starting up and shifting into high gear. It was probably as simple as a few employees at City Hall discussing that a letter was sent out to Colt Firearms about relocating to Caribou. Someone who had come to City Hall for vehicle registration, tax assessment information, or whatever, overheard the conversation. The first stop they made after leaving City Hall, be it for lunch, coffee, or filling up the gas tank included the following conversation, “I was just down at City Hall and I heard them saying that the Colt Firearms Company is moving to Caribou.” We all know how it evolves from there.
Have you ever played that game, I think some people call it telephone, where you write a short story down on paper and get about 10 people in a room? You then whisper what you’ve written to one person, who then whispers it to another and so on until it’s gone through all 10 people. The last person is required to say aloud what they have been told and the first person reads the original story. Any similarity between the two stories is usually coincidental, and these people are trying to keep it straight. As you know, when it comes to rumors we all like to embellish it a little bit. After all there’s no sense repeating a rumor if we can’t make it more interesting than the way we heard it.
The other rumor I heard in the past couple of weeks was more of the typical local rumor type. Someone told me there was a new restaurant opening up in Caribou. When I inquired where, I was told it was going to be in the old Walker & Walker building on South Main St. Two days later someone else told me there was a new restaurant opening along with a butcher shop in the Walker & Walker building. I obviously asked whether you shopped for your steaks and chops while your meal was being made or you waited until your meal was over and picked them up before you went home.
By sheer coincidence I happened to know the background for this rumor. I knew Scott Walker had a food trailer and I had called him about three weeks ago to see if he had any plans for it, as I knew someone who was interested in obtaining one. He told me his son was probably going to run it this summer and serve french fries and clams and chips. As a matter of fact he said they would probably park it in the lot in front of Walker & Walker building.
I really should check back with him and find out if he will be running the butcher shop out of the back of the food wagon. Maybe Caribou should hold a contest with prizes for the best rumors or better yet a National Rumor Festival.
I guess if the only purpose rumors exist is to start conversations, I would have to consider them worthwhile. With all the things wrong throughout the country today we certainly need more conversation.
Summer is fast approaching and I’ve noticed my Honey Do list has expanded greatly recently. I’ve enjoyed writing this column over the past 3 or 4 months, but if I am going to make it to my 43rd wedding anniversary, I’d better get busy taking care of business. I truly appreciate all the people who have approached me and the kind comments I have received regarding my column; it’s made me believe that the time and effort I’ve put in has been more than worthwhile.
I will continue to write articles over the summer, but probably less frequently than in the past. As always “What have you done to-day to make Caribou a better place to live?”
This column is strictly the opinion or view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Caribou’s administration staff, its employees, or other council members. Gary Aiken may be reached at garyaiken@hotmail.com.
