Group seeking County tidbits ‘Did you know that’ program aims to reveal little-known facts

PRESQUE ISLE – Aroostook County grows more potatoes than any other county in the country; The County grows 25 percent of the agricultural products sold from the state of Maine; and a company in Houlton is the No. 1 producer and seller of handcuffs in the world.

Little-known facts, or factoids, is the category of information into which these tidbits fall. Some business and industrial people believe residents of Aroostook County should know this kind of information about themselves, and the pride that follows then can be shared with the outside world.

There are many other such tidbits. The Smith and Wesson Co. of Houlton, maker of the handcuffs, also produces a pistol called the PPK/S, known as the James Bond Pistol, which the famous character carried in many movies.

Bike teams from West Point, the U.S. military academy, ride on bicycle frames made by Aegis Manufacturing in Van Buren. Soon the U.S. Naval Academy riders and the FBI will join that rank of elite bike riders. Aegis produces 1,000 lightweight, high-tech bicycle frames each year and the company has been doing it for 10 years.

“Did you know that” is a program developed by Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development. LEAD is a group of business, commercial, industrial and municipal officials who have been spearheading growth programs in Aroostook County.

“It’s an initiative to promote information on the economy, history and culture of Aroostook County,” Patricia Sutherland, secretary of LEAD, said. “We hope to get as many as 100 factoid scripts about Aroostook County to let residents know what is here.

“These are things that people may not necessarily know about the county they live in, and we would like to let them know,” she said Friday. “As people hear these, they may come up with others that they know.”

Several media outlets in Aroostook County have agreed to publish or air the factoids to residents over the coming months. In the meantime, Sutherland is trying to accumulate the information.

To start the program, several industries have come up with facts about themselves, short tidbits that fit into 30-second time slots.

Sutherland is looking for facts on communities, their history and culture, and particularly for lesser-known facts about things that have gone on or are going on.

The project, which will start after the first of the year, is aimed at people who live in Aroostook County. While people in Madawaska know something about themselves, Aroostook County residents in Houlton may not know that piece of information and vice versa, Sutherland explained.

“It will make people more aware of the entire region,” Sutherland said. “Once they know, they may let friends and relatives from outside Aroostook County know about the region and its many assets.

“It’s a positive image effort, a real neat countywide initiative,” she said. “Most of us feel good about living here, and maybe this will reinforce good things that happen in The County.”

LEAD hopes that could change some of the pessimistic attitudes.

The group believes many things going on in Aroostook County industries, businesses and communities are interesting and may even make people feel better about themselves. At the same time, the program will increase awareness of events and situations that are happening.

“Did you know that” Nexfor Fraser Papers in Madawaska has been there since 1925 and is the largest employer in Aroostook County? The company also is the largest supplier of opaque weight paper in North America.

People with these tidbits can call Sutherland at the Northern Maine Technical College at Presque Isle at 768-2808.