MOVING TOWARD SUBURBIA A SMALL TOWN’S BIG APPEAL: Hermon growing into its own

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As she navigated her aging minivan over a small bridge in Hermon, Donna Pulver pointed from her perch behind the steering wheel to the flowing Black Stream below.

“We used to go fishing on this stream,” said Pulver, 71. “One day my son caught an eel, and didn’t he drop that fishing pole fast.”

Hermon is Pulver’s hometown. She’s lived all but four years of her life here, and recalls how her family once owned a slaughterhouse in town, “back when you could buy 3 pounds of beef for a dollar,” and where they would “grind it while you were there, right in front of you.”

Once filled with vast cow pastures and expansive acres of fertile land, Hermon over the past few decades has morphed, gradually transforming from a farming community on the outskirts of Bangor to part of the bustling city’s suburbia.

As Pulver drove, she noted subdivisions and fields where barns, one-room schoolhouses and family estates once stood. She fondly recalls her farming days, but recognizes the town is moving in a new direction.

“It’s disappointing, but we all had to realize that this [more modern] era was going to come and we have to give in to that,” Pulver said.

That era has arrived for Hermon.

Commercial and industrial parks and businesses line outer Hammond Street and Odlin Road, the village area intersects at traffic lights and has experienced increasing business growth, while residential subdivisions continue to emerge across town.

“Hermon is just appealing,” Town Clerk Carol Davis saidrecently. “We really appeal to those who like to be rural, but not rustic.”

Nearly every demographic is drawn to the town, Annette Merrithew, the town’s code enforcement officer, observes. She said Hermon has experienced an influx of young professionals who work in Greater Bangor but want to raise their children in the country, while it also attracts retirees who want to escape the hectic city lifestyle.

The town’s comprehensive plan, developed in 1995, identified four goals for the next decade: plan for balanced development; preserve the rural character and atmosphere of the community; protect natural resources, particularly water quality; and develop public facilities to encourage growth in desired areas.

“The comprehensive plan stayed close to its roots,” Merrithew explained. “It did this by keeping businesses on the fringe of town and the industry and commerce areas toward Bangor.”

Location, location, location

Driving her minivan along bumpy U.S. Route 2, Pulver motioned to the final cars of a train passing in the distance. The crossing’s red lights stopped flashing and the black-and-white gates raised as she approached the tracks.

“Every corner of town has its each unique thing,” she said.

Pulver described the town’s divide – residential areas separated from the businesses – and the gradual movement from commercial development to rural residential areas along Route 2.

When entering town from Outer Hammond Street, many motorists miss the “Welcome to Hermon” sign, their attention focused instead on the businesses emerging along the edges of town. As they move deeper into Hermon and pass the Freedom Industrial Park, many are still oblivious to the fact they have crossed the town line. Not until they reach the rural village do they realize they are not in Bangor anymore.

“Hermon just happens to abut Bangor,” Ron Harriman, Hermon’s economic development director, said recently.

“We can’t take credit for the location, but we can take advantage of it for sure,” he said with a grin.

Hermon officials say the town’s diverse amenities attract a variety of businesses and residents, and its proximity to Bangor provides numerous transportation options for travelers.

The town’s exit to Interstate 95, at the Coldbrook Road, is best known for its 24-hour truck stop, Dysart’s, but in conjunction with Route 2, the roadways provide the best major outlets of ground transportation to the town.

Hermon’s proximity to Bangor also opens the door to air travel through the Bangor International Airport, approximately 5 miles away. The Northern Maine Junction in Hermon is a major hub for rail shipments and is used by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway and the Central Maine Railroad.

Harriman, who works daily with prospective Hermon businesspeople, said he recognizes their desire to “put their business where the action is.” The town recently has become a “beehive of activity,” he said.

The trucking company, Dysart’s Inc., has been on the Coldbrook Road in Hermon for four decades, but the doors of the company’s green big rigs read “Bangor, Maine.” Company officials said printing Bangor on the side of its trucks was not premeditated.

“We have a P.O. box in Bangor. That’s my guess as to why it says that on the trucks,” said Tim Dysart, vice president of Dysart’s Inc., unable to provide a better answer since he admitted the decision was made “before his time.”

Hermon does share Bangor’s 04401 ZIP code, a selling point that brings many businesses and residents to town, according to Harriman.

Hermon officials don’t deny the town’s proximity to Bangor has helped its growth, but they insist the town has formed its own identity.

“Hermon has established itself and a reputation separate from Bangor that is conducive to new business,” Harriman said.

Residential and business

When Cherie Johnson first moved to town with her family, her children were fascinated by Hermon’s night sky, she said.

“One of the things my kids would do when we first moved here, they would go outside every night and come in asking, ‘How come there are so many stars in Maine?'” Johnson, 45, said.

“I had to explain to them that there weren’t more stars here, just that it’s so dark without the city lights that we can see more of them now,” the mother explained, noting the family moved this year from just outside Memphis, Tenn.

Johnson, the wife of Jon Johnson, general manager of Penn National Gaming Inc.’s Hollywood Slots at Bangor, said the family chose to settle down in Hermon because the taxes were “great,” the countryside “beautiful,” and the proximity to Bangor was “convenient.”

In the past few years, town officials have focused on keeping taxes low, providing free Internet access to everyone and having land available for immediate development.

“This is the fastest-growing community that I’ve been a part of,” Merrithew said.

In the past decade, the town has issued 89 commercial permits and 618 permits for new homes. This year, Merrithew already has issued 27 permits for new homes within town lines.

In 2002, the town revised its land use ordinance, giving Merrithew the power to quickly issue building permits if developers meet specific criteria. Merrithew said she carries her “code enforcement bible” to every job, and if a developer wants to use the land for a pre-authorized activity, they can be permitted without waiting to approach the planning board.

“Hermon is so easy to deal with,” Chad Walton, owner of AKTEM Business Leasing, said. “We tried for two years to build the same project in a nearby town, but after working with Hermon for seven days, we had companies in working on the groundwork.”

Walton purchased land from Dysart’s Realty, which owns the Coldbrook Business Park, and constructed buildings that he leases to small-business owners.

“We chose where we did because the proximity to the interstate and because the taxes are cheaper in Hermon than in Bangor by quite a bit,” Walton said.

This year Hermon’s tax rate is $14.50 per $1,000 of valuation, compared to $19.40 in Bangor.

As a mother of two boys, Erin Worster, 36, said conserving money while providing a quality education for her children is a priority.

“Low taxes and a good school system,” Worster answered, when asked why she chose to reside in Hermon.

“When you have kids, that’s what you worry about the most,” she said, while helping customers from behind the counter at the C&K Variety convenience store in town.

Low taxes were not the deciding factor to move into town for the co-owners of DaVinci Signs, the first Pine Tree Zone business in town, but as a growing business, it does help, its owners said. The state’s Pine Tree Zone program offers tax incentives to encourage new businesses or to expand existing businesses in designated development zones in one of several industrial areas.

In their office showroom, company partners Jeanne Savoy, Gary Parent and Ande Binan showed off hand-carved murals, colorful signs and photos of their most recent accomplishment, the mural on the Hollywood Slots shuttle bus.

The shuttle image, a colorful display of a gambling couple, was created and then applied to the white van by the sign company. The woman pictured has thrown her hands in the air, delighted by her supposed winnings, while her husband stands in the background shocked by her good fortune.

The business, formerly located in Orono, moved to Pinewood Business Park in Hermon, expanding its services with the increased space.

The DaVinci Signs co-owners knew the business needed space to expand, but until their correspondence with Harriman, they said they had not considered Hermon a town with which to grow.

“The town has been very receptive in having us here and very supportive,” Savoy said, noting that Harriman was a tremendous help in applying for the state’s Pine Tree Zone program.

The kindness extended to new folks in town does not end with town officials, according to Johnson.

“We were so welcomed,” Johnson said. “The neighbors threw a little party for us and made brownies.”

When the friendliness of Hermon people combine with the services provided by the town, most residents praise their small, but growing, community.

Hermon has provided everyone in town with free dial-up Internet access for approximately the past 10 years, one of the first municipalities in the nation to do so. The town also offers fixed wireless access to 35 percent of the town, and despite councilors rejecting a May proposal to expand coverage due to cost, Town Manager Clint Deschene said officials are exploring options to keep Hermon on the technology “cutting-edge.”

“Never forget history,” Deschene said. “We are still one of the a handful of communities in the U.S. to offer dial-up to the community.”

Town of wellness

Not one computer in the elementary school cafeteria was idle during a recent morning session of the recreation department’s summer program. Even the youngest minds in town seemed to take advantage of the ubiquitous Internet, but in this program, one activity does not hold the attention of busy campers for more than a few minutes.

Excited children bounce from computers, board games, time on the playground, to intensely competitive kickball games, but the time spent with other children may be the true value of the program, especially during the summer months.

“This is not your traditional day care model,” Scott Perkins, recreation department director, said. “It’s affordable, flexible and parents can set their schedules accordingly. We invite them to use us at their will and pleasure.”

A townwide initiative has been launched to promote healthy lifestyles and foster a community of wellness. The numerous hiking trails, Hermon Meadow Golf Club, Hermon Mountain, the snowmobile club, the shooting and skeet clubs and the Morgan Hills recreational facility are all examples of why the focus on wellness is appropriate for Hermon, Deschene said.

The town-run recreation program is integral to that initiative, including its before- and after-school programs, its summer programs and youth sports leagues.

“This really keeps them off video games and gets them off the couch from watching TV,” observed Ryan Tarr, 18, a Hermon High School graduate and summer camp counselor who attended the program as a camper.

To enroll one child in the extended care summer program, from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., parents are charged $75 a week, a rate that Perkins said is competitive, since it equals paying less than $1.50 an hour for care.

Sharon Gotlieb works at home, but she brings her bashful daughter, Haley, 6, to the department’s summer program to help her foster relationships difficult to maintain during the summer.

“We wanted her to keep the friendships she made at school,” Gotlieb said, as Haley hid behind her mother, embracing her at the waist. “She needs that.”

In the past few years, the Greater Hermon Community Athletic Complex Committee has worked to extend Hermon’s recreational services beyond its youth.

The group completed phase one of its plan this year by adding lights to the high school soccer field. Residents built the approximate $130,000 project for around $65,000 because local businesses and volunteers donated time and materials, according to Paul Soucy, co-chairman of the committee and athletic director at the high school. The afternoon high school soccer and field hockey games used to have 50 to 75 spectators, but night games played under the lights draw as many as 300 fans, he said.

Next on tap? A $1.2 million facility currently referred to as the Penobscot Tennis Pavilion. Soucy said the group hopes to see their project to fruition within the next 12-18 months.

The complex will have eight lighted tennis courts, a restroom facility, vibrant floral gardens and a central open pavilion, which would be appropriate for many community functions, including weddings and outdoor band concerts, Soucy said.

In addition to the facility, the group also hopes to create a walking and biking trail, approximately 1.5 miles in length, connecting the elementary, middle and high schools.

Many residents have found a haven at the high school, safely walking around its grounds rather than scurrying along Route 2, afraid of the busy traffic.

The proposed walking trail is a response to community demand, Soucy said. The town received a $15,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation to develop the trail system. The town manager said he hopes the first part of the trail, which will run from the high school to the elementary school, will be operational by June 2007.

Future projects could include adding a track and outdoor basketball courts at the high school, which would be open to the community.

“We really believe Hermon is an up and coming community and still growing,” Soucy said. “Families look for these amenities, and we are excited to provide them.”

Small-town feel

Although truckers and tourists turn off the highway at the Coldbrook Road to refuel their gas tanks and fill their stomachs at Dysart’s, local residents also are faithful patrons to one of the town’s most popular businesses.

Despite Hermon’s significant growth, residents contend the town keeps its small-town atmosphere, and the truck stop is one of those places where contacts are made and maintained.

“Hermon still has the country comradeship even though we’re a busy place,” Pulver noted.

During a recent lunch at Dysart’s, Pulver caught the eye of an old friend. Wiping down a table adjacent to the town native, Betty Feeney, 84, halted her work for just a moment to chat.

“Well, hi there, Betty,” Pulver said excitedly, her face lighting up as she welcomed her friend.

Decades after their stint as co-workers, Pulver and Feeney took a moment to reflect on the past in the restaurant where they first met. When the restaurant moved to Hermon, Pulver was employed as a morning dishwasher, while Feeney worked as head hostess.

That close community feeling also carries over into times of need.

On Monday, July 17, fire destroyed a Billings Road home where Eric and Melissa Tableman lived with their three young children.

Ten days later, Donna Smith, 46, a native resident of Hermon and member of the Hermon Volunteer Rescue Squad, spearheaded a spaghetti dinner to help raise funds for the family.

“The community pulled together because we knew they needed a lot of stuff,” Smith said. “It’s not just for a fire, but for anything that goes on, the town is there. I was born and raised in Hermon, and I’m used to people pulling together in every situation.”

Neighbors volunteered to bake rolls and desserts in the summer heat, and C&K Variety supplied all the drinks for the fundraising event.

“When[the Tablemans] first came in [to the dinner] they were right in tears,” Smith said. “Some people they didn’t even know, but they stopped in because they wanted to help.”

As the town grows, the Hermon community is staying true to its good old-fashioned values, where neighbors help one another and nobody goes unaided in a time of need, residents say.

“Even the new people that move in are still doing the good things that Hermon stands for,” Pulver said. “Neighbors are still helping neighbors, and we try to respect everyone.”