Skowhegan reacts to mixed NPR report Community defended as more than a ‘former mill town trying to stay afloat’

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SKOWHEGAN – When someone “from away,” specifically a National Public Radio reporter, recently called Skowhegan “a former mill town struggling to stay afloat,” and “a town neglected,” a number of townspeople got a little hot under the collar.

Others, however, said the report was right on the money and Skowheganites need to be more realistic about the town’s status.

In his report, which aired on “All Things Considered” on July 3, reporter Adam Davidson described the beauty of the town’s architecture, its valuable Main Street Skowhegan revitalization efforts and the Norman Rockwell-like view of the Kennebec River as it flows through the center of town.

But Davidson also talked about budget wars, tattooed and nose-ringed pregnant teenagers, and quoted residents who said that politics have divided the community and “it’s like watching the death of a town.”

“We need to, as a community, begin to ask the question: Why did someone feel that way about Skowhegan?” Audrey Lovering said this week.

Lovering is the director of Skowhegan’s Main Street project – one deeply entrenched in renovating and revitalizing the downtown.

She quickly admits she loves Skowhegan but also does not wear blinders.

“Right now, we are trying to figure out just where Skowhegan is going,” she said. “You can see that at board meetings, school meetings. Some people want the town to stay exactly the same as it is. Others look forward to growth and change. This is a very exciting time for Skowhegan, a frustrating time and also a scary time.”

There is no doubt about it: Skowhegan is a community fractured. Town meetings have become so politically charged that the town manager recently suggested changing the annual voting to a referendum to avoid the unpleasantness.

Voters slashed a half-million dollars from the proposed budget this year, forcing cuts that still haven’t been resolved and may include a police officer, road and sidewalk maintenance and a revamp of town government.

The police chief, the town planner and the town financial officer have all recently resigned, giving a wide range of reasons.

Some residents, including Lovering, said the NPR portrayal was honest and the only way to move ahead is to face the reality of some of Skowhegan’s blemishes.

But then there is the other side of the coin.

“It was absolutely distorted,” Skowhegan Free Library head Kathryn LeBlanc said Thursday. “It focused on Skowhegan as a downtrodden mill town. People forget that we have New Balance [shoe factory], which employs hundreds of people. They forget we have Sappi [paper mill], which employs hundreds of people. Give me a break. Skowhegan is much, much more, than one closed mill.”

LeBlanc said she talks, in her role as librarian, to 30-40 people a week who are considering a move to Skowhegan.

“We have to focus on the bigger picture. Behind the scenes, there is so much planning, sharing of ideas and communication under way,” she said. “You have to clean off the canvas before you can make it better. Right now, we are cleaning off the canvas, and all the various opinions make for a much richer, stronger painting.”

Gregory Dore, director of public works and chairman of Skowhegan’s Run of the River project, is also a staunch advocate for Skowhegan.

“We have a heck of a future here,” Dore said recently. Looking at history, he said, Skowhegan has been able to change with the times.

“When the foundries left, we turned to shoes. When the shoe factories left, we turned to wood products. Skowhegan has always been busy and alive. It is far from a desolate, crime-ridden place,” he said.

Dore said a lot of positive changes are happening, particularly the downtown revitalization project. “Most towns have trouble finding volunteers,” he said. “Main Street Skowhegan has over 100.”

Dore said the state’s summer paving program, the ongoing Run of the River project, and Main Street Skowhegan are attracting new businesses – and residents.

Cory King, director of the Skowhegan Area Chamber of Commerce, said he thought NPR’s portrayal of Skowhegan was pretty accurate, even though it is his job to paint a bright picture for tourists and others.

“It was really unfortunate that the story focused on the conflict but what it stated was true,” King said. “It was not a promotional piece.”

King said Skowhegan may indeed be struggling politically but there are many good things happening and there were positive results from the NPR story. He said there have been a number of economic development inquiries from people and businesses that heard the piece.

King and Lovering said that once Skowhegan takes a realistic look at itself, growth will naturally happen.

“Look at our history,” Lovering said. “We have always been progressive. Why, we were one of the first towns in the country to get electricity. We have many creative entrepreneurs.”

She said that as Skowhegan determines what it is and what it wants, the challenge will be to create jobs that are perfect for the rural Maine environment.

“For some people, just the word boutique is offensive,” she said. “But look at some of the new businesses downtown and that is exactly what they are. And they are doing quite well. We have a strong downtown, full of options for products and services.”

Along with economic development efforts at the town office, King said the chamber is promoting the town as the place to be this summer.

There are free Sunday night concerts in Coburn Park; Moonlight Madness events downtown on Aug. 2, which include bed races; a bread kneading and outdoor oven baking conference that is bringing more than 60 people from as far away as France to Skowhegan; Harvest Days from Aug. 2-4, which includes golf tournaments, beano and a Rotary-sponsored lobster bake; and the Skowhegan State Fair from Aug. 9-18.

“Sometimes it seems there is too much going on,” King joked.

For more information on any of the upcoming events, call the chamber office at 474-3621.