The Loring Air Pressure Base led the inhabitants of the Aroostook County city of Limestone to quintuple between 1950 and 1960. After it closed in 1994, it noticed an excellent greater bust.
The bottom made the city of round 1,500 folks a half-hour north of Presque Isle a linchpin of American Chilly Struggle technique. It’s now one of many most cost-effective locations to stay in New England and seeking to entice newcomers with guarantees of welcome packets and new-resident orientations.
As properties throughout Maine see skyrocketing costs and quick stock, they’ve remained each low cost and considerable in Limestone. A 3-bedroom residence with two bogs on 11 acres not too long ago offered for simply $150,000. That might pay for lower than one-third of the median residence in Portland, in response to Zillow information.
Many come to the realm searching for a slower tempo in addition to winter recreation, Limestone Selectman Chris Durepo stated, including that he hoped the rock-bottom costs might be a possibility for the city throughout a housing disaster.
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“The best residence available on the market proper now’s $200,000,” stated Durepo, who additionally rebuilds homes along with his common contracting firm. “In order that places in perspective what the housing market is right here.”
There have been 11 properties offered in Limestone from January to April 2021, in response to information collected by Stephanie Beaulieu of Fields Realty in Fort Fairfield. The promoting worth hovered round $59,000, a quantity Beaulieu stated had gone down this yr.
Residents shifting into Maine from out of state can arouse suspicion or disdain from longtime residents. However the city welcomes newcomers, Durepo stated. The Limestone Chamber of Commerce creates welcome packets for them and has scheduled a meet-and-greet for brand spanking new residents subsequent month as a part of an lively occasions schedule.
The decommissioned base nonetheless dominates the city. The army put it there and in close by Caswell as a result of the area was simply in regards to the closest place on the U.S. mainland to Europe, which was one thing of strategic significance through the Chilly Struggle. The city bought a go to from President Richard Nixon on his manner again from the Soviet Union in 1974, in one among his final public appearances earlier than resigning that yr as a result of Watergate scandal.
As soon as a small agricultural settlement, the inhabitants peaked at 13,000 in 1960 after the bottom opened and fell to about 10,000 round 1990. With the tip of the Chilly Struggle, the Air Pressure decommissioned the bottom in 1994, turning it into an industrial and aviation park.
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Limestone had the best charge of inhabitants loss from 2010 to 2020 of any neighborhood in Maine with 1,000 folks or extra, in response to U.S. Census Bureau information, declining from 2,300 folks to simply 1,500. Inhabitants loss because the base closed is extra stark at 8,400 since 1990.
Shedding Loring was “devastating” for Limestone and Aroostook County, Durepo stated. Quite a few residents had jobs linked to the bottom or relied on enterprise from the hundreds of individuals stationed there.
Determining a solution to convey vital new improvement to Loring, which has since been reworked into the Loring Commerce Centre, has been harder, Durepo famous, although he remained optimistic in regards to the city’s future.
The middle serves companies that use 1 million sq. ft of lease area and make use of 750 folks, directors famous in a 2021 report. It was the positioning of a historic business rocket launch from Brunswick-based bluShift Aerospace final yr, however the firm is now searching for coastal areas for future launches.
Whereas many individuals have left Limestone, there are new ones coming in. Round 4 % of Limestone residents had moved from a unique state inside the previous yr, in response to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau information from the American Neighborhood Survey. One other 5 % had moved in from exterior of Aroostook, one of many highest charges for any neighborhood in Maine.
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Durepo acknowledged setbacks lately however stated the city not too long ago had a number of new developments, together with photo voltaic initiatives that added thousands and thousands to its tax base in addition to native farmers constructing new irrigation programs and potato homes.
It has additionally obtained nationwide recognition for being residence to the Maine College of Science and Arithmetic, a boarding faculty thought-about among the finest magnet colleges within the nation.
“I stay, breathe, eat, sleep Limestone,” Durepo stated. “We like being right here, we like elevating our household. It’s a secure place.”
Erik Stevenson was fouled making a 3-pointer and completed the four-point play with 3.5 seconds left to lift the Capital City Go-Go to a 96-93 win over the Maine Celtics on Sunday at the Portland Expo.
Stevenson finished with 36 points for Capital City. Ruben Nembhard Jr. added 13 points. 14 rebounds and seven assists, while Michael Foster Jr. had 14 points.
Ron Harper Jr. had 21 points and six rebounds for the Celtics. JD Davison added 11 points and 10 assists, while Baylor Scheierman finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Drew Peterson scored 18 for Maine.
This story was originally published in December 2022.
Jerry Galusha and his best friend, Doug Cooke, share a friendship that dates back to 1984, when they were living in Rangeley and were introduced by mutual friends.
Over the years, they have often gone fishing or deer hunting, activities they both have enjoyed immensely.
“The relationship that we have is just unbelievable,” Galusha said. “We’ve had some really amazing adventures.”
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This fall, Galusha was confronted with a heart-wrenching task. He would take Cooke into the woods, one last time, in search of a big buck.
The difference was that this time they would not be walking the tote roads and trails together. Instead, Galusha would be carrying Cooke’s cremains in his backpack.
Cooke died on Sept. 5 at age 61 after a long struggle with renal failure. Galusha said after 40 years of dialysis or living with a transplanted kidney, Cooke opted to cease treatment and enter hospice care when his third transplant failed.
Doctors had originally told Cooke he would be lucky to celebrate his 30th birthday. Thus, he tried all his life to avoid getting too emotionally attached to people. He seldom asked anyone for favors.
Cooke and Galusha hadn’t seen each other much in recent years as Galusha focused on raising a family. But in late August, Cooke left a voicemail for Galusha explaining that he planned to enter hospice care.
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Cooke told Galusha he didn’t need to do anything, but wanted him to know. He did not want to become a burden to anyone else.
“His body was telling him that he’s had enough,” Galusha said. “He couldn’t golf. He couldn’t play his guitar. He hadn’t been hunting in years.”
The late Doug Cooke of Rangeley is shown with a buck he shot many years ago. Cooke’s best friend, Jerry Galusha, is honoring Cooke’s last wishes by taking his ashes on hunting and fishing excursions. Credit: Courtesy of Jerry Galusha
Galusha couldn’t let it end like that. In spite of Cooke’s reluctance to have his old friend see him in such poor health, he went to visit him.
But as Cooke faced his own mortality, he asked one favor of Galusha.
“He said, ‘Promise me one thing, could you please, just one time, take me in to Upper Dam to go fishing before you dump my ashes?’” Galusha said.
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The dam separates Mooselookmeguntic (Cupsuptic) Lake and Richardson Lake north of Rangeley. It was a favorite spot of theirs, one Cooke introduced to Galusha, who grew up in New York.
“He really loved the wilderness and Rangeley,” Galusha said of Cooke, who was a Vermont native.
Galusha immediately said yes but, knowing how much Cooke also enjoyed hunting, he didn’t feel as though the fishing trip was enough to adequately honor his friend.
“I said, I’m going to take you for the whole deer season, every time I go,” Galusha said. “He looked at me and started crying and said, ‘That would be so awesome.’
“It was hard. We cried and hugged each other,” he said.
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When Galusha went deer hunting near his home in Rangeley during the third week of November — a week the two buddies often spent together over the years — he tried his best to make it like old times.
Galusha spared no effort. He carried the cardboard urn containing Cooke’s cremains inside a camouflage can, which was wrapped with a photo showing Cooke posing with a nice buck he had harvested many years earlier.
He also packed Cooke’s blaze orange hat and vest, along with his grunt tube, compass, doe bleat can, deer scents and a set of rattling antlers.
Galusha chronicled the events of each hunting day by posting to Cooke’s Facebook page, complete with observations, recollections and photos.
Lots of deer were seen and there was one encounter with a buck, but after missing initially, Galusha refused to take a bad shot as the deer was partially obscured by undergrowth.
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“I just did what Doug would have done. He’s not going to shoot and I wasn’t going to shoot,” Galusha said.
He spoke reverently about Cooke’s resilience through the years in the face of his constant battle with health problems, which included not only kidney failure, dialysis and transplants, but four hip replacements and, eventually, a heart attack.
Jerry Galusha carried the cremains of his best friend, Doug Cooke, along with several items of Cooke’s hunting gear, on hunts this fall. Credit: Courtesy of Jerry Galusha
The arrival of muzzleloader season provided one more week to hunt. On Friday, Dec. 2, Galusha walked more than 3 miles along a gated road to an area where he had seen deer a week earlier.
That got him off the beaten track, away from other potential hunters, something Cooke would have appreciated.
“He wasn’t afraid to go do stuff,” Galusha said. “It might take us a little bit longer, but he didn’t care.”
Galusha, who still often refers to Cooke in the present tense, said he vocalized some of his reflections while in the woods. He saw eagles, which he thought might be Cooke keeping an eye on him.
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“I talked to him a lot,” Galusha said, who also enjoyed telling the handful of hunters he encountered that he was not out alone, rather with his friend.
He then explained the story of his promise to Cooke and reverently removed the urn from his pack to show them.
When Galusha finally saw the buck, it wasn’t quite close enough. He uses one of Cooke’s favorite tactics to coax the deer closer.
Galusha tried the grunt tube, and then the doe bleat can, but the deer didn’t seem to hear it. Then, he blew harder on the grunt tube and finally got the buck’s attention.
“I irked one right in, that’s what Doug would say,” said Galusha, recalling Cooke’s affection for using the alternating calls.
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The spikehorn turned and walked directly at Galusha, who shot it.
“I cried,” he said of the moment, recalling that Cooke had been there when he shot his first antlered deer, also a spikehorn.
During the long drag back to his truck, Galusha had plenty of time to think about how much Cooke would have enjoyed the hunt — and watching him make the drag.
At one point, a crew of loggers had approached.
“I was pointing to the sky saying, ‘We got it done,’ shaking my hand,” Galusha said. “A guy came up behind me and said, ‘You all set?’ and I’m like, yup.”
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Cooke and Galusha had lived together for 10 years at one point, but they also had gone long periods without talking with each other. Even so, whenever they were reunited it was as if they had never been apart.
The last few visits were difficult. Cooke’s health was failing, but Galusha just wanted to be there for his buddy.
“It was emotional,” said Galusha, who was present when Cooke died. “I held his hand to his last breath.”
Next spring, hopefully when the fish are biting and the bugs aren’t, Galusha will grant Cooke — who he described as a fabulous fisherman — his final wish by taking him fishing at Upper Dam, just like they used to do.
“I’m thinking maybe around his birthday [July 19]. It might be sooner, depending on how buggy it is,” said Galusha, who expects to make more than one excursion with Cooke.
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Galusha said he will know when it’s time to say goodbye.
“I really don’t want to let him go, but I promised him I would, so I will,” he said.
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