Nicole Farley
Old Iron Inn’s
Twentieth Anniversary
by Kate and Kevin McCartney
photos by William Duncan
What is a bed and breakfast? Well, there is a bed
and there is breakfast, but there is also a different philosophy
to overnight accommodations. Motels are motels and
whether good or bad they are largely the same, differing in
the quality of the mattress and number of channels on the
TV set. Bed and Breakfasts are all different, as they reflect
the entire diversity of B&B owners and B&B houses. For
many B&Bs, the home and owners meld into a personality
and experience that can be a welcome change from usual
travel fare.
Most B&Bs are older, larger homes with storied
pasts, decorated with furniture and trimmings that reflect
the environment of the house and personality of the owners.
The owners often have a rich history of their own, with
interesting tastes and interests that are in plain view. B&Bs
are full of details. Most everything there is the result of
thought given to the selection and placement. People who
go to a B&B often have an eye for such details and a desire
to see and experience something a bit different than the
usual. The Old Iron Inn B&B, in Caribou, was established
in 1992 by Kate and Kevin McCartney and so is now in its
twentieth year. That is a long time for a B&B, where the
average business lifespan is about five years. The Inn gets
its name from the collection of antique irons – those things
used to iron clothes in days prior to permanent press. The
house dates from 1913 and retains its original woodwork,
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with wainscoting and crown moldings. The furniture is
of similar or older age. Books and magazines are scattered
about and there are interesting conversations in the living
room or during breakfast if the visitors are so inclined.
Surviving this long as a B&B in northern Maine is
no small achievement. There is little tourist trade – generally
the business staple for B&Bs - in The County. The patrons
here are generally businesspeople, and well over 90% of the
visitors are return customers. Some who visited the Inn
while just passing through returned for a second or third
visit, and then again to buy and move into a house here.
Conversations at the B&B provide opportunities to learn
about The County and ideas expressed by visitors to the Inn
have enriched The County as well.
Owning a B&B is a lifestyle rather than a career
choice. A small B&B with three bedrooms in a rural
community is certainly no road to riches, though it can
once well established make enough money to cover the
costs of maintaining an older home. A B&B is a lot of hard
work that the guests never see: the toilets must be cleaned
every day, and the sheets are ironed. The Old Iron Inn is
open year-round, so owners Kate and Kevin McCartney do
not have fixed schedules and vacation time is hard to find.
And while guests can be very interesting, not all guests are
delightful. Working with the public is always a challenge and
a fulltime, long-term B&B requires certain personalities.