Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 14 : Fall 2012 | Page 58

the county

My Second

HOME
by Lindsey Cochran

I was not born and raised in The County. In fact,
I’m not sure I ever crossed its borders until the summer
of 2002. But even still, this vast stretch of rolling hills and
farmland has permanently etched a place in my heart. Ever
since that first trip, there has always been something about
Aroostook that feels just like coming home.

Of course, I’m not exactly a city girl and there’s a
very good reason why The County feels so homey. I hail from
the coast of Maine often referred to as Downeast. Much
of our ways of life are comparable to the more northern
parts of the state. The pace is slow, much slower than even
the Central region where I now make my home. I spent
much of my childhood taking family camping trips, fishing,
swimming, and playing for hours in the woods around our
very rural home. I would certainly consider the area I grew
up as being wholesome, and I adore all of my childhood
memories of growing up in the country. But even being
home in Downeast doesn’t always hold the same appeal for
me as a trip to The County.

Many of the details of that first trip north are
somewhat faded, but the important ones remain. I was
taking a day trip with my friend Becca, who had decided to
make a college switch and attend the University of Maine
at Presque Isle. The trip was lovely, full of talk and laughter
and pieces of my home state I was excited to see for the
first time. And on that trip I completely fell in love with
the areas around Presque Isle. I loved the little towns that
we drove through, rows of houses with manicured lawns,
not too close together but also not too far apart. I loved
the countryside and the “ruralness” of it all! Even the
college town of Presque Isle, although home to many chain
restaurants and a mall, didn’t feel too large or crowded. We
Maine girls like our space!

There is something about the towns in Aroostook
County that make you feel like you could be in the middle
of the midwest. Those places you see depicted in the movies
where everyone knows everyone, and life is just all around
wholesome. Most of these northern towns really are like that,
58

FALL 2012

except instead of flat fields, corn and high school football,
potato blossoms are the plant of choice, everyone goes nuts
for basketball and flat ground isn’t something easily found.
And while I always considered Downeast to be particularly
slow paced, I feel like things slow down even more once
you cross that County line. The Maine way of life is still
going strong. The fast growth of cities and towns hasn’t yet
affected many places north of Bangor. As I get older and
think more about raising a family myself, I understand the
importance of this even more. How truly blessed we are to
have areas like Downeast and Aroostook where things can
still be simple.

Of course the landscape itself is also a huge reason I
totally fell in love with Aroostook. Everything feels so much
grander there. The trees look bigger, the hills are wider,
even the sky itself looks like it’s breathing easier with so
much space to fill. As many nights as I’ve enjoyed watching
the stars from the lake at home, up in The County, it feels
as though I’m almost able to touch them. The seasons are
even more spectacular because you can literally see for miles
around you, taking in the color of the leaves in fall and
the vast miles of green in the spring and summer. Even the
long, cold Maine winters are a thing of beauty when you see
sparkling snow stretching all the way to the horizon.

It’s been 10 years since Becca made her move.
Throughout my visits during those years I’ve acquired a
circle of friends it feels like I’ve known all my life. I have
a lot of great memories from our college years. Memories
of all the best The County has to offer, lovely lake camps,
bonfires, and country fairs. Even as an adult, my dear friend
has made this beautiful piece of Maine her home. She lives
in Caribou in a house with a beautiful Aroostook view, is
married and raising a baby boy I absolutely adore. And
although it’s sometimes sad to have her hours away, I’m glad
she has found her place and that I forever have a reason
to make the journey north. My trips to The County don’t
always happen as often as I like, but every time they do, I
know I’m home.