Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 16 : Spring 2013 | Page 22

Empowering Life:
Friends of Aroostook
by Jane Margesson

AARP Maine Communications Director
Above photo: Friends of Aroostook Volunteers in Augusta
Oppostive page: A Caribou Meeting

Many of us enjoy volunteering. Giving back to others
through community work, individual projects or general
acts of kindness are integral to the human spirit. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., in fact, believed that acts of service are
what make us human. “Everybody can be great,” he said,
“because anybody can serve.” Sometimes, the inspiration
and opportunity to give back can come from unexpected
circumstances. Such is the case for one man who has made
an extraordinary difference in the lives of others through his
love, and mastery, of growing vegetables.

it? “That was a red flag for us,” explains Dale Flewelling,
who was at the Center when the call came in. “Why was a
Portland agency calling Houlton to connect us with a farm
in nearby Benedicta? It showed us that there was very poor
communication in the state about what food was available
and where it was needed.”
A lifelong resident of Houlton in Aroostook County, Dale
Flewelling had sold his popular transmission shop to his son
a few years before and, after 35 years in the business, was
ready for his next adventure. That phone call connected him
with the Benedicta farmer, Leo McAvoy. After recruiting five
other volunteers, Dale harvested 3,600 ears of Leo’s corn in
two days and donated it all to Aroostook food pantries.

It all started with a phone call. The Empowering Life Center
in Houlton received a phone call from a community agency
in Portland. A farmer in Benedicta, South Aroostook,
was willing to donate several acres of corn to anyone in
the area who could harvest the produce. Did the Center From these seemingly humble beginnings in 2008, “Friends
know of anyone who wanted the corn and could harvest of Aroostook” (FOA) was born.
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SPRING 2013