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Home, Hope, Home!

Like many towns in Maine, Hope is a place where the “town” is an intersection of two roads.  Don’t blink!  We like it that way here.

The center of Hope is the intersection of Route 105 (at this stretch I think it is called Camden Road) and Hatchet Mtn Road on the left...it is Church St. on the right.

And the heart of Hope is the Hope General Store (gray building on the right, above).  Right next to the General Store is a small shingled building: it houses the school district officers, the town offices, and the library:

The Town Offices, Library and more are in the little building behind my dirty car

Basically, there are three town employees and they all back each other up and do just about everything.  I’m now registered to vote in Hope, and am so glad to be here! Looks like the Library is honor system:  go in, and remember to write down what you want to check out on the way out.  I’ll find out more as soon as I have time to read again!

Looking down the Route 105 (oh yeah...the post office is inside the general store...you can see the sign just to the right of the stop sign); a few miles past this intersection, turn left, then take the second driveway on the left to our house@

EVERYone in the area knows about the Hope General Store.  Manager Andrew originally hails from Scotland (and you can still hear a trace of that wonderful accent), which explains why (YIPPEE!) they have MacVities chocolate digestives (cookies to Americans).  YUM!  Like a good corner grocery it has everything you might need and have forgotten at the in-town shopping:  milk, flour, chips, cookies, bread, wine, sandwiches, toilet paper, beer, munchies, and “Hope is Hip” bumper stickers.  Here’s the front of the store:

The General Store, with good people and good things inside

And saving the best ’til last, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the “round the world” clocks over the door.  From left to right:

Check out the "around the world" clocks above the door....

Here’s the close up:

Hope around the world....the UK, Maine, and Australia!

  • Hope, Darbyshire, England (plus 5 hours),
  • Hope Standard Time, Maine
  • Hope Valley, Australia (plus 13 hours)

Have I recently said I love living in Hope?

 

8 Responses to “Home, Hope, Home!”

  1. Sally Says:

    I’m so glad you’re happy in your new location! Isn’t small, hometown, wonderful? That’s why I love it here in central Pa. Not everyone would share my approval, but I’m glad I’m here and you happy to be glad you’re where you are also. Good for us both.

  2. Debby Harwell Says:

    Oh if weren’t for all that snow, that you know I can’t deal with, I’d move there in a minute! We use to have lots of places like that here in the south, but they are all being swallowed up by big neighborhoods, shopping centers, and businesses! I pray that your little town remains that way for years and years to come! The General Store is priceless!

  3. Jacquie in Vermont Says:

    That is a lovely general store. Love the worn wooden floor. My dad worked in a general store for years and it really was ‘general’! They sold animal feed, wide range of foods; fresh meat and canned goods I know but don’t remember about fruits and veggies. I think most people had their own gardens at that time. As a child I was more interested in the penny candy counter, the cookies in glass fronted bins — Mary Janes and coconut — and the ice cream freezer with only three flavors (vanilla, chocolate and strawberry) that had to be hand dipped — and cones with one scoop cost 5 cents.
    It used to have the post office at one time I think and that was where I would find my dad when I went down at lunchtime when I need a new pencil.
    There were also gas pumps outside, one of the six places one could buy gasoline in our town. Of course we were on a main road, US 2, and got quite a lot of traffic coming and going to Bangor.
    Lots of memories connected with that store but it was completely gone when I visited the town summer before last. At least the library building is still there and the house where I was born but the town has seen a lot of changes over the years. But then don’t they all? And we do too …

  4. Jean from 7700 yahoo group Says:

    mmmm… mcvities!

  5. Maggie Szafranski Says:

    Thanks for the lovely tour of Hope! Interesting that the home town stores got put out of business by the big supermarkets, then replaced by the convenience stores. What goes around comes around! The General Store looks like it has much more character than a 7-11!

  6. nina m. Says:

    It is totally unfair that you have mcvitties chocolate digestives. pouting over here in the corner.
    I drooled when I saw the deli menu at the general store – great sounding sandwiches. I love small towns – but I am so NOT missing that ton of snow,mud and boots.

  7. island threads Says:

    Sarah you sounds so happy in your new home and town/village, it sounds delightful and a really nice place to live and bring up children, I have to smile at the chocy biscuets I can get them on demand and try to resist as they end up on parts of my body I would prefer to be smaller, you have been warned, take care, Frances

  8. Art and Quilting in Camden » Blog Archive » Home, Hope, Home–the post office Says:

    […] entire “post office.”  It is at the back of the General Store (seen in this blogpost).  I was mistaken earlier…it is larger than I thought.  We have a whopping 36 regular post […]