By Mary Crawford
Nine 4-H teens and three chaperones recently visited the East Coast state of Maine through another 4-H exchange.
The group spent eight days visiting Oxford County and soon realized the similarities to their home state of Minnesota, even from more than 1,600 miles away.
The purpose of the 4-H teen exchange is to develop career awareness, promote cultural diversity, view another part of our country and to make new friends.
Rock County has participated in exchange programs for at least 30 years. This year delegates from all over Rock County traveled to Maine, and next year they will be hosts for their new-found friends.
The week was filled with excitement in anticipation of several taking their first airplane rides, although not all were enjoyable.
Arriving in Portland, Maine's largest city of around 120,000 people, they were greeted with open arms on the first leg of this two-year exchange.
A short, historic scenic drive viewing the beautiful brick buildings through the city brought us to the ocean with our first view of Port Head Light - one of the oldest and most scenic lighthouses (since 1791) still operating in Maine.
The beautiful jagged coastline was lined with lobster buoys of various colors.
After a picnic lunch on the grass, the Minnesota members were escorted to their respective homes in this large county for a time of getting acquainted with their families.
Various group activities were planned throughout the week, as well as free days to spend with their host families. Maine is composed of 90 percent trees and many lakes - very much like northern Minnesota - and boasts of an abundance of loons as well as maple syrup.
The weather was quite pleasant, and we avoided the high humidity that we have had in southern Minnesota.
Horticulture is extremely popular in the state as large, beautiful hanging baskets and window boxes adorn most homes as well as businesses and give a nice touch of beauty, very healthy and well attended. Many summer visitors arrive in July and stay for the fall color of the leaves in September and October.
One of the most difficult and confusing differences for the Rock County group were the very curvy narrow highways without shoulders which went on and on and on. Driving from one small town to another you don't realize where you are or the miles driven. This often produced nausea for a few of the square-milers from Minnesota. Without mile markers anywhere, travel was measured in minutes at a much slower speed.
Gravel roads, if any, were out of reach or maybe just out of sight.
Maine's main agriculture crop is potatoes. They are primarily produced in the extreme northwest part of the state which is quite uninhabited. Many from the group did not see any corn or soybean fields and only one small herd of 10 cows. However, livestock is very much a part of the 4-H program in Maine as well.
Most of the people live along the Atlantic coastline and the southern part of the state. The laid-back attitude of the Maine folk produce an accent such as "lobstah" and how "fa" are we going! They tend to forget their "Rs" - so an attentive ear for listening was required.
Their motto: "Maine - the way life should be."
Some of the various activities during the week, both fun and educational, included a huge fireworks display over the river at Rumford, a lobster feed requiring the Minnesota visitors to wear plastic lobster bibs, a visit to Maine state museum and Fort Western in Augusta, outlet shopping at Freeport, a relaxing cruise on Casco Bay, canoeing on the Androscoggin River, FunTown, more shopping, an old covered bridge, Snowshoe Falls, and other activities with the respective families.
It was a fun and busy week. With everyone short on sleep, the group was ready to leave for home to develop their photos and begin planning for next year's visit with their new-found friends, the "Mainiacs."
Supporting the "Popstop" at the Rock County Fair contributes to the expense of traveling and hosting. Any donations are greatly appreciated, as well as other work opportunities for the group.