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Last week at this time, we had just set up the RiverVision bivouac on Main Street, and I was signing books for the first wave of pre-parade Moxietown buyers. It seems like it was a month ago, rather than a week. My fame foray was brief, but I'm grateful for a run slightly longer than the usual 15 minutes.
Yesterday, I had workforce business that took me into the CareerCenter, located in Portland's Bayside neighborhood. For years, my work life evolved around Portland. With my work now centered in Central/Western Maine, I rarely find myself headed south (more often north and west). Portland is a great city. Small enough that it doesn't have many of the assorted negatives of most larger urban enclaves, but vibrant as hell, much more so than comparable cities most other places. It's got art, bookstores, music, great restaurants, and Tommy's Park at noontime is alway fun.
I had the chance to work some RiverVision stops in, getting the new book into indie booksellers, Books Etc. on Exchange Street, and Chris Bowe's wonderful Longfellow Books. Also had a chance to have lunch with Ari Meil, who did the great layout and design work for Moxietown. Ari's one of independent publishing's bright lights. His Warren Machine Company continues to grow its catalog, and Ari is about all the right things, including helping other publishers move their operations forward. We talked about some exciting collaborative possibilities that you'll be hearing more about in this space, in the future.
Lately, I've been thinking about where my life has landed, and how it seems like so many formerly random, or disparate areas are all coming together. For someone that spent his first 40 years trying to figure life out with very limited success, the past five years and particularly the last 24 months have been amazing, as well as personally empowering.
A case in point--Thursday, I met with a young man that is involved with The Caleb Foundation, which manages a variety of public housing, included complexes in Lewiston. Because of the demographic and racial makeup of his residents, we agreed to grab lunch and talk about WorkReady, and other matters related to workforce development.
While we certainly have areas where there is potential to partner on the workforce end, our conversation revealed mutual interests in baseball, books, music, and of all things, religion/theology. He gave me a CD of a band that he thought I'd like. They are Beverly, Mass.-based Caspian. I've had it in my CD player almost non-stop since Thursday, soaking in their post-rock bliss.
While Portland is amazing, and Maine's hub for entertainment and culture, the state's largest city isn't the only place where Mainers have the opportunity to access culture.
Waterville has been hosting the Maine International Film Festival for the 11th straight year. MIFF's been showing great indie films for the past week at various venues in Waterville. Tonight, my better half and I are going to catch Skills Like This.
Summer in Maine is too short, and I'm finally taking a brief respite between books to enjoy some of the events.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Post-Moxie musings
Back in January, when I began working on what I thought was a book about growing up in a small Maine town, I never knew I'd get detoured by Moxie, and how much fun that rabbit trail would end up being. Moxie is one of America's unique consumer products, and one I'm proud to have been able to have a hand in updating its story.
At the start, my intention was to have a full-length book out in time for the fall. Once I began working on the Moxie angle, and discovering a new chapter to add every couple of weeks, it became obvious that I had a stand along book, based on the bitter soft drink with a devoted following. The challenge then became, can I get it out in time for the Moxie Festival? We know now that the train made it to the station on time.
Small press publishing isn't glamorous. It's long hours working in obscurity to craft books that sell 500, 1,000, and like my first one, close to 2,000, which is true success in the world that RiverVision Press inhabits.
Moxietown came out like it was shot from a cannon. Before the book was released, I had pre-sold nearly 100 copies. The past week, we've moved close to 300 units.
It's been a crazy couple of weeks since I picked up my books at Walch Printing, part of Walch Education, a Maine company with a big reputation in educational products. I'm pleased that I found a Maine-based printer to do business with. They were recommended by friend and fellow publisher, Ari Meil. Ari's tip was a godsend as the price was great and the service outstanding.
Friday night, signing books at Frank's, and then, after a turkey supper at the Masonic Lodge, being greeted like a returning hero at the Lisbon Historical Society was gratifying.
Saturday, bright skies, and large crowds had our small RiverVision team hopping all day, selling books from about 8:30 am, to after 3:00 pm. At times, the line in front of our table was 10-12 deep. For one day, I got to experience what it might be like to be a semi-famous B-Movie star. You don't write the kind of books I write for fame and adulation, but when people clamor for your autograph, and want to take you picture to add to their stable of photos of famous authors, you're more than happy to oblige, even if you're lacking the qualifications for fame.
Heartfelt thanks to the great people of my hometown of Lisbon Falls. You provided a place where I could firmly put down roots, and you helped implant a love for people's stories, and the special qualities that characterize small communities. People and place is what I write about, and the place it originates from is Lisbon Falls, and the people I keep close to my heart are the people I grew up with. The town has some issues with outsiders, and people that are from town, but prefer to exploit the people of the town, rather than work towards benefiting them. That's troubling to me.
Still, I'm optimistic that things will turn out ok. Good people find a way to have good things prevail. While I don't live inside the borders of Lisbon any longer, I'm just across the river, watching, willing to lend a hand, and thankful for that special place where I was born.
In closing, I want to recognize the work that Sue Conroy did once again, along with her son Toby, making the festival happen again, for the 25th (or 26th)time. If Frank Anicetti is the Mayor of Moxietown, then Sue is the First Lieutenant, or as I prefer, the Moxie Queen. She's become a friend, and someone I respect for what she gives back to her community. Some of the scoundrels, looking to pad their own pockets, or practice old-fashioned cronyism could learn a thing or two from Sue and Toby.
It's been a fun ride, and Moxietown was just a preview. The full-length will provide a better picture of Lisbon, and the qualities that I think are important for the future success of small communities everywhere.
At the start, my intention was to have a full-length book out in time for the fall. Once I began working on the Moxie angle, and discovering a new chapter to add every couple of weeks, it became obvious that I had a stand along book, based on the bitter soft drink with a devoted following. The challenge then became, can I get it out in time for the Moxie Festival? We know now that the train made it to the station on time.
Small press publishing isn't glamorous. It's long hours working in obscurity to craft books that sell 500, 1,000, and like my first one, close to 2,000, which is true success in the world that RiverVision Press inhabits.
Moxietown came out like it was shot from a cannon. Before the book was released, I had pre-sold nearly 100 copies. The past week, we've moved close to 300 units.
It's been a crazy couple of weeks since I picked up my books at Walch Printing, part of Walch Education, a Maine company with a big reputation in educational products. I'm pleased that I found a Maine-based printer to do business with. They were recommended by friend and fellow publisher, Ari Meil. Ari's tip was a godsend as the price was great and the service outstanding.
Friday night, signing books at Frank's, and then, after a turkey supper at the Masonic Lodge, being greeted like a returning hero at the Lisbon Historical Society was gratifying.
Saturday, bright skies, and large crowds had our small RiverVision team hopping all day, selling books from about 8:30 am, to after 3:00 pm. At times, the line in front of our table was 10-12 deep. For one day, I got to experience what it might be like to be a semi-famous B-Movie star. You don't write the kind of books I write for fame and adulation, but when people clamor for your autograph, and want to take you picture to add to their stable of photos of famous authors, you're more than happy to oblige, even if you're lacking the qualifications for fame.
Heartfelt thanks to the great people of my hometown of Lisbon Falls. You provided a place where I could firmly put down roots, and you helped implant a love for people's stories, and the special qualities that characterize small communities. People and place is what I write about, and the place it originates from is Lisbon Falls, and the people I keep close to my heart are the people I grew up with. The town has some issues with outsiders, and people that are from town, but prefer to exploit the people of the town, rather than work towards benefiting them. That's troubling to me.
Still, I'm optimistic that things will turn out ok. Good people find a way to have good things prevail. While I don't live inside the borders of Lisbon any longer, I'm just across the river, watching, willing to lend a hand, and thankful for that special place where I was born.
In closing, I want to recognize the work that Sue Conroy did once again, along with her son Toby, making the festival happen again, for the 25th (or 26th)time. If Frank Anicetti is the Mayor of Moxietown, then Sue is the First Lieutenant, or as I prefer, the Moxie Queen. She's become a friend, and someone I respect for what she gives back to her community. Some of the scoundrels, looking to pad their own pockets, or practice old-fashioned cronyism could learn a thing or two from Sue and Toby.
It's been a fun ride, and Moxietown was just a preview. The full-length will provide a better picture of Lisbon, and the qualities that I think are important for the future success of small communities everywhere.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Moxie Fest 2008-The Silver Anniversary
No one knows for sure when Lisbon Falls became the hub of the Moxie universe. As with any subject lacking canonical authorization, conjecture becomes commonplace and verification of authenticity is more difficult.
When I left Maine in 1982, for greener pastures, only to return for better opportunities in 1987, the town had somehow become part of the story arc and epicenter of Moxie’s unanticipated resurgence.
Oddly enough, Frank Anicetti (one of Lisbon’s more colorful characters), had become the mayor of Moxietown, with his Kennebec Fruit Company (or “Kennebec’s” to the locals) serving as the world headquarters of a burgeoning movement of people that genuflected at the altar of a product, whose heyday had been the early 20th century.
When I was a kid, Kennebec’s was the place to go if you wanted to load up on an assortment of penny candy. Anicetti, a collector of the arcane, in the truest sense, also had acquired a reputation locally for stocking the bitter concoction, laced with gentian root, known as Moxie. As a youngster, I remember Kennebec’s being jointly run by father and son, both named Frank.
The Anicetti’s store has always held a timeless quality for me and many others that have ventured inside the store with yellow panels, and green trim. Entering the place from Main Street is the equivalent of modern time travel. A visitor is able to walk backwards, down that corridor of time, to an era befitting pre-WWII. The worn floor boards, the various bottles of antique Coca-Cola lining shelves near the ceiling, with hand-lettered 3 X 5 cards, inserted like flags, indicating the part of the world and time period where they were from. The vintage countertop and old-fashioned fountain, are like nothing you’d see in the 21st century. In fact, Kennebec’s seemed strangely out of place, even during the early 1970s, when my friends and I used to ride our bikes downtown, to chug a mug of root beer (an Anicetti family recipe) and buy 25 cents worth of penny candy like Hot Balls, Zotz, and other chemically-enhanced and sugar-saturated candy derivatives.
The Kennebec Fruit Company, was founded by Frank’s Italian immigrant grandfather, who brought his knowledge of fruit vending to America and Lisbon Falls, parlaying that skill into a successful business. Later, his father, would take over the business and eventually, young Frank fell into the business, a 75-year-old tradition, which he’s continued into the new century.
While some locals cast sidelong glances when discussions originate about Anicetti and his current exalted status with Moxie aficionados from away, the popularity of his store and his own personal magnetism is obvious during each summer’s annual festival celebrating the soft drink, which seems to grow every year. Now, over 20,000 people flock to Lisbon Falls the second Saturday each July, for no other reason than to watch the Moxie parade and congregate on Main Street afterwards to sample Anicetti’s Moxie ice cream, watch Moxie-chuggin’ contests, listen to music, and watch the fireman’s muster.
[Excerpt about the New England Moxie Congress, from Moxietown, by Jim Baumer, ©2008 (RiverVision Press)]
It’s been a quarter of a century since Frank Potter first came to Lisbon Falls to sign some books for fans, at Frank Anicetti’s Kennebec Fruit Company.
Potter, the author of The Moxie Mystique, had come to the sleepy Central Maine town at the behest of Anicetti, who was a fan of Moxie. Because of his love of the drink, and its history, Anicetti had struck up a correspondence with Potter by mail (remember, this was pre-Internet, when people used to write to one another).
Potter’s book was the first one to define the magic of Moxie, and help explain why this regional soft drink, which no longer was marketed or advertised, had enough staying power to survive in a world that was now dominated by multi-national corporations. Even better, the drink had a rabid enough following that when Potter came to Kennebec’s in 1982 for his first signing, several hundred fans showed up to meet him and pick up a book about Moxie.
[Moxietown author, and Moxie Boy, Jim Jansson]
[The Mayor of Moxietown, and Maine humah-ist, Gary Crocker, swap stories during the parade]
[Sentiments for troubled times]
[The parade's winning float]
[The RiverVision Press crew mucking for the camera]
When I left Maine in 1982, for greener pastures, only to return for better opportunities in 1987, the town had somehow become part of the story arc and epicenter of Moxie’s unanticipated resurgence.
Oddly enough, Frank Anicetti (one of Lisbon’s more colorful characters), had become the mayor of Moxietown, with his Kennebec Fruit Company (or “Kennebec’s” to the locals) serving as the world headquarters of a burgeoning movement of people that genuflected at the altar of a product, whose heyday had been the early 20th century.
When I was a kid, Kennebec’s was the place to go if you wanted to load up on an assortment of penny candy. Anicetti, a collector of the arcane, in the truest sense, also had acquired a reputation locally for stocking the bitter concoction, laced with gentian root, known as Moxie. As a youngster, I remember Kennebec’s being jointly run by father and son, both named Frank.
The Anicetti’s store has always held a timeless quality for me and many others that have ventured inside the store with yellow panels, and green trim. Entering the place from Main Street is the equivalent of modern time travel. A visitor is able to walk backwards, down that corridor of time, to an era befitting pre-WWII. The worn floor boards, the various bottles of antique Coca-Cola lining shelves near the ceiling, with hand-lettered 3 X 5 cards, inserted like flags, indicating the part of the world and time period where they were from. The vintage countertop and old-fashioned fountain, are like nothing you’d see in the 21st century. In fact, Kennebec’s seemed strangely out of place, even during the early 1970s, when my friends and I used to ride our bikes downtown, to chug a mug of root beer (an Anicetti family recipe) and buy 25 cents worth of penny candy like Hot Balls, Zotz, and other chemically-enhanced and sugar-saturated candy derivatives.
The Kennebec Fruit Company, was founded by Frank’s Italian immigrant grandfather, who brought his knowledge of fruit vending to America and Lisbon Falls, parlaying that skill into a successful business. Later, his father, would take over the business and eventually, young Frank fell into the business, a 75-year-old tradition, which he’s continued into the new century.
While some locals cast sidelong glances when discussions originate about Anicetti and his current exalted status with Moxie aficionados from away, the popularity of his store and his own personal magnetism is obvious during each summer’s annual festival celebrating the soft drink, which seems to grow every year. Now, over 20,000 people flock to Lisbon Falls the second Saturday each July, for no other reason than to watch the Moxie parade and congregate on Main Street afterwards to sample Anicetti’s Moxie ice cream, watch Moxie-chuggin’ contests, listen to music, and watch the fireman’s muster.
[Excerpt about the New England Moxie Congress, from Moxietown, by Jim Baumer, ©2008 (RiverVision Press)]
It’s been a quarter of a century since Frank Potter first came to Lisbon Falls to sign some books for fans, at Frank Anicetti’s Kennebec Fruit Company.
Potter, the author of The Moxie Mystique, had come to the sleepy Central Maine town at the behest of Anicetti, who was a fan of Moxie. Because of his love of the drink, and its history, Anicetti had struck up a correspondence with Potter by mail (remember, this was pre-Internet, when people used to write to one another).
Potter’s book was the first one to define the magic of Moxie, and help explain why this regional soft drink, which no longer was marketed or advertised, had enough staying power to survive in a world that was now dominated by multi-national corporations. Even better, the drink had a rabid enough following that when Potter came to Kennebec’s in 1982 for his first signing, several hundred fans showed up to meet him and pick up a book about Moxie.
[Moxietown author, and Moxie Boy, Jim Jansson]That signing was the start of the Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls, and Saturday, the town celebrated its Silver Anniversary, commemorating 25 years of the festival, and its ties to the bitter soft drink that could kindly be called an acquired taste. Better, Moxie elicits a strong reaction. It seems that people either swear by it as their drink of choice, or think it’s the worst tasting liquid they’ve ever imbibed. One thing is a surety about Moxie—opinions are never neutral about the soft drink.
Now there are probably math majors, and other detail freaks that are reading this and have done the calculations and right now, you’re scratching your heads thinking, “if Potter’s 1982 book signing was the beginning, why is Lisbon Falls celebrating 25 years of festivals. Shouldn’t this be 26?” You would be correct on most calculations of this type, but in this instance, you have to know some of the history.
The Potter story was first told to me by Anicetti, back in 2004, when I was first ferreting out local details about Moxie and the town’s festival. I had been recruited to help the festival committee with PR and marketing, and as part of that duty, I was going to freelance several articles to local newspapers, leading up to, and detailing the annual festival that attracts 20,000 to 30,000 to the town, every second weekend in July.
[The Mayor of Moxietown, and Maine humah-ist, Gary Crocker, swap stories during the parade]
[Sentiments for troubled times]As a local, I had come to the festival most years, since its inception, and even before, when the town celebrated Frontier Days. Despite being a regular, and someone that keeps up on the happenings of his place of birth, I realized I didn’t know the history of the festival’s beginnings. Neither did anyone else in town, save Anicetti, and possibly one, or two others.
In early 2008, I decided it was high time that I get busy on a follow-up book to my first one, When Towns Had Teams. Since small towns have always been of interest to me, and since there was no small town I knew better than Lisbon Falls, I thought the community might be a good subject for a new book, one that was part memoir, local history, and I would soon find out, Moxie.
After a couple of preliminary interviews about various aspects of the town, I interviewed Anicetti, on a rainy President’s Day, in February. After this interview, which touched on the Potter book signing, the town’s connection to Moxie, and other details about the annual festival, I was now detoured from my original intent. What began as a plan for one or two chapters in my full length (Moxie Matters: Life’s Beginnings in a Small Maine Town, which is still planned for the fall), detoured into seven chapters of Moxie and Lisbon Falls, and I knew I had a stand alone book. Then, it became a mad dash to see if I could have it out in time for the festival in July.
Moxietown has been well-received. Having it ready for the Moxie Festival was well worth the intense craziness of the past five months. On Friday, signing books in the exact location of Potter’s original signing, with a line snaking back through Anicetti’s Moxie Store (the original Kennebec Fruit Company) helped me to realize that I had tapped history, and was helping to add my own touches to a story that was now over a century old.
Saturday morning, set up on Main Street, right next to parade-goers and others, looking for Moxie t-shirts, or to sample Moxie Ice Cream at Anicetti’s store, RiverVision’s booth generated its own traffic and lines. The author signed books, talked to people from near and far and when it was all finished, sold over 250 books. There were times on Friday and Saturday, when this little-known author, who writes about the Maine that he loves, got a sense, at least for a brief time, what it might be like to be a best-selling author. Even better than that, he was supported by his family, and the good people of the town that helped him along life’s journeys.
The festival’s over. Moxie fans will have to wait until next year for a taste of Moxie Ice Cream, Moxie Chuggin’ Contests, and Maine’s largest summer parade. Attendees that picked up Moxietown now know the real story behind the festival, and why Moxie and Lisbon Falls are intertwined. They also will learn about another great group of people that sometimes are forgotten, but play a central role in Moxie’s perpetuity, The New England Moxie Congress.
It been a terrific weekend up to this point, and today, it’s party time, as I get a chance to finally kick back. We’re having friends and family over to the compound for a cookout and post-Moxie party, and I’ll have a chance to enjoy myself a bit, and maybe even reflect on the roller coaster ride that’s been my life the past several months, getting another book out.
[The parade's winning float]
[The RiverVision Press crew mucking for the camera]
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Moxie in ME-Day 1/Moody's Diner
Moxie has its own history, books about its beginnings, and even a law, recognizing it as Maine’s official soft drink. With all that, Moxie certainly has to have a band of zealots and fans—the drink’s official fan club. Enter the New England Moxie Congress (NEMC).
The NEMC, or The Congress, for short, officially held their first meeting in July, 1991. They began as a small group of Moxie drinkers (and some that weren’t) that were interested in the phenomenon that was Moxie.
According to Congress historian, John Lehaney, “We’re a fairly diverse group.” Lehaney, a retired community college counselor, who lives in Missouri, travels back to New England every summer, in July, to attend the variety of Moxie events that happen each year.
Like many of the Congress, Lehaney’s passionate about Moxie and has taken it upon himself to compile a four volume history of the Congress, housed at the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage, in Union, Maine, which is where visitors will find a sizable collection of Moxie memorabilia and other assorted Moxie-related items, including the Moxie Bottle House.
[Excerpt about the New England Moxie Congress, from Moxietown, by Jim Baumer, ©2008 (RiverVision Press)]
I was invited by the New England Moxie Congress to participate at their 3rd annual Moxie Day, at one of Maine's iconic roadside diners, Moody's Diner, in Waldoboro.
This day signifies the arrival of The Congress in Maine, as they begin four days of events, which will included Saturday's Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls.
Congress President, Merrill Lewis, has been an advocate of Moxietown, promoting it via the group's website, and offering RiverVision Press table space today to sell books at Moody's. I interviewed Lewis for the new book, and have found him to be gracious, accomodating, as well as a tireless promoter of the work of The Congress, and of Moxie.
We had a great day at Moody's, and were treated like royalty by both the NEMC, as well as Mary Olson, of Moody's.
It was a banner day, and a great preparation for tomorrow's book signing at Frank Anicetti's Moxie Store.
[Nothing beats a stop at Moody's Diner]
The NEMC, or The Congress, for short, officially held their first meeting in July, 1991. They began as a small group of Moxie drinkers (and some that weren’t) that were interested in the phenomenon that was Moxie.
According to Congress historian, John Lehaney, “We’re a fairly diverse group.” Lehaney, a retired community college counselor, who lives in Missouri, travels back to New England every summer, in July, to attend the variety of Moxie events that happen each year.
Like many of the Congress, Lehaney’s passionate about Moxie and has taken it upon himself to compile a four volume history of the Congress, housed at the Matthews Museum of Maine Heritage, in Union, Maine, which is where visitors will find a sizable collection of Moxie memorabilia and other assorted Moxie-related items, including the Moxie Bottle House.
[Excerpt about the New England Moxie Congress, from Moxietown, by Jim Baumer, ©2008 (RiverVision Press)]
I was invited by the New England Moxie Congress to participate at their 3rd annual Moxie Day, at one of Maine's iconic roadside diners, Moody's Diner, in Waldoboro.
This day signifies the arrival of The Congress in Maine, as they begin four days of events, which will included Saturday's Moxie Festival in Lisbon Falls.
Congress President, Merrill Lewis, has been an advocate of Moxietown, promoting it via the group's website, and offering RiverVision Press table space today to sell books at Moody's. I interviewed Lewis for the new book, and have found him to be gracious, accomodating, as well as a tireless promoter of the work of The Congress, and of Moxie.
We had a great day at Moody's, and were treated like royalty by both the NEMC, as well as Mary Olson, of Moody's.
It was a banner day, and a great preparation for tomorrow's book signing at Frank Anicetti's Moxie Store.
[Nothing beats a stop at Moody's Diner]
[Right turn for Moxie]
[Wil Markey's Moxie Horsemobile, parked by the Moody's Gift Shop]
[Wil Markey's organ, originally built for the 1939 World's Fair]
[Don Worthen (former NEMC Prez), and Merrill Lewis, NEMC's current commander-in-chief]
While today was an all around great day, one of my favorite parts, was meeting the amazing Wil Markey, who has built several Horsemobile replicas.
Built on a LaSalle chassis, these classic automobiles allow them to be driven, while seated upon the horse mold, mounted in the center of the vehicle.
A member of America's greatest generation, Markey is a dynamo of activity, and is always eager to share a story about a horsemobile, vintage organ, of some aspect of an amazing life.
Back at you Friday, from Lisbon Falls, Moxie capital of Maine.
Moxie madness begins
I'm off to Moody's Diner, in Waldoboro, to bivouac with the New England Moxie Congress. We'll be invading the parking area, and occupying it most of the day.This is my first Moody's experience with the Congress, so I'm not sure what to expect. Hoping to sell books and possibly see Jimm E's new alternative fuel vehicle, powered by Moxie (you can have your wind Mr. Pickens, make my alternative, Moxie!).
Last night, had the opportunity to watch my 207 segment. The feedback from the jury is that I acquitted myself well.
After spending the day at Moody's, it's on to Lisbon Falls, Friday and Saturday, and then, Sunday, we're holding our own RVP, post-Moxie bash at the compound.
Drink Moxie!!
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