Friendship Culture
The other day we headed out with our kids and the dog to tap maple trees for syrup, something we had never done before. We were at the edge of our woods by the road, when an older man pulled up in a very old pick up truck. It was rusted in places, one of the fenders was a different color from the body. He rolled down his window and said, “Hey, you’re tapping a spruce.” Then he laughed and said, “No, that’s definitely a maple, I can’t tell if it’s a sugar or a black. And that looks like another good maple over there.” We chatted. I asked him if he lived on Wadsworth Point. He said, no, he lives near the center of town. I didn’t ask why he was driving by. Perhaps he was going to do some work. Perhaps, as we have seen others do, he was going down to the town landing just to admire the view. He said he was planning to tap trees too. He gave us some advice, like put the tap the side of the tree that faces the sun. We thanked him, and he drove off.
About 10 minutes later, he came back the other way, and held out a carton of eggs. “Make these for the kids for breakfast. Sorry, it’s not quite a dozen. The eggs are different colors because of the hens”. We gratefully accepted the gift and chatted a little more. He said he had a granddaughter about the age of our youngest. And then he drove off.
That little interaction exemplifies what we have experienced of the culture here in Friendship. Over and over, people have met us with simple kindness and generosity. Lobsterman have bought our girls candy at the check out of Wallace’s General store. A neighbor volunteered to give our daughter horseback riding lessons, and in the process became a dear friend. We had a minor accident on a snowy morning and at least a dozen people stopped to make sure we were OK.
When we told our Camden-based real estate agent that we were considering buying a farm in Friendship, she said, “Friendship? You don’t want to go there. No one will bring a pie to your door”. True. They just stop by and offer free advice on how to tap maple trees and hand us not quite a dozen farm fresh eggs. Yet another reason we love this place.
Steve
(PS. To be fair, once our real estate agent understood what we wanted, she also went kindly out of her way to help make it happen!)