South Paris

I grew up in South Paris on a street that changed its name sometime between when I went to college and today. Now I know why.

The Oxford Hills is in the midst of a restaurant resurgence as yet another new place to eat and drink has been announced for the former Paris Farmers Union bulding.

It was a little like that scene in Stand By Me without the fast approaching train.

The former elementary school in South Paris that I spent my first three years of school at is being a converted to elderly housing.

Imagine getting in an accident while driving in the town of South Paris, Maine. Everyone's okay, but later you get billed for the fire department responding.

Perhaps the popularity of this spot stems not from it's size or utility, but from the two-centuries old local folklore of how it earned it's name.

I have a lot of great childhood memories growing up in South Paris, including getting penny candy at the store down the street from my house. Now that store is a barbecue restaurant and by the look of these photos, I need to pay a visit.

I love old photographs and recently I came across a photo from the 1950's showing what the street I grew up on looked like twenty years before I lived there.

In 1922 cars were still a new thing. They were cheap by today's prices, but still $500 was a lot of money. Without an old car to trade in, what did people do?

A few weeks back I wrote about the worst railroad crossing to drive over in Portland which has since gotten some work done. Now the same is about to happen in South Paris.