Roland Raubeson has spent most of this miserable winter in Florida, but at the end of the month he’ll be back in Maine to brave the snow and cold.

Of course he’ll be back. Raubeson, of Minot, will be the host of a party to celebrate the airing of a new History Channel television show in which he takes center stage.

It’s called “Down East Dickering” and the write-up goes like this: “In Down East Maine, a group of colorful locals known as ‘dickerers’ live on their own terms — no time clocks, no bosses, no rules. How? By scouring Uncle Henry’s — a local magazine filled with classified ads — and wheeling and dealing their way through its pages of odd jobs, crazy barters, offbeat goods and other jaw-dropping ways to make a quick buck.”

Enter Raubeson, who goes by the name of Yummy. For several months in 2013, Raubeson and his cronies were followed around by cameras everywhere they went.

“They filmed me all summer,” Raubeson said. “We had a blast with those guys. It was just a lot of fun. They got on my nerves once in a while, but I’d tell them what’s what and they listened.”

The show, an eight-part series, premieres at 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 2. Here’s more about it from a History Channel news release:

“For dickering pros Tony, Clint, Yummy and the rest of their gang, opportunity knocks every Thursday when their ‘bible’ — the latest issue of Uncle Henry’s — is published. A dickerer’s currency can be made up of anything from a bucket of hubcaps to a bushel of pears, and every dickerer worth his salt is an expert haggler who knows how to spot a deal. As long as they can get their hands on something that needs fixing, swapping, or selling, the dickerers can use their skills and a hard day’s work to fuel their freewheeling lifestyle. Each has a different strategy, but all have the same goal: spend a little, make a lot, and do it before the next guy.”

The History Channel has its way of promoting the show; Yummy has his own. The day of the show, Raubeson and Co. will be at the Ramada Inn in Lewiston watching on a big-screen TV. They’ll be giving away prizes and jamming to a deejay hired for the event.

“I know there are going to be three or four hundred people there,” Raubeson said. “Maybe more. It’s going to be a hell of a big party.”

Raubeson’s son Mitchell was also part of the summer of filming and will be at the premiere bash. Raubeson says the show is pure Down East reality and that the dickering featured is 100 percent authentic.

“What I do is real,” he said. “There’s no script for that.”

The show, according to the news release, “follows four groups of New Englanders for whom dickering is a way of life. Whether it’s building a bridge, climbing a bell tower or officiating a wedding, they’ll do whatever it takes to make a few bucks so they can enjoy life on their own terms.”

Copy the Story Link