Pitchforks. Monsters. Redheads. World records.

It’s all here.

This year’s 9th annual Maine Summer Road Trip Quiz is another chance to learn fun, sometimes obscure Maine trivia, then travel to check out the places and people that make the state so great.

Just when you think you know Maine — nope. There’s so much more.

Colburn Shoe Store’s shop logo. Submitted image

1. Let’s start with a little light shoe shopping. Belfast’s Colburn Shoe Store is famous for:

a) Hand-stitching George Washington’s inaugural dress boots in 1789.

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b) A circus elephant storming through its front windows in 1908 — and owners having the good humor after to add the elephant to its store logo.

c) Being the oldest shoe store in the country, now under fifth-generation ownership.

Wyman’s new Bee Wild Mobile. Submitted photo

2. Which of the below is NOT true about Wyman’s new Bee Wild Mobile:

a) Measured in wild blueberries, the truck is 610 blueberries long and 305 blueberries tall.

b) There are 147 Maine animals hidden in the truck’s graphics, one for each year Wyman’s has been in business.

c) It has two drivers, one of whom used to drive the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. The other drove Planters’ NUTMobile.

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3. On Main Street in Rangeley, you’ll find a sign marking the former home of Doc Grant’s Restaurant. What, according to the sign, made the restaurant famous?

a) It was halfway between the North Pole and the equator — 3,107 miles in either direction.

b) During prohibition, it served the most alcohol of any restaurant in the United States without being busted once.

c) Doc Grant was slated to be the first man on the moon before losing a side bet to Neil Armstrong. He opened a restaurant in Rangeley instead.

Actresses Katharine Hepburn, left, Bette Davis and Sophia Loren. Public domain images

4. What future Academy Award Best Actress winner was the first female lifeguard on Ogunquit Beach?

a) Katharine Hepburn

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b) Bette Davis

c) Sophia Loren

5. True or false: Maine has an official state sweetener.

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6. Brrrrr! Last April, members of the Northern Maine Ice Busters set out to break what world record?

a) The world’s largest ice carousel, freeing up and then spinning a 1,234-foot circle of ice.

b) The world’s largest synchronized snowmobile event, lining up 1,234 snowmobiles then gunning it around a frozen, 20-mile loop.

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c) The world’s largest group doggy paddle in ice, stripping en masse and jumping into Long Lake for 1,234 seconds.

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7. U.S. Route 1, ever-busy with visitors in the summer, ends in Key West, Florida. But where in Maine does it start?

a) Crystal Falls — home of Crystal Lake, inspiration for the “Friday the 13th” franchise.

b) Jackman — fabled birthplace of Paul Bunyan.

c) Fort Kent — home of repeated attempts to make the world’s largest ploye.

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8. Ahoy! The first naval battle of the American Revolution took place:

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a) Off the banks of Machias, fought with pitchforks.

b) Off the banks of the Androscoggin, when locals attacked British vacationers headed up river.

c) Off present-day Reid State Park, where you can still see the remains of the battle at low tide.

9. If all of the states were gathered in a 2021 yearbook, what superlative would apply to Maine?

a) The most natural redheads in the country.

b) The most forested state in the country.

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c) The most pre-1990 vehicles on the road in the country.

10. Finally, Hog Island Press’s “Monsters in America: A Cryptozoological Map of the United States, Volume 2” places what cryptid creature in Maine?

a) The Specter Moose

b) Cassie the Sea Monster

c) The Snarly Yow

ANSWERS

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1. What is Belfast’s Colburn Shoe Store famous for?

c) Being the oldest shoe store in the country! The store was founded by W.T. Colburn in 1832 and stayed in the Colburn family for 90 years before being sold to Colby Horne’s great-great uncle, a shop employee. Horne is now the fifth generation of his family to helm the store. It’s been at 79 Main St. since 1905.

Now go: You’re clearly Belfast-bound! After saying hi to Horne, check out the Belfast Harbor Fest and Classic Boat Show, which includes a boat building challenge, Aug. 13-15, or the Heritage Bread Festival, Aug. 18-19.

Amanda Boyd, left, and Erin Sastre, Wyman’s Bee Wild Mobile drivers. Submitted photo

2. Which was NOT true about Wyman’s new Bee Wild Mobile?

b) There are 147 Maine animals hidden in the truck’s graphics, one for each year Wyman’s has been in business. Wyman’s has been in business since 1874, but alas, there are only four native Maine animals in the graphics.

The truck measures 610 wild blueberries long and 305 tall and, improbably, driver Amanda Boyd did formerly take the wheel of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and Erin Sastre the Planters’ NUTMobile, which is yes, nuts.

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Now go: Find the Bee Wild Mobile at a plethora of wild blueberry events in the next month, including in Wiscasset, Hope and Union, or make a day trip to Down East and soak in the beauty of the blueberry barrens this fall.

You’ll find the former Doc Grant’s Restaurant sign on Main Street in Rangeley today with a most unusual claim to fame. Photo courtesy Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce

3. What was notable about Doc Grant’s Restaurant on Main Street in Rangeley?

a) It was halfway between the North Pole and the equator — 3,107 miles in either direction, according to the still-standing sign. Local chamber staff said the spot was a restaurant and bar that “was there for a long time, but it’s been not there for a long time, too.”

Now go: The Western Maine mountains are beautiful about any time of year. Grab a fishing pole to find a new favorite spot on Rangeley Lake or hit Mt. Blue State Park on the drive up and enjoy an Evening Owl Prowl or other family-friendly events at its nature center.

4. The Ogunquit Beach lifeguard-turned-future Academy Award Best Actress winner?

b) Bette Davis! The year was 1926. She was 18 and the only woman in the lifeguard crew.

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Now go: Let’s beach it. At Ogunquit Beach, you’ll find 3.5 miles of sandy beach and activities like sea kayaking, whale watching and deep-sea fishing, according to VisitMaine.com. Depending on the timing of your trip, take in “Mystic Pizza — a new musical” or “Young Frankenstein” at the Ogunquit Playhouse after a day outdoors.

A bottle of maple syrup sits on a table at Russell Farm Bakery and Maple Products in Poland. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file photo

5. True or false: Maine has an official state sweetener.

True! Since 2015, pure Maine maple syrup has been the official state sweetener.

Now go: I mean, take your pick: Visit GetRealMaine.com for a list of 62 farms around the state with sugar shacks, some of whom also offer year-round agritourism. Petting goats and diving into a maple-topped sundae? Sounds heavenly. Crack open your 2022 calendar and circle March 27 — that’s the date of the next Maine Maple Sunday.

A crew works on cutting the ice for the world’s largest ice carousel on Long Lake on April 4, 2021. Photo courtesy Aroostook Unmanned Aerial Services

6. What world record did the members of the Northern Maine Ice Busters set out to break?

a) The world’s largest ice carousel, freeing up and then spinning a 1,234-foot circle of ice! And with that, they reclaimed the world record. (A full rotation took 2 hours and 17 minutes, according to the Busters’ Facebook page, and the event raised money for local snowmobile clubs.)

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Now go: Let’s head on up to record-breaking St. Agatha, year-round pop. 747.

“You’ve got to see beautiful Long Lake,” said Town Manager Michelle Bernier. “Our ATV trails are amazing — so many people come here to use the trails. You’re definitely going to see the lake from some of them.”

7. Where in Maine does U.S. Route 1 start?

c) Fort Kent — home of repeated attempts to make the world’s largest ploye and, fittingly, the America’s First Mile monument.

Now go: The annual Ploye Festival is Aug. 13-15, so, say no more. And yes! They are once again making the world’s largest ploye, a sort of thin, Acadian buckwheat pancake. The same 12-foot pan is used each year, and to their knowledge, they do hold the unofficial world record, according to Greater Fort Kent Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Dona Saucier.

That pan is due for a replacement soon, she said. “They’ve thought about adding another foot or retiring it.”

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Let’s hope they go big.

8. Where did the first naval battle of the American Revolution take place?

a) Off the banks of Machias, fought with pitchforks.

Maine historian Herb Adams told WGME that the Battle of Machias was fought on June 12, 1775, led by the O’Brien brothers who sailed out to take on the British ship Margaretta with “handmade weapons and pitchforks” — and won.

Now go: Set your sights north and east! The Burnham Tavern Museum in Machias is “one of 21 homes in the United States designated as most significant to the American Revolution.” The harrowing tale of the tavern, the brothers and the battle told at the museum is a fascinating one.

A stretch of road in South Paris in the fall. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

9. What yearbook superlative would apply to Maine?

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b) The most forested state in the country. Some 90% of the state is covered in trees, according to the Maine Forest Action Plan.

Now go: Oh, the choices! Which glorious 90% do you hit? Let’s stay local and hit the Androscoggin Riverlands State Park in Turner. Fee-free and, at 2,675 acres, the state’s fifth-largest state park, according to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

But when you go, maybe keep your eyes peeled . . .

Photo courtesy Mark Adams from Hog Island Press

10. Hog Island Press’s “Monsters in America: A Cryptozoological Map of the United States, Volume 2” has what cryptid creature here?

a) The Specter Moose! But it’s a bit of a trick question: Cassie the Sea Monster was on the “Monsters in America” map Volume 1. There’s almost an embarrassment of monster riches in Maine. Allegedly.

Now go: Maine author Al Michaud’s 2019 book, “Hunting Old Moxie: The Largely True History of the Specter Moose of Lobster Lake, Maine,” seems to leave only one choice: Lobster Lake, up in Piscataquis County, once called “one of the most beautiful lakes in Maine” by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game, seems like a lovely spot to end your 2021 Maine summer road trip.

Just look out for giant, white/grayish moose.


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