By Donna Keene Rousseau

Freelance Writer

Sitting in his upstairs office at the Ramada Inn, Gary Adams smiles as he recalls his first hotel and his mother, who taught him the essentials of hotel hospitality.

“She was the manager at the Cumberland Club,” explains Adams. “I bought my first hotel with her in 1969.”

The Northland Hotel was located in Houlton, the town where Adams grew up; he remembers the place fondly.

“It was of Georgian-style, all gilded with bathrooms laid in marble. Today, we really appreciate the architecture of the old hotels but, unfortunately, there’s nothing left of the Northland now. It’s been torn down,” recalls Adams.

Following the sale of the Northland, Adams, who gained experience in the food industry working with Deering and Friendly’s ice creams, moved to New Hampshire where he worked for a couple who owned a Ramada. Meanwhile, in 1974, the first Ramada hotel in Maine was under construction in Lewiston. It wasn’t until 1978 that Adams and his wife Carole, whom he married in 1963, decided to move back to Maine and joined in a partnership with Bill and Joan Gleed and limited partners Dominic Rosa and John Melonas to purchase Lewiston’s Ramada Inn.

Over the 25 years Adams has owned Ramada Inn, he’s seen many changes in the hotel industry and in the property itself.

“In the early hotel years, a manager oversaw everything – the food, the front desk,” says Adams, who has always maintained an active, hands-on style for operating the hotel. “Today it’s a whole different picture. Managers deal in figures and marketing and have specialty fields. We have room managers and food and beverage managers. One person doesn’t handle it all anymore.”

In addition to industry changes, Adams has overseen three major Ramada renovation projects, the most recent costing close to $2 million.

“This last project was a culmination of where we needed to be to position the Ramada for meeting the needs of all our guests in the future,” explains Adams. “We now have a finer presentation than when we were originally built, and we’re ready for the next element.”

Reflecting on the Ramada’s 30th anniversary, Adams is proud to have served the community for so long and to have made a life for himself and his family right here in Lewiston.

“The nice thing is we chose to make Lewiston, not Houlton or Falmouth or any other city, our home,” comments Adams. “Lewiston is a jewel in itself and has so much to offer and right now, the city is in its Renaissance. We were lucky to have been a part of the city when Peck’s Department Store, Ward Bros. and the Bates Mill were here. I hope in some way I played a part in laying the foundation of what’s happening in Lewiston today.”

Gary Adams and his wife own a second home in Florida they visit periodically throughout the year. Still, Adams confirms he and his wife will probably never look to leave their Lewiston-Auburn ties. With a property in constant motion, Adams laughs. “I don’t think the word ‘retirement’ is in my vocabulary. I think I’ll be working until I’m 92!”