GRAND PARADE TOWN FEATURE Variety Of Events Make Up Anniversary Party
Patten has long held a reputation for being one of the most beautiful towns of northern Maine. Its early settlers had wisdom and vision beyond those of many small towns, when they laid out the main street of the town, both wide and straight. In fact, one local historian has written of it "Patten, no doubt, has the longest Main Street of any town or city in New England, extending as it does from Molunkus to the St. John river, an imposing turnpike four rods wide."
Its old New England elms, which line the street, form an arch for the hills in the distance and make a picture long to be remembered. It was a picture of this street which appeared in nationally distributed r:gazines a few years ago, as a part of the advertisement of a well known investment company, under the caption, "The Road to Easy Street."While many of the elms have dis- appeared from the business section of the town, other streets have been more fortunate, and during the summer season the town seen from the top of Finch Hill is almost hid- den by them.INDUSTRIESThe town's chief industry, outside of farming, is that of the Patten Plywood company. This is a comparatively new firm in town, having rebuilt and re-modeled the mill of Merrill Mill Company.The old mill burned in 1923, and was replaced by the building pur- chased by the Plywood Company. The old mill belonged to Merrill Mill Company at the time it burned but had passed through many hands during its lifetime. The list included Ira B. Gardner, Mr. Gifford, Wymouth and Foote. Merrill Mill Co., the firm name of two brothers, George Merrill and Edward Merrill, carried on an extensive long lumber business, with their own woods camps where the logs were cut, and their own log haulers, which brought the lumber to the mill.Veneer is the chief product of the Plywood company, which buys hardwood logs from local farmers and lumbermen, and carries about two hundred men, nearly all of whom. are citizens of the town, on its payroll. From the time the busi- ness started here, the policy of the
company has been to employ local labor in so far as possible, which has been a great help to the town financially.PATTEN MEMORIAL LIBRARYThe oldest public building in town is undoubtedly that of Patten Memorial Library, which began life as the Baptist Church, and was the first church building to be erected in the new town. This was started in 1842, so one record states, on a lot given to the church by Offin Palmer, who owned the residence directly south of the building.The library, like many public movements, was started by a group of interested women in town, in 1915. and was for thirteen years carried on by the local Women's Christian Temperance Union, in a room in the old town hall.In 1918 a small group of citizens started a drive for funds to pur- chase the Baptist church which had been unused for several years, to be used as a public library. Largely through the efforts of three women, Mrs. Edwina Fairfield, Mrs. Clara Bell Brown, and Mrs. Elizabeth C. Brown this was accomplished, and the building was opened to the pub- lic in December of 1928. Mrs. Nora Palmer, who had been librarian of the W. C T. U. library became the first librarian to serve in the new building, and held the position un- til fall in 1933 compelled her to re- sign. Her place was taken next year by Mrs. Juanita B. Finch, who is still librarian.During the thirteen years the number of books in the library has more than doubled; it has one of the highest percentages of readers in proportion to the population of the town, in the state, and is serv- ing readers from nearby towns as well as its own.
