Fish and Chips

By Ted Sylvester

 

To everything easier said than done, a toast

(From 1987)

 

It seemed such a simple task.

Do-It-Yourselfer was instructed by his wifemate to purchase a dozen or new water glasses. You know. The eight-once variety. Over the past couple of years DIY had managed to crack or smash several of the sets in the cupboard so that wifemate could not set a decent table, in her mind, because there were not enough glasses of the same variety to go around.

No problem. DIY trekked off to his favorite department store. There were no packages, sets, or individual tumblers that could be found. Oh, there were packages and packages of tumblers of all shapes and varieties. But to get a dozen of all the same size would have required purchasing an equal number of other sized glasses, which he didn’t want. There were 16-glass sets and 24-glass sets, each of which included small juice glasses, a set of what looked like whiskey glasses, and then the regular kind.

It simply was another case of merchandising blackmail. DIY would not pay the ransom and went home empty-handed. Now glasses or tumblers have been added to the blackmail list along with automobile floor mats (one now has to purchase four to get two), shoestrings, and flashlight lamps and batteries.

Manufacturers are certainly masters of the merchandising game. But DIY vowed to collect a set of jelly glasses before he would succumb to blackmail.

Another example of the public being misled is that the taxpayers of Rockland are being asked to provide programs and facilities for all to enjoy. The city is the center of attraction for the entire area. Everyone, especially the small-town folks, hold the city folks up to be the renegades and bad guys of the area. Well folks, the city provides many things that are taken for granted of which outsiders pay little or nothing.

You want a for-instance?

How about recreation. City facilities are used virtually for free by the entire area, while the city taxpayers pick up the tab. A review of three budgets will quickly show you that Rockland is being taken for granted.

The 1987 recreation budget for Rockland was $96,847. There are 16 full- and part-time employees in the department. Besides a full-fledged swimming and picnic area run by the city, there are numerous ball fields, playgrounds, and the recreation center, used by just about anyone.

The Owls Head recreation budget for 1987 was $300. The 1987 budget for South Thomaston was $150.

Compared on a per capita basis, Rockland pays $12.22; Owls Head, 19 cents; South Thomaston, 12 cents. Pretty piddling amounts when compared with Rockland. Where do you suppose the children, and adults, of those two towns look for recreation? Oh, you can argue that each small town has a tennis court that Rockland people sneak in and use. But so does Rockland. And they all were built with federal matching funds.

There is hardly a week that goes by when some announcement or other is not made, inviting all to become involved with a recreation program that will be run in Rockland. Many of them are private, and many require entry fees. But who provides most of the facilities?

Many times Rockland gets all the bad ink and the bad reputation of not being able to accomplish anything without a battle. A little assistance and encouragement would be helpful in combating the negative outlook that many have. Especially those from small towns who think that Rockland owes them something. It’s the other way around, folks.

There is one project that is getting some support from all around. It is the efforts by a group from the Chamber trying to put together a package to try to attract L.L.Bean to locate a new telecommunications center here. Richard Lovejoy, who initiated the effort, said this week that the city was still in the running despite reports that Bean was not interested in coming here. A letter was sent to the famous company asking that if they did not want to look at Rockland’s proposal to let officials know. There was no response, Lovejoy said, which he saw as a good sign that at least Rockland will have an opportunity to show what it has to offer.

It’s this type of positive outlook we need to bring the city ahead. A little encouragement from neighbors would be welcomed.

(I’m not sure if things have changed much regarding this subject since Ted wrote about it in 1987. There has been a lot of progress to be sure, however, in Rockland’s transformation over the last several years to one that attracts visitors on a national and international basis.)