Maine Diner Serves 6 Millionth Customer

Sally and Dick Henry, of the Maine Diner, pose with Clyde Raymond Curry, their 6 millionth customer, as he pretends to take a call from the White House. (Photo by Tim Gillis)

By Timothy Gillis

Staff Columnist

WELLS –

The Maine Diner on Route 1 in Wells served its six millionth meal Wednesday to Clyde Raymond Curry, a retired ATF agent from Dover, New Hampshire. Curry reveled in the attention, while he ate with four friends. “I can really ham this up,” he said, as photographers vied to get a good shot in the packed restaurant.

Dick Henry, owner for 29 years, offered Curry a smorgasbord of prizes, including ham, steak, turkey, gift cards, and a golf bag. Curry also drew the names of the $1,000 AAA travel voucher winners – Kati and John Maiuccoro, regulars to the Maine Diner from Albany, New York, who summer at their house in Kennebunkport.

Open since 1983, the classic blue-and-white diner is a local landmark on Route 1. With their devoted staff of seventy-five employees serving up equal parts of great food and warm hospitality, the diner has become famous around the world. Dick’s brother, Myles, a co-owner who passed away in December of 2010, always said, “We’re often imitated, but never duplicated.”

It took the Maine Diner twelve years to hit the one-million customer mark, but it has averaged a million customers every three-and-a-half years since then. Among its most recent accolades, the diner was named “Favorite Diner in New England” by Yankee magazine in 2011. The diner also earned the Phantom Gournet’s rating of a “90,” making it one of about seventy restaurants our of 2,500 rated in New England to earn such a high score.

First Glimpse Inside Famous Maine Author’s House

By Larry Favinger

(photo by Jeffrey Stevensen)

Staff Columnist

KENNEBUNKPORT – The home of celebrated Maine author Kenneth Roberts will be open for public view starting Saturday, June 23, at this year’s Designer Show House sponsored by the Kennebunkport Historical Society.

Roberts, who was born in December 1885 in Kennebunk and died in Kennebunkport in July 1951, built Rocky Pastures in 1938. It has never before been open to the public.

The house will be open for tours through July 12. It is a major fund-raiser for the historical society.

This is the first show house sponsored by the society and is “a big undertaking” for the group, according to Susan Edwards, the society’s executive director.

The estate will be open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday from noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be closed July 4.

Tickets are available at the Kennebunkport Historical Society or online at designersshowhouse.org. The cost is $20 per person.

Designers taking part in the show house have been assigned one of the twelve rooms or a portion of the grounds to decorate. The designers come from throughout New England.

The eighteen firms include Aisthesis, All About Kitchens and Baths, Anniebell’s, Coastal Organizing, Dan Viehmann Landscaping, Days Gone By Interiors, Fiore Interiors, Frank Hodge Interiors, Interiors with Provenance, Krista Stokes, Paula Rossouw, Snug Harbor Farm, Spaces, TJ’s at the Sign of the Goose, Well Dressed Interiors, Wright Interiors, and King’s Wharfe.

“Some are paying tribute to Kenneth Roberts,” Edwards said. As an example, in the living room there will be “a collection of books” that Roberts had in his own library, including those he authored. “There is a very period feel.”

Roberts built the estate in 1938 after writing  “Arundel,” “Rabble In Arms,” and “Northwest Passage.”

The latter book was the story of Roger’s Rangers and was made into an MGM motion picture in 1940 starring Spencer Tracy, Robert Young and Walter Brennan.

“Kenneth Roberts was an intensely private man,” Edwards said in a prepared release. “This is a very rare opportunity for the public to see this historic home and to enjoy the stunning work of these designers.”

Rocky Pastures burned in 1976 and was “rebuilt but not actually as Kenneth Roberts built it,” Edwards said, but in the same footprint as the original structure.

The show house activities begin with an Opening Night Soiree Saturday (June 22) under a tent on the estate grounds from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event will be catered by Kitchen Chicks with entertainment provided by the Chris Humphrey Trio.

Shuttle transportation will be provided from the Consolidated School in Kennebunkport. Tickets are $60 for Kennebunkport Historical Society members and $75 for non-members and are available at the Historical Society at 25 North Street, Kennebunkport, 207-967-2751.

Other activities scheduled include a Lunch & Learn Series at noon on three separate dates.

On Monday, June 25, Joyce Butler, historian, archivist/curator, and writer, will explore the colorful personality of Roberts and chronicle his life in her presentation on Kenneth Roberts: The Man  at The Colony Hotel.

On Monday, July 2, food historian and writer Sandy Oliver, will highlight Roberts’ interest in food in her presentation about Kenneth Roberts’ Chapter on Food in His Trending Into Maine,  also held at The Colony Hotel.

The final Lunch & Learn will be held at the Nonantum Resort with etiquette specialist Andrea Pastore providing thoughtful and useful solutions to various etiquette situations in Navigating a Place Setting.

The $45 ticket for each session includes admission to the Show House, lunch, and the speaking event. Tickets are available at the Historical Society.

Town Clock Dedication Ceremony Set

WELLS -

The Wells Rotary Club is pleased to announce a Dedication Ceremony for the Town Clock on Saturday, June 23,  at 11 a.m.   The Clock is located at the park adjacent to the Wells Fire Station at the intersection of Routes 1 and 109.  Members of the public are cordially invited to attend.

The Clock project was started in 2010 under the auspices of the Gateway to Wells/ Route 1 Beautification.  The Wells Rotary raised approximately $40,000 through private donations, Rotary funds and site work donated by the Town of Wells.    

The Wells Rotary has a rich history within the community as the lead on local fundraising projects such as the Wells Activity Center, Wells Harbor Park Pavilion, Wells High School Concession Stand, and the Wells Parks and Recreation Pavilion.  They have doubled scholarship charitable donations to the Wells High School and the York County Community College.  The Wells Rotary Club meets for breakfast every Monday at 7:30 a.m at the Coastal House on Route 1 in Wells.

Rotary International is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.  In more than 200 countries worldwide, approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 32,000 Rotary clubs.  The main objective of Rotary is service - in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.  The Rotary motto is “Service Above Self.”