Waldo County, Maine

Weird Waldo County

Yes, it's weird. Not axe murder type of weird, but there are aspects that left me thinking of the corny jokes that my Uncle Bud would say involving one legged chickens.

The two biggest things that come to mind are Fort Knox. No, not the Fort Knox with the gold, but the Sears Catalog version. Okay, picture this, you're in Maine in the 1800s, and you're getting a little nervous. During the Revolution and the War of 1812, there was a real concern that England would attack from Canada. And Maine, being the first stop, got antsy.

Now we have some politics at play; the War of 1812 is over, but it's the Spanish- American War, and Maine is nervous again. All they think about here is war, although they didn't really think about the fact that the Spanish would probably invade from the south and perhaps just try taking Texas.

How did the government settle the locals' fears? They built a fort, and not just any fort but a big ass fort. This is the kind of fort that easily could have functioned quite well into the First World War if not beyond. Now you have a fort that is probably more perfectly preserved than any other, as it never really had the chance to get damaged. Not even one soldier was there to scratch his name in the wall.

What else makes Waldo County weird? The Bryant's Stove Museum, which really defies description. By definition that makes it hard to write about. The best description I can give is to understand that Joe and Bea are two lovely people who love making people happy. For his "day job" Joe repairs stoves, and people come from all over to buy them. They're not the modern variety, but big cast iron monsters.

As for the making people happy part, maybe it was all those long Maine winters, but Joe got bored and started fiddling around. Now he has an entire museum made up of his "toys." His children's Barbie dolls weren't all that active, until Joe sliced off their legs, hooked them up to a hydraulic system and got them to do the hula dance. Then, in the other room, he has player piano on top of player piano, each playing its own vintage song.

In a way, his criteria seems to be, if it has gears and parts and looks interesting, he'll rip it apart. He's not interested in electronics, but all of his toys must have moving parts that he can move around and adjust.

The end result is the same for the proprietor as it is for the guests. When you walk in, Joe rides up in his wheelchair and then jumps out in glee as soon as he sees your jaws hit the ground.

Lastly, Waldo County is weird because of a stick