"Satisfying" Videos, Inspiring Skowhegan Ladies and Brewery Tour in Somerset County

My middle school son is a big fan of "satisfying" videos on YouTube.  We were fortunate to get to visit the Sappi paper mill and film our own set of videos.  

We watched the log trucks get unloaded by a giant crane, then went inside the mill and watched paper being made. 

There was a giant machine that makes a huge roll of paper... here it is in action

Here is what a finished roll look like before it is cut..

 After the paper was made and cut we watched giant rolls of paper get to where they needed to be with the help of various machines.  It was fascinating and you could play Frogger if you were feeling brave.

Ok, playing Frogger is actually discouraged...

One more quick video of some rolls fresh off the cutter...

Our next stop was the Margaret Chase Smith Library, where we learned all about her life and legacy.  As a transplant to Maine it was impressive all that she did at a time when women were not in politics.

I liked this picture of Senator Smith with a seat at the table at the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1965

It was clear she was a proud Skowhegan lady and after we left her home and museum we headed for Maine Grains.

At Maine Grains we met a modern day Skowhegan lady, Amber Scholz, that is doing impressive things for the downtown, the community and her business.  We learned how she got her start in milling and enjoyed seeing how the old jail was converted into the mill.  It was interesting to learn how they reacted to the pandemic and how it is still affecting their business. 

We started on the ground floor at the end of the process... here is 50 # bag, ready to ship..

Up a floor we saw this gorgeous wooden machine, it was manufactured in Austria...

We finished at the top where they package small items for home consumer, here are the labels...

It was exciting to hear about their continuing expansion plans and their planned launch of baking mixes for the at home bakers.  I picked up a pack of graham flour with the intention to make my own homemade graham crackers!

Our final stop was Bigelow Brewing and the co owner, Pam Powers, told us the story of how a horse stable turned into a bustling brewery.  It was great to hear their long term plans about moving to the big location in downtown Skowhegan, which will be another business revitalizing the downtown.

We liked learning about where some of the original Bigelow beer names came from!

We also had a presentation from the Skowhegan Superintendent on their districts plans for supporting students from Birth to Graduation.  They also shared their plans for construction of the new school.  It was a very fascinating talk but as it was late in the day, I am failing at giving it enough coverage here.  I challenge my ELE classmates to write a post about their exciting early childhood work!                     (you know who you are ladies)