It’s not easy to get to Brooklin, Maine, in winter. You’ll drive on coastal Route 175 and, if coming from the north, you’ll pass Herrick Bay, where 175 also is called Bay Road; if coming from the south, you’ll pass parts of Eggemoggin Reach, where the road also is known as Reach Road. Bay and Reach Roads meet at 175’s junction with Naskeag Road, which runs down a peninsula to Naskeag Harbor at the end. That junction is the heart of the Town.
It sounds easier than it is. especially while traveling at night along 175’s dark, winding, and sometimes icy miles. Many porcupines consider the road to be a sacrificial alter and deer have been known to try to fulfill death wishes there. But, at this time of the year, where Bay, Reach, and Naskeag Roads meet, there’s a welcoming oasis of light and Christmas decorations for night travelers.
That’s where our still-open Brooklin General Store is on the eastern side of 175 facing our spot-lighted and decorated Friend Memorial Public Library on the western side. In the cold December night, the Store can look like an Edward Hopper painting and the Library like an institution that belongs in a town that has many more residents than our happy 800 or so people.
(Brooklin, Maine)