When a Virginia couple moved to Danforth three years ago to be near his aging father, it posed a bit of a challenge because in this rural part of Washington County jobs are scarce and they needed full-time work.
So, Jon Bridgan and Carol Carper bought Danforth Hardware, a local anchor business that sells a “good bit of lumber” and a wide assortment of screws, nails, plumbing, electrical, plants, feed and farm goods.
“We wanted to be closer to Dad and we needed a job,” Bridgan said. “Long story short, we bought ourselves a job.”
It blossomed from there.
Now, as the owners of four local businesses — Danforth Hardware, East Grand Thrift, East Grand Property Management and Integrity First Estate Cleanout Services — these entrepreneurs are putting in 12 hours a day helping build and repair more than lakeside camps.
“I always thought if we are in a small community we need to be part of the community, not just opening the doors [of the hardware store] and selling stuff and taking money,” Bridgan said. “At the end of the day this is where our neighbors are, our friends are, it’s where we buy our groceries and gas. And I wanted it to be a place for people to go.”
They are bringing the community together through Bridgan’s newly penned “tall” Maine tales, by hosting increasingly popular community-wide yard sales that draw hundreds, repairing homes, donating profits and being there, like family, for the community.
When the couple lived in Winchester, Virginia, a city that sits along the Blue Ridge Mountains about 72 miles northwest of Washington, D.C., they tried to get involved with the community. But there were so many people and it felt like they weren’t doing enough, even though Bridgan often planned city events, he said.
Moving from a city of nearly 30,000 to a town of 600 made all the difference.
On Monday, Bridgan sat with two older women in their home while they shared memories of the farmhouse they are now selling.
He’ll special order parts or lumber for patron’s projects and generally has it there in a day or two. He recently gathered a small crew of volunteers who helped a family move large equipment on their property, and this weekend the couple will host the third, and so far largest, community-wide yard sale at the hardware store.
“I thought, what if we brought everybody together in one spot with something like a flea market?” he said.
The market, which doesn’t charge vendors fees for their spaces, draws at least 250 browsers and buyers. About 35 vendors have signed up for the Aug. 22 event.
A few people sell clothing and kitchen wares, but the event offers much more. In July, a vendor sold a Jon boat (a special fishing boat) and motor and another vendor sold a very large antique trunk packed with vintage tools, Bridgan said, adding that he was hoping to buy the trunk but another buyer beat him to it.
As the sales have caught on, more people are dealing in antiques along with homemade baked goods and artisan offerings like crocheted sweaters. There’s even a vendor who makes 3D gadgets and toys.
A new seller this Saturday will have three spaces for vintage and antique items, Bridgan said.
In addition to the hardware store, East Grand Property Management is a growing business for them, Bridgan said. They are currently booked eight to 10 weeks out for home maintenance, repairs and construction.
Carper runs East Grand Thrift, a shop packed with unique items. The couple donates a portion of the proceeds every quarter to the community. This year, they’ve donated $800 to the local food pantry, Bridgan said.
As part of the Maine move, he left a thriving photography business behind but as he considers what they’ve built, he’s happy, he said.
“The choice to move up here was not a hard choice. It’s wonderful. We love the quiet and knowing who our neighbors are and knowing who the community leaders are and not sitting in traffic,” Bridgan said. “The adjustment to this area was nothing.”
Saturday’s community-wide yard sale will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Danforth Hardware, 115 Houlton Road, Danforth.
