�� Our little country store in South Lubec was owned by a man as unique as his building; Clarence Hunt. Clarence stood all of four feet three inches tall. His torso was fairly normal but his legs were very short and quite bowed. He had to build a two step platform behind his counter so he could reach the products he stored on the shelves located behind him.

��� I explicitly remember one winter day in late October when it had snowed for several hours. The snow was that soft wet kind--great for making snowmen--and� amassed a depth of nearly two feet. It isn�t unusual for a good Maine snow to pile up five or six feet, at least, and to most of us this small storm of two feet wasn�t even a minor inconvenience. Clarence was usually at his store but had to walk home for his hot meals and closed the store whenever he was gone. Everyone knew what the store hours were (although they weren�t posted anywhere) and we were positive that Clarence would be there at six o�clock after he had eaten his evening meal. This evening, however, Clarence didn�t come walking up until nearly fifteen minutes after six. Most of the regulars were waiting for him to open the store so they could go inside and start whittling, hear a story someone was waiting to tell, or tell one themselves. Once we were all inside someone said to Clarence, �That was some snow storm we had weren�t it.�

��� �Aayah,� Clarence answered, �that�s what made me so late getting here tonight. The snow was clear up to my tailbone.�
Some of the young men, fifteen or sixteen years old, had a favorite pastime they enjoyed sharing with Clarence. (when they weren�t out ice skating, sledding, talking about girls, or when absolutely necessary doing home work) They would wait until Clarence was behind the counter and a couple of them (usually the Doran brothers) would start talking to each other, but loud enough to be sure Clarence would hear their every word.
��� �Hey, Gene, would you be kind enough to explain something to me?� James Doran would ask his brother.

��� �Yup, will if I can. What is it you want to know?�

��� �I was just wondering how Clarence can buy week old bread, say it�s day old bread, and sell it for the price of fresh bread.�

��� This would bring a string of well phrased angry words from Clarence that informed everyone present he sold only fresh items.

��� �Well, Jim,� the conversation between the two agitators would continue, �I understand why he sells old bread but did you ever notice that every can on his shelf is dented?�

��� �Aayah, I�ve noticed that several times and I think the reason he does that is so he can buy them at half price, but that don�t bother me near as much him charging a whole penny for candy I can get in Lubec at three for a penny.�

��� �And did you ever notice his bananas--when he has them? I wonder why he waits until their skin turns black before he trys to sell them.�

��� Now Clarence�s temper was about as short as he was and he�d take just so much guff from the trouble makers and then he�d get mad. It seemed to me when Clarence got mad his anger was about twice as big as he was. He�d reach for the shelf behind him, grab any can within his reach, and throw it at one of them. They always managed to catch the can and as Clarence watched they�d put their hand in one of their pockets and pull out a can opener and from another pocket they�d take out a spoon. They�d open the can and sit there eating whatever was inside, all the time laughing and joking because they had fooled the short store keeper. If Clarence made a move toward them they would slowly get up and walk outside and look in through the window until Clarence went back to his normal position behind his glass candy counter. The male parents of the boys would usually end up paying for the item or the joking thieves would have to take the money from their own pocket and pay. (remember this was back in the very early thirties and most canned fruits cost ten cents a can ...or less) Everyone in the store seemed to get a kick out of the little prank no matter how often it happened, and even though it seemed a little mean, it always brought smiles and laughs from everyone.

� When I became older it dawned on me one day what a fantastic salesman and actor Clarence was and that he was enjoying the game too. As I recall he never threw anything at them that couldn�t be opened and eaten in the store. He never threw corn, peas, green beans, or things like that. He always threw canned peaches, pears, or pineapple. It always seemed to me Clarence lost his head when he got madbut if he hadn�t appeared to get mad and throw something good he would never had made that additional sale.

��� I�m sure about now someone is asking, �Where in the world is South Lubec, so I�ll try to point it out to you. If you enter Maine from Kittery (that�s way down south) just stay on the Maine Turnpike until you come to Brunswick. (that�s north of Portland) From there take a right turn and follow route one (1) all the way northeast until you come to a little town called Whiting. Take route 189 from there and when you see a sign that says South Lubec turn right. From here on drive very carefully. I measured it once on a map and it was only an inch and a half from the turnoff to Quoddy Head Lighthouse. If you drive any farther east you�ll be driving in the Atlantic Ocean.

****An important note. North and northwest of Maine is a foreign country called Canada. Part of the western border of Maine is made up of another foreign country called New Hampshire.