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“There was a sign at the station nearby my house that said, ‘We take Visa, MasterCard, Discover Card and American Express.’ After I filled up they took my Visa, Master Card, Discover Card and American Express.”

Jay Leno

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My wife asked me if she dressed up would I take her some place that was expensive. I did, I took her to a gasoline station in North Windham.

All kidding aside, if there is one topic that I hear a lot about, it’s the price of gasoline in and around North Windham. Without a doubt the sorest subject is how the price of gasoline inland in small towns far from the coast could be cheaper than stations like those of Windham, which are closer to the terminals in South Portland. As a matter of fact I was as surprised as my wife recently when I went to the area of Holden, Maine, and gasoline there was 22 cents cheaper than in Windham.

Before someone goes ballistic on me, I fully realize that there are places scattered around Maine that have higher gasoline prices than Windham has. It is also obvious that many mom and pop stores are at the mercy of their suppliers and quite often have to sell their gasoline at a higher price than chain stores who can purchase gasoline in bulk. I must mention that every one of the states has a different tax rate on a gallon of gas. For example, we haven’t been to Groton, Conn., for some time but I will admit that we stop in Massachusetts just before we enter Connecticut because the gasoline is cheaper and surprisingly cheaper than Windham also.

I had recently discussed the price of gasoline locally since this person does own a convenience store that sells gasoline and his comment was why were so many people focused on the price of gas. I have to admit that was one of most honest questions I have ever been asked. Unless I am traveling quite some distance and notice cheaper gas at that location, I seldom stop just so I can save a few cents per gallon. I do, in fact, purchase most of the gas for my car in Windham. Yes, it is one usually with a lower price but I do it for another reason as I like to use the same gasoline instead of stopping here or there to fill up. I had almost a full tank of gas go bad on me, so I err on the side of caution. I don’t hate other stations but I do what I do for a reason.

I do find it rather humorous how some will drive far out of the way believing that they will save a fortune by buying cheaper gasoline. Even when we lived in Lincoln, people would drive their four-wheel-drive vehicles to Bangor to save 5 cents a gallon. That’s at least a 50-mile trip each way and if a vehicle gets 20 miles per gallon, they have to purchase five extra gallons of gas just for the trip. There is no savings even if they purchase 20 or 30 gallons of gas.

But another interesting point was brought out in the conversation I mentioned because how many talk about the price of groceries and how much they can vary. I do some of our grocery shopping but for the most part my wife likes to do it (I hope) so I have never compared prices as I generally only shop at a store in Gorham, especially in the summer when traffic is horrendous in North Windham.

Maybe the price of gasoline is higher in North Windham because of a recent report by Bloomberg Magazine that North Windham is one of the best towns to live in because it has the best schools and an average salary of something like $65,000 if I remember correctly.

Lane Hiltunen of Windham believes change will come when people really strive for it.