JOHN FAVREAU AND NANETTE GIACOMA are two of the four owners of the Long Branch School of Maine and General Store in Bowdoinham. The school and store, located on Main Street, had its grand opening on the weekend of Sept. 9, 2011.
The Long Branch School of Maine and General Store is a relatively new business venture in Bowdoinham. But what it is striving for, among other experiences, is reestablishing older, timehonored values and skills that are applicable in today’s fast-changing world.
THE LONG BRANCH General Store on Main Street in Bowdoinham features food grown by local farmers and products by local craftspeople.
“Whether the challenge came from depleting energy resources, rising inflation, global climate change, food safety, unsustainable practices, or any combination of these things, they all shared common solutions: relocalize our economy and relearn the lost skills that made us more self-sufficient and sustainable,” the owner continued.
THE LONG BRANCH GENERAL STORE is located on Main Street in Bowdoinham.
Whether the challenge came from depleting energy resources, rising inflation, global climate change, food safety, unsustainable practices, or any combination of these things, they all shared common solutions: relocalize our economy and relearn the lost skills that made us more self-sufficient and sustainable.
The seed of a school that taught such skills was first planted in Bowdoinham several years ago by furniture maker Paul Baines, who taught for a time at the North House Folk School in Minnesota. John and Peter revived this idea and quickly sought out a suitable location, which they found at the former Down East Credit Union building at 20 Main St. in Bowdoinham.
Fortuitously, just across the street from this property sat the former Bowdoinham fire station which had been abandoned for many years. Since the structure was sound, they realized that with some work it would make an ideal site for a workshop.
So the properties were purchased and the renovations began with the primary focus being on the former credit union building, a beautiful 150-year-old, twostory brick structure that opened as the Macomber General Store in its inception.
Q. Why did you establish a general store? Is it an outgrowth of the school and its philosophy?
A. In order to promote the local economy and support the local farmers, businesses and craftspeople, the idea of incorporating a general store within the school concept also made sense, and the renovations of the brick building involved bringing back the original look and feel of the old-time general store.
After a few short months, Peter’s wife, Nanette Giacoma, and John’s wife, Crystle Martin, became involved in the project and were primarily responsible for attaining the product, fixtures and layout of the store, while Peter and John focused on the renovations and on the course curriculum.
The Long Branch School and General Store had its grand opening on the weekend of Sept. 9, 2011.
Q. What courses do you offer, and what ones are planned for the future? Please describe two or three of your classes, how long they last and what are the costs? Who typically takes your courses?
A. Our course offerings are extremely varied. Since our opening only three months ago, we have run almost 20 courses, including worm composting, raising chickens, artisan bread making, general construction, marketing and social media for small business, pie making, felting, pottery, meditation, bluegrass music, woodcarving, and Permaculture.
Most of our classes can be taken in the evening or on a weekend during the day, and although some may run over multiple weeks, many more are just two to six hours and are easy to fit into a busy working lifestyle.
Our past bread-baking class taught by Jamien Richardson and our pie-making class taught by Susan Brown each took place on a weekend over three hours, and students went home with a new skill and also with the bread and pies that they made in class.
Our woodcarving class, taught by master woodcarver Gus Frank, took place for two hours over 10 consecutive Sunday afternoons. Once again when it was over, the students had a finished piece and a great new skill.
Although most of our students are working adults, our instructors are given the flexibility to decide what age minimums they feel are appropriate for their specific class, and we have had parents and children attend some of our classes. Age minimums are listed on each course page.
The cost of our courses can be as low as $25, and the cost is dependent upon the time and materials involved.
We also offer free courses and presentations. Every second Saturday of the month, people are invited to attend a free Reiki Share in the afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m. led by Marie Tucker.
Future classes coming this winter include: “Design a Masonry Heater” with Sebastian Jerosch; “Soap making” with Laurel Lopez; “Learning to Live with Goats,” complete with a live goat, taught by Ramona and Amanda Stinson; “Naturalistic Garden Design” with Andrew Fiori; “Gong Immerison” with Dr. Mitch Nur of Pennsylvania; “Tweeting: A Bird of a Different Feather” and “Start Blogging!” by Meleena Erikson; “Build a Website Using a Simple Text Editor” and “Build a Backyard Chicken Coup” with John Favreau; “Create Your Own Rag Rug” with Kate Cutko; and “Introduction to Beekeeping” with Rick Cooper.
More courses are added on a regular basis, and the best way to find them is to visit our website at www.longbranchschool.com.
We are currently building a new structure for use as a blacksmith shop, and we continue to renovate the old fire station for use as a woodworking shop. Both of these structures should be ready for us to offer courses by the spring.
Long Branch also works in collaboration with other organizations and individuals by renting out classroom space. Beginning on Jan. 19, the Institute for International Studies is offering two multi-week courses to take place at our school: “Beginner Italian,” from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and “Postcards from Italy — An Introduction to Italian Language and Culture,” from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Q. What is available, as far as products and produce, at the store? What are your sources for supplies? Do you emphasize a “local” presentation?
A. Our focus at the general store is on local. This can take the form of produce grown by our local farmers or products made and/or supplied to us by local vendors.
Given the abundance of local craftspeople, we carry a wide variety of handmade items: upcycled tote bags, knitted sweaters, quilted placemats, jewelry, ceramics, ornaments, wood crafts and much more. We also have food crafters that make excellent edibles: Jam from Fresh, chocolate from Coastline Confections, BBQ sauce from Circling The Ring, spices from Gryffon Ridge, bread and frozen meals from Annabella’s Café, cookies and pie from the Town Landing Restaurant, and wine and beer from several local wineries and breweries.
We are working with area farmers to supply us with milk, eggs, beans, meat and some seasonal vegetables. Some of our vendors include Balfour Farm, Eastern River Cattle Co., Turning Wheel Farm, Fairwinds Farm, and Stonecipher Farm.
In “The Back” of the store, we also carry a selection of hardware, previously owned tools and animal feed.
We are a work in process, as we are continually trying to find out what our customers want and how we can get in touch with local vendors.
Q. If someone is interested in participating in a course or selling items through the store, what do they do?
A. Registration for any of our courses is very simple and can be done online at our website, over the phone, or in person. Simply find the course you’re interested in, click on it, and follow the instructions.
Anyone interested in selling local goods at our store can contact us by email or phone or stop by in person. We are always interested in seeing new products by our local craftspeople and entrepreneurs.
Our email address is info@longbranchschool.com, and our phone number is 207-666- 8900. We are open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Q. Are you looking for additional instructors in order to expand your offerings at the school?
A. We are always looking for new instructors to join our growing team. Please contact the school if you are interested in participating.
Q. Why is all of this taking place in Bowdoinham? How receptive has the community been toward your new business venture?
A. Bowdoinham residents have been extremely welcoming to Long Branch and have been excited to see our new venture which we hope will help to revitalize the downtown.
Bowdoinham is also a community that has attracted a great many farmers and craftspeople, and it is a rich resource for both products and instructors.
Peter Feeney and Nanette Giacoma have been residents of Bowdoinham for more than 12 years and are proud to have made Bowdoinham their home. Crystle and John live a short distance away in Topsham and have close personal friends in Bowdoinham.
One of their favorite rituals is to meet with friends every Sunday morning for breakfast at Lynn Spiro’s Town Landing Restaurant just down the hill.
Q. How did you come up with using the name Long Branch School?
A. We wanted to tie our new business in with the history of Bowdoinham.
We learned in our research that at the time our building was first opened as a general store, Bowdoinham was heavily involved in sheep farming. In fact, the Long Branch Sheep Farm run by the Kendall brothers was reported to have had the largest herd of sheep on the East Coast.
We felt taking that name was appropriate and a terrific tie-in to a part of Bowdoinham’s rich history.
Q. You have four owners. Individually, what do you all bring to the table?
A. John Favreau has been a small business owner for the past 15 years. He was the owner/operator of the Eveningstar Cinema in Brunswick from 1996 to 2010, and he was a manager and technical trainer prior to that.
John has devoted a great deal of time over the last 11 years studying energy and economics and gained practical knowledge of energy efficiency and sustainability through the construction of his and Crystle’s home in Topsham, which is both passive and active solar and highly efficient. He also keeps chickens and maintains his own garden.
John is responsible for building and maintaining the Long Branch website and managing the course curriculum and scheduling. His official title is “Director of Dis, Dat, and dee Uddah Ting.”
John’s wife, Crystle Martin, has extensive experience working in development and event planning for not-for-profits, including the Maine State Music Theater and Habitat for Humanity.
Crystle also has many years of retail experience, and she is an artist in her own right, hand-building fanciful faerie houses out of clay. Some of her work is on display in the general store. Crystle’s official title is “Director of Play and Celebration.”
Peter Feeney has 22 years of experience in the public and private sector in both operations and project management for the maritime industry. He currently works for ConocoPhillips, Inc. and has worked with them in marine transportation.
Peter is a strong advocate for sustainable energy initiatives. In 2006, he founded and led a small community-based sustainable energy group in Bowdoinham dedicated to educating the local community on energy conservation and alternative energy technologies. In late 2007, he joined five other engineers and scientists to form Free Flow Energy. Free Flow Energy (FFE) has been providing a variety of engineering services to the marine renewable energy industry. He was serving as vice president for FFE until the summer of 2009. At Long Branch, Pete is “Director of Schmoozing.”
Nanette Giacoma is a businessperson, artist and sustainable living advocate. She has more than 18 years of executive management experience in the fields of health care, art and retailing. She has several years of experience as an educator as a college adjunct faculty member, an adult education instructor, and as a workshop facilitator.
In her art, she focuses on mask making as a way to explore meaning in life through the creative process. For the last four years, Nanette has worked with individuals and organizations as a business coach in the fields of health care, the arts, manufacturing, retailing and landscaping. Here her skills as an artist and businessperson are integrated into a “Whole Business Practice,” a unique approach that looks holistically at both the people and the business to achieve sustainability, profitability and peace of mind. She is the “Director of Stories and Harmony” at Long Branch.
Q. What is your contact information for the school and store, i.e., mailing address, website, telephone numbers, email address? What hours is the store open?
A. Website: www.longbranchschool.com
Email: info@longbranchschool.com
Mailing address: 20 Main St.
Bowdoinham, ME 04008
Telephone: 207-666-8900
Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Q. Is there anything else you would like to add?
A. Long Branch holds a community event each quarter.
Our next event takes place on Saturday, Feb. 4, and will feature a presentation and book signing of “Wild Plants of Maine” by author Tom Seymour from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., a potluck from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and music by The Big Dipper String Band from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The music portion will also feature students of our recent Bluegrass Band class.
The event is free, and donations will be gratefully accepted for the band. Please bring a dish to share.
Long Branch School & General Store
— Website: www.longbranchschool.com
— Email: info@longbranchschool.com
— Mailing address: 20 Main St.
Bowdoinham, ME 04008
— Telephone: 207-666-8900
— Store hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
