June's Prize Winner

This month's winner is Ronnie from Oxford, NC! Congratulations!

We'll be sending Ronnie a copy of Alan Claude's 2011 Lighthouse Poster Calendar. The Lighthouse Collection Series by graphic artist Alan Claude is a dramatic and bold interpretation of lighthouses and their surrounding environments. With colorful contrasting imagery, dimensional light and shadow, these classic art travel posters bring forward the strength and spirit of each New England lighthouse.

www.smilingcow.com/mainely-maine/2011-lighthouse-poster-calendar.html

The Smiling Cow is on Facebook. You can check out great photos, learn about local events, make comments and even upload your own photos!

www.facebook.com/pages/Camden-ME/The-Smiling-Cow/360698513684

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
A Beautiful Place to Spend the Day

www.mainegardens.org/

When my grandmother, Margaret Hawkey, first opened The Smiling Cow in 1940, Camden, Maine was a little too far to drive for a weekend visit for most. Route 1 was slow going and so were the cars! Visitors to Maine came for the whole summer and stayed in summer cottages or on their boats. Back then we sold lots of items that people might need for entertaining along with books, postcards and many, many cans of "Maine Air', as well as toys and greeting cards.

Over the past seven decades we've seen our world shrink as roads improve and cars get faster and safer. Now, spending a few days in Maine is an easy vacation for people from all over, and we're delighted to know where you're from when you come into the store.

We are so excited to be opening for our 70th season, carrying on traditions begun so many years ago, like free coffee and tea on our back porch. For 70 years The Smiling Cow has been opening its doors to locals and visitors from all around the world. It gives us great pride to be carrying on this tradition with continuity from generation to generation. I'm proud to be a link in this line of family members who have been manning the helm for so many years, and I'm grateful for both all the new visitors each summer and to those of you who come back year after year.

Nancy from Virginia is this month's prize winner. We'll be sending Nancy a Maine Blueberry Soap and Lotion Gift Set.

Relax and relieve tension with these all natural, hand crafted, goat's milk soaps and lotion. Made on a small goat farm in Maine with the highest quality ingredients. Each set includes 2 bars of soap, matching goat milk lotion, and a shower scrubby, packaged in an elegant organza gift bag.

Choose from: Maine lupine, Maine blueberry, or lavender.

www.smilingcow.com/mainely-maine/lotion-and-soap-gift-set.html

Our 69th Annual Half Price Sale was a whirlwind! People poured in at 6 a.m. and then slowly over the next two weeks leaving the shelves practically bare and ready to fill with exciting new items and old favorites for next year.

Some people got through their entire holiday gift list while others bought that one item for themselves they've been hoping would still be there the day of the sale. As always it was both fun and exhausting for everyone... and, of course, we'll do it all again next year.

A big thank you to everyone who came out for the sale and throughout the 2009 season. We hope to see you back again in 2010.

In the meantime The Smiling Cow dot com is a treasure trove of holiday gifts from Maine! During the next few weeks we will be adding more new items to our site and will keep you up to date on special holiday deals!

Part of what makes the Smiling Cow so special are the people who work here. Many of them have been with us for years and years! Kristy, for example, has been here since she was 14! We won't tell you her age, but we will tell you that she started here 20 years ago! And Sandy, who worked here during high school in the early 50's, and is now a great grandmother, has been back with us for close to 30 years!

When the current owner, Meg Quijano (far right) took over the store from her parents, Margaret and Henry Fisher, they gave her lots of great advice, but one of the most important tidbits was, "the customer is always right"! At the Smiling Cow we put our customers first and we work as a team, supporting each other through ups and downs and taking great pride in a job well done.

So, thank you Smiling Cow staff for making this not only a great place to shop, but a great place to work too!

Beginning on Monday September 7th, The Smiling Cow store hours will be:

Monday through Saturday from 9:00 to 5:30 and

Sunday from 10:00 to 5:00.

Maine Blueberries
Small but Loaded with Flavor

Maine blueberries don't look exactly like the blueberries from other places. For one thing, they're smaller and they grow on low bushes that hug the ground. And Maine blueberries aren't picked either, they're raked. It's tough work, but worth it!

Maine is the largest producer of lowbush blueberries in the world with a harvest that's grown on over 60,000 acres of land.

The blueberry rake was created by a Mainer from the Downeast area by the name of Abijah Tabbutt over 100 years ago and is still used today in various forms.

Wild blueberries hold a special place in Maine's agricultural history - one that goes back centuries to Maine's Native Americans. Native Americans were the first to use the tiny blue berries, both fresh and dried, for their flavor, their nutrition and their healing qualities and it was not until the 1840's that wild blueberries were first harvested commercially.

You can find delicious Maine blueberries for sale in roadside stands and local grocery stores throughout the month of August.

Way to go Samantha!

What an inspiring day! The Smiling Cow team joined with thousands of people from around the state of Maine to participate in this important event. Thanks to our generous supporters we raised over $2,000 and were named the 2008 top company in the Damariscotta Region walk!

On Saturday November 1st the Smiling Cow will close until April. As always, we are sad to close our doors, happy for a break and excited for our our upcoming 69th (!) season. You can still shop with us anytime right here on our website.

Part of our winter break will be spent visiting gift shows around the country and here in Maine, searching out great new items to add to all the perennial favorites.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our annual sale and this season a success!

*Shoppers lined up down the block at 5 a.m. for our Sale!