On Wednesday, May 18, Governor Janet Mills paid a visit to local businesses and business owners in downtown Gorham. Her visit to Gorham accompanies her promotion of the importance of expanding child care during her visit to Creative Explorations Child Development Center in Windham.
One of her many stops in Gorham included Erin Flett Textiles and Home on the corner of Main Street and School Street.
Along with taking a tour of the shop, led by shop owner Erin Flett, Governor Mills got to see how everything is handcrafted and produced. When taking a tour of the studio, Governor Mills said that the shop “seems like a great place to work.”
Photo credit: Krista NadeauGovernor Janet Mills and Erin Flett, with Flett’s daughter.
After her tour of the studio, Governor Mills had a chance to talk about her personal connections here in Gorham.
Governor Mills lived in Gorham for nine years and attended school here from 1st grade until her freshman year in high school. She spoke about her old house on the corner of Elm Street and Main Street, and discussed how she used to deliver newspapers as a young girl on her bicycle.
Governor Mills also reminisced on the “old downtown Gorham” as she recalled how there used to be a popular drug store, soda fountain, and movie theater. She shared that her mother taught English at Gorham High School (GHS), and her brother Peter was Valedictorian at GHS.
She was happy to remember her time as a young girl in Gorham and how it was expected that she would “go out and play, and come back around supper time.”
Photo credit: Krista NadeauGovernor Mills left the studio with an Erin Flett & L. L. Bean tote bag and a matching bucket hat.
Along with attending elementary, middle, and part of high school in Gorham, Governor Mills took ballroom dancing lessons in the same building that currently houses the Dance Studio of Maine, right across the street from Erin Flett Textiles and Home.
Before heading to see Gorham’s Chief of Police, Chris Sanborn, Governor Mills talked briefly with Erin Flett about the challenges and rewards of motherhood while having a professional career. Mills inherited five step-daughters when she married Stanley Kuklinski in 1984.
Governor Mills applauded Flett for her abilities to run her own business, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. To end her visit with Flett, Governor Mills left the studio with an Erin Flett & L. L. Bean tote bag and a matching bucket hat.