MY CONNECTION TO BIDDEFORD

The city of Biddeford is at the base of my entire life, et pourquoi, pas?

My family has been here for four generations. My grandfather was an English teacher at Biddeford High School.

This where I met my wife. We were married in St, Mary’s Church, where I received First Communion so many years earlier. We bought a home on Lamothe Avenue. Our kids went to Biddeford schools.

BIDDEFORD | Where I live, where I work and where I play.

LIVE | While growing up, my family lived on the top floor of a triple decker on State Street, directly across from a now shuttered shoe shop that has been turned into cut-rate apartments.

I shit my pants as a second grader at the former John F. Kennedy Memorial School near the corner of Hill and West streets. I was regularly beaten up by other kids on Quimby Street whenever I was willing to risk the walk to Sevigny’s Market on Bradbury Street

My wife was twice elected to serve on the Biddeford School Committee. She was then twice elected to serve as an at-large representative on the Biddeford City Council.

WORK | I have been watching and covering Biddeford news on and off for more than 30 years, including my work as a reporter and editor for the Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier (1997-2006); as a freelance reporter for Saco Bay News (2023-2024) and as an independent blogger (2007-2024) right up until launching the Biddeford Gazette, a non-profit digital news publication.

PLAY | I ran former Mayor Alan Casavant’s first and second campaigns for the mayor’s seat. During my time as PR consultant, I also represented Biddeford businesses and nonprofit organizations. When I cut myself, my blood runs black and orange.