Mollyockett Day closure warms up Main St. businesses

Pete Morin, creator and bottler of Maple Leaf Red Dipping Sauce, looks on as the Funky Red Barn's Second-Prize-winning float passes by. This was Morin's first time offering his sauce and barbeque wings at Mollyockett Day, and sales were brisk. He sold out his first batch of wings, got another, sold those out, along with a case of sauce. He closed up at 2:30. At nearby Maine LIne Products' Rick Whitney said this Mollyockett Day, the first on which Main Street was closed to traffic, generated 20 percent more business than was typical of past Mollyockett Days. Robin Zinchuk, executive director of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce said Main Street was closed in order to draw more Mollyockett Day business to Main Street. The effort, she said "shared the crowd” that had previously only done commerce on the Common.