Roadside stands ‘honor system’ prevalent in Raymond

By Kendra Raymond

For residents of many communities and small towns, the availability of small independent roadside stands is common. Though we may take these convenient “Mom and Pop” operations for granted, they provide quality products at fair prices.

Tomatoes up for sale to passing motorists and
neighbors are displayed at 'Tomato King' Dan
Pandora's roadside vegetable stand in Raymond.
PHOTO BY KENDRA RAYMOND

Who hasn’t bought a bundle of “camp wood” from a makeshift hut at the end of someone’s driveway? Or how about a handful of veggies from a homeowner’s over-productive garden? What about farm fresh eggs or even cut flowers?

These goods are often placed with great care, either on a small stand, lawn chair, or on a wooden crate. Some of these business owners even offer complimentary bags or boxes to transport your loot.

Dan Pandora, “The Tomato King” of Raymond, is well-known in his neighborhood for sharing various crops throughout the growing season. Starting with rhubarb in early summer, Pandora segways into tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and rounds out the season with pumpkins.

“It’s funny, rhubarb is one of the best sellers,” said Pandora. “I just run the stand for entertainment. I price the produce to sell,” he said. With a large garden and plenty of spare vegetables, Pandora said it makes sense to share the produce.

Pandora has one caveat, however, “I’m trying to keep a low profile,” he said.Like most, Pandora’s stand runs on the honor system. That consists of a small receptacle for customers to deposit their cash.

“I find all kinds of interesting things in my Chock Full O’Nuts can,” said Pandora, referring to fun notes and little prizes left by customers. “I really don’t worry about theft. I keep it ‘ghetto’ on purpose,” he said. Pandora’s stand consists of a folding camping chair, a crate tipped up on its side filled with the produce, and an old coffee can used to collect the proceeds.

Similar stands can be found throughout area towns. In Casco and several locations in Raymond, and many locations along Route 302 in Windham, bundles of firewood are readily available. Fresh flower bouquets are often for sale on the Egypt Road in Raymond. Farm fresh egg stands are plentiful along the roadways along Route 302 in Casco and Windham and on Main Street in Raymond, to name a few.

A Raymond egg seller who has 18 laying hens and 22 babies said that she has one loyal customer who buys three to five dozen eggs a week, as well as other random buyers. Most of her sales are arranged through word of mouth or on social media. She likes to keep her business quaint, claiming that she is not really a farmer.

One Raymond resident who recently stopped to make a purchase from Pandora is a loyal supporter of roadside stands, more specifically those that sell fresh vegetables. He is always on the lookout for veggie stands and hopes to locate more through word of mouth.

He is skeptical of the younger generation, however, saying that a recent incident where all the vegetables and the contents of the money jar disappeared was shocking. He blames modern parenting and recalls a day when kids were brought up to be trustworthy and work hard and said that he would never steal vegetables.

All things considered, a visit to a roadside stand in the Lakes Region usually promises to be a positive experience. If you keep your expectations realistic and practice good consumerism, things should go swimmingly.

For those a little more ambitious, maybe you’d like to consider setting up a roadside stand of your own. The Team Flower Blog website offers some solid advice: Put up a sign ahead of your stand, provide bags, consider operating on donations, and plan for customers not having exact change. The website says, “What a blessing when you have put your heart into what you do to share with others! They appreciate it and want to make sure they are helping you continue offering beauty to your part of the world.”

The Team Flower website offers some great information if you’re interested in starting your own roadside stand. Despite the focus on selling flowers, much of the information applies to many products that can be sold. Learn more at: https://education.teamflower.org <