JAY, Maine — Friday was an odd anniversary for Lucien Richard.
He had spent his entire 30-year papermaking career in Jay, at the mill that had many owners during his tenure. On March 8, 2023, Richard sent his peers home for the last time, when Pixelle shut the mill down.
"A year ago today, I was wishing farewell to some of the people I had known for years, who it was their last day of work," he said glumly.
But, 366 days later (thanks to the leap year), Friday was a new day for him.
In the now-quiet parking lot, local leaders and Gov. Janet Mills announced Godfrey Forest Products was converting the mill to make oriented strand board, or OSB — a plywood substitute.
"It can use trees of most any size and most any species, and it takes the material that nobody else wants," John Godfrey, the company's founder and Bangor native, said.
While parts of the mill would need to undergo extensive demolition and renovation to switch from paper making to board making, Godfrey said his product would deposit no chemicals and produce less air emissions than a paper mill.
Between permitting and renovation, Godfrey estimated it would be 18 to 24 months before the building was ready for work.
By then, he expects to hire 125 employees for the facility — far fewer than the paper mill once employed but 125 more than the previous year.
Shiloh Lafreniere, Jay's town manager of 10 years, had weathered dark times along with her town in the past four years alone. She described it as a roller coaster with more ups than downs.
In 2020, a digester at the mill violently exploded. Despite shooting debris well into the air, no one was hurt. However, the mill's operations were irreparably damaged, with ownership choosing to begin layoffs within three months of the incident.
On March 8, 2023, Pixelle officially shut down operations and let go of its remaining laborers.
That summer, severe storms catastrophically damaged public roadways and private land, causing millions of dollars in repairs and weekslong road closures in parts of town.
On Monday — four days before Godfrey's announcement — a more symbolic blow was dealt to the town. Crews toppled a 100-year-old brick tower, erected in the heart of downtown for the Otis Mill, Jay's original mill.
Lafreniere said being back at the Pixelle mill was eerie.
"Coming down the Crash Road at night, it used to all be lit up like a little city," she reminisced. "And now, to see that dark and no vehicles, no people around, it's definitely not a good feeling."
However, Lafreniere said she had a hopeful feeling Friday.
"There's been a lot of people in our community that have had to find jobs further away, other places," she said. "Having an opportunity to come back, I'm sure, will be something they look forward to."
We asked Godfrey how well papermaking skills would translate to the functions of the new mill. He said anyone with experience operating a paper machine would be an extremely valuable candidate when it comes time to hire.