BINGHAM, Maine — Bob Howe says his Maine Guide Snowshoes are the only ones on the market that “come with reverse,” because they are turned up at both ends, making it easy to take a step back.
The snowshoes have a few other distinctions, too.
In a state that had significant manufacturing of wooden snowshoes in the early to mid-20th century, Maine Guide appears to be the last company in Maine still making wooden snowshoes.
“We try to make about 500 pairs [per year], maybe a little more,” Howe said. He owns Pine Grove Lodge along with his wife and oversees the snowshoe business, guiding guests on hunting and fishing trips.
“They’re all handmade, no machine here. And they have to be laced. A lot are laced by people with disabilities. That’s how they make their living.”
The wooden frames for the snowshoes are actually made by inmates at the state’s Mountain View Correctional Center, where they saw ash logs into narrow strips, steam and bend the wood into the curved and upturned shape for snowshoes, then drill all the holes for the lacing. The facility also makes snowshoe furniture for the company.
Howe says he and his wife acquired the snowshoe business when they bought the lodge 25 years ago because it all came as one package. He sought out the correctional center’s help to let him focus on other aspects of the operation.
“I still am an outfitter. I have to hunt, fish, [and] put people up. I don’t want to run a factory. I take care of disabled vets and policemen and firemen is where my real passion is. I use this as a means to get there to help more people,” Howe said.
The Maine Guide snowshoes business, in other words, is unlike most other manufacturers. Part of the profits from selling snowshoes goes to a nonprofit called Pine Tree Programs, which was created by the Howes to help military veterans and first responders experience the outdoors.
“It’s a real healing too,” he said of those outdoor trips. “They’re back with a group, become part of a squad again. If they go on a weeklong Allagash trip, they start out scattered, but by the end of the week they’re part of a group.”
Pine Tree Programs, he said, pays all the costs for the veterans. Some of the funding comes from snowshoes, and some from other fundraising activities throughout the year.
Howe said hunting and fishing trips are the core of the program, but there are many other activities tailored to the needs and interests of particular people.
Those can include Allagash canoe trips, hiking, and even birdwatching or panning for gold. Some trips, he added, take place outside of Maine, through a network of other outdoor outfitters he knows.
“And over the 25 years here we have saved countless lives and changed countless lives all over North America,” Howe said.
Asked if he is sure of that, Howe answered, “One hundred percent.”
Howe wasn’t in the service himself and said Pine Tree Programs is his way of helping those who did.
“This is part of my service. This is what I can do for them. Not everybody has to carry a gun. Somebody has to paint the ship or prepare the food. This is my part,” he said.
Snowshoes at the ready, Pine Tree Programs will hold its annual Ice Fishing Derby fundraiser on Wyman Lake in Bingham on Feb. 25.