About The Cole Building

Dedicated to A.J. "Allie" Cole and Galen Cole

"Allie Cole was the first to mount snowplows on trucks to clear the road from Lincoln to Houlton in 1931. In 1981 permanent recognition was paid to Allie Cole by the Maine State Legislature in naming the special northbound scenic view turnoff on Interstate 95 in his memory. This is near Route 2 at Silver Ridge where Cole encountered the highest challenge in snowplowing." (Karen Donato in SAAM newsletter, Jan-Mar 2020)

Allie Cole passed away in 1955. Galen and his brothers, Gerald, Vaughn, and Chelsey, continued to run the Coles Transportation business. In the 1990s, Galen Cole opened the Cole Land Transportation Museum in Bangor. A potato truck from Littleton, once owned by Vernon and Olive McBride, and a vintage 1960 Ski-Doo brought by Houlton's Willie Lynds to his North Road Machine Shop and sold to the Qualey farm of Benedicta, are also part of their extensive collection.

Scotty Nevers donated one highway truck and plow to our museum. He wants visitors to be able to climb up into the truck to experience the feel of how big of a machine it was to drive and operate on snowy highways.

Galen Cole carries on his father's legacy

Galen Cole served in the U. S. Army and received a Purple Heart. He was wounded and five members of his squad were killed in 1945. He was left with a deep gratitude for surviving. He promised his God that he would commit to work and do his best to leave his community and his fellow man better than he found them. He is responsible for many acts of generosity. Examples are donating more than 200 granite benches to towns and cities through the state near veterans' memorials, pledging walking sticks to thousands of veterans, purchasing imaging cameras for fire departments, and supporting Reading Recovery for a 20 year period, helping more than 100,000 Maine children learn to read.