Hillyard’S ‘Maine Man’

North Side Good Neighbor of the Year

The thing about being a good neighbor is that it’s not a one-shot deal.

It’s about consistency.

Ray Maine of Hillyard is one such neighbor. His unfailing support and generosity over the years has endeared him to his neighbors. This year, it earned him the Good Neighbor award for the North Side.

Maine’s thoughtfulness and help during the 1996 ice storm prompted neighbor Sharon Stillwell to nominate him for the award that year. Though the award went to another deserving person, Stillwell nominated him again. She felt strongly that her Maine man, so to speak, should be recognized for his “sustained commitment” to his neighbors.

“We in the neighborhood always feel comfortable asking him to help at any time we need help,” Stillwell wrote in her nominating letter. “… because of his kindness and mild manners, we are never made to feel like we are imposing on him. That is a gift.”

Maine, 32, lives at 2904 E. Hoffman with his wife Christine, and their children - Kelsey, 13, and Robert, 10.

The neighborhood is pretty tight-knit, Maine said, and people look out for each other. Maine looks out for others in many ways, but a lot of times a toolbox is involved. As Stillwell, who has a disability, wrote, If it’s broke, he fixes it. “He saw two neighbor ladies struggling to put a lawn swing together. In minutes, he was there with toolbox in hand,” she wrote.

Maine snowblows the sidewalks, power-rakes the yards and weed-eats the fence lines, Stillwell wrote. Maine changes the car oil for a single mom on the street.

No job is too big or too little. “He even replaced and installed a toilet for me,” Stillwell wrote.

Maine describes himself as a backyard mechanic. He likes changing the oil because he knows the woman can’t afford the nearly $30 it costs to get it done somewhere. The woman will bake him brownies in thanks, but he doesn’t expect favors or payment. He doesn’t think about helping out, he just does it.

“I was raised that you’re supposed to help your elders. And respect them. And helping out is respect,” he said.

“It’s just something I like to do. It gives me a good feeling,” Maine said. “Anyone who needs help, I’ll be there to help them, all they have to do is ask.”

Maine is a truck driver for Food Services of America. He also is in the Naval Reserve, spending one weekend a month and two weeks a year on duty. In August, he spent two weeks in Japan for Navy exercises. Christine Maine said her husband is a sweetheart and one-in-a-million. You know Stillwell agrees.

During the ice storm, Maine was “a miracle, my angel guy,” she said. In this day and age, he has values rarely seen anymore, she said. Neighbors feel safer knowing he is around, she said.

“If anyone needs anything, we know where to go,” Stillwell said. “He never makes you feel embarrassed for asking.”

“His commitment to our neighborhood is awesome,” she wrote. “He is an angel disguised as my friend.”