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Thornton Academy
438 Main St.
Saco, Maine, 04072
(207) 282-3361
STORY BY JOHN MORRELL, TOM DANYLIK & ADAM QUINLAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIELLE SILVA
DESIGN BY KATRINA STAGG & JOHN MORRELL
The quintessential appearance of an old Mom and Pop store. Retired gas pumps that stand alone, masked with dusk. The pleasant ring of the door as one enters. Candy that engrosses the eye as every kid's dream becomes a reality. This is the Way Way store.
Catherine Cousens, who works at the Way Way store, became the third generation family member to work there. About fifteen years ago, Cousens began working at the store after her children had grown up.
"This job kind of just dropped in my lap," says Cousens. Both she and her husband, Maynard John Cousens, are graduates of Thornton Academy, class of 1949. "I never thought back then that I'd be running the Way Way store."
Her, along with her husband's aunt, Margaret Tyrell, run the store. Cousen's husband's father and grandfather built it in 1928 with the help of prehistoric tools and seventy-two acres of trees. Every stone placed, every piece of lumber cut, and every element of this store is deeply soaked with family roots.
Since 1929, the Way Way store has provided the Saco community with local flavor and plenty of candy, pleasing the palettes of everyone that steps foot upon this landmark.
"Almost everyone goes out smiling," says Cousens. If not from the plethora of candy, the atmosphere alone lightens the day of every customer. The first thing one would notice on approaching the Way Way store are the old gas pumps that rest upon the dirt driveway. They stopped selling gas in the eighties when tanks had to be dug out of the ground. "It wasn't cost effective to go back into the gasoline business," says Cousens.
Before concentrating on candy, the Way Way store was a general store. They sold clothing, produce and hardware among the miscellaneous items, but stopped because of competition.
"When the larger stores opened up, the chain stores, we had to drop the clothing and hardware. We used to cut our own meats here as well." Quite the interesting mix of goods — but this was the general store — and if you lived between Saco and Buxton — this was your store.
The name of the store comes from being "way way" out of town.
"But now the town has come up to us," says Cousens. When the store was built there were probably a half dozen farms between here and town, but now there are housing developments in its place, and it's all residential now."
Cousens had always enjoyed bookkeeping, but also shared an interest in writing short stories and poetry. As a teen she worked at the Saco Mutual Theater (now a bank on Main Street in Saco) selling candy and ushering as well as bookkeeping for the theater. Parallel to her job today, she does the same tasks as she once did in the theater — only now she works seven days a week.
"My life is the Way Way store," says Cousens.
But she loves it. Where else could you work seven days a week and love doing it? The Way Way store is not only popular for its candy, but the friendly service only available at a local mom and pops store. The amiability offered by the two ladies who are the Way Way store brings not only a smile to customers, but warms the heart of the community.
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