BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 24, 2021
While most people associate the logging industry in Maine with paper mills, the plentiful forests of Maine provided wood for many products, from yo-yos to cigar lighters. In fact, at one point, one Maine town supplied almost the entirety of the nation’s supply of toothpicks. The tiny town of Strong, population 1,156, in Franklin County was the “toothpick capital of the world.” Though Strong’s hold on the toothpick industry eventually subsided, the story of ingenuity, invention and creative marketing is one to remember.