MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 6, 2023
The Maine mystique includes a vision of rugged individualism, of stoic and frugal folks who deal with whatever life throws at them with perseverance and common sense. Spending money on something that has the same effect as a free ocean breeze or wind through the trees is definitely not part of that. It’s a point of pride with some Mainers to bravely battle the elements, whether that means keeping the furnace off until December or sweating through a hot spell with a couple of box fans in August. Mainers’ reluctance to get air conditioning – or any cooling system – may be changing as summer temperatures get hotter each year and people spend more time working from home instead of in air-conditioned offices, especially since the pandemic.