Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site is located at the entrance to Pemaquid Harbor, Maine, one of the earliest sites of European occupation in North America.
Masters Machine Adopts a Trail at LaVerna Preserve
Masters Machine Company is proud to be a continuing supporter of the Pemaquid Watershed. Since 2009, MMC has sponsored the LaVerna Preserve as part of PWA’s Adopt-A-Trail Program.
About LaVerna Preserve
The Pemaquid Watershed Association (PWA) accepted the formal transfer from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of the 120 -acre LaVerna Preserve in the village of Chamberlain in Bristol, Maine, in 2009. This expansive preserve features some 3,600 feet of shoreline, 2.7 miles of trails, and a diverse array of wildlife habitat, including mixed hardwoods, coniferous forests, forested wetlands, freshwater marsh, and gently sloping overgrown farmland. The preserve was acquired in three parcels from 1965 through 1973. Dr. Elizabeth Hoyt and her sister, Mrs. Anna Mavor, donated a 30 -acre parcel; their family trust, the La Verna Foundation, donated a 55 -acre parcel; and The Nature Conservancy purchased the remaining 34 -acre parcel at the southwest end of the preserve.
“Parts, parts, parts!”: Bristol Area Lions Club Visits Masters Machine
To learn more about the community it serves, the Bristol Area Lions Club hit the road recently, touring Masters Machine Company in Round Pond. Hosted by company vice president George Masters, Jr., the Lions saw firsthand why Masters Machine’s tag line is “a measure of precision.”
Started by George Masters Sr. and his sons in 1957 in the historic Washington Schoolhouse in Round Pond Village, this “working machine shop” has grown into a facility that takes up over 100,000 square feet and employs nearly 100 people, including a third generation of the Masters family.
Masters Machine Marks 50th Year in Business
It was 1957. Ike was in the White House, poodle-skirts were the craze, Elvis was shaking up audiences, and gas prices were at an all-time high of 24 cents a gallon. And in the tiny coastal Maine village of Round Pond, George Masters and his wife Edith, were doing their best to raise their family.
George, a skilled machinist, saw an opportunity to start his own business. He hired three employees, obtained an abandoned schoolhouse and set up his own machine shop. Masters Machine Company was born.
Throughout its history the company saw lean years as well as prosperous ones but George was always one to persevere. His attitude was that no matter what they went through, they “would always learn from it.” And learn they did!
He took the knowledge they acquired and used it to do things a little better, a little faster than the time before. Masters gave their customers the parts they needed, when they needed them, and at a fair price. It wasn’t long before the customers kept coming back. In fact, now fifty years later, they still maintain relationships with most of their original accounts. Such a testimony speaks volumes in today’s competitive market.
Masters Machine Company has expanded several times and the workforce has grown from 4 individuals to well over 100 employees. They have always stressed that their most valuable resource are the dedicated and talented people that walk through its doors everyday.
Today the company continues to grow under the leadership of George’s sons: Richard, President, and George, Jr. as Vice President.
Masters Machine Company still does business in Round Pond. It has a new and spacious manufacturing facility only a few miles from its original location. Their markets have expanded to include the automotive industry as well as the electronic, medical, and electrical fields. Parts produced by Masters reach far beyond U.S. shores and are shipped to many different parts of the world.
In 2007 Masters Machine Company celebrates its 50th year in business.