PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine)-- As a native of Bangor, Maine, Bill Green read books to learn about the bigger world. He learned of Bangor, New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.
This week he got to go to Bangor Township, Minnesota and was sort of let down.
It seems that in Minnesota county governments and town governments are important.
Being a township, Bangor isn’t that important.
Ben Terhaar is a selectman in the nearby township of Grove Lake. “Every county has a township,” he told NEWS CENTER Maine. “So you have people on the board of selectman to make decisions such as graveling your roads, snow removal in the winter and that kind of thing.”
Some people in the area were barely aware that there even is a Bangor Township.
One lesson Bill learned out in Minnesota is that in New York, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, it is pronounced “Ban-ger’” So when all those folks from away pronounce the name of his hometown wrong, perhaps it’s done with some perspective.
Bangor Township and Bangor, Maine have wonderful people in them, Bill reports.
The population of Bangor is about 33-thousand. The population of Bangor Township is 217.
It is a beautiful country region filled with large farms.
A noted local historian notes that he believes it was named for Bangor, Maine.