Tressa Versteeg
From the July 2024 issue
Wild blueberries thrive in the East, taking root in the region’s thin soil after the glaciers retreated more than 10,000 years ago. That’s why a large purple geodesic dome rises from the ground beside Highway 1 in Columbia Falls. Marie and Del Emerson built the structure in 2001, a few miles from their farm, Wescogas Wild Blueberries. The dome was originally planned as a farm stand that would be more visible than the hidden barren land. They sold fresh wild blueberries, as well as blueberry jam and blueberry pie.
But the place quickly grew from a business endeavor into a mission to spread the word about Maine’s state berry. “By promoting wild blueberries, we’re saving farms that have been passed down for generations,” Marie said on a recent morning, dressed in a blue fleece vest, blue striped shirt and blue pants. “I always try to wear blue,” she said, explaining that the dome is all about promoting wild blueberries as a “national treasure.”
Over the years, Wild Blueberry Land, as it was called, has become a museum of sorts, with a growing number of historical, geological and ecological exhibits. (Dell’s favorite is the explanation that canned wild blueberries were sent to soldiers as a “secret weapon” during the Civil War, providing a vital source of nutrition. Outside the dome, giant ocean buoys painted blue are dotted, and even the mini golf course features plenty of blue and purple paint.)
The Emersons are luminaries in the state’s blueberry industry. Del worked at the University of Maine’s Wild Blueberry Research Farm for 53 years, and both have been active in various efforts to make wild blueberries more widely available (including the idea of raising interest in creating a national heritage area). But longtime visitors may have noticed some changes to the purple dome in recent years. In 2016, Wild Blueberryland became a nonprofit. Last year, Marie, who is in her 70s, stopped baking at the dome because she was needed at Wesco Gas, along with Del, who is approaching 90. “I’m back on the farm and just doing what Del and I always did,” she says: picking and selling berries.
Today, Wild Blueberry Land has been renamed the Wild Blueberry Heritage Centre and is run by a board of directors. Marie sits on the board, along with community organizers, businesspeople and academics. Beneath the big purple dome, the overall goal remains the same: to raise awareness of wild blueberries. “This ancient crop, nearly 12,000 years old, is rich in biodiversity and intimately connected to all kinds of wildlife,” Marie says. “It’s one of the last real plants left.”
Wild Blueberry Heritage Center is open daily from late June through mid-October. 1067 U.S. Rte. 1, Columbia Falls. 207-483-8200.
