In my previous woodcraft column, we travelled to the Puget Sound and Seattle to profile the C.C. Filson Company. This week we go to Maine’s Atlantic Coast town of Freeport, home to the L.L. Bean Company.
Established in 1911 by Leon Leonwood Bean, L.L. began to manufacture and sell in 1912 a “Hunting Shoe” or boot constructed of a rubber lower with a leather upper. As I’ve previously written, these same boots are still manufactured in the United States by L.L. Bean and at a very reasonable price for the quality of the Maine Hunting Shoe. Recommended.
L.L. Bean thrived during the Interwar Years. Even during the Great Depression, outdoorsmen believed in the quality of Bean’s clothing (expertly marketed by Bean’s evocative mail order catalogs) to spend at least a portion of their precious discretionary dollars on his outdoor goods.
In the Post-War Years, the L.L. Bean Company remained in family hands and expanded their lines to not just outdoors wear, but also gear. In the Post-Vietnam Years, L.L. Bean further expanded its horizons by opening Outdoor Discovery Schools to bring hands-on expert outdoorsmen instruction to their customer base.
In recent years, the L.L. Bean Company has engaged in “woke” virtue signalling. Whether or not the company’s leaders actually fall for fairy tales such as man-made climate change (Spoiler Alert: Anthropomorphic global warming is indeed a big hoax.), or if it’s simply a marketing move to sell their products to gullible people; I just don’t know. I do know my L.L. Bean Maine Hunting Shoes and Maine Guide Wool Parka are two of my best pieces of outdoor clothing. As well, very pleasant people to deal with (as opposed to the C.C. Filson staff).
Next Week: Cabela’s
Shane Morris is a retired soldier and teacher. Contact at: sigm11@yahoo.com (Subject: NtC)
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