Why is This Sign For Lobster at a Farm Stand in Oxford, Maine Spelled Wrong?

Gather around kids. I'm going to tell you about the history of a sign at Smedberg's Farm Stand in Oxford where a simple mistake has carried on for decades.

Smedberg's Crystal Spring Farm

As you may know, I grew up in the Oxford Hills and for as long as I can remember, which is a VERY long time, Smedberg's Farm Stand has been on Route 26 in Oxford. It's an iconic farm stand in rural Maine that has remained relatively unchanged since opened.

Smedberg's has a wide variety of items for shoppers and farmers alike. Lots of fresh vegetables, fresh milk from their dairy cows, Maine maple syrup, and lobster too. Or is it spelled Lobester?

Lobster

This is the sign that has made Smedberg's famous. You'll see this on your way North on Route 26. Nothing wrong here, right?

Lobester

However, if you're head South on Route 26, you'll see another lobster sign that is spelled wrong. LOBESTER is not a word. If Smedberg's one day decided to correct it, the locals might start protesting for them to bring the LOBESTER sign back. But why?

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How Lobester Became Popular

When Smedberg's started selling fresh lobster, a sign by the side of the road with the word "LOBSTER" on it was painted. It became the talk of the town that someone had misspelled lobster as LOBESTER. The owners of Smedberg's decided to leave it, likely due to all the attention it got.

Smedberg's moved to a new location which is just across the road from their old location on Route 26. This was a chance for them to get the sign right, but no one would have that. So two new signs were put in place. The LOBSTER sign is northbound and the LOBESTER sign is southbound. And there's no doubt in my mind those signs will remain for generations to come.

UPDATE: I heard from Razell Smedberg-Ward, an authority on this piece of Smedberg's history, and explained how this happened.

My mom was painting the sign years ago, someone interrupted her painting and when she went back to continue, one of the staff said ‘you spelled it wrong, there is an E missing “ so she squeezed it onto the sign, only later realizing her mistake, but had no more paint to redo it. So she left it like it was and it became legend!!