From time to time in the store, brother Bill and I are asked how we got into this business. Sometimes the implication is, "This doesn't look all that tricky. Maybe the Mrs. and I should open one of these in Tulsa."

In mid-1984, we were refugees from private boarding schools. Bill had been an English teacher, coach, and dorm master at a well-known coed school in Massachusetts (and, in fact, now serves as Provost at a Boston-area school).

I had been headmaster of a very traditional girls' school, also in Massachusetts. Newly released from responsible lives, we were clear about what we wanted next: something that would regularly put us in contact with British and Irish pubs. School work can do that to you.

Guided by such altruism, we opened Bridgham and Cook, Ltd, - those are our middle names - in a very low-key way in Exeter, NH. That was 1985, and the results were low-key beyond all expectations. Fortunately, God (and L.L.Bean) made Freeport, Maine, a shopper's dream.

We are now starting our twenty-second year. We are tucked next to some of the most prestigious stores in the country, in a friendly and attractive town that is only a few miles from where we grew up. We are surely gratified that this niche of ours has prospered in what is a beehive of innovative businesses, big crowds, and high rents.

Welcome to Bridgham and Cook. We hope that we will be able to have you as a customer.