W E LC O M E TO T H E B U S I N E S S, J E R R Y • 35 In Maine, there were many wholesale customers, six grocery customers, and scores of vending customers. Today because of consolidation, there are only three retail customers, two wholesale customers and one large customer. The largest wholesaler has 100 people and does a billion dollars a year in sales. I remember one jobber, in Gardner, ME and if I got to his place early enough on Monday and his wife was out working, he would offer me a piece of her homemade pie or cake. And then on Monday night, if I was lucky, I would get to have spaghetti and meatballs with Charlie Canning of Pine State Tobacco. He would invite me to join him, his wife Jeri and their five kids. On Tuesday morning, we would go to his Water Street office in Augusta and get down to work. Charlie’s father was still around, but Charlie ran the business. He was very proud of his family. One Easter week, he showed me a picture of his family in their best clothes. He was so important to the community that the picture ended up on the front page of the Augusta newspaper. Charlie Canning, Jr. (father) holding Keith.; Gerrie (mother) holding Kevin; and four kids below (left to right) Gena, Charlie, Alice and Marybeth. Special thanks to the Canning family for this photo.