The Inn on the Wharf in Lubec features many trademarks shared by similar places in Maine: a great view, fresh lobster dinners and a lobby with a small gift shop. Listen carefully, however, and something makes this place out of the ordinary.
The surrounding voices don’t sound like Downeast accents. They belong to six friendly young women, four from Bulgaria and two from Lithuania.
Victor and Judy Trafford opened the Inn, located in an old factory, in 2009. “Judy and I spent that first year making a lot of beds and taking care of everything ourselves,” Trafford recalls. In winter 2010, Trafford received an email that he almost dismissed. It was from a young woman asking for work. This wasn’t a usual summer jobseeker, however. She came from Lithuania.
Trafford set up a Skype interview a short time later and spoke with two young women, both of whom were from Lithuania. He says he was impressed with their eagerness and willingness to work at whatever jobs were available. For Trafford, that hiring decision three years ago launched a tradition of including foreign workers among his summer help.
This summer his workers include Bulgarians Mila Viktorova Asparuhova, 23, and Lidiya Ivanova Angelova, 22, who have both worked in the United States for three summers and have known each other for many years. This is their first summer in Maine.
For them, the huge draw is the opportunity to improve their language skills. “I found out that this is the best experience to get for the summer,” Asparuhova says. “To help improve my English, make friends and have adventures.” Angelova adds, “It also pays much better than in Bulgaria. But it’s not just for the money. The main purpose is to improve my English.”
Milena Detelinova Chakarova, 20, who goes by Mimi and is also from Bulgaria, is experiencing her first summer in the States. She has felt a deep attraction to the country for many years. “I wanted to come for a long time,” she says. “It was like a dream. People in my country consider America to be the best country. So, I thought, why should only Americans live the American dream?”
How does an employer in Lubec, Maine, meet workers from Eastern Europe?
The four women from Bulgaria were hired through a private employment agency in their home country. “We can’t go [abroad to work] until we’re in university,” Nadezdha Paneva (Nadia), 20, explains. “But there are agencies all over Bulgaria—you just have to search. They make sure employers are reliable.”
“The agency looks for job offers and contacts people looking for students. They found Victor, we spoke on Skype and he said, ‘If you want, we certainly want to have you next summer,” Asparuhova says, speaking of her job search this spring and her work this summer.
The two Lithuanian women working at the Inn this summer obtained their jobs through a slightly different process. Evija Vaidilaite, 21, who is working at the Inn for her second year, used an employment agency listing foreign opportunities. From there, jobseekers can research jobs and contact employers themselves. Vaidilaite says she looked forward to returning to work for Trafford for a second summer. “I was satisfied and I knew my job,” she says. “Plus, he provides housing.”
Vaidilaite and Paneva have older sisters who came to America for summer jobs before they ventured here. “My sister told me that there were so many friendly people and lots of nice places,” Vaidilaite says.
But are the foreign visitors taking jobs from locals? Trafford says no.
“I haven’t turned down anyone local who has applied,” he says. Trafford employs 24 at the inn and restaurant. He says he simply doesn’t get enough applicants to fill all of the job openings. Additionally, “it’s hard to find someone local who just wants to fill in. These girls are very available” for summer work, he says, noting the seasonal nature of his employment. Once the foreign workers are employed, they live together kitty-corner to the inn, they can be called in quickly and even answer the phone in the middle of the night, which Victor says is a great convenience.
Trafford says his Eastern European workers give the Inn “a nice flavor.” But he’s happy his employees have an opportunity to learn about the United States. “If you don’t know a country or its people, it’s easy to give them a bad label,” he says. “These girls get to experience the American way of life and make friends here.”
Chloe Barnett is a resident of Dennysville and a participant in The Working Waterfront’s Student Journalism Program.