Scott and Corinne Larson sat down with an atlas one day at their home in Atlanta, Georgia, and picked out states where they'd rather live. "Atlanta was getting a little hot and crowded, and the traffic was horrible," explains Scott. Since he and his wife were expecting their first child, they were searching for a better quality of life. They made separate lists, and discovered they had a dozen preferred states in common. One was Maine, where Corinne had attended Bowdoin College. Believing that they would enjoy running an inn or B&B and had the know-how to be successful, they began investigating opportunities in their chosen states.
The search stopped on Southport Island, at the Newagen Seaside Inn owned by Heidi and Peter Larsen. The historic inn situated on a remarkable site at the southern tip of the island was just what the Larsons were looking for; and, besides, how could the similarity in the couples' names not be some kind of a sign? And, joked Scott in his mild southern drawl, "I hoped the folks in Maine would help me straighten out my accent."
*A New Life, A New Start*
On November 27, 2000 the Larsons' first baby, Maggie, was born. Settlement on the inn was held four days later. The family moved to Boothbay Harbor in January of 2001 and began a massive renovation on Newagen while fielding reservation calls from a makeshift office in their attic. The Inn re-opened in May and, shortly thereafter, Corinne discovered she was pregnant again. Along came baby Kate in January 2002, and the purchase of nearby Lawnmere Inn in October 2003. The latest piece of the puzzle was the purchase of Boothbay Harbor’s historic Russell House in December 2003 to house corporate offices. The Larsons later added a commercial laundry facility and re-opened the Russell House’s once popular restaurant.
While Scott oversees ultimate management of Newagen, he leaves the daily operations in the uber-competent hands of Innkeeper Jason Schlosser and his staff. Scott has since founded True North Events & Catering, a nation-wide company that plans and delivers corporate employee relations events, weddings and private parties. Corinne stays home with the girls and works part-time on miscellaneous marketing and design projects for the Larsons’ companies.
The Larson family feels they’ve found a permanent home in Boothbay Harbor and can’t imagine a better place to raise their family. “The sense of community here is incredible,” says Corinne. “We have twice as many friends here in this little town as we ever did in the big city. It surprises me that I love going to the post office every day, and that the bank tellers know where I went on my last vacation. Even though the closest Target is 45 minutes away, we’re here to stay.”
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