‘Downeast Dickering’ stars split on show’s future

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    SANGERVILLE — Since the History Channel canceled “Downeast Dickering” in January, Maine fans have started a Facebook page that has drawn more than 6,600 “likes” in an attempt to get the reality show reinstated.
    But don’t expect local star Clint Rohdin of Sangerville to get on board. “When this show started, I canceled my Facebook page and fenced off my driveway,” Rohdin said. “They can get 2 million likes and I wouldn’t go back on it again.”

Observer File Photo

    DOWNEAST DICKERERS — Nate Knight (left) and Clint Rohdin take a break last spring from salvaging items from an apartment building that was later demolished in Guilford.

    Rohdin, Nate Knight and Bruce Thomas were one of the teams featured on the show that depicted Mainers bartering for goods and services where no cash was exchanged.
    Rohdin is best known locally as a house painter, roofer and handyman. Knight is a neighbor who works for the Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative; and Thomas, who lives in Willimantic, has done everything from logging to dairy farming.
    While Rohdin said he was assured that the filming would have a minimal effect on his family life and everyday dealings, he said the opposite was true. “We not only worked eight and 10 hours a day to get five or ten minutes worth of film, but they took some of the best parts out,” he said. “So there was a lack of ‘true’ reality.”
    In addition, Rohdin said that the characters were paid strictly per episode. “So if they have reruns on for 10 years, we don’t get a dime extra,” he explained. “In addition, they filmed eight episodes the first year, and didn’t show me in one of them; the second year, they filmed me in seven and didn’t show me in two.”
    Thomas, however, said he mostly enjoyed the experience “even if it took some getting used to. If you could forget the camera was on you, it was a lot easier.”
    One of the disadvantages Thomas noted was the production schedule, which took up most of the summer. “I’m not used to being tied down, especially when there’s work that needs to be done,” he said.
    He agreed with Rohdin on one thing, however. “I couldn’t believe how long it would take to get five or 10 minutes of usable film,” he said. “We’d think some of the stuff was great but it never made the final cut.”
    Thomas said that Rohdin didn’t hide the fact that he was annoyed. “He would pull some things during the shootings that would make us all laugh. I think he quit four or five times” he said. “We’re still friends today.”
    According to the Portland Press Herald, the “Bring Back Downeast Dickering” Facebook page was started by Jason Perkins, a restaurant cook from Pittsfield, who said that the page got 3,500 “likes” in 24 hours.
    The show was also inspired by Mainers’ use of “Uncle Henry’s Swap or Sell It Guide,” and the production company that filmed the episodes placed “help wanted” ads in the magazine for participants.
    About 15 former cast members of “Downeast Dickering” will meet for a rally on Sunday, May 17 at America’s Mattress in Windham from 1 to 3 p.m., but Thomas said that he has other plans for that day. “It’s too bad that some local TV station couldn’t produce a program like this,” he said. “At least the show pictured us as Mainers making something that works.”
    But Rohdin said that wasn’t always the case. “In some episodes, we wound up looking like a bunch of unemployable people ripping off their neighbors,” he said. “So I’ve had enough of being famous, even for a short time.”