A Line Forms A line forms outside of Reds Eats on Main Street in Wiscasset. (Photo Douglas Morier)

I spent an evening at Reds to see how this unassuming, roadside fish-fry stand can be the picture of etiquette.

In the evening one will find all young people working at Reds. Most of them attend school locally and since school is starting up again, it seemed a good idea, rather than telling you about the latest fads in backpacks and jeans, to talk about something kids (and their parents) might actually find useful, manners. Since September is Childrens Good Manners Month, I found some hard-working young people and looked at what kind of manners they have, where they get them and how they hold up under pressure.

I was immediately impressed. As soon as I arrived I got in line to order my own dinner. The woman in front of me was terribly upset that they were out of mushrooms for her meal. The young lady at the counter was very patient, apologized profusely and empathized with the womans situation. I can guarantee that most would not have been so compassionate about another persons mushrooms. Mind you this is the end of August when most people have very few pleasantries left to spare.

How does Reds find such patient and mannerly employees? They raise them that way. Cassandra Fairfield, 18 and Ashley Gagnon, (almost) 17 are both granddaughters of owner, Alan Gagnon.

They both agree that they were not taught manners simply when they came into the restaurant business and had to interact with customers. They were always brought up to be polite. Everyone used to compliment my mom on bringing us up so well, says Fairfield. The compliments she received as a child for her politeness have carried over. It makes you feel good, she says.

Gagnon says, Ive always been brought up, Yes, please, and Thank you.

Most people are brought up with some basic knowledge of etiquette but not many people can maintain those standards under the kind of pressure that these young people see on a daily basis.

Once in a while someones just mad, says Conor Hannan, 15. I just try and kill them with kindness. Hannan was also brought up in a very mannerly household. His mother, Mary-Esther, says, Im a stickler on manners.

Theyll (the kids) copy what you do, she says. She made Conor send his own Thank You cards before he could even write A few marks on a piece of paper would suffice. The kids at Reds can all think of many instances where their consideration was never reciprocated with a single Please or Thank you, but they never crack under the pressure. They always smile, as Hannan says.

In fact, a Reds patron I spoke to can only recall one instance when he saw a Reds employee get fed up with a customer. He says that it was about three years ago and he still talks about it today. To hear him mention it, one would think he saw the planets line up.

I talked to some customers about manners as well. Alice Duncan, a summer resident of Alna, was having dinner with her daughter Ella, 11, and a friend, Emily Smith, 11.

When asked if they can recall when they realized that there were certain ways they were supposed to act around certain people, Ella responds, When I was little I used to bite people. Thats when I figured out different people would put up with different things. Are manners then just something we save for people who wont tolerate less? Her mother says, Manners are the great social lubricant. (They are) a lot more than formality. She says that by the time she got to high school she realized, This is a world system. More than being a goodey-goodey, (manners are) very positive. As Ella says, Theyre a happy thing. Ella tells me that the other day, Emily was very concerned about what people might think of the two of them walking around downtown Wiscasset without shoes on their feet. Ella assured her that nobody driving by would stop to notice their feet. Perhaps. But one never knows when a meddling reporter might come along and print the fact that he or she was tramping around town like Huckleberry Finn. It always pays to mind your manners. People, generally, want a positive reaction from other people. They settle for a negative reaction when they can get nothing else, but positive is preferred. Everyone seems to agree that manners get that positive reaction.

While many people might think that manners are something artificial, something put on, they do make people pleasant and that makes people genuinely happy. Fairchild says that when customers are pleasant and polite the people at Reds remember them and what they ordered. I asked her what I ordered and she remembered. I then asked her what Alice Duncan, Ella and Emily ordered and she remembered their orders as well and said that they were very nice. People at Reds are very nice and they are very polite. And their customers appreciate it. Three gentlemen sang me a song one had written to the tune of Jingle Bells. Eat at Reds. Eat at Reds. Lobster rolls and fries. Oh, what fun it is to drive On Rt. 1 in July. Good manners make people sing.