Dexter is best known for Dexter Shoe:J.J. Walters wrote:I'm ashamed to admit that I have never heard of Dexter (other than the really good TV show). Heh. I don't believe Dexter has ever been featured in any of King's novels or short stories. But there are so many small towns in Maine, he can't possible feature them all, now can he. Didn't know that parts of Creepshow 2 was filmed there. Creepshow 2 wasn't nearly as good as the first one, but it does feature "The Raft", one of my favorite SK short stories. Dexter looks like a nice little town.
https://www.dexterbowling.com/
But they are no longer manufactured in Dexter. The company was founded in Dexter by Harold Alfond in the 1950s, and until the early '00s, about 1/4 of Dexter's population worked there (I worked there for the last two years of its existence here in Dexter, on the bowling shoe line). There were also several other Dexter Shoe factories in other towns in Maine. All of Dexter Shoe's manufacturing is in China now. Dexter's shoes and boots used to be very high quality; I don't know if they still are or not (I doubt it). I wore the same pair of Dexter Shoe boots from 1993 when I bought them new at the factory outlet for $70, until 2014 when one of them finally ripped open (I still wear them occasionally, as long as it's dry out). Not to worry though, because I have two brand new identical pairs of them that I got for free during the couple of years that I worked there.
The mill they filmed in for Graveyard Shift (1990) was in Harmony, Maine, which is somewhat of a "satellite" of Dexter, i.e., Harmony kids attend Dexter Regional High School (they have their own primary/middle school). The same goes for Exeter, Ripley, and Garland.
By the way, all of the Maine accents you hear in some Stephen King movies are utterly ridiculous. In fact, I've never heard anyone fake a Maine accent in any TV show or movie correctly (Tom Bosley on Murder, She Wrote was perhaps the all-time worst offender; Fred Gwynne's accent in Pet Semetary was especially bad too). If I were directing a movie set in Maine, if I couldn't find actors who have a real Maine accent (not everyone from Maine does; not even close), I would just have them speak in a neutral accent, which is perfectly valid for a native Mainer. For example, my older brother, younger sister, and I all have a neutral accent; no one could tell what part of the country we are from just from hearing us speak. On the other hand, my older sister, father, and mother all have a pronounced Maine accent. There is really no rhyme or reason with regard to who in this state has a Maine accent and who doesn't.
Speaking of Maine accents, the guy who sings this novelty song is from Dexter ...
https://youtu.be/GyZXnpO8Jew
... though he's a lot older than me. He graduated in 1980, the same year I started kindergarten.