The Life of L. L. Bean - Dobbs Productions- Bar Harbor, Maine

L.L.Bean The name has become a household word, but the retail empire known to millions today all started with one simple idea: the Maine Hunting Shoe. And that idea sprang from the mind of none other than L.L. himself, Leon Leonwood Bean. Born into a solid Maine family of humble circumstances, L.L. and his little store in Freeport would come to symbolize Yankee ingenuity, integrity, and the Maine way of life. He believed in the beauty of the outdoors and in treating people fairly in business. "Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat customers like human beings, and they will always come back for more." That was L.L.'s Golden Rule. His journey -- from orphaned boyhood to his design of the famous hunting shoe and the development of his retail philosophy -- is the stuff American legends are made of.