OWLS HEAD — We celebrated Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11. A time we honor all those who fought in our nation’s wars, who were giving of their patriotism and sacrifice so we may live as a free nation. Veterans Day is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first Armistice Day in 1919. President Dwight Eisenhower changed it to Veterans Day in 1954. But, did you know that Monday, Nov. 12,  was “National Pizza with everything (except anchovies) Day.”

Yes, it’s true. A little known and less celebrated day, but nonetheless, it’s on the books. It ranks right up there with National Dill Pickle Day and National Cookie Day, among others.

So where to celebrate this day with a loaded pizza pie? The national franchises seemed too commercial. Every truck stop and convenience store sells pizza, but I was looking for a slice of not only real Americana, but that distinct flavor of Maine’s Midcoast. I found both at the Owls Head General Store. And since it was under new ownership, it seemed like the logical place to go.

She looked at me, looked toward the kitchen, looked back at me and looked at the ticket she had just written.

'They're gonna kill me,' she said.

The origin of pizza pie goes back a lot farther than you might think. The invention of pizza is credited to Naples, Italy. It’s pretty much the pie we enjoy today whether it’s thin, hand-tossed, or a thick, deep dish, Chicago style crust. However, pizza can also be traced back as far as Neolithic man. That’s about 10,000 BC to those of you in the know. It’s the era that gave rise to farming and using grains as cereals. The Neo-gourmand of the day would place burning wood and coals atop a flat rock. When the rock was sufficiently hot enough he would brush away the charcoals and lay a piece of flat dough on the rock before adorning it with seeds and spices. The rest, as they say, is evolution.

Most countries have their own style of pizza. In Brazil, it gets topped with chocolate and served as dessert. In Israel, there are rules about keeping it Kosher and you can’t mix meat and vegetables in the same space. In Japan, it comes with squid; in Australia, with egg. The constant here is the dough. Wheat flour, salt, water and yeast. It is supposed to be hand-kneaded then allowed to rise before being “tossed” to a thickness of no more than three millimeters.

But we were in Owls Head, at the Owls Head General Store. When I entered, I glanced at the menu to make sure there was pizza before I opened my mouth. It was there: plain cheese and up to four toppings on both a large and small pie. At the bottom of the board was what I was looking for: Loaded, $17.95. I had picked the right place. My Pavlov’s dog conditioning set in.

The little general store was swamped with people. The grill was full — and I mean not an inch of space left — with giant hamburger patties waiting to be turned into “Maine’s Best Cheeseburger” as proclaimed by the Food Network. It was what everyone there seemed to be ordering. When it came to my turn, I casually asked the woman behind the register if she knew what day it was. She turned out to be Sherree Craig, one of the new owners along with her husband, Rob. After she stated that it was “National Pizza with everything (except anchovies), Day” I knew my spidey senses had brought me to the right spot. I introduced myself and ordered the pizza.

She looked at me, looked toward the kitchen, looked back at me and looked at the ticket she had just written.

“They’re gonna kill me,” she said.

She handed the ticket off to Rob and he looked at it, looked at me, looked at the grill, looked again at the ticket, looked again at the grill, looked again at me and then looked at his wife before breaking out in a big smile.

“It’s going to be at least 30 minutes,” he said. “We’re swamped back here. I’m sorry, but it’s going to be at least 30 minutes.”

“No problem,” I stated. “I don’t mind waiting. Make it nice.”

“That, I can promise,” he said before turning back to his work.

With 30 minutes to kill I decided to take a quick drive up to the lighthouse. I didn’t get to see it because I ran into a very charming lady painting a shoreline scene on her canvas at the entrance to the facility. We chatted and before you knew it, it was time to head back to the general store with another story in hand.

“It just came out of the oven,” greeted me when I entered. I took a picture of it before it was sliced and took a seat inviting the owners to sit down and talk to me while I ate.

The couple bought the store in July. They added some new items, but nothing was taken away form the old menu. The cook remained, as well. The pizza sported a nice crust, with the store's own sauce beneath layers of cheese, onion, green peppers, green and black olives, hamburger, pepperoni, ham and sausage. It was a good two inches thick and 14 inches in diameter.

“We sell a lot of pizzas,” said Sherree. “And, of course, a lot of cheeseburgers.”

The general store serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Though they keep winter hours, they have no plans on closing during the winter months. Monday through Thursday it’s 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. They close at 3 p.m. on Sundays. Of note: on Wednesdays they serve “Mission Impastable”, which features a different pasta dish every week. On Fridays, it’s a lunch special of haddock melt.

“You have to call ahead to order on that one or you won’t get one," said Sherree. “It’s very popular.”

Rob and Sherree Craig have resided in South Thomaston since June of 1998, but are both from Maine.

“We talked for years that we wanted to do something and we looked at other venues,” said Rob. “But, we knew this was the store we wanted and we got it. It’s perfect.”

In addition to the general store the couple has the food concession at the Knox County Regional Airport. The cupcakes and pies looked amazingly good, as well. Pies included apple, pumpkin, blueberry, pecan and tri-berry, but after the pizza there was no way I could squeeze another bite in. That I’ll save for a Maine’s Best Cheeseburger lunch.