Paul Bunyan Furniture

From Military Service to Maine Furniture Maker

After retiring from full-time military service in the 1960s, Pete Kazlaskas began a new chapter of his life in Amherst. Drawing on the discipline, technical knowledge, and leadership skills he had developed during his military career, Pete founded Paul Bunyan Furniture and transformed the Amherst mill into a thriving rural Maine business.

Pete’s connection to the military did not end entirely when he entered civilian business. He continued serving with the Maine Air National Guard, eventually attaining the rank of colonel in 1971.   At the same time, he devoted himself to building Paul Bunyan Furniture and operating Amherst Lumber Company, becoming both a respected military leader and a local businessman.

For more than 30 years, Paul Bunyan Furniture operated within the mill that now houses our brewery. The business reflected the practical ingenuity and strong work ethic for which rural Maine is known. In a community surrounded by forests, lumber, and generations of skilled craftspeople, Pete created a company rooted in woodworking and the tradition of making useful, lasting things by hand.

Under his leadership, the mill became a place of steady work, heavy machinery, raw lumber, and furniture making. The equipment and artifacts that remain in the building offer a glimpse into that working world and into the business Pete built after leaving full-time military service.

The Legacy of Pete Kazlaskas and Paul Bunyan Furniture

Long before the first batch of beer was brewed here, this old Amherst mill was home to a different kind of Maine craftsmanship. For more than 30 years, Paul Bunyan Furniture operated within these walls as a thriving rural business. The company was owned by Peter L. “Pete” Kazlaskas, who also owned the Amherst Lumber Company, connecting his work to the forests, materials, and traditions that have shaped rural Maine for generations.

The Life of Peter “Pete” Kazlaskas

Pete’s story began far from Amherst. He was born on August 6, 1922, in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, the son of John and Marguerite Kazlaskas. In 1940, he joined the Armed Forces and was assigned to the 703rd Ordnance Company at Bangor Air Base. During World War II, he served in the Pacific and completed officer training in Australia before returning to duty in the United States.

His military service continued long after the war ended. Pete served with the Air Force Reserve’s 928th VARTU Squadron in Bangor and later joined the Maine Air National Guard, where he commanded the 101st Supply Squadron. During the 1960s, he advanced through the ranks of major and lieutenant colonel while serving as supply staff officer with the 101st Air Defense Wing. In 1971, he earned the rank of colonel. By the end of his career, Pete had devoted more than 40 years to his country, serving during World War II and throughout much of the formative history of the Maine Air National Guard.

Pete’s interests and abilities extended well beyond military service. He studied chemistry and engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, an education that reflected his technical curiosity and practical way of thinking. He and his wife, Barbara Webber of Garland, were married for 60 years and made their home in Amherst. It was here that Pete built his civilian life, raised his family, and operated both Amherst Lumber Company and Paul Bunyan Furniture.

Paul Bunyan Furniture

For more than three decades, Paul Bunyan Furniture was part of the working life of Amherst. Its home was the mill that now houses our brewery—a building created for labor, machinery, resourcefulness, and production. In an area surrounded by the Maine woods, a furniture business represented a natural meeting place between local materials and skilled hands.

The name Paul Bunyan Furniture was especially at home in this setting. Paul Bunyan, the legendary woodsman of North American folklore, has long represented the strength, independence, and larger-than-life character of the northern forest. The company’s name captured something of the place itself: hardworking, practical, unmistakably rural, and deeply connected to the woods.

Although the business is no longer operating, the old mill continues to tell its story. Original artifacts, vintage tools, and treasures from its woodworking years remain throughout the brewery. Refurbished woodworking machines dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s have been given new purpose as tables where visitors now gather over food, conversation, and locally brewed beer. These pieces are more than decoration. They are tangible reminders of the people who worked here and the craftsmanship that once filled this building.

The worn surfaces, heavy cast-iron bases, wooden beams, and surviving equipment preserve the character of an earlier working world. They invite visitors to imagine the mill during its furniture-making years, when machinery, lumber, and human skill came together under one roof. By keeping these artifacts in place, the brewery honors the building rather than hiding its past.

A New Craft in an Old Mill

In 2015, the mill began another chapter when Sharon and Gary Cresswell opened Airline Brewing Company in the historic space. Where furniture was once made, beer is now brewed. The products may be different, but the two crafts share important qualities: patience, precision, experience, respect for materials, and pride in making something well.

Today, visitors can enjoy a pint surrounded by reminders of the people and industries that came before us.  Every preserved artifact that decorates the Tasting Room, connects the brewery to Pete Kazlaskas and the generations of Maine craftspeople represented by Paul Bunyan Furniture.

Our beer may be the reason people first make the trip to Amherst, but the history of this mill is an equally important part of the experience. This is more than a place where beer is made. It is a place where Maine craftsmanship lives on—where the working past of an old furniture mill has become part of a new tradition of brewing, hospitality, and community.