The entire population of Patten, Maine, in 1947 is spread across the cover of the new edition of Echoes magazine. The historic black-and-white photograph records the tumultuous homecoming of the Patten Academy basketball team after they defeated Boston Latin High School at the Boston Garden to win the New England Championship.
Two articles in Echoes No. 103 celebrate the March 22, 1947 upset. One traces the two victorious winters leading up to the Patten Eagles’ victory in Boston. The other presents a first-person account of the climactic game and its aftermath written by one of the cheerleaders, who became the wife of the team’s star forward.
Balancing the 60-year retrospectives, essays written by two seniors at Katahdin High School in Stacyville provide current perspectives on the town of Patten. Hannah Buhler and Delaney Fitzpatrick both express realistic love for their hometown as they reflect on its past and their futures.
Chelsey Carroll of Presque Isle and Monique Labbe of Fort Kent also reflect on their hometowns in essays published in the new Echoes. Carrol, a sophomore at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., uses Presque Isle as a model in constructing a definition of success based on “what you do” rather than “what you have.” Labbe, a reporter for the St. John Valley Times, describes how her understanding of “going home” deepened after she accompanied her mother, a native of Montana, to the birthplace she had not seen in years.
The centerpiece of Echoes 103 is a photo feature by Westfield native and professional photographer Ron Laing, who traveled around Aroostook County with his grandfather Tracy Day — The Barrel Man — in the 1960s. Day was a born salesman who taught his grandson that building trust in a customer was the first step in making a sale. Laing’s narrative and color photographs portray an era in potato farming that has nearly vanished.
Another feature honors the 30th anniversary of the Francis Malcolm Science Center in Easton, which has mounted a $1.5 million fund-raising campaign to keep its doors open. The center’s planetarium, exhibits and programs have introduced generations of Aroostook County children to the wonders of nature and the universe, but as the building and its equipment age, the generous legacy of educator Francis Malcolm needs additional support to assure its future.
Essays by writers in Wallagrass and Fort Kent illustrate that, while some people might flee Aroostook County in the winter, there are those who not only stay but actually enjoy clearing snow from their driveways. For Jenny Radsma of Fort Kent, clearing the drive is a satisfying kind of meditation and for her writing partner, Dorothy Hopkins of Wallagrass, creating trenches to drain spring run-off is an annual ritual that gets her outside to feel the sun and hear the chickadees.
Karla Wolters tells how the Swedish immigrants who settled New Sweden came to be the first cross country skiers in America in her column “Past Tracks: Aroostook’s ski heritage.”
With offices in Caribou, Echoes begins its 26th year of continuous quarterly publication. The magazine is printed by PrintWorks in Presque Isle. Visit www.echoesofmaine.com.
