The eyes of the world are on Aroostook County in 2014 and the new edition of Echoes magazine celebrates the biathletes and Acadians who have put The County on the world stage.
As the St. John Valley gears up for the 2014 Acadian World Congress/Congres mondial acadien Aug. 8-24, the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle celebrates the success of the 2014 Youth/Junior World Biathlon Championships held Feb. 28-March 7.
“Daytime at the Maine Winter Sports Center,” an oil painting by Fort Kent artist Dolores Dumont, fills the front and back covers of Echoes No. 104 released this month. Her work forms a colorful backdrop for images of two of the four members of the U.S. Olympic biathlon team competing in Sochi, Russia, all of whom trained at the Maine Winter Sports Center.
Photos of flags and fans from a few of the 29 countries represented at the World Championships in Presque Isle illustrate a feature on biathlon and on Stockholm native Russell Currier, a product of the MWSC who was the only Maine native to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia.
In a splash of Acadian colors, a map of the host region for the World Acadian Congres/Congres mondial acadien forms the centerpiece of the magazine. Embracing portions of Quebec, New Brunswick and Maine, the map lists the locations of more than 100 family reunions for the two-week event in August.
An alphabetical list of families – from Albert to Zangio Dako – scheduled to reunite as of March 15 accompanies an article titled “Focus on Families” by former St. John Valley Times publisher and editor Don Levesque.
“The focus of CMA 2014 is on families,” writes Levesque, noting that more than 50 of the reunions are scheduled in Maine. “CMA 2014 has invited all families in the area to hold a reunion,” he said, distinguishing this Congress for including non-Acadian as well as French-speaking participants.
In addition to articles celebrating how the world sees northern Maine and neighboring Canada, this edition of Echoes presents three articles focused on East Grand Lake in Orient. Writers Frank Bolton of Brooklyn, N.Y., Jane McGillicuddy Phipps of Bluffton, S.C., and Richard Rhoda of Houlton offer personal and historical insights on the community and the environment of East Grand Lake, illustrating why generations of families return every summer.
Other writers look to the past and the future of northern Maine. In “Echoes of the Future,” Sandra Gauvin of Presque Isle envisions an Aroostook County where young people can get both education and employment, enabling them to live and raise their families where they grew up. She and her husband Ray have launched Aroostook Aspirations, a new initiative to inspire high school students to attend local colleges and become involved with local businesses as they prepare for their careers.
In “Border Crossings,” David Parker of Rochester, N.Y., traces the significance of many crossings between Maine and Canada during his life. Both Parker and Presque Isle native Jack Pasqual of San Antonio, remember the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. Pasqual recounts the thrill of a trip downstate on the train in the 1940s in “Railroaders and Revelers.”
Regular columnists Glenna Johnson Smith and John Dombek reflect on changing times in essays titled “A Trashy Tale” and “Diabolical Influences.”
Genealogist Dottie Hutchins anticipates the heyday of Acadian family reunions in August and Karla Wolters traces the origins of Aroostook County winter carnivals and the skiing tradition that has been revived by the Maine Winter Sports Center.
Published quarterly from offices in Caribou and printed at PrintWorks in Presque Isle, Echoes celebrates qualities of life at risk in today’s world but thriving in places like northern Maine. For more information visit echoesofmaine.com.
