Winter rescue featured in Echoes
“I’m going to die,” thought David Haggan when his snowmobile went through the ice on Pleasant Lake in Island Falls Jan. 1, 2011.
Contributed photo
RELEASED this month, with an oil painting of the St. John River by Dolores Dumont of Fort Kent on the cover, the 111th edition of Echoes also contains features about a man from Stockholm, a woman from Caribou and a man from Ashland. 
A teacher at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden, Haggan was responding to a call for help from another snowmobiler when he “found himself under water with the snowmobile spinning around,” according to an account of his experience in the current edition of Echoes magazine.
Written by Haggan’s father-in-law, Ed Doherty of North Carolina, “Rescue on Pleasant Lake,” details the remarkable story that could have been a tragedy, and appears at a time when erratic weather raises concerns about ice safety.
Released this month, with an oil painting of the St. John River by Dolores Dumont of Fort Kent on the cover, the 111th edition of Echoes also contains features about a man from Stockholm, a woman from Caribou and a man from Ashland.
Albany McCabe, 18, of New Sweden, interviewed Stockholm native Carl “Buddy” Sandstrom when her father, Jesse, told her of his interesting life story. The value of her work, titled “One Man’s Life,” deepened when Sandstrom died last April.
Irmgard Pierson, formerly of Caribou, can laugh now about the effects of not understanding the meaning of outdoor temperatures (Fahrenheit or Centigrade) as a German war bride, but she was not laughing in 1956 when she was not dressed for the weather. The humor of her inexperience is part of her story in Echoes 111 of the years leading up to the thrill of becoming a U.S. citizen in 1961.
Richard Colbath was born and raised in Ashland, but now lives in Sheboygan, Wis. The tale of how he got there appears in Echoes in a reprint of an article that appeared on the front page of the Sheboygan Press last August.
Among other features, Lloyd Irland and Kenneth Laustsen, two writers with careers in forestry, have collaborated for an Echoes article on change and development in Aroostook County forests between 1890 and 1990, tracing the impact of technology and transportation on the history of logging.
Don Cyr of Lille takes readers inside the rectory of the former Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel church with a stunning collection of photographs that illustrate the years of work to restore the 14-room home that once housed the priest and visiting bishops.
Tara Morin of York continues her series of “North Country Tales” for young readers with a narrative poem “Papoose,” and Waterville native Norma Best Boucher relates the story of a woman who fulfilled her dream of living in a forest watch tower.
In a new column on cooking, Kristine Bondeson of Woodland shares her recipes for two favorite soups, acquired when she was a student in Paris.
One of Glenna Johnson Smith’s favorite columns — “My Brother Victor” — appears again in Issue 111, while Houlton native John Dombek explores how flowers lure insects, and genealogist Dottie Hutchins reviews “The Kellys of Kingsclear”, a new book by Darrell McBreairty of Allagash.
Published quarterly in Caribou, Echoes is available by subscription and on newsstands throughout Aroostook County. For information, visit echoesofmaine.com or write P.O. Box 626, Caribou ME 04736-0626.
