After many, many long months, it appears that spring has finally sprung in southern Aroostook County. A sure sign that we have escaped winter’s icy grasp is the opening of the Houlton Farms Dairy Bar on Military Street. The Mill Pond Dairy Bar, with all of its delicious fried goodies, is slated to open this Thursday.
Taking a trip to the dairy bar always seems to bring out the little kid in me. What flavor of soft serve will they have? Will I get a dip-top cone or a milk shake? How can I possibly decide? For those that are lactose intolerant, you have my sympathy because you are missing out on one of the great pleasures in life.
How else do I know that spring is finally here? My wife decided this past weekend that it was time to throw open all of the windows to our home and “air the place out.” Her first attempt came a couple of weekends ago with just a couple of windows. I quickly found myself going behind her and closing every single one of them, stating it was “too cold” and that I didn’t want the furnace to kick on.
This past weekend, as the temperatures rose to the mid 50s, there was no stopping her. Windows on all levels of the house were flung open with carefree abandon to get out all of the germs and welcome in fresh new air. I don’t know if you can actually get germs out of your home by circulating the air, but it sounds good in theory.
My youngest daughter has been asking for a couple of weeks now to paint her bicycle. She had outgrown her precious “Hello Kitty” bicycle and inherited one that her sister used several years ago. Before that, the bike belonged to my niece who is now in college, so it has seen its fair share of use and abuse.
Instead of buying a new bike, which she would probably outgrow in a year, we agreed to paint the bike in whatever color scheme she wanted. I have a variety of paints on a shelf in the basement, along with countless other half-used products I seem to have accumulated over the years. She said she wanted it to be hot pink and glossy black, which of course I did not have.
After church and a quick trip to the store, we had the paint and began taping off areas that we didn’t want painted. Five minutes into the project, she lost interest and moved on to something else. Several hours and multiple coatings later, the bike was finished. I only managed to get a little bit of paint on my hands, and some on my head too (the hot pink of course) after bumping the wet handlebars.
Once it was complete, I was impressed with how it came out and she was adequately satisfied and couldn’t wait to ride it over to my parents’ house to show it off. I’d call it a win-win for everyone.
With the coming of spring, so too marks the start of another sports season for local athletes. Although area baseball and softball fields have been pretty much unplayable, local athletes have been getting by as best they can with practices in local gymnasiums or in school parking lots.
The first games of the baseball/softball season will tentatively be held at Katahdin Middle/High School as the Cougars host Penobscot Valley Friday, April 24 at 3:30 p.m. Hodgdon pushed back its first game of the year as the Hawks will now host Southern Aroostook Community School Monday, April 27, at 4 p.m. Caribou is scheduled to play at Houlton on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m.
East Grand School has joined forces with Greater Houlton Christian Academy this spring. The softball team is slated to play its first game on Thursday, April 30 at 4 p.m. hosting Central Aroostook, while the baseball team will wait until Friday, May 1, against Wisdom.
The Houlton boys and girls tennis teams will leap into action on Tuesday, April 28, hosting Caribou at 3:30 p.m. Also this spring, Houlton will make its first foray into the outdoor track and field competition, with the first meet scheduled for Friday, April 24 at Bangor High School. All of the Shires meets will be away as there is no local facility suitable for hosting a track meet.
Supporting local athletes by attending games is a vital piece in a team’s success. All winter long, these athletes see large groups come to watch basketball games, but that same attendance never seems to continue for the baseball, softball and tennis squads.
Sure, it is likely to be a bit chilly, but the young men and women who are representing their respective schools deserve equal support for their programs. Personally, there is nothing finer than taking in an afternoon game, snacking on sunflower seeds or hot dogs, while cheering on our local athletes. After all, isn’t everyone itching to get outside after such a long winter? Why not make a plan to show your support for these fine athletes and attend a game or two this spring?
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect that of the newspaper. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.
