Nordic skiing returns to Arrostook

By
John Morton
Posted September 1st, 2000

Aroostook County forms the
northern tip of Maine. It’s
known primarily for endless evergreen forests, rolling potato fields and harsh winters. The town of Allagash made national headlines a year ago by recording a temperature of minus 52 degrees below zero.
Skiing in the eastern United States has its origins in Aroostook County. In 1870, several dozen Swedish immigrants were lured to northern Maine by the promise of a better life, 100 acres of free land, and a dollar a day to clear fields and build roads. Skiing was not a sport in those days, it was an essential means of transportation during the long, cold winters. By the early 1900s Fredrick Jorgensen of New Sweden, Maine, had established a reputation as a dedicated game warden who, thanks to his prowess on skis, struck fear into the hearts of many poachers.
The 1930s brought lavish winter carnivals to Aroostook County; week-long festivals that featured ski jumping and cross-country competitions.In spite of temperatures hovering at 30 below, the highlight of the 1937 Fort Fairfield Winter Carnival was the Tri-Town Ski Marathon, a 35-mile loop that linked Caribou, Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield, which was skied three days in a row!
Ironically, it was plowed roads and the 10th Mountain Division that brought an end to skiing’s glory days in northern Maine. With the widespread plowing of the county’s roads in the 1930s, cross-country skiing was no longer a necessity of winter survival. And when veterans of the 10th Mountain Division began establishing Alpine ski resorts across the country after World War II, Nordic skiing all but disappeared in Aroostook County.
That is, until a recent coincidence. Andy Shepard, an executive at L.L. Bean, accompanied his son to the Maine High School Ski Championships in Fort Kent. Andy was impressed by the enthusiasm of the parents who organized the event, and astounded by the deep blanket of snow which buried Fort Kent, while southern Maine had been barren for weeks.
At the same time, Max Cobb, National Program Director for the U.S. Biathlon Team, had been pondering information he had learned from his European counterparts. Even in Scandinavia, where Nordic skiing has been a matter of national pride for generations, most of the recent Olympic hopefuls are not from the major cities, but instead from tiny villages in the most remote, northern regions.
Max and Andy put their discoveries together in a proposal to the Libra Foundation, a charitable trust in Portland, established to benefit the people of Maine. Their timing couldn’t have been better. The Defense Department had recently decommissioned Loring Air Force Base, depriving Aroostook County of thousands of jobs, and millions of dollars in revenue. The Libra Foundation embraced Max and Andy’s plan to reintroduce Nordic skiing to Aroostook County, and work began last summer on the Main Winter Sports Center.
Phase One focuses on making nordic skiing as accessible to the youth of northern Maine, as Little League Baseball is, elsewhere in America. Trails have been designed in New Sweden, Stockholm, Fort Kent, Caribou, Presque Isle, Van Buren, and Fort Fairfield. Enthusiastic community volunteers have pitched in, and three of the newly designed trails are in use this winter.
Phase Two includes hiring an international-caliber director, as well as world-class coaches for cross-country and biathlon. As the dedicated young skiers of northern Maine progress, experienced international coaches will guide them toward the ultimate goal of competing at the Olympics.
Phase Three of the Maine Winter Sports Center will create two world-class nordic venues, comparable to the finest racing centers in Europe, featuring challenging trails, comfortable lodges, and paved roller ski loops for summer training.
Don’t be surprised if many of the cross country skiers and biathletes representing the U.S. at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy list their home as Aroostook County, Maine.