Caribou celebrates 150 years with ‘Dash for Cash’

16 years ago
By Abigail Hunt
Staff Writer

    Despite buckets of rain the night before, Saturday morning dawned as one of the sunniest days Aroostook County had seen all week – perfect weather for a ski day.

ImageContributed photo/Christopher Horsman
    Not all of the spectators made it through the events. Here, Becky Shea holds son Jude during the high school competition.

    As part of Caribou’s 150th year-long celebration, the Feb. 28 Dash for Cash invited skiers from all over to take part in crowning Maine’s fastest skier. With nearly 75 participants, this first annual Maine invitational ski sprint proved to be a success.
    Mark Shea, of Maine Winter Sports, oversaw the event and was in the parking lot until midnight Friday night, as Carl Soderburg of Soderburg Construction and Dave Ouelette from the Caribou Highway Department began laying down the snow on to the parking lot. “I, for one, was nervous that the rain might hamper things,” confessed Shea, “but Carl and Dave weren’t worried at all. They had a good sense that any rain would help to improve the consistency of the snow…and that’s what it did.” Curtis Richards and Doug Plourde from the Northern Skier’s Club kept the surface groomed, and were there bright and early Saturday morning to turn over about two inches of snow.
    Middle school students from Caribou, Ashland and Union 122 started off the day with 10 a.m. exhibition ski sprints, eventually moving into the individual races. For the middle school boys team races, Caribou finished in first, with Union 122 in second and Ashland finishing up in third.
    The middle school Caribou girls team also finished first for team races and Union 122 was awarded second.
    In the middle school individual races, Tyler Strid of Caribou placed first, Nolan McDuffie of Caribou took second and Malcolm Milligan of Ashland finished third in the boys category.         For the middle school girls, Ginger Kieffer of Caribou placed first, Ashley Richards of Caribou came in second and Clara Collins of Caribou took third.
    At 1 p.m., the Caribou Vikings high school ski team took the track. As the only high school team to register participate in this year’s ‘Dash for Cash’, the Viking teammates had exhibition races among themselves. Participants included this year’s third place State skimeiester Laura Collins, as well as other members of the Viking ski team. Despite being the only high school to race, Shea saw the event as “a nice way to wrap up their season. It’s a hometown event, and it’s great to have all the county skiers finish their season with an event that focuses just on them,” said Shea, who attributed the relative ease and notable fun of the event to everyones’ “can-do” attitude. “I think for a first time event things went really well. A lot had to come together for this to be pulled off and we didn’t always know what to expect in the different areas but everyone remained flexible and had a positive attitude.
    The open races commenced at 3 p.m. and adults were split into categories by age and gender. Many faces from Maine Winter Sports Center were present for the races and in women’s 39 and under, Beth Ann Chamberlain of Caribou placed first. Following her were Eileen Carey of Presque Isle and Hilary McNamee of Fort Fairfield in second and third respectively. For Carey, this event was all about having fun.
    “The city and everybody involved did such a great job putting it together. The snow was great, and that’s something you can never know for sure about the night before. The whole event had a lot of energy and excitement. It seemed like there was a lot of momentum behind it,” she said, noting that if there were similar events in years to come, she would be sure and participate again.
    In women’s 40 and over, Linda Milligan of Ashland was awarded first place with Catherine Packard of Mapleton finishing in second.
    For the men’s 39 and under category, Gary Colliander of Fort Kent placed first and Nick Michaud, also of Fort Kent, came in second. Russell Currier of Stockholm finished up the category in third. And, in men’s 40 and over, Petr Jakl of Presque Isle took first place, with Carl Soderburg of Caribou in second and Juff Dubis of Fort Kent in third.
    So will Caribou see another Dash for Cash next year, or anytime in the future? Though the wrap-up meeting has yet to happen, all indications show the possibility that Caribou will show this event in the next few years. “Not only was this a great way to celebrate Caribou’s 150th anniversary,” said Shea, “ but it is a big part of the winter carnival celebration and it could continue to be a celebration in the future. Once the word gets out that there are cash prized involved, I’m sure we’ll see other skiers from around Maine make the trek up.”

 

 ImageContributed photo/Christopher Horsman
    With an intensity well worth the effort, Ashland’s Malcolm Milligan gets off to a quick start in a middle school race. Milligan placed third in the middle school boys’ individual competition.

 

 

 

 

ImageContributed photo/Christopher Horsman
    In a crowning moment, skier Gary Colliander (center) stands proud after being awarded first place in the men’s 39 and under category. Nick Michaud (left) placed second and Russell Currier (right) finished in third and Maine Winter Sports Center’s Mark Shea presented the awards.