When it comes to basketball, Sherman resident Joanie Sides is probably one of the biggest fans of the game.
A big-time supporter of her alma mater, Southern Aroostook Community School, Sides was front and center with her friend Maureen Theriault to cheer on the Warriors during the recent high school basketball tournament at Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.
Sides, 60, is such a fan of the game that she attended every single playoff game at the Cross Center from Feb. 14-22, cheering on every Aroostook County team. If no County teams were playing, she decided to cheer for the underdog.
“I started doing this many years ago,” Sides said. “My parents were big sports people, and volunteered to chaperone the fan buses, so we always got to go to the games in Bangor.”
The tournament is a special time for her as it combines two things she loves, basketball and music. She enjoys the tournament so much that she has attended every single playoff game for the past 40 years.
“I love listening to all the wonderful bands,” she said. “Plus I get to meet so many wonderful people at these games. I’ve made friends from all sorts of different towns. I only see them once a year.”
During that time Sides said she has seen some incredible games in both the old Bangor Auditorium and now the Cross Insurance Center. Although the new building is far more spacious and comfortable, she still feels the atmosphere was better at the old facility.
“We will make new memories here, but it will take some time,” she said. “This is my February vacation. Some people go to Florida. I come here.”
Born at the Island Falls Hospital, Sides grew up in Crystal.
“I have always been right in this area,” she said. “I’ve lived here all my life, graduating from Southern Aroostook High School in 1978.”
Sides did spend two years away, attending college in Idaho, where she studied sociology. But the part of Idaho her school was located reminded her of home.
“It was farming country and everyone knew everyone, just like they do here,” she said. “That was what really drew me back home. Plus I met my husband back here when I came home from college in the summer.”
She had every intention of returning to Idaho in the fall, but when she met the man who would become her future husband all of that changed. “There was just something about him, that I just knew he was the one,” she said.
The couple have two children, who are now adults — Christopher, who lives in Merrill, and Sam, who lives in Iowa, where he owns a large pig farm. Sam Sides was named one of the top 10 pork producers in the country, according to his mother.
Joanie Sides volunteered at Sherman Elementary School when the boys were little so she could be close to them, while her husband worked at Baxter State Park for many years. The couple are retired now, but keep themselves busy with Golden Ridge Property Maintenance in Sherman, a business they created.
When not watching basketball games, Sides manages a women’s bowling league at Birch Point Lanes in Island Falls and does the music for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Houlton. The couple also volunteer with the Sherman Food Pantry and are part of the Sherman Labor Day and Recreation committees.
“It’s important for me to give back,” she said. “Anytime people can volunteer and help out they should, especially for the kids. These are our future leaders.”
She has been involved in the women’s bowling league for the past 20 years. Bowling helps keep her active and is also a great social environment for her and the many women involved in the league.
“A lot of people say there is nothing to do in the wintertime in Aroostook County, but actually there is,” she said. “You don’t have to necessarily be an outdoor person riding snow sleds. There are a lot of indoor activities one can do to stay busy. If there is nothing that interests you, start your own league. It’s important to stay busy.”
