To the editor:
Wasn’t that a party? Our city’s history is full of many great accomplishments, from its founding by incredible rugged pioneer families; to the vision and determination of its farmers, merchants, and entrepreneurs; to the times it has bounced back from bad luck, tough events, and hard times; to demonstrations of its community spirit and values throughout the last 150 years. I do believe that today’s Caribou citizens have added a great chapter to the last item on that list, with this year’s sesquicentennial celebration! It was never in question that we had much to celebrate — just a matter of taking the time to stop and do so. And so, to all those who live here or in our neighbor towns or who came back from away, and who showed their community spirit and pride by taking part in our celebrations this year — a big thank you to each of you. The Sesquicentennial Committee hoped you would come and enjoy yourselves, and you sure did! It made our work all worthwhile.
When it comes to the work that was done, there are far too many people, organizations, and businesses to thank in one short letter. Let me just point out a few:
First, a number of our “city elders” truly distinguished themselves over the last two years by jumping in feet first and putting some of us younger folks to shame with the level of work and commitment that they put into our 150th. At this point in their lives, they could easily have excused themselves from the organizing work and just enjoyed the events. They didn’t do that, and we honor these fine folks for continuing to make such a difference for our community, after a lifetime of already doing so.
Second, what can we say about the job that the Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry did over the last two-plus years, from the initial brainstorming, to giving great advice, to serving as our “clearing house”, to publicity, to making amazing floats … and so much more? To Wendy Landes and the entire CCC & I staff: a huge thanks for partnering with us (when you weren’t actually taking the lead!)
A big thank you also the Caribou City Council — its early financial support and commitment to having a Sesquicentennial worthy of our history and heritage made a huge difference in setting the stage for all of our later work.
Finally, volunteers Deb Doody-Sirois, John Swanberg, and Dave Sleeper have truly done an amazing job bringing the committee’s dreams to fruition. These three folks put their own lives on hold and labored tirelessly to make sure that this year’s Sesquicelebration was a success, and without them, it would not have been! They are the best of what our community is all about, and we all owe them a huge thank you.
To every one else who helped (and you know who you are!) a million thanks to you as well — you are all true “stars of Caribou”.
We aren’t quite done celebrating yet, so keep visiting www.celebratecaribou.com for updates on events and commemorative items!
Sesquicentennial Committe
