Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 10 : Fall 2011 | Page 47

the gold ball. The most dramatic shot in Maine basketball
history was undoubtedly Mike Thurston’s fabled Bangor
Auditorium half court set shot/heave at the buzzer, allowing
Caribou to win the State Championship over Westbrook.
Living near the high school was convenient for me and my
family when going to school or attending sporting events.
Some students even took snowmobiles to school. Sidewalks
were eventually extended up Sweden Road to our home and
beyond. One summer day in 1972, I was mowing our front
lawn on Route 161 when I was approached by a person
walking up the street. The person was William Cohen,
former Mayor of Bangor, who was walking 600 miles across
Maine’s Second Congressional District to find out what was
on people’s minds. I shook hands with him and wished
him well on the remainder of his walk. Bill Cohen went on
to become a U.S. Representative, a U.S. Senator and U.S.
Defense Secretary. He continued his walk northbound on
Route 161.

In the winter of 2000, a police and fire department
escort was provided for three snowmobilers returning from
Alaska on what was called the “Ride of the Millennium.”
Mike McCarthy, Kirk St. Peter and Mike Ouellete drove
southbound on Route 161 into Caribou with numerous
residents lining the street applauding their accomplishment.
It was from this same direction that towards the end of
each summer, our family would watch the numerous cars
returning from Northern Maine’s lakes and camps to get
ready to return to school. In Aroostook County in the 60’s
and 70’s, hand potato picking was very common and school
districts would start the fall school season in the middle of
August to support a three to four week break for the potato
harvest in September. Just up the road from our house
was the Haines Farm where I picked my share of spuds.
At the crest of the hill leaving town was another family
farmer named Ernest “Bud” Smith. Leaving Caribou the
open vistas were created by the clearing of land for potato
farming. Back in the 60’s and 70’s, it seemed that wherever
there was open space, a potato field would be present. At
one time Caribou Maine was known as the “Greatest Potato
Shipping Point in the World.” The quantity of potatoes
produced in Aroostook County has dropped dramatically
from the earlier years. The hand picking crews and family
farms have now faded from the landscape.

Further up the road is the former location of
Earl’s Sno Sled Service and Repair and a Tastee Freeze
Restaurant. In the winter, the ITS-83 Snowmobile Trail
crosses Route 161 near this location. Holy Rosary Church
establi ͡