SCARBOROUGH – Around 1,500 hunting enthusiasts came to Cabela’s in Scarborough on Saturday for the 30th anniversary of the annual moose lottery that was celebrated with a barbecue contest, pipe and drum band, and so many mounted animals.
But half an hour into the calling of the computer-drawn names, only a state representative had been called from among those on hand. And by the 600th name, the masses were getting restless.
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“If you want to know how it feels, it feels great,” Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, announced to the hundreds gathered around the tent.
Sorry, but this crowd wanted a bit more.
Somewhere near winner No. 700, they got it when Marjolaine Dube of Scarborough was called.
The avid hunter who hails from Quebec screamed, ran up to celebrate with state officials, and after sitting down next to her son, started to cry.
“I’m sorry. I’m totally overwhelmed. This is just a once-in-a-lifetime,” she said.
Beside her, son Elvis Campobasso smiled as he watched his mother trying to speak. And seeing her unable to, he told her story for her.
“This means a lot to her. She’s just a huge hunter,” Campobasso said.
For 15 years, Dube and her partner, Norman Berube, have both waited to get drawn in Maine’s moose hunt lottery.
They have a camp north of Rangeley, where they host and help other moose hunters, friends who have been drawn in past years. This year the two Scarborough hunters, who have traveled as far as New Zealand to hunt big game ranging from red stag to caribou, celebrated a rare moment.
“I’ve always wanted to hunt moose in Maine,” Dube said with Berube beaming beside her. “This is huge for us. We’ll invite people up to camp and now we’ll hunt for a moose for us.”
The 30th anniversary of the Maine moose lottery drew one of the biggest crowds, but with 3,862 permits given out, the fall hunt is as big as it’s ever been.
Permits increased from last year’s all-time high of 3,140 and now the hunt is held as far south as Sebago and takes place in different places at various times from September to November.
But just like every year at 4 p.m., several hundred people gathered around a circus-sized tent to listen in silence for a moment like Dube’s.
Dwayne O’Roak of Scarborough came after putting in for 29 years and never being drawn. This year, he came in a stuffed moose antler hat.
“I needed to do something to try to change my luck,” O’Roak said.
Good thinking. Sometime during the three-hour lottery, his name was announced.
And there were others like O’Roak, just as there always are, hunters who have waited decades to hear their names.
Lt. Adam Gormely, a 17-year veteran of the Maine Warden Service, is one. Gormely has put in the lottery for years, attended most of the moose lotteries held around the state, and has never been drawn.
Gormely came to Cabela’s on Saturday, one of dozens of uniformed state officials who came to answer fish and game questions — and to listen for his name.
But Gormely’s wait continues.
“I’ve shot all kinds of moose with broken legs. But I’ve never shot a moose on a hunt,” Gormely said.
Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:
dfleming@pressherald.com
Twitter: Flemingpph
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