Happy New Year!
Truer words have never been spoken. The turning of the calendar usually evokes in me a wistful melancholy, a sentimental sigh or at least a cheer for “Auld Lang Syne.” While my year had a few personal triumphs – I lost 20 pounds, bought a sweet little foreclosure and turned 40 (which I choose to see as a blessing, not a curse), generally 2009 was like a clunker, without the cash. A chip shot from a nine-iron straight into the rough. A cognac-soaked bully bum-rushing the stage…whatever.
Well, here’s to better days! See you in 2010.
Park progress
There are some seriously hearty souls among us, and many of them were out in the bitter cold last Monday putting the finishing touches on a long-awaited local project.
Volunteers and workers from Great Northern Docks, P&K Sand and Gravel and Rhodes Concrete endured the frigid temps to finish installation of the new Kendal and Anna Ham Charitable Foundation Bridge.
The bridge connects Stevens Brook school to Pondicherry Park, providing kids a direct route into the heart of the preserved green space. The Lakes Environmental Association and Loon Echo have worked for years to secure land and funding for the ambitious project, and this bridge stands as one of the final goals of the effort.
The LEA and Loon Echo staff along with local volunteers will be grooming the park’s trails for winter recreation and invite everyone to join in nature hikes, animal tracking classes and full-moon showshoeing. The park can be reached from trailheads around town, but this entry point on Depot Street has great parking by the Magic Lantern and is easily accessed. Thanks to the vision and efforts of so many Bridgtonians, we all have a beautiful place to enjoy in perpetuity.
Step it up
Had your fill of cookies? Egg-nogged out? You can get back on the fitness track by joining the Step Into Fitness indoor walking program.
Sponsored by the Bridgton Community Center, walkers meet every Monday and Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. at Lake Region High School for an hour of safe indoor exercise. Park in front of high school and use the front entrance. For more information, contact Carmen Lone of the Bridgton Community Center at 647-3116.
He’s Inn
Congratulations to local hotelier Woody Woodward, who has been elected president of the Maine Innkeepers Association. Woodward, a Bridgton selectman and owner of Highland Lake Resort, has been on the board of innkeepers since 2004.
More mushing
Our annual Winter Carnival and Musher’s Bowl will be held on Jan. 23 and 24 this year. A celebration of all things winter, the weekend is Bridgton’s biggest of the season, with thousands of visitors joining us for a weekend of spirited snow-themed events.
Whether your tastes run to dog-sled skijoring, biathlon competition or taking a frigid jump into Highland Lake, there is something for everyone. The popular Freezin’ For A Reason Polar Dip is one of Harvest Hills Animal Shelter’s biggest fundraisers of the year, and swimmers will be raising pledges all over town through the month. I will write more about Musher’s Bowl in my next column, so for now will leave you to ponder two magic words: Dodge Ball!
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