Winter around Passamaquoddy Bay has changed a lot over the past several decades, as any longtime resident of the area will tell you. The milder weather, combined with changing demographics and interests, has led to many differences in how communities celebrate -- or cope with -- the season. From skating every evening on local ponds to sliding down a street alongside dozens of neighborhood youth and building forts out of multiple feet of snow, area residents have a plentiful supply of fond memories of winters past.

Ice skating on ponds and rinks
      From shore to shore around Passamaquoddy Bay and inland up through Washington and Charlotte counties there was one activity that residents would be sure to find people doing any given day. Ice skating has long been synonymous with the traditionally cold winters of the area, with parents and neighbors preparing ponds, creating makeshift rinks and providing warming shelters for everyone to use.
      "There would be people skating on many of the small ponds on the island," recalls Natalie Green of Deer Island, adding, "In the '70s there was a rink at the school that entertained children and adults." The island had a hockey team that competed in a mainland league. "It was exciting to go to a hockey game in Black's Harbour and come home on the ferry at 10 or 11 p.m."
      In Eastport, each year the fire department flooded an ice rink located next to where the IGA is now located. "Music was played by a local family in a house on Brighton Avenue," remembers Amy Ray, "and the speaker was attached to a tree." People of all ages skated there, particularly at night as the teens came out en masse to enjoy the lit rink.
      Meanwhile, in Calais "the fire department would flood the low field on Lafayette Street adjacent to the ball diamond, and kids would skate there all winter," says Al Churchill. "Wouldn't work today -- the ice, if it formed at all, wouldn't support a cat."
      Growing up in Machias, Belinda Wood remembers: "We had a bonfire and cooked hot dogs at any local water that was frozen. We put our skates on and skated for hours. Lots of kids would show up, and even the parents would skate with us sometimes."
      St. Stephen, too, had its traditions. The annual "bonfire burning of the Christmas trees at Hartford rink" was a major community event, shares Sharon Quartermain. "They strung lights across the rink, and it had a small shack with benches along the walls and a wood or coal stove." The parking lot behind Ganong's factory was also turned into a skating rink each year, complete with musical accompaniment, to the delight of local youth.
      On Campobello Island, Alice Cates remembers hearing her mother talk about the ice skating pond behind the Adams Cottage. "They would take a potato or two with them, build a fire and while they skated put the potatoes in the toes of their boots. The potatoes cooked, got their boots warm and they had a hot snack to eat on the way home."
      Ice skating, while beloved, was closely followed by sliding in how many enjoyed its pleasures.

Sliding down streets and hills
      As soon as the snow was packed down enough, residents would find children on any viable hill in town. Wendy Johnson Candelmo especially enjoyed it in the evenings at her family's house on the ridge in Robbinston. "Our dad would go out sliding with us while our mom would be cooking us a hot meal. So much fun! We would sometimes go straight across the brook depending how packed the snow would be."
      On the other hand, the boys of Dennysville, Dennis Preston and Kenneth Curtis among them, would add excitement in the form of ramps made from old house doors. They'd slide down the hill on pieces of cardboard or the occasional old car hood for added speed.
      In Eastport, sliding children were aided by the public works crew, particularly on Capen Avenue. "The road crew would often leave a little path void of sand so we could go really fast down the street," remembers Tess Ftorek. "Sometimes we'd have a person stationed at Water Street watching for cars, and we'd go right across. We put wax on the runners every so often to make us go faster."
      Similarly, Sandra Barnard recalls sliding on North Lubec Road when the conditions were just right. "Back in those days we had so much snow. After the plow trucks plowed was perfect for our runner sleds!"
      Over in Baileyville, the town would block off 4th Avenue to allow the children to take advantage of the height of Black's Hill, writes Laurie Merritt Larkin. "That hill would have 30 kids or more on it every day, mostly using the old Red Flyers with metal skids. [It was] so much fun!"
      "There were far fewer cars so we used to sometimes slide on the road," recalls Dianne Simpson of Deer Island. During the month of February, conditions were often at their best as ice would form over the top of the snow. "With a piece of cardboard, one could slide from field to field down a hill, sometimes on top of three or four feet of snow."
      On Grand Manan, the fast sliding made for some occasionally intense encounters. "We'd blind slide on Jack's Hill and wipe each other out with our Philadelphia Flyers," remembers Sharon Greenlaw.
      Adults occasionally did their share of sliding, albeit mainly for transportation purposes. In the 1940s on Deer Island, the Smokey Nines -- a women's card playing group -- would spend the winter playing cards in alternating locations. One particularly snowy night, the meeting was to be held at the bottom of Lord's Cove, which was deep in snow. "As many of the ladies lived above the hill, they used cardboard boxes to slide down the hill," shares Carol Leaman Waleryszak, whose mother participated in the event.
      While there's no denying the joy and thrill that comes with sliding, winter carnivals were another source of delight for area children.

Winter carnivals break the monotony
      Of the many winter carnivals in the area, some made a particularly lasting impression. East Machias' Elm Street School featured the event and it became a highlight of the year -- eventually gaining the nickname of the Chilly Willy Open. "The school was split into teams, and throughout the week we would have friendly competitions," remembers Teresa Littlejohn, who attended the school in the early '80s. "One of the competitions was for each team to build a snow sculpture based on the theme of the carnival that year. There were mountains of snow in the school yard for this." Edith Bridges agrees, saying, "That was the best school week."
      St. Stephen's winter carnival is also well remembered by those who took part. "They used to hold winter carnival in February on the outside rink by the Mark Street school, and the kids would make homemade costumes," writes Debbie Smith, adding that prizes were given for different costume categories, and hot chocolate was served. The end of the carnival was marked with a big skating party with all the costumed children.
      Outside of large organized events, the residents of the area found delight in winter in numerous other ways.

Other winter activities
      For some, it was making gigantic snow forts that really made the season. "We had a tunnel that went from the front door to our snow fort," remembers Tara Gray of Machiasport. "I wanted to live in there."
      "My brother built me a tunnel during the blizzard of '78," shares Robbinston's Linda Peare. "One of my favorite memories!"
      Occasionally, snow forts were used for pitched snowball battles, as Richard McFarlane of St. Stephen recalls -- along with "being a little naughty, when the road was icy, hanging on to the back bumper of a passing car and getting a ride."
      The need for speed was apparent in those who preferred snowmobiling, which was generally much easier with the greater amount of snow. "In the '60s, before snowmobiles became common for everyone to own, we used to rent Ski-Doos at Lake Utopia and ride them there Sunday afternoons," recalls Carmen Perkins of Deer Island.
      Skiing aficionados occasionally found the perfect spot to test their downhill aptitude, including on Pumpkin Ridge in Marshfield, where Frank Penley made a slope each year using a rope and a truck, shares Jeff Dowling.
      St. Stephen's skiers enjoyed the steep banks at the end of the Porter Street extension, writes Christine Swager, although it wasn't without risk. "Skiing over the toboggan bumps was dangerous, as I found out [getting] a bloody nose where blood froze on my face before I got home."
      The Alexander Ski Resort by Carleton Davis' campground was a popular draw, with the 1966 Winter Carnival event seeing 2,500 people in attendance. That year, Debbie Snowman of Baileyville was named queen, while Bill Cassidy of Calais gained the title of "Snowman" or king.
      Some winter activities were more popular in particular locations, such as on Grand Manan, where virtually everyone was involved in live trapping rabbits. Once the rabbits were caught, they'd be kept in a shed or barn until it was time for the weekly trip to Sidney Guptill's for payment, remembers Trevor O'Neill. "Old and young people had a lot of fun doing this, and there may have been some family quarrels over who was allowed to trap on what trail or area."
      Others fondly recall Hiram Brown coming by to pick up their stash of penned rabbits once a week, though it was weather dependent, writes Rudy Laffoley. "Lots of snow back then!"
      Not everyone was on board with turning in the rabbits, however, as Paul Watson of St. Stephen remembers. Along with snowball fighting, playing hockey, skating and building forts in snow "much deeper and longer lasting than today," he was "walking trap lines to free animals."

A sensory experience
      By and large, the winters of yore were replete with strong memories, some of which were associated with the intensity of the freezing cold. "I remember one day crawling on top of the hard crusted snow because if we stood up we would sink down to above our knees," shares Sharyn Watson VanDerGulik of St. Stephen, "and I remember the smell of drying wool when we put our sopping wet mitts on the heaters in the school hallways."
      From Melton cloth snow pants -- "They got so heavy when wet!" writes St. Stephen's Elizabeth MacCready -- to wearing "bread bags on our feet in our boots for [an] extra barrier," says Melody Fletcher Flynn of Campobello, the youth of the area did whatever they could to prepare for the cold and wet conditions.
      No matter what they wore, being outside most of the day was common. Children "stayed outside for hours until we could barely feel our feet," recalls Carolyn Savage of Campobello.
      Sometimes, it was the company that helped make winter activities feel warmer. "We would get together with my grandparents on the Ridge Road in Robbinston and make homemade ice cream using ice from Boyden's Lake," shares Cheryl Mahar.
      While winters have changed, many longtime residents remain in the area to carry forward traditions - and, even today, it's not too uncommon to see children and adults alike taking advantage of the rare sizable snowstorm that comes through.