Country Roads

Pond of Dreams

Photos and Story by Bill Miller, Nictau, New Brunswick

They’ve proven, “If you freeze it, they will come."

The idea behind for the World Pond Hockey Championship was simple. Give hockey fans a chance to play the game as it should be played—on a frozen pond surrounded by spruce and fir trees—and they will come.

About 120 teams from all over the world will gather February 19-22 at Roulston Lake in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick to vie for the title, a wooden replica of the Stanley Cup and, of course, bragging rights.

“They want to relive what they did as kids,” says Danny Braun, founder of the World Pond Hockey Championship. “We get players from all walks of life—doctors, dentists, lawyers. You see guys look up at the sky with tears in their eyes when the snow falls.”

The championship started out in 2002 as a fund-raiser to replace the town’s 40-year-old arena. The teams were made up of local lads, former Tobiquers spread out all over the globe who came home to play.

Then the NHL went on strike in 2004, and people all over Canada needed a hockey fix on Saturday night. They found it in Plaster Rock. That year, more than 700 teams applied to compete. A lottery was created to pick 120 teams.

“Of those 120 teams, only 20 to 25 really think they have a chance to win,” Danny says. “The other teams are just here to have fun.”

Thursday through Saturday is for the hockey purists, those guys who come to recapture a bit of their childhood. On opening night, players march into the arena under the flag of their country, state or province. The starting horn brings the night alive for them with the sound of hundreds of skates dashing over a frozen pond.

The lake is divided into 20 rinks. The games start with amazing precision. All the teams have fans cheering them on, no matter where they’re from.

The game just seems to bring out the best in everyone. Hockey doesn’t get any better than this.

A Piece of Americana

Photo courtesy of Punxsutawney Groundhog Club

They take Groundhog Day pretty seriously in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Every February 2, people from all over the world trek to this small town of 6,000. There on Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney Phil and his top-hat-sporting posse known as the Inner Circle (that’s Ben Hughes, left, and John Griffiths below) make a big show out of predicting the end of winter.

“It’s all very Punxsutawney,” says Mary Ann Amundson, a life-long resident.

Clymer Freas got the ball rolling in 1886. The then-editor of the Punxsu-tawney Spirit wrote, “Today is Ground-hog Day and up to the time of going to press, the beast has not seen its shadow.” The following year, Clymer and a group of his friends made the first trek out to Gobbler’s Knob. More than a century later, Phil’s fans number in the thousands.

The crowd starts gathering around 3 a.m. and waits until sunrise for the world-famous groundhog to appear.

The party of the year, however, really begins a few days earlier with an old-fashioned celebration in the park. If you’re in the market for a groundhog souvenir, you’ll find it at the big sale. Then there’s the Prognosticator’s Ball and Groundhog Banquet, where members of the Inner Circle poke fun at themselves and the holiday, but never at Phil.

“It is a once in a lifetime thing,” says Marlene Lell-ock, director of the town’s chamber of commerce.

“Once you are out there on Gobbler’s Knob in the predawn hours, you really get an appreciation for the Americana of it all.”

Begging for Spring

Photo courtesy of Linda Askomitis

In Elton, Louisiana, the Mardi Gras run is not a 5K and has nothing to do with sneakers or starting pistols.

It’s a Cajun tradition in Elton, where folks celebrate Mardi Gras the way their ancestors did. In medieval France, nobles let peasants beg for food on this day, since their food stores were usually running low by the end of winter.

“It started out as a way for the community to survive and make it through winter,” says David Bertrand, one of the organizers for the run. “They were begging for spring to come forth.”

Dressed in bright, fringed costumes in the colors of Mardi Gras, men and boys gather near dawn on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday. Led by a “Capi-taine,” they travel the countryside on horseback or on foot. The riders do tricks, sitting backward or standing up in the saddle.

The runners go from house to house, “begging” for the ingredients to make gumbo. Those on foot choose a role— dance, beg or act the fool—all to the merry beat of Cajun music.

“They’ll either give us rice or onions,” says David. “In return, we invite them to join us later for gumbo.”
For some revelers, a vegetarian gumbo just isn’t satisfying. But if they want chicken to add to the pot, they have to catch it themselves. The “chicken run” portion of the event is something you don’t want to miss.

More Country Celebrations

A Winter’s Knight
Cedarburg, Wisconsin
February 7-8
If there’s one town that could get people out of their warm, cozy homes in the dead of winter, it is Cedarburg. This year’s winter festival is going medieval with the theme “A Winter’s Knight.” Enjoy Merlin’s Magical Ice Carving Contest, bed racing, the Quest of Pancakes breakfast and the Hidden Grail Egg Hunt, among other activities. Bring a stout heart and a well-insulated parka.

Photo courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Site.

Lincoln’s 200th Birthday
Hodgenville, Kentucky
February 12
Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday is cause to celebrate in his hometown, Hodgenville, Kentucky. The festivities kick off at the Abraham Lincoln Birth-place National Historic Site and then move to his boyhood home at Knob Creek, where Lincoln lived from age 2 to 8. Folks who make the trip will enjoy a slice of cake in honor of America’s 16th President.

Sister’s Fest
Sisterville, West Virginia
March 13-14
A festival in honor of sisters couldn’t find a better location than Sisterville, so named for the 18th and 19th of town founder Charles Wells’ 22 children. This girls’ get-away weekend features a tea party at one of several mansions built during the town’s oil boom days. If you think you know all your sister’s secrets, sign up for the “How Well Do You Know Your Sister?” contest, based on TV’s The Newlywed Game. If you can’t bring your sister, bring your best friend.