1,405 bikers to ride for Maine Lung Association

It was a pleasure to hear from Al Webster, who retired from Eastern Maine Technical College recently and now divides his time between his winter world at Sugarloaf-USA in Carrabassett Valley and his summer world at Green Lake.

Webster is not resting on his laurels. On Friday morning, he joins 1,404 other people in a wonderful Father’s Day weekend celebration. It’s the 11th annual bicycle ride Trek Across Maine, Sunday River to the Sea.

Webster began biking when he gave up jogging 10 years ago. He is joined on the trip by his friend, Dick Vose of Camden, in the 60-and-up age division.

The event is the largest three-day ride in the Northeast and the largest single fund-raiser for the American Lung Association of Maine.

Director of special events and trek director Robert Verrill of the ALA Augusta office said 90 percent of the funds raised stay in Maine, with the remainder going to the national office.

In 1994, a combination of pledges, registration fees and sponsorship money raised $440,000 for the association. This year’s expected total is $540,000.

Bikers, ranging in age from 5 to 77, leave the mountain in staggered starts every five minutes in groups of 50. They ride from the Sunday River Ski Area in Newry to the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Cyclists ride 180 miles in three days, staying overnight at the University of Maine in Farmington and Colby College in Waterville. Planned rest stops staffed by volunteers are located every 12-15 miles. Sixteen states will be represented, and caution on the road is the weekend watchword.

Verrill’s major concern is the safety of bikers and motorists. Since he urges motorists to use alternate routes Friday through Sunday, here are the routes to avoid beginning Friday in Newry: Routes 2, 232, 108, 140, 4, and 2 heading north into Farmington.

Saturday’s routes are Route 27 heading north out of Farmington, then Routes 146, 16, 201A, 8, 139, and 23 heading south into Waterville and Colby College. On Sunday, avoid Main Street in Waterville south to Route 137, then Routes 202, 3, 32, 17, 1A and Route 1 to the coast and the Samoset.

Webster knows he’ll be puffing and panting up lots of hills this weekend, but his motivation is strong. “My father died of emphysema and my brother had to retire 12 years ago at age 50 because of emphysema,” he said. “All I have to do is look at my family history. My personal motivation is to stay healthy.”

Ten years ago, Fred Jones of Hampden first conducted the St. John’s Episcopal Church choir as it sang in the famous St. Paul’s Cathedral of London, England.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday at the French Street church in Bangor, you may hear this well-traveled choir in concert raising funds for its 10th anniversary tour next summer.

The tours were Jones’ idea. “It is unusual for American choirs to go to Europe and sing services in English cathedrals,” he said. “Only about a half-dozen do. We take up the slack in the summer when cathedral services sung by choirs every day during the year take a break. We fill in for them.”

Choir member Lois Soule of Orono wrote that the concert will benefit choir school scholarships for the ’96 tour of England and Scotland. The concert theme is a musical tour through the liturgical church year, beginning with Advent and Christmas.

The all-volunteer choir has between 55 and 70 people, but, more impressively, includes 30 young singers who have the opportunity not only to discover the joy of choir singing at home, but to travel abroad and sing in some of the world’s most famous cathedrals.

The admission fee for “The Year in Song” is $5 for adults and $1 for children, and it’s well worth it.

The Hudson Volunteer Fire Department parade and muster held the first week of June was such a success that the group is considering making it an annual event, Assistant Chief Ron Grant says.

The winning muster team was the Glenburn Fire Department and “the hit of the day was Wes English’s Penobscot Banjo Band,” according to Grant.

Other units participating in the event included fire departments and volunteer firefighters’ associations from Corinth, Hermon, Orrington, Maine Air National Guard, Levant, Alton, Bradford and Eddington. Adding to the festivities were the participation of personalities such as Smokey Bear along with local Scouts and athletic teams, representatives of Hose 5 Fire Museum of Bangor and public safety organizations.

The Standpipe, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.