JACKMAN – There was an air of anticipation in Jackman on Wed-

nesday, similar to the feeling on the night before a big party.

With hundreds, possibly thousands, of protesters expected to pass through or stop in the Jackman area on their way to demonstrate against the Summit of the Americas trade conference in Quebec this weekend, only a few had trickled into town by Wednesday.

Canadian customs officials said only a handful of travelers had passed through the border all day.

Jackman is expected to be one of several northeastern border crossings where protesters will gather to object to the free trade conference organized by the Organization of American States. The summit will be attended by representatives from 34 countries, including President Bush.

Dozens of U.S. organizations oppose the summit, among them the Sierra Club, the AFL-CIO, Friends of the Earth, Alliance for Responsible Trade, New England Global Action Network, Jobs With Justice, and Public Citizens’ Global Trade Watch.

The walled city of Quebec has been turned into a modern-day fortress, surrounded by a 10-foot-tall chain link fence and protected by 5,000 law enforcement officers. Officials said they are expecting up to 10,000 protesters and have emptied a nearby prison to contain any of the demonstrators that are arrested over the next four days.

During the past few weeks, state, local and federal law enforcement agencies have been gearing up for a repeat of the violence that broke out during international trade meetings in Seattle in 1999.

“There’s some talk on the Internet that does have us concerned that certain people may have other than peaceful intentions in mind,” New York State Police Maj. William Warburton said. “We realize this is a democracy and people have the right to protest as long as they do it peacefully. If it turns to threats to life or people, then we have to do our job.”

As of Wednesday, however, things were quiet.

“We don’t know what to expect,” said Michael Gilhooly, spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol along a 284-mile sector stretching from Massena, N.Y., up into Maine. “We’re like everyone else. We’re reading the papers and looking at the Web sites, and we really have no idea.”

Gilhooly would not say how many protesters were anticipated.

“We will say we have enough resources to do our job while at the same time ensuring the safety of our ports,” he said.

At Maine’s protest headquarters, five miles south of the border in a snowmobile club, local activists were busy Wednesday afternoon preparing an enormous batch of vegetarian chili for the expected crowd. Drinks and snacks were lined up on a counter in readiness and the floor had been cleared to make way for sleeping bags. Four-season tents were awaiting tenants.

The day was raw and windy – the sky pregnant with forecasted snow that never came. Workers slogged through the mud-filled parking lot, carrying food and preparing for the overnighters.

Organizer Jim Freeman said he expected about 50 people Wednesday night, while the bulk of the activists were expected on Thursday, including at least five buses of union members belonging to the activist group Jobs For Justice, heading up from the Boston area.

Better weather is expected today, but whatever it might be, activist John Daniels said, “the people that are coming here won’t be stopped by weather. They are coming to express their ideals, their values.”

Freeman explained that activists and Jackman residents alike were sharing the feeling of expectation.

“We are going to have a party. We have music, speeches, even a puppet show planned,” he said. Freeman explained that most of the people traveling to Jackman will continue on to Quebec to participate in the massive, peaceful demonstrations planned outside Quebec City.

Those who are turned back at the border, however, “will have a lot of energy that will need to be diffused. We recognize that.” Having their own protest at the border will allow that energy to be spent in a positive manner, he said.

Freeman expected the demonstration to take on a party atmosphere over the next three days.

Around the community and within the activists’ groups, rumors are rampant: Some business owners are talking about a threatened rolling roadblock by truckers, intended as a protest of their own; other business owners said that they feared acts of violence by protesters turned back at the border.

Said one grocery store clerk, “I’ll believe it when I see it, whatever it is.”

Several of the activists gathering at their headquarters commented that the reaction of those refused at the border will depend on what is happening at other border crossings, particularly in Vermont and New York. In New York, for example, a group of American Indians is simultaneously planning a protest known as Mohawk Day of Rage. The Mohawk land is in both Canada and New York and the tribe does not officially recognize the border. Members of the tribe have offered to guide across their land into Canada anyone who is refused access at the border.

But at the Mountain Mart store and gas station in Rouses Point, N.Y., Tina Garrand said she was surprised by the silence surrounding the potential protests.

“I thought more people would be talking about it,” Garrand said. “Someone said they saw a few (protesters), but I haven’t seen anyone and nothing’s been happening.”

At Harrison’s pharmacy, Laurie Ann Harrison said she hoped it stayed quiet and credited advanced notice and preparation to keeping things in control.

“Maybe if (police) hadn’t geared up, there would have been a problem,” Harrison said.

She speculated that border officials were not clamping down on border crossings as predicted.

“If they are letting people into Canada, there’s no reason for them to protest here,” she said. “Maybe they’re letting them through.”

Throughout the day Wednesday, Maine State Troopers and Somerset County sheriff’s deputies were frequently patrolling U.S. Route 201 near Jackman. Sheriff Barry DeLong said Tuesday that he has assigned four deputies, rather than the usual one, to the area. He stressed that he is not expecting “any trouble,” but felt the extra deputies were needed to control “any traffic problems.”

Freeman said that each individual coming to Jackman and the border will be responsible for his or her own behavior. All of the groups represented Wednesday were advocating peaceful actions.

“We are not targeting any industry or any company,” said Freeman, responding to reports issued earlier this week that the protesters may target lumber company buildings or land for vandalism or destruction. Not so, said Freeman, adding that the protesters support the Maine lumber industry and recognize the negative impact that the current free trade compact, the North American Free Trade Agreement, has had on Somerset County’s largest industry.

“All night long the trucks carry this area’s raw wood to Canada, where it is milled and value is added. Then it is brought back into the U.S. for sale at a much higher price,” said Freeman.

Of 15 tractor-trailer trucks crossing the border Wednesday in a half-hour span, more than half hauled raw wood into Canada. The trucks returning to the United States were loaded with milled lumber, mulch products and chips.

Many of Jackman’s business owners agree, albeit secretly. “Free trade has stolen the jobs,” said one businessman, who would not be identified. “We get 40 percent of the final value of the wood product. Canada gets the other 60 percent. There is no balance.”

Jackman’s Main Street shows the effect of a shrinking forestry profit. Restaurants are closed and expansion is limited. Even the tourist information building is half-buried under a pile of dirty snow.

Beth and Ray Stevens opened The Moose Mart, next to Moose River Bridge, in January. “It’s been difficult,” said Beth Stevens. “The truckers are now starting to spread the word that we are here and that we’re the last stop before Canada.”

The Stevenses said a few protesters had been through their store. Like many other Route 201 business owners, they are hoping the travelers will bring an economic ripple. “We’re ready and waiting,” said Beth.

Farther south, at the Jackman Motel, owner John Gilboe said, “If it wasn’t for this, we’d be at zero,” as he looked over a full room registration book. “Anybody that will be coming to Jackman and spending any money at all will be welcomed with open arms.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.