Fort Kent family introduces joy of ployes to biathlon-goers

FORT KENT – If anyone needed some hard evidence of cross-cultural culinary pollination going on at the 2004 Biathlon World Cup, they would have to look no further than the VIP tent.

Inside, members of the Bouchard family of Fort Kent have been busily preparing and serving up ployes – more than 1,500 of them as of Friday morning.

On about 1,400 of the traditional Acadian buckwheat pancakes, patrons put on the usual toppings of peanut butter, butter, syrup or sugar.

But on Thursday, ployes went international.

“Someone came in, got a ploye and put liverwurst on it,” Mona Baker, a volunteer in the VIP tent, said Friday morning. “Right away, everyone wanted something different on their ployes – even more liverwurst.”

Baker is related to the Bouchard family, whose members have become famous for their bagged ploye mix.

“When I first heard about the World Cup coming to Fort Kent, I said I wanted to volunteer,” Baker said. “In particular, I wanted to make ployes.”

Just a handful of people were in the tent Friday morning, but Baker said that would soon change.

“Every day from around 10 to 1, it is a nonstop line,” she said. “We give everyone the two-second story of what a ploye is, and then we see them coming back for more.”

With Baker ready to fire up the grills and pour the batter were Bouchard family members Mary Kelly and Janice Bouchard.

What do they all think about ployes gaining such international fame?

“Ploye to the world,” Bouchard said.

In a week of firsts for Fort Kent, here’s another: standing at a designated bus stop waiting for the bus.

In a town with no major public transportation, a fleet of school buses and volunteer drivers have gotten the crowds to and from the 2004 Biathlon World Cup venue at the 10th Mountain Division Lodge.

From four park-and-ride locations around town, spectators can take the 10-minute ride up the bumpy road to the venue, hang out as long as they want, and catch the next bus back to town.

Just don’t forget to pay attention to the color coding of your parking lot. Each lot’s designated color matches a bus.

Still, for anyone who forgets it’s not a big deal – drivers are willing to take riders wherever they need to go or to stop for anyone who flags them down along the route.