Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 10 : Fall 2011 | Page 44

on the site of the town’s former swimming pool as a
place for children to have fun during the brief summer
months. Before the swimming pool, this was the site
of a State of Maine Fish Hatchery. If one looks closely,
a remnant of the hatchery and pool can be noticed by
a deep gully between Sweden Street and Burger Boy.
Across the street from Burger Boy was the home of
Emery “Flash” Plourde. Plourde was an outstanding
high school athlete who set numerous records in track
and field. He was posthumously elected to the State
of Maine Sports Hall of Fame. I remember him as
the man with the starting gun at our track meets at
Caribou High School. Adjacent to Burger Boy was
Beaulieus’ Garage. Beaulieus had a towing service. I
recall numerous vehicles that had been towed to this
location over the years showing the utter devastation
of highway collisions. Continuing northbound on
Sweden Street, Roy’s IGA (Independent Grocers
Alliance) has a place for cars to pull up to obtain a loaf
of bread or container of milk. I recall the days when
this establishment was called Mike’s Mighty IGA. It
was run by Mike Bell of Caribou. His daughter was
Miss Caribou in 1969 and she became Miss Maine.
Many residents would pull up to the store, go inside
and pick up needed items and return to their car while
leaving the car running. This was especially done
during the cold winter months.

Just up the street from the IGA store is County
Sports, specializing in snowmobiles. Linwood Willard
sold chain saws at this location. In the fall of 1958
Mr. Willard was approached to see if he was interested
in selling snowmobiles. He was among the first five
individuals in the United States to start selling Polaris®
snowmobiles. After County Sports, Sweden Street
ends and becomes Sweden Road at a fork in the road.
Yogi Berra of the Yankees used to say when you come
to a fork in the road, take it. In this case Route 161
continues by bearing to the right. A sign states that
it is only 43 more miles to Fort Kent. At the fork
is Ouellette’s Variety which is a convenient location
for filling up your vehicle and obtaining homemade
goods inside Alice’s Bakery. Ouellette’s was founded
by Bob Ouellette who started a snow thrower business
that specialized in Toro® snow throwers. Ouellette’s
is also a handy location for high school students to
obtain snacks for school as Caribou High School is
across the street from Ouellette’s.

Construction of Caribou High School began
in 1964. My family and I moved into our home in
1960 nearby on Sweden Road within visual sight
distance of the high school. One could see the
welding of the gymnasium from our kitchen window.
It was in this gym in 1969, that the entire town of
Caribou welcomed home Coach Gerry Duffy and the
State of Maine Class A Basketball Champions with
44 Route 161 FALL 2011