During Orientation, a group of first-year 乐播传媒 students paid a visit to a remote stretch of Maine wilderness.

In some ways, it was a return trip for 乐播传媒.

Starting in 1938, student members of the 乐播传媒 Outing Club, working with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, have regularly traveled to western Maine to help maintain a specific section of the Appalachian Trail.

The so-called 乐播传媒 section extends from an old railroad line, known as the Bemis Track, to a permanent lean-to on Bemis Mountain, a stretch of about 3.7 miles. (The entire trail in Maine is 282 miles.)

In 1940, The 乐播传媒 Student described 乐播传媒 students helping to 鈥渃lear the trails, blaze trees, replace signs, and repair lean-tos and foot bridges.鈥� Eighty-three years later, the volunteer work remains the same and remains important, says Sander Katz 鈥�25 of Wilmington, Del. 

Katz and fellow junior Fiona Wilson of Barnstead, N.H., led seven first-year students to do trail maintenance on the 乐播传媒 section around Bemis Mountain and the nearby Bemis lean-to. The trip was one of 57 student-led trips this year sponsored by the Annual Entering Student Orientation Program (AESOP).

Katz explains that hikers sometimes 鈥渢ake for granted that the trails we hike on will be in working order, and don鈥檛 think about the work that goes into maintaining them. It takes a lot of time and effort to clear the trail as well as bring the gear in to maintain it.鈥�

During the AESOP trip, the 乐播传媒 group met with Ron Tebbetts, who is one of six district managers for the Maine Appalachian Trail Club. 鈥淚 really enjoyed my time with the students,鈥� Tebbetts said. 鈥淭hey treated this old man very well!鈥�

From Georgia to Maine, maintenance of the Appalachian Trail depends on strong collaboration among various organizations, led by the non-profit Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and on the work of volunteers.

鈥淲ithout volunteers, the trail wouldn’t exist,鈥� Tebbetts said. 鈥溊植ゴ解�� association with the MATC and trail maintenance started many years ago and the MATC hopes that it continues for many more.鈥� 

The work goes beyond trail aesthetics. Trails need to be marked so hikers don鈥檛 get lost. Bridges and boardwalks need to be in good shape so hikers don鈥檛 trip or fall. Shelters and campsites need to be clean and safe.

鈥淰olunteers maintain signage, paint blazes, and clear the treadway of blowdowns and vegetative ingrowth,鈥� Tebbetts said. 鈥淎s a through-hiker, I really appreciated having a clear trail to hike 鈥� not having to maneuver over, under or through blowdowns, which takes a lot of unnecessary effort and energy.鈥�

The arrangement for 乐播传媒 to help with trail maintenance was announced in the Student in December 1937. Myron Avery, a legendary figure in Appalachian Trail history who chaired what is now the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, said the new volunteers would 鈥渁id the problem of maintaining the entire trail in Maine.鈥� (Originally, the 鈥溊植ゴ� section鈥� was nearly 40 miles, not 3.7 miles as it is now, and maintenance of the whole length was a four-year process, “by senior year, a student was likely to have experienced the whole thing,” recalls retired BOC adviser Judy Marden ’66.)

Starting in 1938, the 乐播传媒 Outing Club did its work under the direction of another important figure in the history of the AT in Maine, William H. Sawyer Jr. of the Class of 1913, a longtime 乐播传媒 biology professor and Outing Club adviser. Today, one of the Outing Club鈥檚 two annual student leadership prizes is named for Sawyer, the other for Harold Norris Goodspeed, Class of 1940.

(Side note: Some historical accounts credit Sawyer and students, in 1934, with scouting and blazing the final section of the trail in Maine. Notwithstanding Sawyer鈥檚 contributions to the Outing Club and the AT, that account is disputed.)

This film clip, from around 1939, shows Sawyer (in the Panama hat leading the group) and students doing maintenance work on the Appalachian Trail.

After viewing the 1939 video, Katz had a couple reactions. One, gear has come a long way. “Our backpacks are a lot more advanced than the ones that they had,” he says. “We now have very nice sleeping bags and sleeping pads and a shelter pre-prepared for us.鈥�

What hasn鈥檛 changed all that much are tools. 鈥淲e used saws, loppers, and pruners.鈥�

The 1939 clip shows a frying pan filled with bacon. During the 2023 trip, dehydrated meals were used . The clip of the back then shows the students applying old-school bug repellant 鈥� nasty stuff made from pine tar 鈥� while the current students used DEET-based repellent.

During their stay, the 乐播传媒 crew met a section hiker (someone who completes the AT in a series of multi-day trips over a period of time) at the Bemis lean-to. He told the 乐播传媒 group that he was in charge of maintaining a trail system back in Louisiana.

鈥淗e said that we now owned that section of trail that we maintained. When we come back someday, we could say we took care of this trail.鈥�

Additional reporting by Hannah Kothari 鈥�26

Housed in the basement of Portland鈥檚 Equality Community Center, Maine鈥檚 newest gear library might lack the store-front appeal of other outdoor outlets in a state famous for its outdoor recreation.

But at the Kindling Collective open house on June 10, the party lights, sound of laughter, and impromptu outdoor-gear lessons spoke of a warm, welcoming community and, most of all: joy.

Launched by Hallie Herz 鈥�11 and Eva Fury, focused on helping the queer community access the outdoors in a safe, fulfilling, and affordable way. While it joins a growing network of outdoor gear libraries serving historically marginalized communities across the country, it is the first that caters specifically to queer people, according to the Outdoors Empowered Network in San Francisco.

Even a simple weekend camping trip to a state park can require a level of expertise and expensive gear that many lack. Add to those barriers the stress of facing unfriendly, or even hostile strangers, and outdoor fun for a queer person can be a nonstarter. Yet the kind of joy found in the woods, Herz said, is essential for queer people today.

“We feel it’s important to focus on joy and focus on queer joy especially right now with all of the hateful anti-trans laws and rhetoric. It is a time when queer people need a space where they can be themselves and find connections to things that sustain them,鈥� Herz said. “We really think about it as a resilience practice, a refilling and recharging. We see this work as liberation work.鈥�

鈥淭raditional outdoor recreation culture caters very much to white, straight, male people. If you鈥檙e not that person, it can feel disorienting, like you don’t belong…鈥�

Seraph White

Kindling Collective joins over 25 outdoor gear libraries across the country that work with communities that encounter significant barriers to accessing the outdoors, according to Seraph White, executive director of the Outdoors Empowered Network. Such gear libraries are run by community activists and outdoor educators that see the importance of getting people, especially young people, outside. 

鈥淭raditional outdoor recreation culture caters very much to white, straight, male people. If you鈥檙e not that person, it can feel disorienting, like you don’t belong even though the outdoors should be where everyone belongs,鈥� White said. 鈥淭here are a lot of challenges beyond the gear. If you don鈥檛 know how to address the challenges in an outdoor space with racism, sexism, and homophobia, the outdoors can feel inaccessible.鈥�

The good news, said Cat Runner, founder of Queer Climbers Network in Kentucky, is that queer-focused outdoor groups are growing and more climbing gyms are holding events that cater to the LGBTQ+ community. His online directory that offers a calendar of events includes about 50 queer-climbing groups from Seattle to South Carolina. 

鈥淚 think the societal want for these programs increased at the beginning of the Black Lives Matter movement,鈥� Runner said. 鈥淭here was a kind of collective push that came with gyms being way more receptive. To some extent, it鈥檚 performative. But I think some gyms really are pushing to try to make sure this space is a space [the LGBTQ+] community wants to come into.鈥�

At Kindling in Portland, anyone can join the gear library, which allows members to borrow outdoor gear (similar to how a book library loans out books), but the focus also is on empowering the queer community, since so much of the outdoor recreation industry does not, said Herz and Fury, who are spouses as well as business partners. 

Breaking down societal barriers forged by colonialism and privilege is central to their mission. They鈥檙e quick to point out the land in Maine where they鈥檒l lead outings and recommend camping trips is the native land of the Wabanaki people. 

Fury said the global concern about climate change is another big reason why getting more people outdoors is so important right now. 

鈥淲e all kind of have an anxious attachment to the planet because we鈥檙e worried she鈥檚 going to die,鈥� Fury said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e experiencing wildfires on the East Coast in a way the West Coast has experienced for years. And did everyone else hear about all the dead fish that washed up on the coast of Texas? It feels apocalyptic right now. So we need the joy (found in nature) to be able to keep surviving through this.鈥�

Fury brings a decade of experience as a project manager and community organizer for public health programs and nonprofits focused on racial and gender justice. They worked with LGBTQ youth and young people experiencing homelessness, providing gender-affirming training to those who serve them. They also bring the unbridled energy of a competitive ultimate Frisbee player and coach 鈥� one who coached Cold Front, the 乐播传媒鈥� women鈥檚-matching ultimate Frisbee team, for the 2022 spring season.

Herz is the outdoor-gear expert, wilderness guide and outdoor educator, having worked for 10 years as a teacher and for 15 years as a backcountry wilderness guide throughout Canada, from Quebec in the east to the Yukon in the far northwest. They have led canoe and backpacking trips for queer and trans people for the Venture Out Project.

Growing up in the small coastal Maine town of Damariscotta Mills, Herz lived an outdoor lifestyle where they paddled, swam and hiked 鈥� before finding a second home at a wilderness camp in Ontario at age 9.

After transferring to 乐播传媒 from Barnard College their sophomore year in 2008, Herz joined the 乐播传媒 Outing Club, leading trips, serving as secretary, and receiving the club鈥檚 Sawyer award for their contributions. The experience was positive, but not as inclusive as they would have liked, Herz realized years later. 

鈥淭he culture of the BOC was typical of most outdoor spaces I’d found myself in up to that time in my life: male-dominated, bro-y, white, and upper-middle class or wealthy,鈥� said Herz. Within that culture, Herz didn鈥檛 feel they could share their queer identity, so they hid it. 鈥淚 unconsciously adapted myself to fit into that culture and looking back, I’ve realized how that contributed to an exclusive and elitist environment and meant hiding my queerness and showing up as only part of myself.鈥�

Over the last two years, the 乐播传媒 Outing Club revised its mission statement 鈥� and its programming 鈥� to focus more on diversity, equity and inclusion, noting that the club鈥檚 members 鈥渞ecognize that outdoor recreation has historically and continues to exclude people of marginalized identities.鈥�

In Portland, Herz is now working to create an outdoor club that celebrates inclusion and champions queer people exploring the outdoors.

“I saw the harm caused by having that exclusive space. So I wouldn’t say the Outing Club is my origin story, but I think that experience influenced the way I want to approach this work,鈥� they said. 

Kindling Collective鈥檚 home in the Equality Community Center is part of Portland鈥檚 arts district. Rainbow banners and a large Black Lives Matter flag welcome visitors in the large lobby. In the basement construction is underway on a large seminar room where Fury and Herz will hold demos and classes.

鈥淭his is a big step for the queer community in Portland, to make the outdoors an inclusive space.”

Danielle Arroyo

Already the co-founders have collaborated with outdoor organizations that also serve groups facing barriers to outdoor recreation, such as the Confluence Collective, which teaches fly fishing; Maine Gear Share in Brunswick; and Inclusive Ski Touring at Mt. Abram. 

Danielle Arroyo, a friend of Herz and Fury, looked around at the crowd that came to Kindling鈥檚 open house on June 10, nodded and smiled. 

鈥淭his is a big step for the queer community in Portland, to make the outdoors an inclusive space because going backpacking, you don鈥檛 know who you鈥檒l encounter,” said Arroyo. 鈥淏eing a mixed-race queer person, safety is a concern. I want to put my money and energy toward people who will include me.鈥�

Aided by Mission Earth, a nonprofit that serves as a fiscal sponsor, Kindling secured a $90,000 grant from the Sewall Foundation and one for $10,000 from the Quimby Family Foundation. With the help of donations garnered through the Outdoors Empowered Network they鈥檝e filled their gear locker with everything from backpacks, day packs, tents and sleeping bags to camp stoves, headlamps and camp chairs.

Kindling鈥檚 tiered payment method allows monthly or yearly memberships costing as little as $5 to $15 for an individual and $45 to $225 for families. 

Fionnuir Ni Chochlain, who recently moved to Portland from Philadelphia for a summer internship, was astounded when they learned of the $5 monthly membership fee at the open house.

After stopping by the open house, Julia von Ehr noted Kindling’s social-justice component.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much capitalism in the outdoor economy. It鈥檚 nice to break away from that,鈥� they said.  

Michaela Cowgill reflected on a recent yoga class she attended that was devoted to queer people 鈥� and how it allowed for recreating and meditating with others without the fear of being judged. Kindling will offer that, she said.

鈥淣ormally, there aren鈥檛 a lot of queer people in these spaces,鈥� Cowgill said. 鈥淚 want to walk into a space where I can be myself and don鈥檛 have to worry about that. It’s fortifying.鈥�

For many decades, February at 乐播传媒 has been the month of Winter Carnival.

Created by the 乐播传媒 Outing Club in its founding year of 1920, Winter Carnival hit its stride in the 1930s. Fueling the fun was the fact that the event took place during a brief breather between the first semester, which in those days ended in late January, and the start of the second semester.

If a sporting event could be done on bare ground, 乐播传媒 students in the 1930s were probably trying it on skis, skates, and snowshoes during Winter Carnival.

Take a look at these brief video clips, most from the epic 1936 Carnival, which ran from Thursday, Feb. 6, to Sunday, Feb. 9.

Carnival Queen: 1936

The 乐播传媒 Student promised that “all winter sport enthusiasts 鈥� professors and students alike 鈥� will welcome the opportunity to forget the exhausting restrictions of exams and substitute in their place a charmed but brief reign of the queen of the 17th annual 乐播传媒 College Winter Carnival.”

The crowning of “the supreme ruler of the Winter Carnival” took place on the first night of Winter Carnival, during a dance in Chase Hall propelled by the music of the legendary 乐播传媒 house band, the Bobcats.

The 1936 queen was Priscilla Walker ’36, seen here being crowned by President Clifton Daggett Gray.

The queen was chosen by the Outing Club directors for “all-around outdoor ability, her interest in sports, and her general attitude,” the Student reported.

Coed Dining: 1936

The 1936 Student blared this headline, “Coeducational dinner will be opening feature for winter sports weekend”!

With that, the two single-sex dining halls, Commons in Chase Hall and Fiske Dining Room in Rand Hall, offered on the opening night of Winter Carnival a 乐播传媒 rarity in those days: coed dining.

Here, the Fiske Dining Hall chef “Frank” is shown preparing the turkey meal.

Interdorm Sports Meet: 1936

Held on Saturday morning, the Interdorm Meet of 1936 featured ski and snowshoe dashes and an obstacle race, seen here.

Toboggan Wipe Out: 1936

Tobogganing had gained favor among students in 1936, The 乐播传媒 Student reported.

In an era where 乐播传媒 had separate dining facilities for men and women, and where dancing had been allowed only for about a decade,聽 tobogganing was a way for students to get close to one another.

“It is a rare moonlit evening these days that does not find numerous couples of gaily snowsuited coeds and warmly muffled eds dragging a toboggan toward Pole Hill,” the Student reported in 1936.

Pole Hill, by the way, is the rise of land north of 乐播传媒, along the northern part of the traditional “three-mile loop.”

Lollypop Rush: 1936

In the vast expanse of the searchable internet, the phrase “lollypop rush” appears just 193 times. But in the analog days of the 1930s, the Lollypop Rush 鈥� a dash up Mount David, where the first man and woman could claim a large lollipop 鈥� was on the lips of most students.

The Student reported that the event was modeled after a Worcester Polytechnic Institute event known as the freshman-sophomore “paddle rush.”

Snowshoe Football: 1936

The Student promised that the 1936 snowshoe football game, held Friday morning and pitting seniors against underclassmen, would be “marked by fumbles, intercepted forward passes, etc., by players who have never had the experience of playing this great American pastime on snowshoes.”

Skate High Jump: circa 1930

This event isn’t from 1936, but it typifies the Winter Carnival truism that what could be done without snowshoes, skis, or skates could be done with them, including this version of high jumping.

Speed Skating: 1936

In many years, the Outing Club created a skating rink between Garcelon Field and Alumni Gym.

Ski Jumping at Mount David: 1936

In 1936, crowds gathered between Cheney House and the President’s House to watch these jumpers.

Snow Sculpture: 1936

This unidentified student sweeps newly fallen snow from a sculpture of Hathorn Hall created by the residents of Whittier House, an all-female house in those days.

Thorncrag Cabin Visit: 1936

The 1936 carnival ended on Sunday with an open house, including tobogganing, at the Outing Club’s erstwhile cabin at Thorncrag Sanctuary.

Ben Ayers 鈥�99 has spent most of his working life in Nepal supporting sustainable economic development. He also has a recent and acclaimed National Geographic film documentary to his credit.

And if you ask him, he might say that the secret to his success was being a bad ski jumper in high school.

To kick off the 乐播传媒 Outing Club鈥檚 100th anniversary year, Ayers, a BOC president as a student, visited campus on Jan. 15 to share stories and lessons from his path from 乐播传媒 to Nepal, including the ability to 鈥渓et go鈥� that got him to where he is today.

Spirits were high at the event, held in the Benjamin Mays Center, during which Ayers was honored with the Alumni Association鈥檚 Alumni Community Service Award. Students, having just returned to campus from break, shared stories about their vacation adventures. And they weren鈥檛 the only ones reuniting: BOC alumni from the last 50 years shook hands with friends, met current students, and mingled over 乐播传媒鈥� famous chai and cookies.

Ayers began his talk with a story about ski jumping. Growing up in New Hampshire 鈥� the only U.S. state to offer ski jumping as a high school sport 鈥� Ayers was excited to give it a shot.

Standing before a projected photo from his high school ski-jumping days, Ben Ayers ’99 speaks during a 乐播传媒 Outing Club 100th anniversary kickoff event on Jan. 15 in the Benjamin Mays Center. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

But no matter how hard he practiced and how much he envisioned himself making perfect jumps, he never improved. Discouraged, he stopped going to practice and, more importantly, stopped caring whether or not he was any good.

Only then did he begin to excel, eventually becoming one of the state’s top schoolboy ski jumpers.

Once he got to 乐播传媒, Ayers said, he 鈥渘eeded to find something else that I was bad at.鈥� From his experience ski jumping, he knew he had an affinity for outdoor adventure, which led him to try rock climbing with the Outing Club.

Ayers explained how his roommate began teaching him to climb, and he devoted himself to it with the same 鈥渇ervor and lack of skill.鈥� By letting go of the need for instant perfection, and depending on help from friends, Ayers discovered that 鈥渁dventure begets adventure.鈥� He kept trying new things, immersed himself in new adventures, and excelled in ways he’d never thought possible.

From left, 1999 classmates Ben Ayers, Brad Morse, Erik Thomson, and John MacKay pause during construction of the 乐播传媒 Outing Club lean-to in May 1999. Located in nearby Greene on protected land provided by BOC adviser Judy Marden ’66, the 10-by-17 lean-to is modeled on Appalachian Trail structures. (Judy Marden ’66)

During his junior year, Ayers studied abroad in Nepal, unaware that it would entirely alter the course of his life. After graduating from 乐播传媒 with an English major, Ayers moved back to Nepal with $300 (which was stolen from its oh-so-original hiding place in the hotel wall), and has been there pretty much ever since.

In 1999, Ayers founded a nonprofit, Porter鈥檚 Progress, to help supply Nepali porters with gear and medical skills to improve their safety in the Himalayas. He then went on to become the executive director of dZi foundation, through which 鈥� building schools and improving agricultural, water, and sanitation systems 鈥� in order to, as he once said, help 鈥渄evelop the kind of prosperity that can make a community more resilient.鈥�

The large crowd, including many 乐播传媒 Outing Club alumni and students, react to Ben Ayers’ talk on Jan. 15 at the Benjamin Mays Center. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

鈥淲e basically went to communities and asked them what their dreams for the next few years were,鈥� Ayers told his 乐播传媒 audience. Such as: 鈥淲hat was the beauty in their life? What was the strength in their life? What were their dreams for the future?鈥� His goal was to help these communities build strengths to help themselves, and that鈥檚 what Ayers has been doing for the past 20 years.

In 2016, Ayers led a National Geographic documentary crew up cliffs, trailing Mauli Dhan Rai on his last foray to harvest so-called mad honey. He shared a bit about the years of establishing the friendships and trust necessary to film such a dangerous and sacred task.

Wearing bee suits, photographer Renan Ozturk (left) and Ben Ayers 鈥�99 prepare to capture Mauli Dhan Rai as he harvests a valuable hallucinogenic honey from a cliffside in Nepal’s Hongu River Valley. (Courtesy of Renan Ozturk)

鈥淚t all just happened because I choose to do things that I was really bad at,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 took a leap of faith that helped me learn and helped me listen, and it helped me connect with people who were different than I was.鈥�

Trying things that we鈥檙e bad at, Ayers continued, also teaches us humility. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to be humbled.鈥�

鈥淏y putting yourself in a position of being helped, you can then understand how to go about helping other people.鈥�

He continued, 鈥淣ot everyone has the privilege to travel. Not everyone has the opportunities to fail, and if you do, you have an obligation to. It鈥檚 going to teach you courage and it鈥檚 going to teach you fear.鈥�

Ayers continued, 鈥淚鈥檝e had the privilege to fail. I’ve had enough opportunity to try things I was bad at. And in doing that, I learned that at large, people are really forgiving, people are really understanding.鈥�

Ayers also encouraged his audience to surround themselves with people who are different from them. 鈥淧ut yourself in a position to accept help,鈥� said Ayers. 鈥淏y putting yourself in a position of being helped, you can then understand how to go about helping other people.鈥�

Ben Ayers 鈥�99 chats with a friend prior to his Jan. 15 talk at the Benjamin Mays Center, kicking off the 100th anniversary of the 乐播传媒 Outing Club. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

Early in the program, Ayers took time to thank Judy Marden 鈥�66, longtime BOC adviser, for her years of dedication to the club. 鈥淛udy has been the North Star of the Outing Club long before I was a student,鈥� Ayers said.

鈥淚 also want to thank Judy for remaining friends with me after I dragged her up to Everest base camp, and through the streets of Kathmandu on a motorcycle that I didn鈥檛 really know how to drive very well.鈥�

“The days when winter locked the college doors are gone,” wrote The 乐播传媒 Student聽about a century ago. “乐播传媒 has learned that winter opens…another door to a world of keen activity and zest.”

The source of this new appreciation for winter? The 乐播传媒 Outing Club, founded in 1920 鈥渢o make the out of doors more entertaining and attractive during the winter months,” according to the Student.

While its founding purpose was to help students shake off the winter blues, the BOC has evolved into a full-service organization dedicated to helping generations of students, regardless of prior experience, discover joy and new friendships through the Maine outdoors.

Throughout 2020, as the BOC celebrates its centennial, we’ll share monthly highlights about what’s made the club so distinctive and beloved.

1920: The 乐播传媒 Outing Club is founded

At 乐播传媒 in 1920, dancing wasn’t yet permitted on campus. But by January, a different avenue for coed socializing, the Outing Club, was up and running.

“Following the example of other progressive colleges and universities, 乐播传媒 has added to her societies this year an Outing Club,”

Organization work took place the month before, including a membership drive after chapel services that yielded 300 signups, with nearly another 100 registering later.

At first, Outing Club membership required $1.50 in annual dues. Of the club’s first-year revenue of $653.60, the biggest expenditure, $326.90, was to set up lights for nighttime skating at Lake Andrews.

Fifteen dollars paid for a student to visit New Hampshire to “get points” about Dartmouth’s famed Winter Carnival. The BOC would offer 乐播传媒’ first carnival in late February of its first year.

“May [the Outing Club] accomplish its purpose, namely, to provide and promote an increased interest in all forms of out-of-door exercise and entertainment,” . 乐播传媒 education professor Robert A.F. MacDonald promised that Outing Club offerings “should appeal not only to experts but to everybody.”

In 1934, a student stands next to a 乐播传媒 Outing Club snow sculpture featuring the BOC logo. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

From the start, the club had an open-to-all vibe. The Student noted that “students who had started the club wished all students who wished to belong to the club, both men and women, to have the opportunity.” (In an era where more than a few campus programs and structures were single-sex, this was somewhat distinctive.)

1925: The BOC finishes its first cabin

In the mid-1920s, the Student noted that future offerings by the Outing Club would “transcend those of former years.”

Chief among the transcendent offerings was the club’s own log cabin. Located on the southern slopes of Sabattus Mountain in nearby Wales, about seven miles from campus, the structure was built from hemlocks logged at the site.

Circa 1934, Burt Dunfield ’34 and Ted Lynch ’36 pose outside the 乐播传媒 Outing Club cabin on Sabattus Mountain in Wales. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

The Student announced the . “Get into the spirit of the Old Log Cabin,” urged the paper.

Get your hands black getting firewood 鈥� make ’em smell like pitch 鈥� get a blazing fire in the fireplace. Now the door is shut 鈥� the sparks leap up while outside the frost hangs in the air.

With plenty of jokes and fun you hand out the bacon, etc., that never tasted so good before, just goes down and tickles your appetite. Finally your gastric vacuole is consolidated and somehow you never felt more invigorated in your life 鈥� never healthier and happier.”

The BOC had another cabin in service around that time, in the far western Maine township of Albany, and soon would have one at nearby Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary, dubbed the Stanton Lodge, in honor of legendary 乐播传媒 professor “Uncle Johnny” Stanton.

Students crowd the Stanton Lodge at Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary, circa 1950, for a most enjoyable cabin party. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

“One of the most enjoyable kinds of social gatherings at 乐播传媒 is a Thorncrag cabin party, especially in the winter,” said the Student in 1932, “when about a half-hour’s walk may be made on snowshoes.”

Though those structures are gone now, the Outing Club still offers an overnight get-away spot, a lean-to within the Marden-Chittick Refuge, 200 acres of land that longtime BOC adviser Judy Marden 鈥�66 gave to the Androscoggin Land Trust as a conservation easement. (One of the lean-to builders was Ben Ayers ’99, the featured speaker at the Jan. 15 BOC kick-off event.)

1936: Ski jumping takes off at Mount David

In the early and mid-1900s, a popular Winter Carnival event was ski jumping. Skiers hurtled down Mount David, taking a jump erected between and behind the President’s House and Cheney House.

These video clips are from the 1936 Winter Carnival.

1958: Maine Gov. Edmund Muskie ’36 begins an Outing Club tradition

The theme of the 1958 Winter Carnival was “Winter Olympics,” and so a torch relay to campus was needed. But from where? And lit by whom?

With a 乐播传媒 graduate holding the Maine governorship, the answer was: Augusta and Edmund Muskie ’36. Once the torch was lit, 18 students relayed it back to campus.

Maine Gov. Edmund Muskie ’36 lights a torch in Augusta to kick off the 1958 Winter Carnival. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

Since 1958, the tradition of the Maine governor lighting the 乐播传媒 carnival torch and students running it back to campus has waxed and waned. (In 1980, the Outing Club penned an apology to then-Gov. Joe Brennan for arriving three hours late for the appointed ceremony.)

After a hiatus, the tradition was revived in 2019 by students and newly elected governor Janet Mills.

1962: Paul Bunyan arrives

Easily the most famous 乐播传媒 snow sculpture was the 30-foot Paul Bunyan erected by the Outing Club for the 1962 Winter Carnival.

“So commanding was his presence that he acted as a tourist attraction for many of the town’s people, especially after his picture appeared in the paper,” wrote Louise “Pixie” Norlander Toliver ’62 for the BOC newsletter.

The 1962 Paul Bunyan snow sculpture attracts visitors during the Winter Carnival of 1962. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

The project was engineered by Outing Club member Douglas Smith ’63, whose summer work in a boatyard and high school experience as a theater stage manager imparted skills to design and build the sculpture’s wood frame, which he covered in chicken wire.

He transported the frame to 乐播传媒 “tied to the roof of my ’47 Buick,” as he recalled for the 2009 edition of The Legend, the BOC annual magazine.

乐播传媒 students work on the 乐播传媒 Outing Club’s Paul Bunyan snow sculpture in 1962. (Courtesy of The Legend)

Erected outside Alumni Gym (with help from the college maintenance staff, which loaned scaffolding), the framework was stuffed with crumpled newspapers to provide a backing for the layer of snow, applied by a large crew of students.

Once erected, it was illuminated at night by spotlights for the duration of the Carnival.

1981: Tobogganing down Mount David

Skiing hasn’t been the only way to hurtle down Mount David. In the 1920s, the Outing Club announced plans to create a toboggan chute down the northeast side of the hill, across Mountain Avenue and down Benson Street. It’s unclear if that chute was ever built.

This airborne scene is from 1981.

From left, Morey Creighton ’84, Jim Andrews ’84, and Dan Bungert ’84 take a jump while tobogganing down Mount David in January 1981 during Winter Carnival. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

A different route, around 1935, went down the Rand Hall side of Mount David. It featured “an extended chute and a scientifically banked curve” that ended near Rand, bringing riders with “suitable flourishes to the door of their domicile.”

The 1935 Outing Club toboggan chute in action. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

The chute was not without danger: In January 1935, Isabell Butterfield ’37 broke her left arm while on a run.

The Student blamed the student: “The chute that has been erected by the Outing Club is safe if students sliding on it will use some degree of caution by keeping their legs firmly on the toboggan and having a firm grip on the handrails of the sleds.”

In 1955, the Student reported another tobogganing mishap. “Three battered and bruised Cheney House freshmen are recovering from a toboggan ride this week…. No brain, no pain?”

2006: A balmy Puddle Jump

Founded in 1975 and initially held on St. Patrick’s Day, the annual Puddle Jump wasn’t originally under the Outing Club’s auspices. The event has since moved to Winter Carnival, and BOCers now run the show.

The thrill of taking the plunge, of course, is braving cold water and even colder air, though one of those ingredients was famously missing on Jan. 20, 2006. Temps in the 50s greeted jumpers, making it one of the warmest Puddle Jump days ever.

Puddle jumpers warm up by a bonfire after emerging from Lake Andrews on Jan. 20, 2006. They barely needed the extra heat: It was in the 50s that day. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

January 2010: The BOC turns 90

In 2010, the Outing Club headed to Augusta to accept a Legislative Sentiment honoring the club on the 90th anniversary of its founding.

The sentiment praised the BOC for “inspiring 乐播传媒 students toward careers in the fields of outdoor and experiential education, exploration, the natural and environmental sciences and other adventurous pursuits.”

Judy Marden ’66, the Outing Club’s longtime adviser, said that the event 鈥渞einforced the feeling that we are part of an important continuum of outdoors advocates and enthusiasts.鈥�

In 2010, then-Maine Gov. John Baldacci (in striped tie) helps members of the 乐播传媒 Outing Club, including BOC president JeanMarie Gossard ’10 (on Baldacci’s left) celebrate the 90th anniversary of its founding. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

2013: Decamping for new Outing Club digs

Since 1929, the Outing Club’s headquarters had been on the ground floor of Alumni Gym.

That changed on a January evening in 2013 when members worked together to move all their gear into new digs in the former Dining Services kitchen in Chase Hall.

Many hands make light work in January 2013 as BOCers move their stuff from their former headquarters in Alumni Gym to a new space in Chase Hall. (Mike Bradley/乐播传媒 College)

January 2013: BOC sky lantern launch

A century ago, 乐播传媒 students hauled logs and tar barrels up Mount David for massive bonfires to celebrate sports triumphs or to drive away the winter blahs.

Though bonfires atop Mount David are a no-no today, the Outing Club has in recent years kept the flame alive thanks to a tradition known as Children of Midnight.

Students release sky lanterns atop Mount David on Jan. 28, 2013.(Will Strathmann ’13)

Children of Midnight is an umbrella term for any late-night, semi-spontaneous BOC event, whether it’s a bicycle ride around campus or, as on the night of Jan. 28, 2013, a hike up Mount David and the release of sky lanterns. (We note and acknowledge that sky lanterns are less in vogue today due to sustainability concerns.)

Michelle Pham 鈥�15 of Vancouver described the scene this way:

“It is snowing heavily in Maine today, and all the pathways glisten and sparkle with fresh crystals of snow. The purity of the snow combined with the warm light of the lanterns created such a mystical ambiance that was entirely beautiful.”

Here are a few items from the Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library.

Life聽on the Trail

When in 1941, famed documentary photographer Eliot Elisofon, assisted by Joe Reshower de Casseres, further documented the experience by adding their names and a few doodles to this tree conk.

One of Elisofon鈥檚 photos in the Oct. 13, 1941, issue of Life聽shows 乐播传媒 Outing Club members descending Saddleback Mountain. The conk was given to 乐播传媒 by the late BOCer Gilbert Center 鈥�43.

Mike Bradley/乐播传媒 College

Pipe Up

In the early 20th century, more than a few colleges engaged in this act of cultural appropriation.

At 乐播传媒, Class Day activities included the seniors taking a puff from a 鈥減eace pipe鈥� like this one from the Archives.

The pipe-smoking was preceded by the Pipe Oration, which in 1911 offered the hope that the pipe smoke would carry away 鈥渁ll things that tend to separate us and disunite us鈥� 鈥� leaving behind friendship among classmates and loyalty to 乐播传媒.

Graduating 乐播传媒 seniors engage in the Class Day peace-pipe ritual in 1946. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

This peace pipe from the early 1900s was used during Class Day ceremonies. (Michael Bradley/乐播传媒 College)

Let’s Play Two

From 1968 to 1970, 乐播传媒 had two Commencements each year. The first was in April for traditional four-year grads, and the second was in June or even July for graduates of the college’s new three-year option. This photo shows the April 1969 edition.

Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library

To make the three-year option viable, the college added a third academic term, which became Short Term, which lives on to this day. The three-year plan also lives on, but as a rarely chosen option.

When new President Hedley Reynolds returned to a single-Commencement format in 1971,聽 Lewiston Sun Journal聽hailed the change in its lead editorial, calling the change “preferable to the confusing, double Commencements.”

Banding Together

This cornet belonged to Levi W. Ballard, organizer of various Lewiston-Auburn musical groups, including the Maine State Seminary Band in 1861.

For years, Ballard furnished music for schools and college commencement exercises throughout Maine.

Michael Bradley/乐播传媒 College

Worth the Weight

乐播传媒鈥� 6-0 football win over Bowdoin on Oct. 29, 1898, was worthy of this illustrated commemorative paperweight.

Why not, since The 乐播传媒 Student called it “universally admitted to be the greatest contest ever played between Maine colleges”? (With Garcelon Field not yet completed, the 1898 game was played at a downtown Lewiston park.)

The scene shows William A. Saunders, Class of 1899, carrying the ball over the goal line. The caption reads, “The play that won the game.”

Michael Bradley/乐播传媒 College

Saunders, who was African American, later taught at Storer College, an institution established with the help of 乐播传媒 founder Oren Cheney.

He’s standing, second from right, in the 1898 team photo below.

The 乐播传媒 Student, November 1898

Only a Mother Could Love…

A stuffed bobcat with muttonchops.

Michael Bradley/乐播传媒 College

Earlier today, a 20th-century 乐播传媒 Outing Club tradition was reignited when newly elected Maine Gov. Janet Mills lit a ceremonial Winter Carnival torch outside the Maine State House in Augusta.

The 乐播传媒 torch-lighting聽tradition was begun in 1958 when then-Maine Gov. Ed Muskie ’36 lit a torch to kick off that year’s Olympic-themed Winter Carnival.

Today at 9 a.m., taking a few lighthearted minutes from her big duties (such as delivering her first state budget), Mills met eight 乐播传媒 students, including torchbearer Gordon Platt ’19, BOC vice president from Groton, Mass.

The 乐播传媒 relay runners, members of the 乐播传媒 Outing Club and 乐播传媒 Running Club, run past the State House on their way from Augusta to 乐播传媒 on Feb. 8. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

With Gordon Platt '19 carrying the lit torch, the first group of 乐播传媒 relay runners cavort their way from the State House. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

After lighting the Winter Carnival torch, Maine Gov. Janet Mills cheers as 乐播传媒 Outing Club vice president Gordon Platt '19 of Groton, Mass., holds the torch. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

After lighting Winter Carnival torch at the State House on Feb. 8, 2019, Maine Gov. Janet Mills poses with 乐播传媒 students. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

After Mills lit the torch, the 乐播传媒 students set out on foot for campus, 30.1 miles away. A total of some 20 students, running in four-person relay groups of about three miles, were scheduled to deliver the lit torch to campus by 3 p.m. to kick off the annual Puddle Jump.

This year’s runners are members of the 乐播传媒 Outing Club and the 乐播传媒 Running Club.

The college’s Winter Carnival has been a 乐播传媒 Outing Club tradition since the club’s formation in 1920. Next year marks the club’s centennial.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills lights the Winter Carnival torch, held by 乐播传媒 Outing Club vice president Gordon Platt ’19.

History of the Torch Lighting

From the 1950s to the 1990s, the longstanding (and bipartisan) torch-lighting tradition brought Maine governors to the steps of the State House including these state leaders:

Maine Gov. Edmund Muskie '36 lights the inaugural Winter Carnival torch in 1958.

First lady Polly Curtis, wife of Maine Gov. Ken Curtis, lights the Winter Carnival torch in 1968.

Maine Gov. John McKernan lights the Winter Carnival torch in 1989.

Maine Gov. John McKernan lights the Winter Carnival torch in 1987.

Maine Gov. James Longley lights the Winter Carnival torch in 1978.

The 乐播传媒 Puddle Jump, the annual, you-have-to-be mad dash from shore to pond, has been going strong as a student rite of passage since 1975. A new wrinkle for 2016: Pond skimming!