Friends of Squaw Mountain gearing up for busy season

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    GREENVILLE — Even though it’s a few weeks before autumn, the Friends of Squaw Mountain are already thinking about snow, and plenty of it.
    The non-profit group that brought the dormant ski area near Greenville back to life last January has spent hundreds of hours this year on labor and fund-raising activities in anticipation of a busy season. “We didn’t get started until the season was mostly over last year,” said Amy Lane, the president of Friends of Squaw Mountain. “With a full season ahead of us, naturally we’re all excited.”

    HEAVY LIFTING — Nortrax of Bangor has donated the use of a John Deere excavator, left, and Adam Moscovitz of Bangor brought his tractor to Squaw Mountain to help rebuilt the trails and cut brush this summer.

    The group will have a booth set up at the International Seaplane Fly-In on Sept. 7 by the Folsom hangar near the food vendors, Lane said. “We will have season passes for sale, information on our ‘Adopt a Chair’ program, a raffle and some photos on the progress of the mountain.”
    There will also be a variety of T-shirts with the vintage Squaw diamond-shaped logo, the new “reborn” design and children’s T-shirts lettered with “I Ski Squaw.”
    Lane said that many vendors have donated items to the group, including Imprint.com based in Houston. “They’ve donated some of our T-shirts,” she said. “They felt it was a good way to promote their brand.”
    Another business promoting Squaw Mountain created the ski area’s own brand of hot sauce. Buen Apetito Restaurant makes Katahdin blueberry, Seboomook ginger and Exterminator XXX hot sauces as an addition to their award-winning Deer Camp brand. They’re on sale at Moose Scoops Ice Cream in downtown Greenville with all of the proceeds going toward the Friends of Squaw Mountain.
    On the mountain itself, the heavy work is under way. Nortrax of Bangor has donated the use of a John Deere 200D excavator for 100 hours to work on the trails, Lane said. “It was delivered on Aug. 26, and went right to work,” she said. “This is equivalent to about a $4,000 donation.”
    Adam Moscovitz of Bangor, who has a summer place in the Moosehead Lake region, also brought up his John Deere tractor to be used on the mountain with Rodney Folsom behind the wheel. Folsom has been credited by many people for the success of the mountain’s rebirth after he helped negotiate a lease with Squaw Mountain owner Jim Confalone.
    At the ski lodge, eight new insulated windows and a new door have been placed on the slope side, and Moosehead Cedar Log Homes is donating new siding for the building and the labor to install it. “They have been wonderful to us,” Lane said.
    The next goal is to rebuild the old T-bar shack so that school ski teams can keep their gates and other equipment in a secure place on the mountain. “We’re reaching out to other building supply companies, especially in areas outside of Greenville where schools use the mountain,” Lane said. “Lovell’s Hardware in Guilford made a very nice donation last year.”
    Upcoming events include a training session and refresher court on wilderness first aid course for the ski patrol on Oct. 12-13, chaired by Brent Ireland of Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft. The ski patrol will also be doing some fundraising this fall for equipment and uniforms. Both Mayo and the staff of C.A. Dean Hospital in Greenville will be active with the ski patrol program.
    One of the most visible promotions is “Adopt a Chair” sponsorships at $500 each. In addition to a banner displayed on each chair all season, sponsors also get 20 lift tickets. “These are ideal for lodging businesses. Their banner will be seen by hundreds of people every day, and they can use the lift tickets themselves or for their customers,” Lane explained.
    Recent sponsors include the Greenville High School Class of 1975, the Moulton family and Rowell’s Garage in Dover-Foxcroft, the Greenville Inn at Moosehead Lake, Northwoods Outfitters and Maine Mountain Soap and Candle.
    For more information on the progress at the mountain, visit the Friends of Squaw Mountain Facebook page and check out their booth at the Fly-In.