Here....
Twenty-five years ago the Olympic torch passed through my town, Saratoga Springs....it passed directly by the "Spirit of Life" sculpture...
...on its way to light the Olympic Flame
... in the Adirondack Mountains at the Lake Placid games.
Shortly afterward, a charter bus came through carrying a band of relatively unknown athletes. They stopped for dinner in nearby Glens Falls. I, along with maybe 50 other well wishers, had dinner with them and tried to give them support. I was too introverted to ask for autographs, but joined in the applause and mumbled greetings of good luck. They sure would need it...they were such underdogs. Little did we known in a few short weeks they would be bringing home the Gold in what has become know as the Miracle on Ice".
Soon afterward, a whole line of athletes came through town from all over the world, people such as Juha Mieto, the giant Finn, and Tomas Wassberg, the Swede, who would battle it out on the nordic ski trails of Mount Van Hoevenbugh.
The last ones to come through were the hordes of international and homegrown tourists. Adirondackers held their breath to see if tiny Lake Placid could handle the surge. A labor dispute between bus drivers and the contracted transportation companies caused a a lot of worry. But to the rescue came the buses and drivers from school districts all around the "North Country" as wwe like to call our region. There were some delays, in the frigid temperatures, waiting for buses to take spectators from Keene up past Cascade Lake and into Lake Placid. That some of the waiting tourists had foolishly not prepared for Adirondack weather made it a bit of a media buzz for a short period.
Knowing of the traffic coming off the interstate, I took the back roads through Blue Mountain, Long,Tupper and Saranac Lakes. I was able to get into the games with maybe a 15 minute wait for the next shuttle bus from Saranac. I had written for tickets over a year earlier. The tix for the nordic skiing were easy to come by....but all I could manage for hockey was the US v. Romania game. But I was there and soaking in all the excitement and fun.
Lost in the shadow of the miracle on ice was one of the greatest nordic races ever...after 15 grueling kilometers Tomas Wassberg edged out Juha Mieto by one hundreth of a second.
The Olympics launched an economic revival of the Lake Placid area and it still hosts many international winter sports events. It is also home to one of the USA Olympic Training facilities and the Ironman USA headquarters. Main street has seen a plethora of kitschy tourist shops however...and the village has lost some of its charm to franchises etc...but still has its wonderful setting.
One of the economic benefits was the myriad of jobs generated in the region. Construction of the Intervale Ski Jumps for example.
I did not know it at the time, but my future brother-in-law was working on those structures,and...initiating its first use. The following tale was confirmed by the brakeman himself, even though they spelled his name wrong....it's Moak!
Each day of the Olympic events, after sunset....
The frozen over Mirror Lake was the scene of the award ceremonies. Fireworks were in order. There even was an untralight airplane as part of the spectacle.
Twenty five years later I can still feel the excitement and pride of little Lake Placid hosting the world! And yes, I definitely know where I was when the USA hockey team defeated the Russian juggernaut...downtown Saratoga Springs was deserted and silent in a cold winter night....but when the game was over the people spilled out on the streets celebrating!!!! It was a joyous night!
...on its way to light the Olympic Flame
... in the Adirondack Mountains at the Lake Placid games.
Shortly afterward, a charter bus came through carrying a band of relatively unknown athletes. They stopped for dinner in nearby Glens Falls. I, along with maybe 50 other well wishers, had dinner with them and tried to give them support. I was too introverted to ask for autographs, but joined in the applause and mumbled greetings of good luck. They sure would need it...they were such underdogs. Little did we known in a few short weeks they would be bringing home the Gold in what has become know as the Miracle on Ice".
Soon afterward, a whole line of athletes came through town from all over the world, people such as Juha Mieto, the giant Finn, and Tomas Wassberg, the Swede, who would battle it out on the nordic ski trails of Mount Van Hoevenbugh.
The last ones to come through were the hordes of international and homegrown tourists. Adirondackers held their breath to see if tiny Lake Placid could handle the surge. A labor dispute between bus drivers and the contracted transportation companies caused a a lot of worry. But to the rescue came the buses and drivers from school districts all around the "North Country" as wwe like to call our region. There were some delays, in the frigid temperatures, waiting for buses to take spectators from Keene up past Cascade Lake and into Lake Placid. That some of the waiting tourists had foolishly not prepared for Adirondack weather made it a bit of a media buzz for a short period.
Knowing of the traffic coming off the interstate, I took the back roads through Blue Mountain, Long,Tupper and Saranac Lakes. I was able to get into the games with maybe a 15 minute wait for the next shuttle bus from Saranac. I had written for tickets over a year earlier. The tix for the nordic skiing were easy to come by....but all I could manage for hockey was the US v. Romania game. But I was there and soaking in all the excitement and fun.
Lost in the shadow of the miracle on ice was one of the greatest nordic races ever...after 15 grueling kilometers Tomas Wassberg edged out Juha Mieto by one hundreth of a second.
The Olympics launched an economic revival of the Lake Placid area and it still hosts many international winter sports events. It is also home to one of the USA Olympic Training facilities and the Ironman USA headquarters. Main street has seen a plethora of kitschy tourist shops however...and the village has lost some of its charm to franchises etc...but still has its wonderful setting.
One of the economic benefits was the myriad of jobs generated in the region. Construction of the Intervale Ski Jumps for example.
I did not know it at the time, but my future brother-in-law was working on those structures,and...initiating its first use. The following tale was confirmed by the brakeman himself, even though they spelled his name wrong....it's Moak!
Each day of the Olympic events, after sunset....
The frozen over Mirror Lake was the scene of the award ceremonies. Fireworks were in order. There even was an untralight airplane as part of the spectacle.
Twenty five years later I can still feel the excitement and pride of little Lake Placid hosting the world! And yes, I definitely know where I was when the USA hockey team defeated the Russian juggernaut...downtown Saratoga Springs was deserted and silent in a cold winter night....but when the game was over the people spilled out on the streets celebrating!!!! It was a joyous night!
posted by iceemaster @ 3:40 PM
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