It’s surprising to me to notice how often the past, present and future have been converging recently.

It was a talk a few days ago with Paul Badeau, marketing director of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, that brought much of this into focus. No one champions the causes of the Twin Cities more enthusiastically than Paul. He knows L-A very well, and it’s that knowledge of the lean times contrasted with his excitement about recent developments that should give us all a sense of honest optimism about these communities in the next few years.

Paul sees connections everywhere. He looks at the Bates Mill buildings and thinks about the promise we experienced a couple of years ago when Gov. John Baldacci led us on an exploration of the Creative Economy.

That concept is bearing fruit in L-A, Paul says. It takes many forms. It’s much more than establishing a downtown colony of artists and their residences and shops. There are signs of entrepreneurial imagination everywhere.

In almost the same breath, Paul talks about Museum L/A and its bright future. Within the historic Bates Mill walls, Rachel Desgrosseilliers is directing the growth of an important site where people will learn about the cities’ textile, shoe and brick-making industries.

Paul is confident that Museum L/A will prosper in the positive atmosphere of Bates Mill redevelopment.

Maybe this new museum’s future is dependent upon plans for a Lewiston convention center. Isn’t that the case with just about all of the ventures in L-A over the past two centuries? Didn’t big developments always depend upon the convergence of resource and opportunity?

The river brought water power, which ran the early mill machinery, which gave birth to an industry that attracted our Franco-American population … and on and on.

That river still wields its force over our lives and our economy. It’s a centerpiece to the Great Falls Balloon Festival, an event that wasn’t imagined a few decades ago but has become an important piece of who we are.

On the same train of thought, we are saddened by news that the Festival de Joie is ending, at least as we have known it.

That brings us to some memories of the spectacular snowshoe club events that reached their peak half a century ago. Lewiston came vibrantly alive in midwinter as thousands of members of clubs gathered here for parades that showcased colorful costumes, and sometimes colorful behavior to match.

Most snowshoers arrived by train from Canada on a Saturday morning at the Grand Trunk station on Lincoln Street. The festivities centered on an ice palace built in a Lewiston location for each convention. The massive ice-block structures were often in City Park (long before it was Kennedy Park) or at Hulett Square (at Main and Lisbon streets).

The weekend featured snowshoe races, a parade, bands, choral performances and stunts such as blanket tossing – launching someone high in the air from a blanket held by about a dozen people.

The Sunday morning parade ended with Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Church.

Those festivals have faded into history, but the popular Festival de Joie of recent years enjoyed similar popularity. Why should we assume that something else in the same vein won’t be coming along to fill the void?

L-A’s past is marked by the emergence and eventual decline of some very important industries and traditions. When communities suffer a loss through disaster, or through down-turn of an economy, it’s tough to see a bright side.

We have people like Paul Badeau to thank for spotlighting all the reasons we should look forward to L-A’s future.

Dave Sargent is a freelance writer and an Auburn native. You can contact him at [email protected].