Oquossoc Through the Ages

Oquossoc celebrated its annual Oquossoc Day this year on August 13th. The event began in 2005, as Rangeley was celebrating its Sesquicentennial, with a group of Oquossoc residents deciding to create a unique event that would honor the village. Originally, the event consisted of a potluck dinner and dance with an orchestral band in a boat storage building. Joanne Koob, one of the founders of Oquossoc Day, passed the torch of the event to her daughter, Janet. Before her passing in 2013, she asked that Janet, “keep Oquossoc Day going.”

The theme for this year’s event year was Oquossoc through the Ages, to inspire appreciation of Oquossoc history. Every year a theme is chosen for Oquossoc Day to encourage participation from the community. In coordination with the theme, the water ski show team, Maine Attraction, gave a spectacular performance that brought the audience through the ages, from the 1920s to the 2010s. The team, based in Sanford Maine, was discovered by Linda Sikes, another coordinator of Oquossoc Day. For the past five years, Maine Attraction has performed at Oquossoc Day, replacing the previous water spectacle, the Sinking of the Bismarck. The Sinking of the Bismarck, which was an Oquossoc Day tradition that involved many local aviators, was discontinued a few years ago as it became a safety concern. The water ski team was found to be a “water feature that was also spectator friendly,” said Koob.

1st Place Winners in the Oquossoc Day Boat Show- the recalling steamboats of old, the SS Oquossoc Leah Watson

In addition to the water ski performance, there was a dog show where various awards were given to some very deserving pups. A boat parade took place at the Oquossoc Cove, where the boats were decorated to represent different time periods in Oquossoc history. In the center of the village, antique cars were on display in front of the Marine and the Tom Ball Band played live music as people perused and wandered the tents of artists and vendors.

Oquossoc Day was designed to celebrate the village of Oquossoc as a separate entity from Rangeley. Even though it is technically part of the same town, “Oquossoc has a different vibe from Rangeley,” said Janet Koob. “For those of us that are from Oquossoc, our heart is here.”