A glorious day it was at Milton Winter Carnival

Cody Laurent, 7, of Rochester proudly holds up his crappie, which was 13 inches long and weighed one pound. (Harrison Thorp photos)

MILTON - Ice fishermen, snowshoe enthusiasts, snowmobile aficionados and outdoor winter sports groupies of all blood types took to the grounds of Milton Beach and the ice of Milton Three Ponds on Saturday determined to do one thing and one thing only: have a great time in the great outdoors at Milton Winter Carnival.

Mission accomplished.

Alan Lamper, left, and Mark Worthley, both of Milton, man the Fishing Derby table on Saturday at Town Beach.

Over at the Fishing Derby headquarters, Alan Lamper of Milton kept track of who caught what and how long it was. Lamper, who’s been running the derby for four years, said about 20 adults and 20 kids had entered.

Lamper and his assistant, Mark Worthley, said they’d be giving away a lot of prizes at the end of the day, including fishing poles for the kids and fishing knives for the adults.

About 100 yards off shore 7-year-old Cody Laurent of Rochester landed a fine-looking 13-inch, one-pound crappie, also known as a calico bass.

Cody said he caught the fish using a live minnow, but that it didn’t put up much of a fight.

His mom said they’d be filleting, battering and frying it once they got home,

From left, snowshoers Doreen Sceggell, her daughter, Joy, and husband, David, with their dressed to the nines boxer, Ginny. Note the red booties.

While it’s called a calico bass, it’s actually a part of the sunfish family and known for its deliciousness.

With this year’s colder than average temperatures, there was about two feet of ice to augur through to get to the fishing, Cody’s dad said.

Meanwhile, on dry, snowy land, the Sceggells of Milton were snowshoeing with their dog Ginny, a boxer, who was all decked out in red sweater and booties. David Sceggell said they snowshoed about a half mile from their camp to enjoy the festivities at Town Beach, which included a Nute Friends of Music breakfast table, exhibits by Moose Mountain Regional Greenways and a bounce house for the kids.

For those who enjoy staying indoors and warm, there was plenty of action down at the Emma Ramsey Center, where Lue Snyder called free bingo for a room full of enthusiastic players.

There were plenty of other activities at the center including a magic show, a traveling zoo, face painting and lunch from the Nute Class of 2015.

Lue Snyder of Milton calls bingo for an appreciative crowd at the Emma Ramsey Center on Saturday.

Outside, Steve Collins of Belgian Meadows Farm in Lebanon offered horse-drawn wagon rides with his beautiful Belgian draft horses.

The day’s festivities concluded with a Sweetheart Dance at the Milton Moose with the Tim Theriault Band featuring Mrs. Jody Gourlay.

Earlier on Friday night, Milton Boy Scout Troop 155 served up about 40 meals cooked over an open fire at the Farm Museum, said Scout leader David Barca on Saturday. It was the first-event Milton Winter Carnival event held at the Farm Museum.

Also on Friday night at the Milton Moose, Lee Schofield took first place in the Mark Goodell Memorial Pool Tournament, with Roger Sargent taking second; perennial chili cookoff winner Barry Nye took first place again in the Sue Tompson Memorial Chili Willie Chili Cook-off; and Tammy Canney took top honors in a Death by Chocolate event. 

John Bradley of Lebanon steadies the two Belgian draft horses as Steve Collins of Belgian Meadows Farm in Lebanon makes sure his passengers are all aboard and ready before taking them on a horse drawn wagon ride on Saturday at the Emma Ramsey Center.