By Ashley Lodato
You never know what things from high school are going to come back to haunt — or honor — you, and this past weekend Sam Lucy had the pleasant experience of being recognized for athletic achievements accomplished nearly 25 years ago, as he was inducted into the Kennett High School Sports Hall of Fame in his hometown of Conway, New Hampshire, along with four other men. The idea of the Sports Hall of Fame is to recognize individuals who have brought honor and distinction to Kennett High School athletics.
Sam has a long history with athletic achievement, beginning at age 8, when he was “forced” (his words) into Nordic skiing. “In the Methow we’re used to young kids Nordic skiing, but 45 years ago it was not really very common,” he says. Despite his compulsory beginnings, Sam grew to love Nordic skiing and eventually went on to captain Kennett High School’s team and win the classic race at the Division II State Championships his senior year, and then ski for University of Vermont for two years.
Sam was a well-rounded athlete, playing baseball and skiing slalom, GS, and jumping for the alpine ski team. As a sophomore, he took up cross country running as well. “I thought of bird hunting as a good activity,” Sam says of fall sports, “but eventually realized I needed a true fall sport, so I started running cross country.”
During high school, Sam earned two prestigious awards: the Damon O’Neal Award for leadership and dedication to the alpine team and the Charles Broomhall Nordic Award for leadership, sportsmanship, and dedication to the Nordic team.
In typical Lucy fashion, Sam downplays the Sports Hall of Fame honor, saying “it was nothing too fancy or exciting.” But others disagree, including his former ski coach, who inducted him, and his friends and family who attended the ceremony, including Sam’s parents, his brother Nat and niece Hannah, and his history teacher and fourth-grade teacher.
The ski coach who inducted Sam, Chuck Broomhall, hadn’t seen Sam in 15 years, but he and Sam fell quickly back into comfortable banter. Chuck had been told he had three to five minutes to give a speech about Sam, but declared that it would be impossible to say anything truthful about Sam that wasn’t R-rated. Chuck finally settled on something along the lines of, “Things were different back then, and we had a lot of fun, but the team always performed.”
Then, as now, you could always count on Sam.
Also of note: Sam and Brooke’s Bluebird Grain Farms was featured in a story about ancient grains in the Seattle Times last weekend. Here’s a link to the story: www.seattletimes.com/life/wellness/why-its-worth-embracing-ancient-wheat.
Please take note that the Winthrop Library has a new story time — Tuesdays at 11 a.m. The library story times involve stories (duh), songs and, sometimes, movement, instruments and/or crafts. All kids are welcome. Mark your calendars.
