FORT KENT (NEWS CENTER Maine) – 91-year-old Lucien Theriault is the go-to man when it comes to repairs and maintenance at The Fort Kent Outdoor Center.
The Olympic-grade training facility, where hundreds of athletes have competed in biathlons, has become Theriault’s home in retirement.
"Whenever something goes wrong I get a phone call,” he said.
Theriault, an electrical engineer, is always tinkering with a project, whether it’s fixing the lighting or working on the roof of a building. He does it all, even in the bitter cold.
“You get up say I wish it was warmer today but on the other hand if it gets too warm it's not good skiing,” Theriault said.
He has been working at the facility since the very start. Theriault said he remembers the very first event before it was even fully constructed.
“That year we didn't have a building here. There wasn't a building here at all,” he said.
Since then, he has been a big part of the evolution of the grounds.
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“We built one building over there and that wasn't enough so we had to add another building,” Theriault said.
Working out of the toolbox attached to his snowmobile, he has become a fixture at the center. He can be spotted just about anywhere along the more than 15 miles of trails or working on the buildings nearly every day.
“Just keep going that's the secret. People that retire at 65 or something like that and sit in the rocking chair, they're dead in a couple years,” Theriault said.
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He said he has no plans of stopping. He and his wife attend competitions regularly and Theriault said he still gets out on his skis every so often.
“I feel like I own it, but I don't,” he joked.
You can learn more about The Fort Kent Outdoor Center here.
The Winter Olympics 2018 in PyeongChang start on Feb. 8th right here on NEWS CENTER Maine.