It's there in the story of the humpback white perch, measuring more than 15 inches long, that's spread faster than a wildfire across a dry western plain -- despite having more than 200 fishermen gathered for the derby and the impromptu game of "telephone."

It's there in the baked bean cook-off that features everything from traditional beans to spicy, South American ones -- the very cook-off that inspired "controversy" with beans that were "not local" and "from away."

That community was there in myriad other forms, too, from the soapbox sled derby to the snowshoers and cross-country skiers, from the dog named Lady Simone to all the vehicles parked on the lake, more than you would find in a crowded Wal-Mart parking lot on a Saturday afternoon.

The Lake George Regional Park's annual Winter Carnival is a lot more than an ice fishing derby, though that derby stands as the centerpiece event in the carnival. Then there's the centerpiece personality which, without a doubt, is the park's director.

Jeff McCabe may hail from Massachusetts, but he's clearly leapt into the community that surrounds Lake George. In fact, he did so literally on Saturday -- hopping into a survival suit and plunging himself into icy cold water at the comical urging of members of the Skowhegan Fire Department, who were staging a water rescue demonstration at the carnival.

"Well, I couldn't back down then," McCabe says, a wide grin peering through his tussled hair and shaggy goatee.

Not that one got the impression he would have considered passing on an opportunity to try something new. In fact, he insists at virtually every turn that people traveling with him open themselves to new things.

He plunges a steaming cup of baked beans into your hands.

"You've got to try these," he says.

He attends to prior commitments by introducing you to someone new.

"Here, he runs a maple sugar shack. You should talk to him."

He can't make it from Point A to Point B -- from the sledding hill to the derby headquarters on the lake, for example -- without stopping and talking to 112 different people along the way, deftly maneuvering his way through conversations on topics ranging from fish species to cross-country skiing conditions to whose beans were really the best.

"I don't even really know that much about fish," McCabe shrugs, almost apologetically.

"Do you like beer?" he asks.

Uh ... "Go with Jim. He'll get you back to your car."

Who Jim is and what he has to do with beer is the mystery, one you'll figure out later -- after you climb into Jim's truck and find out where you're headed (the local microbrewery, "Oak Pond Brewery"), another piece of the community surrounding Lake George.

Jeff McCabe isn't tagging along on the trip, though. He's on the move. He's got a community waiting on him, a community he eagerly participates in and shares with everyone he can.

It's all quite overwhelming.

n n n

A quick word of congratulations to the Oakland Lions Club and the Oakland Recreation Department on another job well-done.

It's been well-documented that I'm a total sucker when it comes to kids -- particularly as they relate to outdoors activities. The "Fishing Frenzy" those two organizations put on for children in the area each year has built a reputation for being something every bit worthwhile. In helping them do their job, I just wanted to give mention to some of the derby's winner's last Sunday.

That being said, good job Parker Reynolds, Catie Levensailor, Mitchell Reynolds, Sam Wrigley, Sam Seekins, Nathan Taylor, Ian Douin, Anthony Park, Emma Wiswell and Hunter Smart. You're all better anglers than I.

Travis Barrett -- 621-5648

tbarrett@centralmaine.com