As most of us on this website enjoy Nordic skiing, I thought that you would be interested in an upcoming event regarding the history of cross country skiing in Maine. The following is from a press release issued by the Ski Museum of Maine:
The Ski Museum of Maine will present a Fireside Chat focusing on Maine’s rich Nordic skiing heritage.
Maine premier Nordic skier in the 1930's, Wendall "Chummy" Broomhall.
The Museum’s newest Fireside Chat is titled “Maine’s Nordic Skiing Heritage: 1870-2011” and will be premiered at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center (cross-country ski lodge) at 6 p.m. Jan. 21. The program is free and open to the public.
On Sunday, the Museum will present “Made in Maine: 100-Plus Years of Craftsmanship in Skiing” at the Herbert Hotel at 6 p.m. Jan. 23. The program is also free and open to the public.
Each of these two Fireside Chats is a digital slideshow using approximately 130 photos and other graphic images, some more than a century old. Andrews, the creator and narrator, has been a snowsports journalist for 24 years and writes for several magazines, including “Skiing Heritage.”
Andrews notes that skiing arrived in Maine in 1870 with the first group of Swedish immigrants in Aroostook County. In those days, skiing was strictly utilitarian transportation, as people in the Swedish Settlement went to and fro in the heavy snow on hand-carved skis — up to 11 feet long! In the early part of the 20th century, Nordic skiing emerged as a sport, with cross-country marathons and jumping competitions featured in Maine’s many winter carnivals.
As alpine skiing grew in popularity in the 1930s, Nordic went into three-decade eclipse, re-emerging in the 1970s. The development of the Sugarloaf cross-country trail network was a milestone in Nordic’s revival. Today, Maine Huts and Trails are providing energy and initiative for a new wave of enthusiasm.
“Much of the energy for re-establishing cross-country skiing as a sport in Maine comes from this region, so I’m delighted to give the first showing of this new Fireside Chat in Carrabassett Valley,” says Andrews.