Origins of the ONONDAGA SKI CLUB
Syracuse, New York
By: Mike McCabe, OSC Historian
Early Edition
Paperwork we have indicates an Onondaga Ski Club in the Central
New York area, back in the mid 30’s.
It started with a bunch of fellows at Bellevue Jr. High
School, continued through high school and college right up until 1944, except
for WWII. A small group used to ski on
Woodlawn Reservoir around 1934. They used to make their own bindings!
There were no official areas to ski around here except Turin,
NY, so they often just took a drive out into the country looking for places to ski. One area is now known as Toggenburg. They also claim ‘discovering’ what became
known as “Little Tuck” in May of 1936.
The area near Labrador (Lake) Pond was investigated, and inquiries made
to the State to see if they would be interested in starting some trails in the
area. This was passed on to the C.C.C. for future consideration.
Other areas where there were trails were the Drumlins here
in Syracuse, in the DeRuyter area, in the Chittenango/Chittenango Falls area,
and Highland Park (I’ve heard stories about how some people would take canoes
down the snow covered slopes in the early days at Highland!).
They often drove to Lake Placid and Tuckerman’s Ravine in
New Hampshire to take part in big-time downhill races. Often they found themselves racing against
big name European skiers. An unofficial
Syracuse University team would often participate.
Gene Beckman was with the club, and also a flyer with the
military. I’ve been told that he would
fly around the area, and when he spotted snow still on the slopes of Turin, as
soon as he touched down he would call the members to arrange a trip north to
ski. No, he didn’t fly them there. He still hangs out at DeWitt Sports.
It has been thought by some that the club may have been the
unofficial start of the National Ski Patrol.
After WWII and interest waned, the club’s charter/bylaws were
given to the GE Ski Club, which was referred to as GE-OSC by Bob Bliss, the
president then.
Current Edition
Ernie Hirschoff can be considered the person that got the
ball rolling for this edition of the Onondaga Ski Club. Ernie (owner of the original Liverpool
Sports Center) asked the audience at one of his Center ski shows if there was
any interest in forming a club. A number
of hands went up, so Ernie asked this group to meet the following Monday night at
the Center. 15 to 20 people showed up,
amongst them Bruce Bolton (who went on to draft the first legal documents for
the club amongst other things), and Bob Wall who became the first president of
the club. Bob wrote many a column on skiing for the Syracuse Herald later on. I
think he still is writing ski related items, and skiing at Labrador Mountain
sometimes.
Because Ernie was in the business of selling skiing equipment
and such, he removed himself for consideration as an officer, but continued on
as a valuable member of the club, arranging many a ski trip here and there.
Another original member was George Earle, a professor at
Syracuse University. At his home in the
LaFayette area, he had a rope tow and conducted the club’s ski school there for
many a year. It is thought that he
convinced the university to acquire some land south of the city thereby
creating what became widely known as “Little Tuck”. He was the coach of the Syracuse Ski Team, and was able to open up
the Trophy Room in the old Archbold Gymnasium for meetings of the Onondaga Ski
Club. The first meeting took place on
Monday December 7th, 1953.
The original minutes of this meeting are attached, giving you the actual
sequence of events that led to the formation of the ONONDAGA SKI CLUB.
Some interesting items I’ve come across as I’ve been slowly
reading all the historical data I’ve been able to find:
Over the early years, members of the club spent many an hour
working at Little Tuck. Unlike most of today’s
areas, skiers had to take care of the hills they skied on themselves. Trees had to be removed, brush cut, rope tows
purchased, then installed and kept in running order, etc. Members even built a ‘chalet’. Syracuse University was very benevolent to
the club because the “rent” for the use of the area was $10 a year, on yearly
bases. OSC owned the equipment, and S.U. was happy with the arrangement. This
was the closest ski area, and as time went on, the club wanted to make costly
improvements such as t-bars and such.
This would have required a long term agreement between all concerned
parties, something that could not be worked out. By 1963, the other areas we ski on today (plus others now gone) were
dominating the local scene, so “Little Tuck” was abandoned.
Dues for club membership the 1st year was set at
$5.00. In today’s bucks, that’s $29.55,
if you work with the calculated inflation rate of 591%.
Snowfall that year was 85.9”, all natural coverage on the
hills back then.
The club sent a letter of endorsement to then Governor Dewey
in mid 1954, on the States wish to create a state park at Whiteface Mountain,
to include a chairlift. Maybe we
provided the last piece of encouragement for the State to create the Whiteface
Mountain Ski Resort.
Later on, the club rented ‘lodges’ in the Whiteface Mountain
area. It also rented a ‘lodge’ in the village of Turin, NY for usage by the
members during the ski season.
Meetings were initially held at the Archbold facility, then
the T. Aaron Levy School, then Maxwell Auditorium on the campus of Syracuse
University.
The first skiing column in the Syracuse area papers was
penned by a member of the Onondaga Ski Club, Jim Agne.
This club was the only one in the area that had membership
open to anyone interested in skiing.
All the others had requirements such as you had to be employed there, or
a student or graduate of a given school.
OSC started the first ski conditions hot line in the
Syracuse area. The areas would call in
the report to a person the club paid to be available, and this lady would be
ready for any members inquiry. It’s written
that this woman was visually challenged, and the club was more than eager to
offer this position to her so she would have a small source of income.
The SchussBoomer (the clubs newsletter) was started in the
fall of 1957. Gordon Phillips was the
first editor. Fred Thrane did the art
work. Before that time, postcards were
sent out to members telling them of meeting dates and such.
The original logo was drawn by member Tom Parker. There was another logo that appears on the
first issues of the SchussBoomer, again showing a skier imposed upon the
background of the head of an Onondaga Indian, but with more detail. Jack McManus may have been the artist here.
I believe it was Fred Thrane who modified this design to what
many consider the Indian Head logo, with the city/state shown.
This was later modified making the background look like a
map of Onondaga County. This is what is
currently in use.
Fred also drew Chief Keeponaskion, a character that was a
mainstay of the SchussBoomer for years.
A typical week for the board or committee people during the
ski season in the late ‘50’s/early ‘60’s:
Monday was spent on getting the ‘Boomer’ together.
Tuesday was either a board meeting, or a general meeting (in
the early days, meetings were held every three weeks).
Wednesday was ski school.
Thursday was a day off.
Friday was always a party somewhere.
Saturday was spent skiing all day, then going to dinner or
having another party.
Sunday was a repeat of Saturday.
The first discussion on the club purchasing their own lodge
took place in 1965/66. In 1967, this
topic was placed on the table until future president Art Zimmer grabbed the
ball and ran a zigzag pattern for a touchdown in January of 1971. As a results of Art efforts, we have today a
lodge in Lower Granville, Vermont, allowing Onondaga Ski Club members
inexpensive lodging (and lift ticket prices too) amongst some great places to
ski and glide. An article by Art Zimmer can be found in our Lodge section or by
clicking on: ..LODGE/HISTORY.
This was also the start of what has become known today as
the Annual Syracuse Ski Sale, now in its 32nd year (2003).
The club has always needed a fund raiser of one type or
another. There were internal auctions
of ski equipment, a public screening of a John Jay or Warren Miller ski movie,
producing summer stock theater in the community, even having club dances.
The club recorded a Certificate of Incorporation in August
of 1961. This was undertaken in part so
the elected officials of the club could take care on many decisions without
having to have the question settled by the entire membership at a general
meeting. The meetings were getting
lengthy. In 1963, a certificate for
Not-for-Profit Corporation was filed.
Also in late ’63, the club undertook the first Winterfest in
Syracuse. Many hours were spent by a
few core members putting the whole thing on, much like the ski sale now. The first Winterfest was held in February of
’64.
This, in a nutshell, is a short, short history lesson on the
beginnings of the Onondaga Ski Club. May
it continue for at least another fifty years.
