Brattleboro Union High School - Colonel Yearbook (Brattleboro, VT)

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,.,v it CAMP RIDGIEXVOOD CH' fit I-1'1f'f!f ff' '39 for skating grew, so did the club. Many new mem- bers flocked to join the Outing Club's activities. ln later years a rink was again opened on the Retreat Meadows and Vinton's was taken over by private in- terest. Finally, in 1935, a public skating rink was given up as a financial failure. For the past few years, more stress has been laid upon downhill skiing, which of- fers higher interest and a broader field. The Brattleboro Outing Club developed such a keen interest in tennis in the following years that in the spring of 1930, four excellent tennis courts were built. Then, in 1951 the Vermont State Tennis Cham- pionship, which usually took place in Middlebury, was held in Brattleboro. The arrangements were com- pleted by a local committee with Wiircl N. Boylston A Note in the Slcy ELEANOR XWBAVFR '57 ART ofthe sky -- You hover-J For one minute--4 Posed like A quivering note of music on a parchment page. You are A composition of beauty, symmetry and motion. You drop- A A black meteor, diving from a great, white height. You are A marriage of earth and sky, esthetic and real. You- A creation of God in a daring, playful mood-U A ski jumper. as chairman. Brattleboro High School offered the bleachers which seated about 350 persons. N this first year, 31 players who met the require- ments for not having reached the age of 18 regis- tered for the junior Singles. There were forty-seven entries for the Senior Singles. The champion of the litt-r Charles Kraus of Providence, Rhode Island, 1 c , van uished Fred Harris of Brattleboro. ln 1932, the numiber of entries was about the same. Charles Kraus again won the Men's Singles Championship. Paul Guibord received the junior Singles Title. The following year, however, Robert l-Iusted of Poughkeepsie won the Men's Singles. Then, in 1934, as well as in 1935, Paul Guidbord, who had graduated from the junior to the Senior tennis list, gained the title of Vermont State Tennis Champion. Further improvements o o c club house was built, which provided showers and changing facilities for the players. Last summer the Outing Club w Vines jr., Lester Stoetfon. George Lott, R. Berkeley f ll wld. ln 193-l, a small as fortunate in securing lillsworth Bell, all professionals, in an exhibition match. At the present time, the Brattleboro Outing Club, with Robert Billings as president, john Dunham as treasurer, and Floyd Messenger as secretary, has two hundred and twenty-six members. The dues are live - . ' ' - , . f dollars for men and two dollars and titty cents or women and children. The occasional meetings are cld in the ofliccs of Dunham Brothers lil ' 'S 1. . We wish the best of luck to the Brattleboro Outing Club in the future, and we are sincerely grateful for the opportunities afforded us by the club in our town. Sleepy Smoke BEVERLEY BIGELOXV '38 LYLY, Smoke blows from the chimneyg Artfully, It swirls among the treesg Craftily, It curls to meet the clouds - A cunning gray fox Slinking behind cloud bushes A white sea gull Winging into cloud curtains A sleek ermine Creeping into cloud caverns An Angora cat Crawling into cloud cushions Smoke - ascending to heaven. 6

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THE BRATTLEBORO OUTING CLUB BETTY FOWLER '38 and JEAN CROSBY '38 N mid-winter, the snow trail winds white and tracked to the big ski- meet, to crowded skating rinks, and to steep tobog- gan hills. The months dissolve, and with them the ski-slides-ice van- ishes and skating rinks are swimming pools, ten- nis courts buzz with life, and trails, now leafy and shaded, echo with the tromp of horses' hoofs. And so to fall, when breakfast fires wreathe early riders in frames of gray smoke. Thus the Brattleboro Outing Club follows the trail the year round. But who first blazed the way for our local club? Let us look back- It all started from an attempt by Mr. F. K. Brown in 1921, to interest Brattleborians in a ski jump. Fred Harris enlarged the idea to include plans for an out- ing club. He worked to create interest among the townspeople, in this new venture. Then in 1922 the club was formally organized with Fred Harris as its first president and with an enrollment of sixty mem- bers, their purpose to promote outdoor sports in Brattleboro and its vicinities. These first members worked hard-cutting-hewing-clearing trails- erecting cabins, and preparing for winter and summer hiking. Snowshoeing was then tremendously popular. Par- ties of Sunday hikers fdressed in khaki breeches and heavy wool sweaters, often trudged over the Retreat Woods trail to Camp Ridgewood, better known as Camp Comfort. This camp was built by the club and is located over the hill in back of the ski-jump. In the next two years of its existence, the member- ship of the club tripled. Meanwhile, skiing, which had been of little consequence before, came into its own. More and more-skiis replaced snowshoes, and skiing parties slid over the winter trails. An important day was February 4, 1922. The Brattleboro ski jump was then opened. The town Reformer carried headlines to this effect- Trial Ski jumps Smash Records! Much enthu- siasm in town for State Championship Ski Carniva1. The unofficial jumps, made by Fred Harris of Brattleboro and john Carleton of Dartmouth, jumps of 111 feet and 136 feet respectively, broke the New England record and foreshadowed the spectacular jumping of the official meet. ALL morning trains wheezed into the station and poured forth crowds of excited participants and spectators. Members of St. Michael's Cadets met the trains and assisted in carrying skiis, and in giving di- rections. Lieutenant-Governor Abraham W. Foote came in on an early train for the meet-and the town fairly swelled with anticipation of its first big ski carnival. That afternoon, the hill was gay with flags, and small evergreens lined the slopes. A special platform decorated with a huge American flag had been erected opposite the officials' stand for the Lieutenant-Gow ernor and his party. The crowd gathered-the offi- cials took their places-the announcer told of lieu- tenant-Governor Foote's arrival. A cheer swelled from the 2,500 assembled throats. On with the jumping! In the first official jump, john Carleton made a perfect leap of 150 feet. Spectators-chilled outwardly, yet inwardly heated with the thrills of the jumping-applauded the day's contest. The New England Record was smashed eleven times, and the Eastern United States record of 118 feet, held by Gunar Muchelson of Berlin, New Hampshire, was smashed. The previous New Eng- land Record of HIM feet had been made by Ing- valli Anderson at Berlin, New Hampshire. Both the gold medal offered by Randall 8: Son for contest jumping, and the silver loving cup offered by Vaughan 8: Burnett as first prize in the contest were awarded to john Carleton of Dartmouth, for the dis- tance and excellent form of his jumping. Without doubt, the first Brattleboro Ski meet was a stupendous success! As years went by, skiing grew in importance, and snow-shoeing died a natural death, due to the fact that skiing affords real thrills and adventure. It was in 1924 that the club attempted to operate a skating rink. The biggest venture was in the Retreat Meadows. Fancy skaters came from Boston to per- form for townspeople, and local enthusiasm ran high. In 1928, at a great expense to the club members, a rink was built at the foot of the ski hill. Here, they at- tempted to hold the Skating Championship. As the location was unfavorable, and as the weather sud- denly turned warm, this tournament was a complete failure. Since then, the club has merely provided skating for its members, for a few years, running Vinton's Pond off Main Street. As intense interest

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.BRATTLEBORO-WINTER PLAYLAND HERE is no excuse for any- one in Brattleboro not taking up a winter sport of some kind, for this lo- cality abounds in natural sites. We are, in fact, per- haps better known for these than for anything else. Brattleboro is listed in the New York papers' Ski Playlands, and sports enthusiasts from New York and Massachusetts make weekly pilgrimages to enjoy our advantages for a few hours. There seems to be a spot for every type of skiing. For those who enjoy plunging down steep slopes, there is speedy downhill skiing on Piggery Hill near the Ski Jump, where last year's Women's Ski Meet was held. The hill is unbelievably steep and usually icy. Skill is required to make the sharp turns through the woods cleverly, and to reach the bottom without a mishap. Business and professional people who have to work in the daytime may enjoy the exhilaration of skiing at night. On a wide, open slope, dotted with a few pine trees, on Guilford Street, the Outing Club maintains a lighted slope. Here the finished skiers glide easily downhill and the novices take worth- while lessons. Local golf-courses are being used for practice, and the hazards constructed for the golfer prove equally hazardous for the skier. Perhaps as famous as the Outing Club jump, is the junior jump on Brattle Street. For the more leisurely type of skier who prefers mountainous scenery and striding across hill and dale, there is a ski-trail winding -to Camp Ridgewood. When snowshoeing was popular, a trail was cut to Stratton mountain, with cabins along the way, and it is hoped that this trail may be opened again someday for skiers. Though they are not in Brattleboro, there are sev- eral places not far away that will lure many local fans. A twenty-one mile drive through the beautiful West River valley, which alone is worth the trip, brings one to the State Forest outside of Townshend, where is lo- cated the Tailspin Trail. This trail was made a reality through the efforts of Perry H. Merrill who very gener- ously gave the right of way and Considerable personal labor. It is built on a 1150 ft. mountain and provides 4226 feet of thrills. The pitches vary from eight to thirty-four degrees, the steepest being fully as steep, and in some cases as long as the landing hill of the Brattleboro Ski jump. Averaging seventy feet in width, it is widened at the turns which vary from the sharpest of ninety degrees to three hundred-forty degrees, and ends at the beautiful stone house, which has been completed recently. OMING down the trail, the skier starts slowly and C warms up on a series of sharp turns. Then he speeds down a steep slope, an easier one, around another turn, and comes to the end. Too difiicult for very great speed, it provides every test for the skier's technique and ability. At Putney, on Elm Lea Farm, is a 350 foot hill which is used extensively for skiing. On this hill a 800 ski tow has been built. The skier rides down the gentle slopes, and then rides up again with the aid of rope-pulley. An eighteen mile drive over Hogback mountain, where one can see a gorgeous view which includes three states, takes you to Wilmington, where this year, for the first time, a ski-tow is being built. The hill itself is two thou- sand feet above sea level, and seventeen hundred feet above Manchester, where there is a famous ski-tow. The altitude provides not only invigorating air, but a better snow condition, and another year will see skiing there by Christmas, earlier than is possible in the White Mountains. Skating comes in for its share of enthusiasm from Winter sports fans, for from Thanksgiving until March, there is always skating on one of the many local ponds or rivers. Northern winds sweep the snow from the broad Retreat Meadows, and brightly clad figures soon take possession of its shining surface. Some bring sails and skim along with the wind. At night tiny winking lights and sometimes a glowing fire reveal the late-comers. just off Canal Street in Vinton's Pond, a favorite of many skaters. There is a small cabin where one may warm chilled fingers and toes, and put skates on and off in comfort. Cutside is a broad rink, strung with electric lights for the night-skaters. OBOGGANING is still a favorite with many. At one -I-time a shoot was built near the ski-jump where the shrieks of the sliders could be heard as they sped down the perilous run. Abandoned as dangerous because it was banked only with ice, there is a possibility of a wooden shoot being built, safe enough for everyone. However, on lC0nlinued on page 202 Cut by R114 Fzlmn 37 Xxxx. Q 7 N x. T X ' X A -.-'I' ' Q X