1897

When Dartmouth College builds a statute 30 feet high near the center o£ the historic campus, it indicates a trend—this statute known as "SCHUSS-TEUFEL," being built by the students, the President of the College and others. When such emphasis is made of a sport, it may be interesting to the alumni, and possibly to the college student to look back over the period of years of skiing to its beginning at Dartmouth.

The class of '97, which has its 50th anniversary in June, takes this occasion to present to Dartmouth College an authentic statement of the beginning of skiing at the college, together with contemporary pictures of the early skiers and some comments about their relative abilities. One picture, photographed Mar. 14, 1896, by Horace Pender, shows Hermon Holt of '97 just in the act of jumping over the prostrate body of Weld Rollins. A letter from Rollins on the subject of early skiing and also letters from Horace Pender and Hermon Holt discuss the skiing sport at its beginning. Rollins had several pairs of skis made in Portland and carried them to Hanover. A number of the classmates joined him in skiing on the hills around Hanover.

The skis of our time were flat boards, turned up at the toe, no runners, no wax, and poor equipment for shoes. I remember my own shoes were so sharp-pointed because of the extreme of the sporty style of the period that no stability at the toe could be possible (I have a picture of these shoes showing the pointed toe, the picture taken in '97).

My own skis were made by Sammy Phelps, very much like the skis brought to Hanover by Weld Rollins. I used these a little in the spring of '96, but was unable to get very much use of them during my junior year as the ice conditions on the snow was very bad and in my. senior year I had to give up nearly all out-door sports on account of excessive work in Thayer school. I did, however, skate on the river Sunday mornings quite a good deal during my senior year and my post-graduate year.

Skiing continued almost from the beginning to be a recreation and now has become a tremendous influence in the life of the college student. I think the effort by Rollins stands out as a very unique example of the way this great sport of athletic character had its beginning.

The ski of today is such a highly developed mechanism as compared with our crude, original skis that it reminds me of the time I bought the driver from Gene Sarazen with which he won the National open. This club was so crude as compared with the present day golf club that should I offer it now to a caddy as a gift he would not accept it, and so it was with skis at Dartmouth College. But from this crude beginning with enthusiasm from the start, skiing has had its place in the life of the college now for half a century, beginning with our class and I think each class since ours has had its part in the development.

I think the Boston & Maine Railroad, which has carried hundreds of thousands of passengers to the snow country on its ski trains ought to turn back its bookkeeping pages and reimburse Weld Rollins for the charges they made him on the trip from Portland to Hanover standing up in the baggage car. This effort on the part of Rollins certainly did stimulate the use of the north country in the winter time. Rollins has been an enthusiastic mountain climber in summer and winter since college days. I recall one trip with him to the White Mts. in February and at this time we were walking on snow shoes and on our trip down from Woodstock. Mountain we stopped at the lumber camp for lunch. They gave us tea and doughnuts. The tea was a quart dipper a piece black as tea can be made dipped from a wash boiler kept brewing on the stove, and each of us had doughnuts of the heroic size so that while we were eating one we could carry the other on our arm, the hole in the doughnut being the proper size for ease of carrying. The tea was kept boiling all the time.

Another trip in the Valley of Twin Mountains we had together surprised us both by the great number of robins we encountered the last of February, perfectly happy robins living on the mountain berries that grow in the valley.

I quote Herman Christophe. "I have nothing to report about skiing during our time at Hanover save that as we were playing whist in a warm room we—Foss, Merrill, Boardman and I thought those who did go out in the cold and go skiing were and fools." This is a fairly frank opinion. When the icy crust was on the snow I think some of those who did ski would agree.

Secretary, 886 Main St., Bridgeport 3, Conn. Treasurer, 53 State St., Boston 9, Mass.