A F.A.S.T. HISTORY The history and stories of the Fryeburg Academy Ski Team and skiing in the town of Fryeburg, Maine By: John S. Weston Fryeburg’s Ski Trains: With the town of Fryeburg’s location in the snow belt of the foothills of western Maine, skiing has been a natural part of the town’s winter lifestyle from the early 1930’s. Some of the first known documentation of this history began with the storied ski trains that many western Maine towns established to boost the traditionally slow winter economy. In 1935, the Fryeburg Winter Sports Committee (which grew from the local Kiwanis Club) was established to build and promote Fryeburg as a winter sports destination. The instrument they focused on was the local Maine Central Railroad train that ran from Union Station in Portland through Fryeburg. The idea was to advertise and promote the entire town as a destination for winter enthusiasts from all over and have the train be their transportation. Fryeburg Winter Sports Committee letterhead Among the activities offered were ice skating, tobogganing, snowshoeing, sleigh rides, ski-jouring (Nordic skiing with dogs), ice fishing, bobsledding, and, of course, skiing. Skiers coming to town were divided by ability. Novices were started in the open pasture on the north side of Pine Hill at the Weston Farm. Intermediates went to the local landmark known as Jockey Cap, and in 1936 two trails were cut at Stark’s Hill for the advanced. A winterized horse drawn sleigh called a “sledge” picked up the travelers at the train station and transported them to the various activity sights or their Jockey Cap toboggan run. 1936 accommodations. Many townsfolk even offered rooms in their homes for the visitors to stay. One of the few open slopes at the time was located on the east side of the boulder called Jockey Cap. In 1936, 10 local businessmen chipped in $25.00 each to build Maine’s first rope tow at Jockey Cap. The tow drew a lot of attention, and skiers, to the area and proved to be a wise investment. The Jockey Cap rope tow held the distinction of being the first rope tow in Maine for a mere two weeks before a group from the Bridgton Highlands built their own. Jockey Cap ski slope. 1936 This photo of the rope tow at Jockey Cap in 1936 was one of the first color photographs printed in National Geographic Magazine. In 1936, Winter Sports Committee member John F. Weston offered a portion of his timberland on the nearby slope at Stark’s Hill to increase the skiing options. Two trails were cut that offered more advanced skiing on the north facing slope located behind what would eventually be the shoe shop on Route 302. Jockey Cap Ski Slope and Rope Tow Corporation Members: Asa O. Pike III Clifford Hill Roger Boothby Henry McIntire Bill Vinton John F. Weston Harry Jewett Clifford Eastman Lawrence Gray Dudley Perkins The Hannes Schneider Ski School of Fryeburg Academy: While Fryeburg was expanding its ski infrastructure, North Conway native and Fryeburg Academy alum Harvey Dow Gibson (Class of 1898) was taking steps to do the same in North Conway. Gibson, a tremendous ski enthusiast, had a dream of transforming North Conway into the center of skiing in the Northeast. This concept was based around the convenient proximity of Cranmore Mountain (then called Lookout Mountain) to the North Conway train station. Rumors have claimed that Gibson originally conceived Fryeburg and Stark’s Hill to be the focus of his development dream (and the location for his famous Skimobile) but he instead settled on Mt. Cranmore because North Conway had two daily trains to Fryeburg’s one. Gibson was very successful in New York’s financial world, eventually becoming President of the Manufacturer’s Trust Company in Manhattan. During this same time Gibson became President of the Fryeburg Academy Board of Trustees. Still following his ski vision for the valley, Gibson purchased the Eastern Slope Ski School and a majority of nearby Mt. Cranmore. While Gibson had the means and infrastructure for his dream he lacked the ski knowledge to complete his vision. Harvey Dow Gibson Gibson soon entered the life of what most consider to be the founding father of modern Alpine ski instruction, Austrian Hannes Schneider. Schneider is credited with developing the “Arlberg Method” of ski instruction. This method is centered around a crouched and lowered position and the use of the Stem-Christie turn (also called a Wedge-Christie). The Stem-Christie is done by lifting the inside ski while weighting the outside ski to facilitate a turn. Schneider was a high profile critic of the Nazi Party as his homeland of Austria fell under Nazi control during World War II. Schneider and his family were targeted and tormented by the Nazis, and realized that escaping Austria was their only option. A friend and former student of Hannes’s named Benno Rybizka had moved to North Conway a few years earlier to run the Eastern Slope Ski School which was then owned by local ski pioneer Carroll Reed. Enter Harvey Gibson; Rybizka is thought to have told Gibson of Schneider’s plight in Austria. Regardless of how he became aware of Hannes Schneider, Gibson had found the man he needed to transform the Mt. Washington Valley into New England’s ski destination. Gibson began the difficult process of getting Hannes and his entire family (wife Ludwina, son Herbert, and daughter Herta) out of Austria under the watchful eye of the Nazis. Only the most powerful and influential people in the world would be able to pull that off. Gibson proved to be one of these people. In nothing short of a Hollywood script, Gibson began backdoor negotiations with members of Hitler’s inner circle. Gibson’s ability to do this was based through his company that had loaned millions of dollars to the German government before Hitler came to power. It just so happened that Germany needed to start paying this money back, but Hitler was involved with an expensive war and didn’t have the money. Gibson (who was working through a representative) demanded payment on the loan or threatened to fail Germany’s credit which would threaten the country’s entire economy. Hannes Schneider With the Nazi Party in a difficult position Gibson played his hand and offered to extend Germany’s credit in exchange for the safe defection of one Hannes Schneider and his family. With little other choice, SS Commander Heinrich Himmler himself signed the Schneider families release papers and the Schneiders quickly left for America. With the Schneider’s now safely in North Conway, Hannes could begin his work at Cranmore. Many of Hannes’s former Austrian students also joined him at his Cranmore school. Gibson, always thinking of the students of Fryeburg Academy, decided to get Hannes to teach skiing to Academy students as part of a Physical Education class. Thus in the winter of 1940 the Fryeburg Academy chapter of the world famous Hannes Schneider Ski School began. Some rumors surmised that in addition to instructing Academy students Gibson put Schneider on the Academy staff to help speed up his American Visa approval process, but those rumors are not able to be proven. The Hannes Schneider Ski School of Fryeburg Academy met every week after school during the winter. Schneider’s ski school skiing at Stark’s Hill overlooking the Saco River and the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The following is an entry from the 1940 Fryeburg Academy Bell Yearbook written by Wayne Richardson, Class of 1941: "This year through the efforts of Harvey D. Gibson, president of the school trustees, we were fortunate enough to have a ski school directed by Hannes Schneider, world famous Austrian Ski Meister. Our instructors were such Austrians as Herbert Schneider, son of Hannes Schneider; Toni Matt, winner of last year's National Downhill Slalom races at Sun Valley; Benno Rybizka, Vice-President and Director of the Eastern Slope Ski School of North Conway; Franz Koessler, Director of the Jackson branch of the Eastern Slope Ski School; Otto Tschol, former instructor in Hannes Schneider's Ski School in St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria, and other well known skiing instructors." Richardson went on to say, "With the world's best coaches to help and time for regular practice, I believe that Fryeburg Academy should produce some outstanding skiers.” Group photo of Schneider’s Ski School at Stark’s Hill. Herbert Schneider is on the far right. Franz Koessler is towards the left in the white top, white hat and dark glasses. Patricia Atwater Pipe, a teacher, coach, and dorm parent at the Academy at the time, recalled her memories of the Schneider Ski School: “Nicky Grey and I had to chaperone the female dorm kids to take ski lessons, Headmaster LaCasce insisted that they all try. Every Wednesday we walked with the girls from the Academy with the skis over our shoulders to the Weston Farm on the west side of Pine Hill to ski with Hannes Schneider and Toni Matt, they were the instructors for our group.” The Legend of Toni Matt: One of Hannes’s instructors at the Academy, Austrian Toni Matt, was also a local legend in his own time. Matt was a US National Champion but his local fame will always be connected to Tuckerman Ravine. His legend is somewhat unrelated to Fryeburg but Matt’s tale is worthy regardless. In 1933 a group of Pinkham Notch pioneers held the first of three “American Inferno Races.” The race course was simple; start at the summit of Mount Washington and finish at the bottom via the headwall of Tuckerman Ravine.