Box 431 • Corvallis, Montana 59828
The next meeting of the Ski Club will be
at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 12th
First Presbyterian Church
1220 West Main, Hamilton
The program for this meeting will be given
by Toddy Perryman who will show photographs
of her travels last year in South America.
Included will be scenes of Patagonian glaciers,
bus travel through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia &
Peru, and the Inca ruins of Macho Picchu.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
This month has been some of the best skiing in
the past several years. While downhill skiers have
been complaining about the lack of snow, thanks to
our hard-working grooming crew, we have had some
of the best tracks and sunniest days in recent memory.
The combination has been intoxicating and I hope all
Club members have experienced gliding on perfectly
set tracks through the glow of sunshine reflected off
lodge pole interspersed with vistas of distant peaks.
On the Club front, we raised almost $1,900 from
the Extravaganza, which is a new record. Thanks to
Carol Battcher for her Herculean efforts in making the
event such a financial success. Kudos to the Right to
Bare Arms in Darby which sold the most tickets.
Now, of course, the prize drives, the ticket sales,
and the lure of Paul Sharp’s culinary skills were an
enormous draw. Paul took great pains to see that the
dinner matched the advertisements and expectations,
which it did in every way. Witnesses were awed by
his skills and professionalism in preparing and serving
the dinner. Many thanks to Chef Paul. A thanks,
also, to Mel Mooers for snowmobiling Paul in and
thanks to Janis Cooper who polished the china and
silverware and helped serve the dinner.
Finally, we appreciate the visit and comments of
Patty and Ken Ferrin of East Hampton, New York.
They were vacationing in the Valley last month and
skied the trails at Chief Joseph every day and enjoyed
and appreciated the companionship of the Club
members and fellow skiers, as much as the trails.
With March upon us, let us make use of our snow
time.
See you on the trails.
/s/ George Corn
Trail Report
Is it Spring or what? I am not complaining, you
understand, as the much reduced amount of snow has
made our job much easier and the skiing conditions
“fabulous” by some accounts. But it does seem a bit
early for such little snow and beautiful weather.
The machines are running much better, being able
to avoid trees and not get stuck nearly as often. Jim
Aronson has a passion for setting the best tracks
possible, partly so he can come up on Saturdays and
ski all of them. Keep up the good work, Jim.
The disturbing news is that someone has had a
dog(s) in the Hut. It was discovered on Thursday the
19th when the incoming hosts found dog hair on the
rugs, both upstairs and down, and poop in the Hut.
Not only is it against Forest Service rules to bring
dogs into the area, it’s absolutely appalling that
someone would bring their animal inside then not
clean up after their pet. We are trying our best to
identify those responsible. If you have any
information that would help, please contact me at
961-3163 or m.mooersmt@juno.com.
/s/ Mel Mooers
A Remembrance
“Leo - Our Ambassador”
On Tuesday, December 30th, a service was held at Daly Leach Chapel in Hamilton to honor, commemorate, and celebrate the life of Leo Joron, a long-time ski club member. Leo had completed chemotherapy and had been home for a short time when his condition necessitated his return to the hospital. Leo passed away December 24th.
The ceremony and celebration for Leo was in two parts. The first portion was conducted entirely by active and retired military personnel. The colors were removed from a stand, unfolded and inspected, and refolded. The colors were then presented to Brenda, Leo’s wife. At this time, a Marine Honor Guard (including Club member Dusty Samouce) fired a three-shot volley salute. This was followed by the playing of “Taps.”
The Bitterroot detachment of the Marine Corps League was the organizing group and their members conducted the service. Leo had been one of their very active and popular members. The service was carried out with a great sense of dignity and appreciation for Leo’s life and with sincere compassion for Leo’s family.
After the military portion of the service was concluded, everyone moved into the Fellowship Room where tables and chairs had been set up and folks mingled, visited, and told Leo stories. Andrew Joron, Leo’s son who resides in California, spoke about his Dad, some of the different parts of Leo’s life and some bits and pieces that were both loving and humorous. Andrew used the words strong, quiet, dedicated, compassionate, and very sharp as he talked about his father.
At some time in Leo’s earlier years (Leo was from the New England states), he visited Montana on some type of back country trip. Andrew thought it may have been a hunting trip, possibly in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area.
This event sparked Leo’s attraction to Montana.
I shared some of the Leo stories from his long association with our ski club. He was part of a small group of skiers that got together on Saturday mornings during the winter and car pooled somewhere in the Valley to crosscountry ski. As our trails at Chief Joe started to receive more use, this group became regular Saturday visitors.
Ron Osborn, one of the Club’s founders, had created a newsletter and before too long, Ron decided that he needed to give it up and Leo took it over. He wrote, edited, got it printed, folded, stuffed, addressed and mailed!
At some point, when the job got to be really big, he organized a few Club members to get together to help with the folding, stuffing, addressing and mailing. He continued to be part of this group for a number of years.
With a rapid member increase, as the word got out about Chief Joe and the Ski Club, Leo saw the need for a membership coordinator and so he took that on. He computerized this list and, at the beginning of each season, would do a super job of keeping track of who was a current member, their address, phone number, etc. Leo continued both jobs until about 2002 when Art Seifert took over editing this newsletter and Jack Losensky took over the membership job.
Leo was very active in our workdays and he thought pot lucks were a strong attraction and he always brought a pot of beans! He enjoyed sipping on Blackberry Brandy!
In 1994 the Club and the U.S. Forest Service collaborated on the renovation of the May Creek Cabin. Leo was one of the hard-working volunteers. He drove his camper to May Creek Campground and walked into the cabin each day. He said he would like a job he could work on at his own speed and start and finish it —so he took on the digging of the hole for the outhouse. When he finished —on his second day of digging— we had to put a ladder into the hole for Leo to climb out!!
In April of 1995, Leo was one of six Club members who traveled to Wisdom to meet with the District Ranger for our yearly get together type meeting. High on the Club’s agenda was getting Dennis Havig to agree to begin the necessary analysis and evaluation as to whether a warming hut type structure on the Chief Joe trails would be a positive addition for both winter and summer users. There was lots of discussion and Leo shared his well-thought beliefs that older skiers would certainly benefit by having a place to get warm and so would younger families with children. In hindsight, Leo’s thinking was right on!
Our Club Constitution and By-Laws certainly have Leo’s fingerprints all over them. He constantly reminded the Club that this was a task that needed to be completed. I believe he wrote the first draft and he probably typed the final draft! He also prodded us and predicted that we should proceed with the process and paper work to secure non-profit 501-C3 status. Thanks to the diligence of Mel Mooers this was also accomplished.
I could write a whole article on the stories, the joy and excitement that Leo shared with me when I happened to stop by his house the day after he had returned from shooting an elk and packing it out. He was really jacked up!
Truly a happy camper!
I will conclude this tribute to a really amazing person that I don’t believe we knew very well. After I spoke at his Service, some of his retired Marine Corps friends came to me and told me they never knew that Leo skied!
What we do know was that when Leo came up to ski, especially after the warming hut was completed, he never missed an opportunity in the parking lot, on the trails, or at the Hut to be an Ambassador for the work and mission of the Club. He was very proud of what a group of volunteers had accomplished with the Forest Service on public land for the use and enjoyment of the public. As a conversation would come to a close, he would almost always reach into his pocket and bring out a Club membership form and offer it with a word of encouragement for people to join in the project. In his strong, gentle, dedicated way, he was special. Leo, we miss you!
/s/ Gordon Reese
FEBRUARY MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
February 12, 2009
By Kay Fulton
President George Corn called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. There were approximately 60 people in attendance.
Membership Report: Jack Losensky reported that there are 325 members (slightly below last year’s final total).
He stated that 125 members get their newsletters via e-mail, which saves about $50/month and over $500/year.
Treasurer’s Report: Jeane Lippert has finally returned from too much sun in Florida! She reported: Income, $1,745 Expenses, $729.98 Checking, $4,495.81; Savings, $5,802.46.
Upcoming Events and Items of Interest: The Drawing for the Extravaganza was held at the end of this evening and people were able to continue purchasing tickets up until that time. The menu selections planned by Chef Paul Sharp were read by George and Earl Philips projected that the Club was well on its way to raising more than last year’s $1,300. The winner of the drawing was Norm Singley of Missoula and the Business that sold the most tickets was “The Right to Bare Arms” in Darby.
Mel Mooers reported that he had been contacted by someone with the Snowmobile Club regarding skiers who bring their dogs on Skalkaho Road. There is concern about hitting one of them, if they are running loose when the machines come through. They encouraged skiers to keep the dogs close to them to avoid this.
Trail Report: Mel reported that the snow is the best it has been all season. There were three (3) inches new last Tuesday and another two (2) inches on Wednesday. Conditions are excellent so get out and ski!
Earl Philips reported that the Cancellation Program continues to be successful and he is filling the openings on schedule. You can get on his list by contacting him at skihut@montana.com.
Old Business: The Ski Lesson Day, January 17, was a success with 40 people taking lessons and over 12 instructors. The weather was beautiful and everyone seemed to have a good time. There was a great article in the Ravalli Republic with colored photos. Thanks to Mel Holloway and everyone who helped.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Toilet Cleaning for a couple dates in March. Please contact Kay at 642-3794.
PROGRAM COORDINATOR: PLEASE HELP US WITH THIS IMPORTANT ACTIVITY. EVERYONE
SEEMS TO ENJOY THE PROGRAMS BUT IT IS UNFAIR TO EXPECT OUR PRESIDENT TO
ARRANGE ALL OF THEM.
New Business: George announced that Linda and Bill Stoudt have donated $100 to the Club. Thank you soooooooo much? Mel added that Linda “donates” one of her delicious desserts to the groomers each week (delivered on skis)!
George reported that a small committee has been working on a REI grant application, which could fund a “Train the Trainers” program for ski instructors. The process was initiated by Mel Mooers and the committee consists of Mel Holloway, Earl Philips and George.
Program: Steve Powell, veteran skier, presented a wonderful program on his trip into the Kokanee Glacier Hut in British Columbia last month. He and eleven (11) others were flown in by helicopter for a week of skiing in the most amazing country with breathtaking beauty. He shared his experiences and slides. Thanks, Steve.