MOUNTAIN OF MEMORIES – Early days of working on the mountain

R.B. “Bruce” MacAdam.

R.B. “Bruce” MacAdam. PHOTO COURTESY MACADAM FAMILY

Silver Ranch sleigh rides were popular in the 1980s.

Silver Ranch sleigh rides were popular in the 1980s. COURTESY PHOTO

The 1972 Easter parade in the snow.

The 1972 Easter parade in the snow. COURTESY PHOTO

Springtime sleigh rides.

Springtime sleigh rides. PHOTO COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA/KATHY GOMBAS

Skiers enjoy a warm après-ski .

Skiers enjoy a warm après-ski . COURTESY PHOTO

Skiers gather in the early days of Crotched Mountain.

Skiers gather in the early days of Crotched Mountain. COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA

Bob Abbott in February 1964.

Bob Abbott in February 1964. PHOTO COURTESY ETHEL MACADAM MCSTUBBS

Published: 12-31-2024 3:34 PM

Seventh of a series of excerpts from Gerry Miller’s book “Crotched Mountain Ski Area in Francestown, New Hampshire,” a history/biography about the original Crotched Mountain Ski Area in Francestown, developed by William C. (Bill) MacAdam and syndicate. Miller grew up in Francestown. Much of the material for the book was from the Monadnock Ledger or Peterborough Transcript.

Scott Place

I started living in Francestown my sophomore year in high school. The MacAdams and my dad were friends. I remember years before the ski area existed, when my dad and Bill talked about how the mountain could be a great place for a ski area. But I wasn’t there when Bill made it happen. When my dad retired from the military, we moved into his family home in Francestown. For the next year or two, he worked for Bill at the mountain, and he gave me a job.

The first year, I stapled tickets, and the second I was in the rental and repair shop, where I learned how to do pretty much everything. I had to because I was left pretty much on my own. The guy who was in charge spent most of his time out on the slopes. I learned how to adjust and fix bindings, and how to mount them on new skis. It was a lot for me to do. I was only 16. Plus, my dad had me do the books for the operation. At 16 years old, who does that? It was a great experience. I graduated from high school in 1970 and moved on to the Naval College at Annapolis and had my own career in the military.

R.B. ‘Bruce’ MacAdam – Hartford, Vt.

I worked with the crew clearing the mountain. Mostly I did whatever they asked me to do. Francis Abbott was the crew boss. I learned a lot of different things from him, especially about behaving in the world and taking care of things. If you left something at the top of the mountain, you had to go back up and get it. It was a pain in the neck because it was a long way up. By the end of the summer though, you didn’t mind running up to get a hat or handkerchief that you left behind. God, we got into such awesome shape.

The first winter Crotched was open in ’63/’64 I spent it at the mountain on the Ski Patrol. I just remember there was this girl on the patrol, Kitty Godfrey, that everybody was madly in love with.

After that first season, they gave me a going-away party, and off to the Coast Guard I went. That was it for me. In the end, I calculate that it took me seven years to finish college. That was because of the mountain and other things that developed.

In 1963, snowmaking was still pretty new and unsophisticated, primitive. The story I remember is that a hose was left on overnight at a greenhouse/nursery somewhere around Boston and the fine spray froze. The guns we started with weren’t much fancier. I got a kick out of plowing the parking lot, grooming the slopes and making snow all night. I remember all of those things were really fun, sort of heroic in a way. They were my first real experience of having a “real” job, and it couldn’t have been with a greater bunch of people. Funny, I can’t remember a single bad experience.”

Robert ‘Bob’ Abbott – Francestown

I helped with the establishment of the first Crotched Mountain Ski Area Ski Shop. It started out as a rental shop only, located in a shack across from the Winslow House on Mountain Road.

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We were starting from scratch. The first big project was mounting bindings on 50 pairs of wooden skis. Norton Brown (Brownie) was hired to mount the bindings on the skis. Brownie was a local cabinet maker and after a couple of not so perfect attempts finally figured out the balance point for mounting the bindings. After six weeks, this was done.

Then we had to move up to the mountain to our little one-room building on Mountain Road, and there we began setting up shop, which involved building racks and displays for boots, skis and poles. We built a fitting bench where each skier was fitted to the equipment before heading up to the lifts for a day of fun. For $6, a person was fitted out with boots, poles, and skis for a day’s rental.

The temporary shop was used for the entire first winter season in hopes of moving into the new lodge that was under construction for the second year of operation. I was hired to be the manager of the shop. Bob Hatfield and Art Cenota (“Hatfield and Rebel,” a dynamic duo) were hired to help in the shop. For the most part, we did rentals and repairs.

Most weekends were really busy with all the equipment rented. Mountain management was really surprised at the amount of business we did out of our little one-room shack. Everyone was waiting for the time when we could settle in the new lodge.

Once we moved into the new lodge, two shops were established across from each other on the bottom floor. One was for the rentals and repairs, and the other for equipment and clothing sales.