Jump to content

Port Arthur Ski Club

From thunderbay.wiki

The Port Arthur Ski Club (PASC) is a ski club in Thunder Bay, Ontario, founded in Port Arthur in 1929.[1][2]

The club built a log trestle jump and a clubhouse at Strathcona Heights, above the Strathcona golf course, in 1929.[2] Its members began developing Mount Baldy in the winter of 1933–34, and the club formally took over operation of that hill in 1946.[2] It continues today as an alpine racing club based at Mount Baldy.[3]

Skiers could reach the Strathcona clubhouse by road or by the local trolley. In the 1930s the club built a new jump and put electric lights on the slopes and in the clubhouse, and night hikes on its trails were lit by coal-oil torches.[2] The jump stood beside one of the golf course's fairways, and the club stayed at Strathcona until the 1940s, when it moved permanently to Mount Baldy.[4] At Baldy it hosted the Central Canadian Championships in 1951 and the National Junior Ski Championships in 1954.[2]

See also

Thunder Bay Museum material (October 2026)

The 1938 clubhouse.
Skiers head uphill at a 1939 club meet, Strathcona Heights. Thunder Bay Museum 984.53.1018.h.
  • 1937: A photo page showed the club "on the hills of the Strathcona golf links" as "a rendezvous for the younger set".[5]
  • 1938–40: A new clubhouse designed by Hartvick Os (54 by 24 feet, facing Lake Superior above the golf course's fifth hole) opened on 4 December 1938. It burned early on 3 December 1939, a loss of about $2,500 insured for $2,000 according to treasurer Bob Eakins. It was rebuilt to the same plan by January 1940.[6][7][8]
  • 1939: Club jumpers Archie McLellan, Eugene Mosiondz and Eddie Hartvickson, and racers Susan Ruttan and Barbara Ruttan, were entered at the Dominion championships on Mount McKay.[9] The museum holds photographs of a 1939 club meet at Strathcona Heights, including Knute Hansen jumping.[10]
  • 1962: The club hosted the Canadian junior championships at Mount Baldy on 23–25 February.[11]
  • 1963–64: The club had "the first [double chairlift] at the Lakehead". For 1964–65 it planned to widen the Draft and Lookout runs, groom the Vertical for junior racers and light the Gold Run.[12][13]

See History of skiing in Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay Museum material and Big Thunder.

References

  1. ↑ Builder profile: "Tommy", a founder of the Port Arthur Ski Club (inducted 28 September 1991). Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Imrie, Diane. "High flying". Bayview Magazine, November 2017.
  3. ↑ "About Us". Port Arthur Ski Club.
  4. ↑ "Younger Set Enjoy Thrills and Spills at Port Arthur Ski Club". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 23 January 1937, p. 5; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
  5. ↑ "New Ski Club House Opened After Many Years of Effort" and "Port Arthur Ski Club Opens New Club House Tuesday". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 5 December 1938, p. 10; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
  6. ↑ "Fire Destroys Ski Clubhouse". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 4 December 1939, p. 1; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
  7. ↑ Photo, new Port Arthur Ski Club clubhouse. Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 8 January 1940, p. 9; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
  8. ↑ "Port Arthur Girls Entered In Ski Events". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 23 February 1939, p. 1 (continued p. 12); clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
  9. ↑ Thunder Bay Museum photographs 984.53.1018.a, .e, .h and .n, "1939 meet, Strathcona Heights, Port Arthur Ski Club", supplied by Emma Hurley Warren, email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication).
  10. ↑ "Visitors May Have Trouble With Baldy". Fort William Daily Times-Journal, 15 February 1962; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
  11. ↑ Patola, Roger. "On the Slopes: Local Clubs Geared For Snow". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 23 November 1963; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
  12. ↑ Patola, Roger. "Big Plans Ahead For Skiing Areas". Port Arthur News-Chronicle, 28 April 1964; clipping from the Thunder Bay Museum archives, supplied by Emma Hurley Warren (archival assistant) in an email to Michael Currie, 26 October 2026 (personal communication). Scan.
Retrieved from "https://thunderbay.wiki/w/index.php?title=Port_Arthur_Ski_Club&oldid=249487"