This Week in History December 24 - 30

10 years ago:
With the revitalization of the Haystack Ski Area by The Hermitage Club, the developer of the Powderhorn condominiums at Haystack sought to breathe new life into the mothballed development. The original four buildings were built by developer Michael Kimack in the late 1980s, but as the old Haystack ski area faltered and eventually became dormant, the development stalled. Kimack told development review board members that the design and layout of the new buildings would be identical to the original buildings. Kimack noted that, after 28 years away from the area, he was “back to finish what I started.”
15 years ago:
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office dropped an inquiry into alleged open meeting violations in Halifax after the town attorney acknowledged that an “error” had been made and assured the AG that every care would be taken to adhere to the provisions of open meeting law. Police investigated after a man driving along Gates Pond Road on his way to work found an approximately 18-month-old toddler walking along the side of the road. At the time, light snow was falling and the toddler was wearing no shoes. Police later located the toddler’s house and determined the child had put his coat on and left the house while his mother was asleep.
20 years ago:
Carinthia Ski Area founder Walter Stugger reminisced about opening the small, successful, independent ski area. Stugger, who was from Austria, opened the ski area in 1960. Stugger was working at Mount Snow when he walked into a Brattleboro bank asking to borrow $6,000. The loan officer said he’d never be able to pay it back on his Mount Snow salary of $50 a week, but he persevered and eventually got his loan. Through a series of deals, trades, and other transactions, he eventually ended up with the land he needed for his ski area. Stugger eventually sold his ski area to Mount Snow in 1986.
Just a week after a Wilmington School Board member resigned, calling a recent bond vote failure a “vote of no confidence” in the school board, more than 40 parents, teachers, and other supporters turned out at a school board meeting to offer their support in moving forward with another bond vote. Board members said they were buoyed by the show of support.
25 years ago:
Whitingham Selectboard members voted to halt the application of salt on town roads after the road commissioner requested a $5,000 increase in the budget for road salt. There was only one dissenting vote on the board, but at a subsequent meeting the board reversed their decision.
Dover Police Officer Mark Herrick recalled a time several years earlier when he worked part time in Wilmington, and part time in Dover, changing uniforms between shifts. “I remember one time I stopped someone for speeding in the morning in Wilmington, then, later that night, stopped the same guy again in Dover. He just stared at me with a look of incredulity and asked, ‘Do you have a brother?’”
35 years ago:
Dover residents complained after the town signaled its intent to eliminate recycling containers in the town. The town contemplated the move after two large businesses, Mount Snow and Grampy’s, said they planned to use the town recycling containers for their cardboard waste. Selectboard members were concerned that the volume of cardboard would mean an increase in cost to the town.
Wilmington’s historic “bank building” was offered for sale at $149,900, after a foreclosure. The building, once home to the Wilmington Savings Bank and, later, a branch of Vermont National Bank, burned to the ground in April 2007.
40 years ago:
A school bus skidded off the road and plunged into a ditch near Brick Yard Road in East Dover. Thankfully, no students were on board at the time, and the driver wasn’t seriously injured.
The valley awaited the return of Kenny the Whale, a popular and rotund DJ who was appearing at the Andirons.
45 years ago:
George Schneeberger and Dick Joyce were at work on the valley’s first ice rink. The foundation and dasher boards were in place, with only the freezing system left to be installed. Plans called for a locker room, snack bar, and a rental shop.
Steve Miller, owner of Maple Valley Ski area, was hoping for heavy snowfall to save his faltering business. Even with snowmaking on two of the area’s 12 trails, a series of poor winters was taking a toll on the small ski area’s business.
Mount Snow hosted the “Alive With Pleasure” ski series, sponsored by Playboy and Lorillard Inc., makers of Newport brand cigarettes. Festivities included a Playboy Bunny snow sculpture contest and a ski boot disco contest at LeDisco, “Mount Snow’s swinging nightclub.”
50 years ago:
Former Dover Forge chef Betty Hillman was breaking out with her own restaurant, Le Petit Chef, located in Chet Hagadorn’s West Dover Inn. Daughter of well-known cookbook author Libby Hillman, she said she “just had no interest in cooking” and never cooked until she had her own apartment. Before her debut at Dover Forge, Hillman attended Lycee Technique Hotelier in Paris, France.
Mount Snow Comptroller Marie Fleming paid employees in silver dollars for the holidays, rather than the traditional check. One instructor said “I can’t lift the bag!”
55 years ago:
The Vermont Environmental Control Board denied an appeal by local developer Lincoln “Linc” Haynes on his Ryder Pond project. Haynes proposed altering the pond to create a recreational pond, and building upscale houses on its shores. An expert witness for the state testified that draining and excavating the boggy pond would “obliterate its uniqueness.”
Vermont National Bank announced the promotion of Bob Maynard to manager of their Wilmington branch. Maynard had already been in charge of the branch as acting manager for more than a year, and had been with the bank since 1959, with a brief interlude when he was called back into active duty in the Air Force during the Berlin Airlift (1961-62). Maynard was promoted to assistant manager in 1963.
Kent Webster, a local Nastar winner who claimed the title of “fastest recreational skier” in national competition, was appointed as a coach at the Mount Snow Ski Club.