SKIING HISTORY
Editor Seth Masia
Managing Editor Greg Ditrinco
Consulting Editor Cindy Hirschfeld
Art Director Edna Baker
Editorial Board
Seth Masia, Chairman
John Allen, Andy Bigford, John Caldwell, Jeremy Davis, Kirby Gilbert, Paul Hooge, Jeff Leich, Ron LeMaster, Bob Soden, Ingrid Wicken
Founding Editors
Morten Lund, Glenn Parkinson
To preserve skiing history and to increase awareness of the sport’s heritage
ISHA Founder
Mason Beekley, 1927–2001
ISHA Board of Directors
Rick Moulton, Chairman
Seth Masia, President
Wini Jones, Vice President
Jeff Blumenfeld, Vice President
John McMurtry, Vice President
Bob Soden (Canada), Treasurer
Einar Sunde, Secretary
Richard Allen, Skip Beitzel, Michael Calderone, Dick Cutler, Ken Hugessen (Canada), David Ingemie, Joe Jay Jalbert, Henri Rivers, Charles Sanders, Christof Thöny (Austria), Ivan Wagner (Switzerland)
Presidential Circle
Christin Cooper, Billy Kidd, Jean-Claude Killy, Bode Miller, Doug Pfeiffer, Penny Pitou, Nancy Greene Raine
Executive Director
Janet White
janet@skiinghistory.org
Membership Services
Laurie Glover
(802) 375-1105
laurie@skiinghistory.org
Corporate Sponsorships
Peter Kirkpatrick
(541) 944-3095
peterk10950@gmail.com
Bimonthly journal and official publication of the International Skiing History Association (ISHA)
Partners: U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame | Canadian Ski Museum and Hall of Fame
Alf Engen Ski Museum | North American Snowsports Journalists Association | Swiss Academic Ski Club
Skiing History (USPS No. 16-201, ISSN: 23293659) is published bimonthly by the International Skiing History Association, P.O. Box 1064, Manchester Center, VT 05255.
Periodicals postage paid at Manchester Center, VT and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to ISHA, P.O. Box 1064, Manchester Center, VT 05255
ISHA is a 501(c)(3) public charity. EIN: 06-1347398
Written permission from the editor is required to reproduce, in any manner, the contents of Skiing History, either in full or in part.
Letters: Creation of Polarfleece, Jim Dandy Ski Club
To elaborate on “Better Than Wool” (March-April 2021), Polarfleece was an evolutionary product. The first polyester fiber insulations were created in the mid-1960s by compressing nonwoven Dupont Dacron and Celanese Fortrel, used in quilted outerwear. Later, nonquilted jackets used a tougher version made on a needle-punching machine. I made this stuff for the skiwear industry at our Seattle factory beginning in 1975; a competing factory made it in New England.
In 1978, 3M began manufacturing and selling Thinsulate in Asia. That disrupted North American insulation manufacture. U.S. skiwear makers had to compete with China. We needed a new U.S.-made synthetic insulation.
At Malden Mills, where I worked selling synthetic pile fabrics, we knew how to make sweatshirt fleece from cotton-polyester blends. In 1980, I asked Malden to make a blanket fleece fabric using a special Fortrel polyester fiber. This was fleece. It gave us a competitive product to the stuff made in Asia, and allowed skiwear brands to keep their sewing factories here in the U.S.A.
I need to add an environmental note: North American mills operate under strict EPA guidelines. Asian mills often poison their rivers. The more American products you buy, the cleaner the planet.
Doug Hoschek
Seattle, Washington
The Musical Origin of the Jim Dandy Ski Club
I enjoyed reading the article by Charlie Sanders, “A History of Ski Music and Song” (September-October 2021). . . . The nation’s first Black ski club, the Jim Dandy Ski Club, was formed in 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, named after the rhythm and blues song “Jim Dandy,” written by Lincoln Chase and first recorded by American singer LaVern Baker in 1956.
The song was recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and included in Rolling Stone’s Greatest Songs of All Times. The song is about a man named Jim Dandy who rescues women from improbable situations. The lyrics begin with the phrases, “Jim Dandy to the rescue” and “Go, Jim Dandy,” and go on to describe the predicament: “I was sitting on a mountain top, 30,000 feet to drop.”
The ski club, which boasts 300 to 400 members, added to the song, “Jim Dandy does the hockey stop.” Members ski to the beat of the song. I would like to see more articles in the journal that reflect the contributions made by Black skiers, including African Americans, to skiing history.
Naomi Bryson
Chandler, Arizona
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Table of Contents
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ($3,000+)
BerkshireEast/Catamount Mountain Resorts
Gorsuch
Warren and Laurie Miller
Sport Obermeyer
Polartec
CHAMPIONSHIP ($2,000)
Fairbank Group Resorts
Hickory & Tweed
Rossignol
Snowsports Merchandising Corporation
WORLD CUP ($1,000)
Aspen Skiing Company
Bogner of America
Boyne Mountain Resort
Dale of Norway
Darn Tough Vermont
Dynastar/Lange/Look
Gordini USA Inc/Kombi LTD
Head Wintersports
Intuition Sports
Mammoth Mountain
Marker/Völkl USA
National Ski Areas Association
Outdoor Retailer
Ski Area Management
Ski Country Sports
Sports Specialists LTD
Sun Valley Resort
Vintage Ski World
World Cup Supply
GOLD MEDAL ($700)
Larson's Ski & Sports
Race Place/Beast Tuning Tools
The Ski Company (Vicki and Gary Profetta)
Thule
SILVER MEDAL ($500)
Alta Ski Area
Boden Architecture PLLC
Dalbello Sports
Deer Valley
EcoSign Mountain Resort Planners
Elan
Fera International
Holiday Valley Resort
Hotronic USA
Masterfit Enterprises
McWhorter Driscoll LLC
Metropolitan New York Ski Council
Mt. Bachelor
New Jersey Ski & Snowboard Council
Russell Mace Vacation Homes
SchoellerTextil
Scott Sports
Seirus Innovations
SeniorsSkiing.com
Ski Utah
Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp
Sundance Mountain Resort
Swiss Academic Ski Club
Tecnica Group USA
Timberline Lodge and Ski Area
Trapp Family Lodge
Western Winter Sports Reps Association
World Pro Ski Tour
Yellowstone Club