BRATTLEBORO — This year marks the 100th anniversary of not only the Harris Hill Ski Jump but the other contributions of Fred Harris to the fabric of his community: the Brattleboro Outing Club and the Brattleboro Winter Carnival, as well as the building that he built on Cedar Street.
Harris headed off to Dartmouth College after graduating from Brattleboro High School in 1906 with, as he put it, “skeeing on the brain.”
There, during his junior year, in 1910, he founded the Dartmouth Outing Club because, according to the history of the organization, “he found to his dismay that winter was considered a thoroughly dismal season, which most students spent cooped up in stuffy rooms playing cards in their free time.”
A year later, “the club decided to expand on the Field Day to create a Winter Carnival - and to make it a true midwinter weekend by inviting female guests, for a lavish round of indoor and outdoor events in addition to the sports contest.”
After graduating in 1911, he came home and emulated his successes in college by founding the Brattleboro Outing Club and the Brattleboro Winter Carnival in 1922.
Few are sitting in stuffy rooms playing cards 100 years later.
From the very beginning, the BOC focused on the many activities dear to Fred Harris's heart: skiing, ski jumping, tennis, and rowing, sports the organization's members continue playing to this day.
Former BOC President David Neumeister said the club has “always been a volunteer organization with a big emphasis on youth programing that encouraged families to get outdoors and play and to encourage people to learn lifelong sports and enjoy time together at the lowest possible cost.”
David Twombly, the organization's current president, is excited by all the group has accomplished and the numbers of sports activities available to families and individuals in town.
“In 2012, the [Windham Regional] Career Center at [Brattleboro Union High School] built a 15-foot-by-30-foot ski hut, which we purchased through fundraising, allowing us the opportunity to store our equipment inside and get it out of the pro shop at the [Brattleboro] Country Club Golf Course, as we use their facility for skiing in the winter.”
Members pay dues for the season, but the public is also invited to ski the trails for $15 per day.
The BOC offers 33 kilometers - or a little over 20 miles - of trails.
“When the pandemic is over, we look forward to being able to invite cross-country skiers inside the hut to warm up and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate,” Twombly said. “And this year we're also working on snowshoe trails as well.”
So far, the club has completed 3 miles dedicated to snowshoers, he told The Commons.
The group is also working toward purchasing and collecting more skiing equipment that will be free to its members.
Young families who want to teach their children to ski won't have to incur the expense of purchasing new equipment each year. Instead, they can borrow it from the BOC.
“This will be a great benefit to our members,” noted Twombly, adding that the club also offers lessons.
On the heels of the ski hut, the BOC raised money for a skimobile for trail grooming.
“Now, with the heavy use the trails receive, we are fundraising $16,000 to replace that skimobile, as it has just died,” he said.
In the meantime, “We have groomers who do an excellent job,” Twombly said.
Membership rises during pandemic
Membership grew to 350 members during the pandemic, as cross-country skiing gave isolated people an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.
As spring arrives, the six red clay tennis courts will become available at the BOC Clubhouse on Cedar Street. And when spring turns to summer, the club offers a summer paddling program for kayak, canoes, and sculling. Equipment is available to members, and the group uses both the West and Connecticut rivers.
“We want to attract more families,” said Twombly, “and a 100th anniversary is a great time to remind the public of all we have to offer.”
Right now, the focus is clearly on the BOC and Harris Hill centennial celebrations.
From 1922 to 2005, the Brattleboro Outing Club ran Harris Hill Ski Jump. Seventeen years ago, the jump needed $600,000 of repair. A separate group willing to raise funds and refurbish the jump purchased the hill for $1 from the BOC, a decision that separated the two organizations.
In 2009, the hill reopened after those extensive repairs were made.
A centennial celebration
Twombly notes that “Since the Brattleboro Outing Club and Harris Hill have the same founder, Fred Harris, we are cosponsoring a community-wide celebration Friday, Feb. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Harris Hill, to include a bonfire, hot chocolate, and food vendors, [as well as] a night ski jumping exhibition followed by fireworks.”
Also available will be “ski buffs” sold by the BOC as part of the group's fundraising. Printed with the BOC logo, and available in several colors, these neck warmers will be sold at the ski jump throughout the celebration weekend.
Funds from the ski buff sale will be help purchase the new vehicle for trail grooming. Donations are also appreciated.
Beginning Monday, Feb. 14, BCTV's Open Studio program will feature a Brattleboro Outing Club update with Twombly and Neumeister, as well as with the chair of the BOC tennis program, Joe Meyer. Tim Johnson of WTSA will host.
The program will air throughout the week leading up to the Harris Hill event, and the discussion revolves around the programing that the BOC offers, with an emphasis on the history of the organization.
During that program, Neumeister had the last word.
“The Outing Club is quite a unique organization in that it has lasted 100 years,” he said. “It's maintained its emphasis on outdoor sports and learning.”
“That is an enormous credit to an organization which was started by Fred Harris 100 years ago,” Neumeister said. “It started that long ago - and it's still that successful.”