Local History by Dede Terns-Thorpe - HUNTER MOUNTAIN SKI BOWL OPENS – January 9th, 1960.

Hunter Mt. Ski Bowl by A. Gallagher painted in 2013

As we come to the end of what we call An Old-Fashioned Winter, or simply put, lots of snow, I thought I’d share a bit about Orville and Izzy Slutzky.

This is from Paul Peppe’s 1993 book’s Prologue on Hunter Mountain, THE SLEEPING GIANT, and this winter, it seems like a good time to share this.

“With every birth there is pain.

With every bit of creation, there is joy and sadness and a time of meditation. And then, after birth, there comes a time of growth, of success, of life.

So, too, with the birth of a ski resort.

When Hunter Mountain first opened its doors to skiers on January 9, 1960, that was part of the birth. It had actually been conceived a long time before in the minds and the hearts and the dreams of two brothers who were born in the tiny Village of Hunter, and who made it through the desperate years of the Depression, and through World War II, to return  home to the Northern Catskills to build and to build again.

The story of Hunter Mountain is also the story of Israel (Izzy) and Orville Suutzky, whose hearts and minds were behind this romantic endeavor. It was they who, despite the naysayers and negative thinkers, forced the creation of Hunter Mountain, and who brought it almost single handedly to the forefront of modern American skiing.

The story of Hunter Mountain, and its incredible success in a business fraught with economic dangers and filed with peril, is the story of an American success.

It’s interesting to read that the original prospectus specified two important points:

The ski resort would always be called Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl.

There would be snowmaking installed on the slopes from the very beginning.

The first press release ever issued for Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl was sent out in late December,1959.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                HUNTER MOUNTAIN SKI BOWL OPENS JANUARY 9th,1960.”

Thanks to Paul Peppe for saving the history of Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl. Thanks to Mr. Peppe and to Orville and Izzy Slutzky for giving us the name, SNOW MAKING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. After 66 years it maintained its name, Hunter Mt. Ski Bowl.

The Slutzky brothers played a huge role in the history of the Town of Hunter.

Thanks for reading. Be careful and stay safe.

Dede Terns-Thorpe/Town of Hunter Historians.