History of the Swedish Ski Club 1924 - 1993

Presented to The Swedish Ski Club's 70th Anniversary Dinner October 1, 1993
by Lars Radberg


The Swedish Ski Club was founded during the 1923 - 1924 ski season by the famous ski jumper Siegfried L. Steinwall and a group of Swedish skiers who met together to participate in their favorite sport.

Steinwall became the Club's first President. The generous publicity by Gerhard T. Rooth in "Nordstjernan" attracted widespread interest and the membership grew rapidly. Among the members were the brothers Carl, George and Pontus Conradson, Eric Sjolund, George Dahlin, Hal Olin and Nils Regnell. From the start, the Club was determined to promote interest in skiing and, to this end, adopted the slogan "Skiing for Everybody". The first Club outing took place in Van Cortland Park on March 1, 1924.

The Club next pioneered in building a ski jump at the North Jersey Country Club, near Paterson, New Jersey, with the aid of George Conradson. This was the first ski jump built in the New York Metropolitan area. The inaugural tournament took place on January 11, 1925 in cooperation with the Norsemen Ski Club. After the Paterson Ski Jump was destroyed by a storm in 1928, a new ski jump was constructed in the New York Bear Mountain State Park. The Club sponsored the first tournament at Bear Mountain, and continued its sponsorship every year until 1990, until ski jumping there was discontinued.

In 1927, 1928 and 1929 Club members John and Olaf Stare won the National Cross-Country Championship, while members Lars Olson and John Wictorin won the Eastern and Metropolitan titles. In the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, members O. Zetterstrom and N. Beckstrom represented the United States as members of the ski team, while members Sven Ostrom and Siegfried Steinwall represented Sweden. Beckstrom again made the U.S. team in 1936. Ten of the Club members have participated in Olympic games.

John Wictorin joined the Club in 1927 after he arrived from Sweden. He was an excellent cross-country skier, served as a judge at ski jumping events, became a ski waxing expert and a representative for Swix ski waxes. His efforts on behalf of the Club and skiing in general were widely recognized. He was President of the Club four times and after his untimely death in 1969, he was posthumously elected to the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame, thereby joining Siegfried Steinwall in receiving this honor.

A special mention of Gurli Granberg is in order. She hails from Kiruna, Sweden, and participated in several ski races in northern Sweden while in high school. She moved to the United States in 1925, became a member of the Club in 1929, and entered the New York State Cross-Country Championship Race in 1931. She was the only female skier in that race. Gurli now holds the longest active membership in the Club.

During the 30's and 40's, the Club members joined together for outings to ski areas in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, often using "snow trains" for transportation. Later, bus trips to more distant points were organized by the late Harry Vallin, who joined the Club in 1948, and subsequently became the Clubs President. At the same time, he established the Scandinavian Ski Shops and thereby introduced skiing to an increasing number of people in the eastern United States.

In the late 50's the Club membership declined, but Martha Dehli managed to hold the Club together. Under her leadership, the tradition of annual Glögg Parties was introduced, initially in member's homes, and later in rented quarters to accommodate the increasing number of participants. Martha served as President of the Club 1962-1963 and is responsible for the Club's fine relations with the New York Metropolitan Ski Council.

Bo Adlerbert became President of the Club in 1963. Within a few years, under the enthusiastic guidance of Bo, the Club again became very active, and Bo brought many new members into the Club.

In 1964, the Club was incorporated in the State of New York as a not-for-profit organization under the name The Swedish Ski Club, Inc.

During the 1964-65 ski season, the Club for the first time rented a lodge, which was located in Dorset, Vermont. In the meantime, Bo Adlerbert bought a large farm in Andover, Vermont, which was rebuilt into his own home, named Bohus. The major portion of the house was rented by the Club beginning with 1965-1966 ski season.

With the assistance of a group of hard working members, Bo planned and cleared an excellent cross-country trail system around Bohus and in the adjoining areas. He worked tirelessly to promote skiing and was instrumental in arranging cross-country ski races, not only for the Club members but also for elite skiers in the Northeast. In 1967, John Wictorin arranged for the Club to sponsor it's first sanctioned cross-country race at Bohus. In honor of John, the race was named the John Wictorin Memorial Cross-Country Race, and it became an annual event attracting the best skiers in the east, including members of the U.S. Olympic team.

In 1973, a biathlon competition (20 km cross-country skiing combined with target shooting) was also held at Bohus at the initiative of the legendary Fred Brandstrom.

The John Wictorin Race was discontinued in 1980, when skating on skis became common, requiring wider trails and elaborate grooming.

During the 70's, the Club membership continued to grow, and new activities were introduced, such as ski touring events and youth weekends.

Bo Adlerbert and Tom Jahn, who was President during 1974-1978, were the initiators and promoters of these events, which became increasingly popular. Club Championship Races, both downhill and cross-country, were arranged every year, and thanks to Franz Frei, a Sylvester Downhill Race was organized and is run every New Years Eve. Many Club members have also been participating in cross-country ski races in New England, such as the George Washington Birthday Race in Brattleboro, Vermont, the Lake Placid Loppet in New York and others. The Jiminy Peak/Pico Peak alpine races arranged by the Metropolitan Ski Council is another event with many Club members competing with excellent results, particularly in the junior division.

On January 17, 1973, the Board of the Club past a resolution "that the Club set a goal of raising $20,000 to be reserved for the exclusive purpose of meeting future needs for a permanent home of the Club by acquiring real estate bordering on the Green Mountain National Forest". The fund raising committee consisted of Bo Adlerbert, chairman, Tage Pearson, Erik Brodin, Bjorn Kjellstrom, Ake Orndal and Erik Tornqvist.

In 1974, a Land Committee was formed to search for suitable land, on which to build a lodge. Two years later, the committee, consisting of Tom Jahn, Bo Adlerbert and Richard Wetterhorn came across and approx. 200 acre parcel of land near Wilmington, Vermont. Tom Jahn was authorized to negotiate a possible purchase based on Richard Wetterhorn's proposal to have interested members acquire 6 lots of 20 acres for $7,000 each, leaving about 80 acres for the Club, which made $1,000 deposit. Zoning regulation were too complicated, however, and in 1978, the Club withdrew from the deal, but some members bought lots in the area.

The continued growth of the Club membership kept the idea of a land acquisition alive, even after Bo and Lorle Adlerbert moved from Bohus to a new residence across the road. The increased cost of renting all of Bohus also played a role. In 1984, Fred Brandstrom proposed that the area east of the Green Mountain National Forest be explored. This was done and the Forest Administration was consulted, but no suitable land could be found. In the meantime, Bo Adlerbert's sons, Tony and Nils, had become owners of Bohus. They decided to put the lodge on the market and began by offering it, the adjoining barn and about 50 acres of land to the Club for $450,000 in the spring of 1986. The price far exceeded the Club's financial resources, especially in view of the repairs and renovations that were required.

A Lodge Committee, consisting of Gerth Elverskog, Tom Jahn and Lars Radberg was therefor established. An extensive search was launched in southern Vermont. On July 3, 1986 Gerth and Estrid Elverskog and Lars and Marit Radberg were shown the Barn Lodge on Winhall Hollow Road in Bondville. The lodge operated as an inn and was offered almost fully equipped and furnished together with a garage and a swimming pool. After negotiations, the binder was signed by Lars, and on Friday September 12 the closing took place. The cost, including closing fees and moving expenses came to $292,000, which was financed with the Club's own funds (including moneys previously donated to the 50th Anniversary Fund), a first and second mortgage plus proceeds of bonds sold to generous Club members.

The new lodge was inaugurated by about a dozen members on the weekend immediately following the closing. The next weekend, equipment and supplies belonging to the Club, were moved from Bohus to Skibo, as the new lodge came to be called, and full scale operations began in early October. By then, bunk beds for the boys and girls dormitories and a couple of regular rooms had been constructed and installed by Kjell Oscarsson. He and his wife Monika also donated a bar counter and stools to the Club. They were soon joined by several other benefactors, who contributed a piano, paintings, furniture, cross-country skis and boots. By the end of 1987, work had started on the conversion of the garage to a sauna, a construction of a new garage and a waxing room with storage space below, all under one roof. This was completed early 1988.

In the meantime, Tom Jahn had started planning a cross-country trail system in the areas around Skibo. After consultations with neighbors and protracted negotiations with the National Forest Administration, Tom, Adolf af Jochnick and several other members started clearing trails enabling members to ski from outside the lodge to the surrounding woods and meadows. New trails are continuously being developed.

Skibo is located in the so called Golden Triangle within easy driving distance of the Stratton and Bromley ski areas as well as golf courses and tennis courts. These recreational facilities for the general public complements special summer events arranged by the Club, such as the Midsummer Festival in June and the Crayfish Party in August. In addition, the Vasaloppet veteran Per Sjölund has for several years organized the popular horseback and canoeing weekend during the fall leaf season for his fellow members.

The history of the Club would not be complete without citing the many achievements and contributions - athletic and otherwise - made over the years by the Aittola, Anestad, Bisset, Crockford, Elverskog, Gyllenhoff, Jahn, Jonsson, Trygg, Tuneblom and Ugander families as well as many others, too numerous to mention.

The Club has been very fortunate in having had generations of so many interested and active members working together for their mutual benefit and enjoyment. As a result, the current membership has an excellent base for further development in the future.