Farr's
Hill
Randolph, VT
1938-1966
History ~ Memories ~
Historical Photos
History
|
According to an
article written by M. Dickey Drysdale in the Winter 1987 Vermont Life, a rope
tow operated in Randolph at the Harold J. Farr farm on Elm St. The tow served
approximately 200 vertical feet. There
was no charge to use the tow and was used mostly by the local children. Farr
operated the area solely for the purpose of giving locals (mainly
children) a safe and free place to ski during the winter. Wouldn't it be
great if there were areas like this today? The area
also had a skating rink and a 1000 foot long toboggan chute.
The tow was shut down
in 1966 because of the opening of nearby Pinnacle Skiways (also another lost
area!). In appreciation of Harold Farr’s dedication to his community, Pinnacle
named its practice slope after him.
Steve Ellis's
father grew up in Randolph, and worked for Harold Farr while in high
school. He sent all of the photos of this ski area to NELSAP, and also
found this article in Sports Illustrated on Harold Farr.
(Thanks to Betsy
McDonough who helped research this article).
|
Harold and Grace Farr, 1957. Courtesy Steve Ellis. Click on the photo
for the larger version. |
Memories
NELSAP has heard from Dave
Kent, who used to ski here...here's his story:
In the late 50's I learned to ski there for 25 cents a lesson on Saturday
mornings. The ski instructor was Ebben Brown of South Royalton. The
rope tow was run by Mr. Farr a local farmer who donated his time every weekend
so the young people could ski. Not many of
us could afford back then to travel to Stowe or Suicide Six, and Killington didn't
exist. Our skis were also without
the latest bindings and NO metal edges on the Northlands.
In later years a more modern ski area called Pinnacle was developed just
South of Randolph on Rt.
12.
John
Ellis: Some more
information about Farr’s Hill, to add to what my brother Steve sent you:
According to the 1959
Sports Illustrated article, Harold Farr started running his rope tow in
1938, “four years after the first ski tow was introduced to the U.S.” Though the
SI article says that the tow was free, when I skied there as a kid in the early
1960’s, I believe he put out a can for donations of $0.50 a skier.
I
remember my father telling me that in high school (about 1940 – 1944) he made
skis for others. He’d take two planks, shape them, soak them in hot water in
the barrels Mr. Farr used to boil maple sap, and then clamp them down to make
their camber. He’d sell them for $5, and for an extra couple of dollars, would
screw on metal edges. I asked him how long they’d last, and he said “most of a
season” (which I assume wasn’t that many days of skiing).
Historical Photos
Many thanks to Steve Ellis who sent along these
excellent photos of Farr's Hill to NELSAP! Click on all images for the larger
version.
| Skiers load the bottom of the rope tow
in 1959. |
 |
|
 |
Looking up the liftline in 1959. |
| A 1962 shot of the farm, lower slopes,
and the base of the rope tow. |
 |
|
 |
Skiers midway on the slope, 1962. |
Recent photos:
| A view of the slopes in
2010. Note the one rope tow tower still standing at the summit. Courtesy
of John Ellis. Click on the photo for the
larger version. |
 |
Does
anybody else remember skiing Farr’s Hill? If so, we’d love to hear your stories.
Last updated: Feb 20, 2011
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