Scotty's

"An area which does not seem to be on your list is Scottie's (sp) in Rumford Maine. This was a 1300' dog legged rope tow about a mile out of town along the Swift River, run by the Chisholm Ski Club. It was very active until the Black Mountain area was built as its replacement about 1960. There were also three ski jumps located there, the so called grammar school, high school, and the

55 Meter Suicide jumps. The latter jump was the site of the annual Winter Carnival where in addition to the competition, they had a night jumping show through a hoop of fire on to a landing lit by railroad flares.

I thought that I might have to quit skiing as may be it would be too expensive when the children's lift ticket price was outrageously increased from 10 cents to 25 cents. "

I wanted to offer this additional info on Scotty's Mountain, Rumford, Maine (I'm shocked this one was already among your listings!)

I recall sledding on Scotty's Mountain in the 1970s and 1980s. It had been abandoned as a ski hill long before, but still used as a cow field so it was still clear of trees and bushes. (We would cut the wire cow fence at the bottom in winter). Plenty of ski area relics were still visible in those days, such as trails, utility poles, pullies, and the wooden jumps that Malcomb White described. We actually used to sled down the outruns of the jumps, and a few brave souls took on the decaying jumps on alpine skis.

Scotty's ski hill is located adjacent to the Mountain Valley High School on Hancock Street. It can be accessed through the woods from the northwest corner of the school .... it's about a 200 foot walk from the high school's parking lot to the edge of the ski trail.

Scotty Richardson, the local farmer who owned the property for years, died recently. I don't know whether his death will have any impact on this historic site.