Back in the day, my uncles Hugh and Louis Cleage used to go up to Idlewild and ski. Sometimes my boy cousins got to go with them, but never any of the girls. It was a male bonding time, I guess. Anyway, we never did learn to ski, my sister and I, while the boy cousins became quite good at it. They sometimes went to Caberfae, a skiing resort very close to Idlewild. You can read about the history of Caberfae, with photographs, here Caberfae Peaks: 75 Years of Michigan Skiing.
My kids went cross country skiing there a few time. I wonder if I have any photos. Don’t seem to.
Getting ski’s on next to Louis’ cottage.
Hugh skiing on Lake Idlewild.
The opening picture of ice skaters is really pretty. It certainly wasn’t very fair to let the boys learn how to ski & not the girls! Bummer!!
We did learn how to ice skate though. That is my children and their cousins skating on the same lake decades later.
Id have been pretty annoyed if I’d been in your shoes, with no skis.!
I didn’t even think about it at the time. Nobody from our house was going so I didn’t even realize it was happening until I was looking back.
Good job as usual. There are several ski clubs here in Indianapolis, however, due to the cold, I’ve never had a desire to learn to ski.
I enjoyed ice skating so I probably would have enjoyed skiing but I didn’t miss it at the time and right now there is no way I would ski.
You’ve definitely matched the theme this weekend. Snow looks magical and fun to those of us down south, but add the arctic temperatures and ice and I’ll stay home by the fire, thank you.
I use to enjoy ice skating and never minded walking around but never liked driving when the roads were icy or it was still snowing.
Nice photos, and good to know I’m not the only non-skier about!
You definitely are not!
Your Caberfae Peaks link reminded me that I have some shots somewhere of a ski lift in Michigan in the summer on a golf course. They were at the Homestead freshwater resort on Lake Michigan. Golf I could manage, but not the skis.
I never played golf either. Ah, the things I’ve never done could fill a book!
I’m sure I’d have been quite content to stay behind with the girls. I like watching the skiers on tv but have no interest in skiing myself.
It wasn’t like we got to go up to Idlewild and sit around a big fire drinking hot chocolate. We got left in Detroit to go on with the regular routine. But, I think I said somewhere, nobody in my household was going up there skiing so I didn’t feel left out so much.
I have never been skiing, but the next generation – my son and all his friends – seem to love it. Great photos Kristin – full of character.
Oh yes indeed, I was born and raised in Michigan and between that and snowmobiling and just playing in the snow, (because Michigan never got as horribly cold as Minnesota can and does) one could truly enjoy outdoors in the wintertime.
I was glad to see the mechanism that was used to hold the boot to the sky. My brothers had a set of skis with single leather straps on them. They worked very badly with such a bad set up. Great photo.
That sounds like it would not work well, no stabilizing of the ski with one strap.
It seems a little odd that they took only the boys skiing, but that would be common if it were a trip for hunting or fishing.
Have Lonnie M. or Walter K. ever told you about the winter they (Walter, Louis, Hugh, Lonnie, Barbara, Ronald, Rovetta, and company) learned to ski? It involved projecting an instructional film checked out from the Detroit Public Library and going up to Idlewild every weekend all winter long. Walter told me that after he nearly hit a tree, Louis decided that this group should take lessons… I think that my mother spent more time drinking hot chocolate with a book in front of a fireplace than skiing.
I never heard about the skiing or the lessons. I can imagine your mother reading instead of out there in the cold and snow!