The Vermont Folk Life Center is pretty well-know in these parts as a repository for Vermont’s oral histories. While noodling around on the internet I decided to check out their on-line archive to see if there were any references to good ole’ Mad River Glen. Low and behold there were in fact 17 oral history interviews archived referencing our mountain. They include interviews with long-time Mad River Glen employees like Basebox Manager, Tex Thompson, Guy Livingston, the fixture atop the Single Chair (listen to his golden voice as he sings during the interviews), and progenitor of the Eurich family legacy at MRG, Clesson Eurich. There are also a ton of recordings of local folks that speak about the mountain including Hap Gaylord who owned the local garage, Lixie Fortna, Henry Perkins and Sewall Williams, the owners of two of the original ski lodges and many others.
These recordings are an invaluable testament to the mountain’s history and for the development of the Mad River Valley generally. Listen to them and get an understanding of what life was like in the early days of the ski business and what it meant to the local community.
The Vermont Folk Life Center is a nationally-known folklife education organization that uses ethnography—study of cultural experience through interviewing, participation and observation—to strengthen the understanding of the cultural and social fabric of Vermont’s diverse communities. The VFC’s mission is to broaden, strengthen, and deepen our understanding of Vermont; to assure a repository for our collective cultural memory; and to strengthen communities by building connections among the diverse peoples of Vermont.
