First time in human history that athletes and computer geeks were united! In 1958 the computer department at IBM tried to convince their President, Thomas J Watson, to make the Squaw Valley Olympics the first major sporting event to be “computerized”. They speculated that it would decrease the time for results from hours to mere minutes making the games much better for televising and much more exciting for the spectators. Of course it was successful and really changed sports. Fortunately, our Museum has just acquired the 40 page IBM folder that contains the typed letter to the president and all the data to convince him it would work. An incredible find for both the sports world and for those of us geeks who also enjoy the history of computing…. Read more
Archive for December, 2017
We just received a 1960 “first day cover” from the opening day of the Squaw Valley winter Olympics ~ in perfect condition! Jill Beede, an English professor, collector, and long time Tahoe local wanted to get this out for everyone to share. Once we have it cataloged, it will be placed on displayed in the museum. Come by the second floor of the Gatekeepers Museum in Tahoe City to see Jill’s donation and all the other Sierra ski history items on display! Thanks Jill, and Happy Holidays!… Read more
Retro-love in the snow! Perhaps our favorite pic of the great Walt Disney at Squaw. Many people don’t know that he had a home at Squaw, loved the region, and was the designer/director of the pageantry for the 1960 Olympics. He wanted to make the Olympics a real party, more fun than any before it. Of course, he pulled it off. If you get a chance, come see the Disney display on the 2nd floor of the Gatekeeper’s Museum in Tahoe City!… Read more
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