The Museum was able to recently acquire a copy of the Official 1960 Olympic contact book – the only one known to still exist! It contains all the names of the people involved in the Olympics from the pageantry division to the US Army personnel involved. It is an excellent find not only showing those to contact but how contact was made back then through speaking directly with the operator. The 16 page book will be cataloged and then placed on display at the museum. … Read more
Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO), Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) and Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA) pictured here pulled off the first ever all-American podium in alpine World Cup ski racing at Lake Louise today(Dec. 6) . Congratulations!… Read more
We are so happy to have the Far West Nordic Ski Education Association join us at the Museum. They are a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the sport of cross country skiing and facilitate competitive XC skiing for juniors (under age 20), seniors (ages 20-29) and masters (age 30 and up). Far West Nordic is particularly active with juniors, bringing coaching and a variety of training programs to our younger generations. By joining Far West, you’ll be helping kids stay healthy and active, and you’ll be supporting cross country ski athletes of all ages and levels of ability. We want to thank them for being part of the museum and for all the great things they do for the kids and community!… Read more
The emblem is the New Oslo City Hall overlaid by the Olympic rings, and surrounded by the phrase, “The 6th Winter Olympic Games / Oslo 1952”. This wonderful framed display was donated to the Museum by Inger Bisson who had only recently donated a very rare 1960 Olympic plaque. America won 4 gold medals in the 1952 winter games including Dick Button’s gold in figure skating, Ken Henry’s gold in speed skating and Andrea Mead Lawrence’s 2 gold medals in alpine skiing. The games were memorable also as it was the first time women competed in cross country skiing. If you see Inger skiing, golfing or riding bikes in this area please let her know that the Museum and the entire region is grateful for her gifts!… Read more
The Museum recently acquired the rare Walt Disney Olympic ceremony pageantry pin attached to the even rarer presentation card (only one we have ever seen!). Disney not only designed the unique Olympic torch but scripted the very successful Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. The pageantry pins were given to all those who were lucky enough to be involved in these ceremonies. At the museum we have several very unique Disney artifacts from the Olympics with more to be displayed shortly. Walt Disney loved the mountains and spent large parts of his winter skiing in the region. Like us, he probably watched the skies, waiting for snow!… Read more
If you want to hear a great talk on the 1960 Winter Olympics or go on a walking tour of the site of the Olympics you will have to track down Museum Co-founder David C Antonucci. He has been a Lake Tahoe resident for over 40 years and is considered the foremost historian of the 1960 winter games. David is the Author of the premier books about our Olympics – “Snowball’s Chance: The Story of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley & Lake Tahoe” and “The 1960 Winter Olympics (Images of Sports)”. David is also the author of “Fairest Picture — Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe” following the adventures of Mark Twain at our Lake. So….if you want to learn more about the 1960 winter Olympics or the history of Mark Twain in the region you can book David for a talk through his website www.tahoefacts.com, email him at: [email protected] or get right to the source and call him directly at 530-525-5410. Thanks David for all the great teaching – when is the next fun book coming out?… Read more
We were so lucky to have Stacey Rodarte’s 4th grade class from Glenshire Elementary School visit the Museum earlier this year. Perhaps the best part (other than entertaining our Olympic host Joe Pete Wilson) was reading all of the essays that they had written following their visit. Thank you Stacey for teaching and for the Museum visit as nothing is more important than the kids!… Read more
Barbara once again provides the Museum with outstanding memories from the past. As noted in an earlier post her family was an integral part of the early history of Squaw Valley. This recent donation includes many rare family pictures of their life in the early days of Squaw Valley. Shown above is a picture of lunchtime on the deck where the group is seen sharing a jug of wine and hamburgers as they take a break from skiing. Robert Fritschi is on the left (crew cut), likely Bobby Huega is in the front. Irene Fritschi is petting her cat and Skip Sherman has his head down, looking at the cat. Thanks again Barbara ~ we will catalog these family pictures and prepare them for display soon.
This small and rare plaque from undetermined Olympic memorabilia shows the official logo with an engraving of the Norwegian Birkebiners. In the 12th century, the Birkebiners carried the heir on skis to the Norwegian throne on skis to safety across treacherous mountainous terrain. The plaque was a donation from Inger Bisson, the author of the acclaimed novel, Rotar and the Silver Book of Knowledge. Inger continues to search for more donations of rare memorabilia from the 1952 Winter Olympics held in Oslo, Norway.… Read more
Thank you, Erica, for your generous donation and the appreciative note that you left at the Museum. As you know, Museum admission is free with donations gladly accepted. We have had a successful year because of generous donations which will help us move into the fall and winter months. Your donation, along with the others, gives us more motivation to grow and provide the community and the world with ever increasing resources to help tell our story. Thanks to Erica, and all who have helped with donations, both material and financial. The posted picture is from Erica’s education card.… Read more
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