Laurel Mtn. as a Local History Paper
January 7, 2007
16 posts
10 users
5k+ views
Hi. I am a very new member, and given that you haven't seen my icebreaker, I'll run through again that my name is Ben and I live just outside Johnstown, PA. I am a 17 year old high school student, but I am fairly knowledgable about skiing that's local to me, and thought I'd try to take that to the next level by choosing Laurel Mtn. as a topic for an Advanced Placement U.S. History course. Not that I'm uninterested in doing anything other than asking for assistance, but currently I do have the opportunity to write a paper/make a report on the history of a local location; for me that means Laurel Mountain Ski Resort. Research, some photography and maps, but most importantly firsthand interviews are necessary for this report. I would like to include the conditions and events over the years that have shaped everything to do with the actual ski resort entities at Laurel Mountain. This means I'd love to talk about everything from the status of the land parcel when the ski resort was originally constructed to each change in ownership and expansions or cuts in services to the reasons for the current uncertain status of the lodge and land. Anyone who lives anywhere near the area and has detailed knowledge about different events or time periods for this resort would be doing me a favor to chime in online. I know Laurel Mountain discussion is frequent here, and the real goal beyond getting ideas from the forum is to possibly set up an interview with an individual or two from the region who either has direct knowledge of much of the history of Laurel Mtn or has extensive backgorund knowledge and would like to give a current opinion as well. Anyone interested in finding out more about meeting up to help would be greatly appreciated. This is quite lengthy, so I'll leave my more specific intentions for the time in which anyone shows interest. FYI, I am to be compiling questions with which to interview in the next week, the report is due in mid-January, I am centrally located to meet anywhere in the PA counties of Indiana, Cambria, Somerset, or Westmoreland, and my teacher hopes to publish the most successful reports in the Johnstown's "Our Town" publication. thanks again, ben
Great idea. I can't help you but would be very interested in your findings and it would be great if you could post a link on this forum when you are done. Best of luck!
If you don't get some helpful posts in a couple days, try sending private messages to some of the posters in the thread below; particularly Laurel Hill Crazie and Hockey Dave. Also look up Heather in user list and send her one too. Some of them may be members of some kind of homeowners association for Laurel Mtn and know a lot. They might also invite you to one of their meetings where you could interview lots of people associated with the place. Search here for lots of old threads on Laurel Mtn. Good luck.
http://www.dcski.com/ubbthreads22/showfl...rt=all&vc=1
Regarding the history of Laurel Mountain, I can help. Give me a call at the park office at Linn Run State Park. We administer Laurel Mountain and three other state parks in the Laurel Highlands. There is also a brief history on our website
www.dcnr.state.pa.us. Look for Laurel Mountain. I can also help you with a few people to interview for that subject. Good luck, and thanks for your interest in Laurel Mountain State Park.
JC, you beat me to posting that link. Hmmm, I wonder who that Springhill Crazie is????
J-Ben, DEF should have a copy of that article at the Linn Run Park office. That's where I got the copy that is posted on the site linked in JC's post. At the teachski site, you can click on the article then enlarge the page for easier reading. I've met the women who maintains that site, a real ski history buff.
Johnstown Ben, welcome to DCSki. DEF is really the best source for the info you're seeking. You're project will be a lot easier if you drop by the park office.
DEF, welcome to DCSki, I know you've been lurking for awhile now. I'm sure Scott would appreciate a donation.
Wow, thanks for what sounds like a lot of great ideas. I'll definitely check out the sites, I'm sure there's some questions answered I would never think to ask. DEF, that sounds great, I'll give the office a call before we get too far into the holiday season. I just wanna make sure I have a few options with people who would want to share the great history of the place, so I'm sure a few of you will be hearing from me again.
Ben, when you finish the report, I would be happy to publish it on DCSki as a guest story. Maybe you could get some extra credit for that!
Ben
You may also want to contact Larry Walsh at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He has been writing articles on the ski industry in Western PA for a long time and I believe he is a native to Laurel Mt.
Should I know who/what DEF is?
Also... Ben, while it might not be nearly as prestigious as getting it published on DCSki, I would love to have your report, or even just excerpts from it on my blog about Laurel Mountain.
well hopefully my product will be around in two weeks with no serious problems. ive got good ideas, just need more formal firsthand info. but mainly, i wanted to make another post regarding pictures/photos of laurel. the mountain, the lodge, whatever, im just wonderin if anybodys got some and wants to mail them over to me or such. theres gotta be some more out there. thanks.
Hi Ben:
You're more than welcome to use anything from my Laurel pictures when the area was operated by 7 Springs...
http://www.leacar.com/lc_tsalm12105.shtmlI skied the area during the 70's and 80's and my father has told me a little about the area when it was first opened to the public in the 50's. I'll try to put something together for you.
with a due date of january 12, the project is starting to come together. the next day or two is the chance for anyone else to add to my info with some insight on the recent years or responsed to any articles or resources you've read about laurel. this is just about it, but it would be nice to hear anything more, maybe get an interesting quote or two in the paper. ok, thanks to everybody so far.
Great pictures. For some reason your middle picture of the whales would not enlarge.
Tha Colonel
Thanks for the heads up Colenel. I uploaded it and it should be viewable now.
