Snow days come to an end for Cedar Valley Ski Club

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — One day, Dr. George North stood amongst his golf and recreational buddies and announced “I’ve got a proposition for you guys.”

And it was all downhill from there.

“That’s how it all started,” Monte Waldorf said of the Cedar Valley Ski Club, essentially founded by Dr. North’s “proposition” circa 1965.

Dr. North was an avid downhill skier and — as a 10th Mountain Division soldier in the United States Army — taught survival skills for those who ever found themselves snowbound. He also helped several Charles City women survive the “homebound” winters by getting their husbands out of the house for a stretch after the stressful holidays.

“Most of them are happy to be rid of us for a week,” Dr. North co-wrote with fellow CVSC founder Dr. Larry Brewer in “A Short History of the Cedar Valley Ski Club” which proved to be anything but considering it commemorated the club’s 40th anniversary nearly two decades ago.

Starting with the initial stag trip to a celebrated new ski area in Vail, Colorado back in 1965, the fledgling group of six Charles City men at the time made it an annual trip every third week in January to ski areas and resorts throughout North America.

“Ski trips could be expensive,” Waldorf said while citing the rising costs of ski-lift passes that are not going downhill soon. “Going down as a group saved us a lot of money.”

After “A Short History” detailed a mix-up when the club was double booked into a condo at Aspen with the Oklahoma State pom-pom girls, CVSC membership got a boost. As a result, nearly 50 local skiers made at least one trip as part of the CVSC entourage.

CVSC members definitely had a lot of fun during their post-holiday trips, but for the most part managed to keep out of trouble. Though they did have a “beef” with border patrol agents while trying to cross into Canada.

“Not only was George an excellent skier, he was a great cook,” longtime CVSC John Newton said. “To save even more money, he cooked for us.

“He brought his own meat from Fareway and placed it in a boot bag with dry ice. All of a sudden, these agents appear with drug-sniffing dogs trying to get at the bag. It was funny when they saw he was trying to get Fareway meat across the border.”

All good times eventually come to an end. For the CVSC, it has come in stages.

First came with the passing of one of the original CVSC members, Andy Melrose, in 2019.

In memory of Melrose as well as to commemorate CVSC’s founding fathers, Dr. Brewer and Newton made a tile dedication to the Stacie Lynn Uetz Recognition Wall at the Charles City Family YMCA. Proceeds from tile purchases go to benefit youth programs at the YMCA.

Before dying of Reyes Syndrome at the age of 10 in 1982, Stacey Lynn was an enthusiastic member at the YMCA.

Though that didn’t mark the end of the CVSC, the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic that pounded the world like a global avalanche essentially wiped the club out for good.

Recently, surviving club members including Drs. Brewer and North, Newton, Waldorf, Chuck LeMaster and Ron Noah recently purchased Recognition Wall titles.

“The club always had money put away to make reservations for future trips,” Newton said. “We purchased the tiles with the money we still had.”

Deceased former CVSC members in good standing include Melrose, Ken Crooks, Don Blongen, Tom Freeze and Joe Spence.

The Cedar Valley Ski Club also had a “California Chapter” consisting of Bill Ferrier, Ray Garcia, Allen Leno and Tom Witt who would convene in aforementioned places like Vail, Colorado after their westbound and eastbound treks.

They may have brought the veggie burgers and cobb salad, but it was the “Charles City Chapter” that brought the beef.