Cloquet Ski Club marks 50 years

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In 1961, ski jumping enthusiasts put up a makeshift ski slide on the newly acquired land given to them by the president of Northwest Paper Company of Cloquet. A group of skiers attending a work party on the landing site came up with the name “Pine Valley.”

A January jump meet in 1962 produced a long jump of 102 feet. Now the die was cast, but missing was a warming house, toilets, hot drinks, and a waxing site along with ski storage rooms. A letter written by myself (Coach Joe Nowak) to the Park Board caught the attention of Allen Spafford who inspired the owner of Heine Construction Company to join the cause. In October 1962, donators gave materials, laid cement blocks, built a kitchen, added toilets, and put on a strong roof that supported a fireplace chimney. In early December the cornerstone was cemented into the southwest corner of the chalet under the direction of Spafford, whose name was engraved into it.

In December 1962, 50 years ago, I called my skiers out to the new chalet and, using the Duluth Ski Club Constitution as a guide, we began what became a very successful skiing program in Cloquet, with a highly successful jumping program. In 15 years, school meet wins overflowed the trophy cases, while the club meets held across the Midwest produced wins every week, and many skiers excelled in the Junior Nationals held in Central, Eastern and Western United States and as far away as Alaska.

In 1975, we received a certificate that named the Cloquet High School ski team as the No. 1 ski team in the United States.

In later years, several skiers trained and competed with a number of Olympic teams.

~ Contributed by Joe Nowak

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