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Transcription from Webpage of the Michigan Upper Peninsula
Mining Journal, Apr. 29, 2006

MARQUETTE - Being elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame didn't really sink in for Hilary Lindh until she reached the Upper Peninsula.

"I didn't give it a lot of thought until I got here," the 1992 Olympic silver medalist said before the induction ceremony in Marquette Friday. "Of course, it 's a great honor, and I think even more so because I think of all of the other people who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. To be included with people that have had a big hand in developing the sport is probably the biggest thing."

Joining Lindh in the Hall of Fame Class of 2005 were David "Darcy" Brown, called the "Patriarch of Aspen (Colo.)" ; Walter Foeger, the creator of an instruction technique known as the Natur Teknik, which some critics said had his students bouncing around like kangaroos; and Erich Sailer, the "Yoda" of ski coaching, who turned the flat countryside of Minnesota into a hotbed of skiing talent.

With the four additions, the Ski Hall of Fame has bolstered its number of honorees to 346 since its first class - in 1956.

"I grew up in a little, tiny ski area in southeastern Alaska, it's probably smaller than Marquette Mountain... so I'm used to people who are very enthusiastic about the sport in small towns," Lindh said. "I think that's what it's all about."

During her speech, Lindh told the packed UpFront and Company banquet hall that the small town of Ishpeming is an "excellent place for the Ski Hall of Fame."

Lindh, 36, was the youngest inductee of the evening. She ended at the top in 1997 when she retired as the world titlist.

Brown, at 93, was the oldest inductee. As an original investor in the Aspen Ski Corporation, he helped build a fledgling company of 25 into one of the world-class skiing areas in the United States.

He credited being in the right place at the right time for the success, but also said he had good help.

"You have to have the right people," he said during his speech. "We were most fortunate to have great people, young people for whom skiing was more than a job, it was a way of life."

Brown concentrated on building great places to ski, leaving the resort building to others. Aspen was the first ski area to surpass 1 million visitors annually.

Transcription from Webpage of the Michigan Upper Peninsula
Mining Journal, Apr. 29, 2006

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