In the beginning there was this valley that The Mad River flowed through…so it was called THE MAD RIVER VALLEY. Now not far out of Waitsfield and Irasville in South Fayston, there was a mountain named after GENERAL STARK (no relation to MACARTHUR OR EISENHOWER), where ROLAND PALMEDO, J. NEGLEY COOKE (nicknamed COOKIE), RUSSEL DOENCH, the entire SWARTZENBACH family and others thought it would make a wonderful downhill skiing area. So, MAD RIVER GLEN was founded and opened for the 1948 – 1949 ski season.
JEAN PEATMAN (at that time Miss Vermont) with the assistance of Base Box architect SANDY McILVAINE dressed as GENERAL STARK, cut the ribbon starting the single chair lift under the capable hands of GEORGE NEIL with GUY LIVINGSTON at the summit below THE STARK’S NEST ready to unload. Master chef and operator of The Base Box cafeteria was none other than TEX THOMPSON, while ARBOTT (Bud) — SKI WITH PHlLLlPS FOR FUN — PHlLLlPS directed the ski school. Teaching for Bud on 210’s (7′ 3″ skis) was founder of the shortee ski: CLIFF (ROYALE) TAYLOR loving every minute of it.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: ROYALES were not a drink but a turn executed on one ski with the other held high to the outside.
ALLEN CLARK, HAWLEY SLAYTON and BRUNO BROWN patrolled the slopes while HOWARD MOODY managed The Mad River Glen Ski area.
The closest lodge accommodations to the mountain at that time was about a mile down the road to THE MAD RIVER BARN whose proprietors were JACK WOODHULL and GIFF AGNEW. Only a snowball’s throw from the barn you’d find CHARLIE TAYLOR strumming his guitar in his lodge BIRCHLUFF [later Garrison and Mad River Lodge]. Round a few corners on Rte 17 painted red and always ready for guests was ALLEN and NANCY CLARK’S place: What else? THE CLARK’S [later Mountain View and Griff Inn].
The covered bridge to German Flats road beyond was where SEWALL, ANN, and ARTHUR WILLIAMS ran ULLA LODGE with the silo that read “STARK MAD HOUSE.” Now only a quarter mile away was the only inn with a ski tow owned and operated by FRANNY and ANN MARTIN [TUCKER HILL LODGE]. It was here that the annual winter carnival was held and Torch Light Parade. THE PERKINS run by HENRY AND GINNY PERKINS just beyond the Fayston School [later Millbrook Inn and Swanson Inn].
Bud’s nightclub, THE DIPSY DOODLE [later China Barn and Bongiorno’s] where Bud, his instructors, ski bums and lodge owners acted out The Peony Tree and Cigareets and Whiskey and Wild Wild Women and a hell of a lot more. This air conditioned barn with the coldest outhouse in the state was a BYOB and fire-extinguisher after-ski retreat. Even though THE DIPSY DOODLE was the only nightclub (so called) in The Mad River Valley at that time, we did have a tea room (of sorts): PIDGEON HOLLOW, run by a large gypsie ROSALBA JOY who often read your fortune in the sediment of her powerful tea leaves. One of the oldest lodges at that time was OTTO and ELSIE BECHER’S BECKERIDGE [Featherbed Inn today] and let’s not forget VAUGHN DREWS’ PITCHER INN and CLARENCE and CHARLOTTE TUCKER’S VALLEY SKI LODGE and we even had a diner on the corner of Route 100 run by HOWARD and BETTY MUNN: THE GATEWAY DINER [later Moose Lips, Mad Mountain Tavern and Local Folk Smokehouse].
An excellent team of three doctors: PEDLEY, HYDE and FRENCH handled ski injuries at the area while NED and SHIRLEY DOOTIE ran SIG BUCHMAYR’S SKI SHOP for the area. In the town of Wa:itsfield, IRENE SMITH was post mistress. CHARLIE LOVETT loved to cut hair.
Forgive us if we’ve missed someone else of importance. So that’s what we remember the valley to be like back IN THE·BEGINNING or THE EARLY YEARS.
— Ulla Lodge, Mr. and Mrs. H. Sewall Williams, Proprietors
