|
 |
by John M. Nolan excerpt from the souvenir booklet for the 1985 Canadian Junior Championships
In 1929 a group of Norwegians who had emigrated to Canada joined together to form one of Canada's most enduring institutions in cross country skiing: the Viking Ski Club. The founding members were primarily ski jumpers, including Karl Baadsvick who was soon to become a Canadian national champion. In those days, local and even national skiing events were held in downtown Montreal. Like the recent Canadian Championships, the `83 Shell Cup, the
site of major skiing events was Mount Royal and the old
wooden ski Jump on Cote des Neiges was used for the jumping
and combined skiing events. The Viking Club was strong
in both jumping and combined and dominated the local competition
for many years.
The president filing this report was none other than the Viking Club's honorary member and the father of cross country skiing in North America, Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen. Jackrabbit, besides being an effective administrator was also a competitive skier. When the Club held its first Viking Veteran Ski Cup, Jackrabbit skied away with the first prize. The year was 1936 and the event was held in Shawbridge where the club had constructed a ski jump on the west side of the village. If you know where to look you can still make out the outline of what remains of the jump today.
But for some reason, perhaps as someone has suggested the problem was with the profile of the Shawbridge ski jump, the Vikings moved to Ste. Marguerite. They rented a ski lodge in the area and constructed a ski jump on a hill near the Alpine Inn. The new jump must have pleased them because they remained in the area until the Second World War. The war put a stop to the Club's activities for a few years. After the war the Club resumed activities in the Christieville area operating out of a rented cottage. Members were soon at work on the construction of yet another ski jump with the help of Club president Aleksander Olsen who was able to make a large contribution to its development.
It was around this time, the mid forties, when cross country
skiing began to absorb the interest of the Viking skiers
and they soon had a North American Champion among their
ranks. He was a Swedish native who came to Canada when
he was twenty one years old. His name was Jack Wahlberg,
a powerful competitor who at 80 years of age today continues
one of the longest winning streaks in the world of sports.
For the past 65 years he has won an award every year in
either running or cross country skiing. He skis with such efficiency even seasoned skiers less than half his age have trouble keeping up with him. "I don't move like an old man and that's partly thanks to the exercise I do", says Jack, who skis about 1,500 km every winter and paddles around in his racing kayak in the summer.
Tour
skiing became very popular with Vikings in the early fifties
and you can still find come of the old trail markers in
the woods. Ski jumping remained an important club activity
and in 1953 the jump in Christieville was abandoned and
a new jump was built near the Bellevue Hotel in Morin Heights.
The Morin Heights Ski Club amalgamated with the Viking
Ski Club and the members worked together to develop and
maintain the Clover Leaf trail.
Toward the end of the 1950's the Club's involvement in ski jumping diminished until finally in the 61/62 season it was dropped as a Club activity. It didn't stop Ulf Kvendbo from successfully representing the club in ski jumping between 1965 and 1972. His successes included winning a Canadian Championships event and several international meets. Sam Stallard, Rolf Ellingsen and Robert Weiler purchased property in the Morin Heights area around this time and began cutting cross country ski trails. Gradually, the Club's activities were transferred from the Clover Leaf trails to these new trails on the Jackson Road.
The
late Fifties was also the period when the Viking Ski Club
began importing and selling cross country skiing equipment.
The venture was started by Sam Stallard, Robert Weiler, and
Gösta Edvardsson to fill the needs of members who found
it difficult to purchase good equipment from Finland and
Sweden and eventually began selling to the general public,
The business grew each year until it became the Club's main
source of income.
In 1968 under club president Robert Weiler a racing trail was
laid out. It was a successful trail and two years later,
with Jan Nordström at the head, the club organized the
Canadian Cross Country and Nordic Championships on this trail.
Viking's Irene Jensen won the Ladies 10 km event and Leo
Lehtonen won the l5km and 30k veteran championships.
To
celebrate Canada's birthday in 1967 the Centennial Marathon
Ski Tour was staged. It was a three day touring race from
Pointe Claire to Ottawa. Four hundred skiers participated
and the event was won by Viking's Günter Veeser. This event
has become the Canadian Ski Marathon, a two day event on
a 160 km trail between Lachute and Ottawa which attracts
over 4,000 skiers from around the world.
Jan Hansen initiated the Club's most popular citizen's race in 1972, the Smith-Johannsen Loppet. Named in honour of Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen who has been the traditional starter of the race, it has consistently attracted the best citizen racers from Quebec and Ontario.
O>ne of the longest races in the world, the Laurentian Loppet, a 75km event, was started in 1979 under Jan Nordström. Aided by club president Malcolm Adams (1976-80) and Smith-Johannsen Loppet's race director, Judy Adams, Jan staged the longest one-day cross country race in Canada. It has since become an annual event (Viking Loppet), now shortened to 46km.
The
most potent force in the Viking Ski Club's involvement in
cross country racing has come from the initiative of past
President, Skip Sheldon (1973-1976). Skip, a well-known and
respected figure in cross country skiing across Canada, besides
promoting racing locally, was also involved at the national
level. He was Chairman of the Canadian Ski Association's
Cross Country section for many years. In 1974 he took Bert
Bullock, Sue Holloway and Ester Miller to France for the
European Junior Championships. Skip Sheldon was responsible
for starting the Junior Racing Program in the early seventies. Viking presidents When Viking resumed its activities after WWII, it gave itself a charter and an organization, with a board of directors and a president. During the years Viking was based in Christieville, its presidents were: - Aleksander Olsen (1946 - 1948) It was under the presidency of Bjarne Kvendbo that Viking moved its operations from Christieville to Morin-Heights when it built its ski jump near the Bellevue Hotel. Those years saw the growth of ski touring as Viking Ski Club merged with the Morin-Heights Ski Club and started developing its ski trails. The presidents for that period were: - Albert Basler (1954 - 1956) The early sixties saw Viking abandon ski jumping as club activity, buy land and build the present clubhouse. The sale of skis was also abandoned as the industry was able to supply the market and Viking became what it still is, a ski club oriented towards cross-country skiing. The presidents since the mid-sixties have been: - Robert Weiler (1964 - 1967) |
