By Kelley Moulton, Regional History Librarian
It is once again time for the Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, hosted by the Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History at The Community Library. Two previous inductees grace this image, Leif Odmark who was inducted in 2010 and Janette Burr Johnson from the Class of 2011.
Both longtime Wood River Valley residents who were well known for their skiing contributions. Swedish born Odmark or as some might have known him “Mr. Sun Valley”, was a very prominent cross-country skier and founded the Sun Valley Nordic Ski School/Touring Center in 1970. Johnson, who was named to the 1952 Olympic Ski Team, would compete on the world ski stage across Europe and the United States before becoming a ski instructor at Sun Valley in the 1960s. In this image, Odmark and Johnson are working out a stunt on Bald Mountain for the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour in 1958. The two would act as stunt doubles for Lucille Ball and Fernando Lamas as their characters slide down the mountain.
The Induction Ceremony for the Class of 2023 will be held in the John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall at The Community Library at 6 p.m. on December 7th, 2023. Registration is required for this event and registration information can be found at www.comlib.org. If you are unable to attend, the ceremony will also be livestreamed and recorded. A reception will follow at 7 p.m. at The Wood River Museum of History and Culture and is open to the public.
Note this story was originally published in November of 2023 in the Idaho Mountain Express.
