Collection Highlights-History

The Sun Valley Ski Pin was awarded for a specific level of sportsmanship. To get this pin, you must complete a run on Baldy from top to bottom without falling. Skiing on Baldy in the 1940s was as challenging as it is today and the mountain itself was a great teacher. You might have run into Olympians, Gretchen Fraser and Jeanette Burr Johnston skiing. There were some differences. There were fewer runs, and if you skied the Warm Springs side, you caught a bus back to the River Run lift. The River … [Read more...] about Sun Valley Ski Pin

Gretchen Fraser was the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in skiing. She was the first American to win a medal in the Winter Olympic Games. Commemorating her winning the gold, the Gretchen Fraser Olympic scrapbook has memorabilia related to the St. Moritz Winter Games and media attention that followed. It has newspaper articles, photographs, telegrams, and letters about her time there and documents her win-- the power and reverberations of the win. On the left side is the famous … [Read more...] about Gretchen Fraser Olympic Scrapbook

These polka dotted shoes were worn by Vuarnettes singer Cherie Kessler, aka Kitty Litter. An apres-ski music and comedy act, the Vuarnettes were a group of four singers and a backup band. This Ketchum homegrown group would create a theme each year, re-write lyrics to select pop music or classic rock songs. They produced their own shows. And with handmade costumes, they performed all winter. Some of the places they performed were the Creekside Restaurant in Warm Springs, the Boiler Room and Ore … [Read more...] about Kitty Litter’s Polka Dot Heels

Figure skating Olympian, Sonya Helen Klopfer [Dunfield], wore these ice skates when she performed at the 1952 Oslo Olympic Games. Representing the United States, Klopfer placed fourth. Klopfer and her teammates, Tenley Albright and Virginia Day Baxter, all made a powerful performance the 1952 Oslo Olympic Games. That year--Albright took the silver and Baxter placed fifth. Sonya went on to coaching fame. Marrying Peter Dunfield, figure skating champion and coach, the Dunfield's coached in New … [Read more...] about Oslo Olympic Games

New accession at the Wood River Museum of History and Culture of Kent Kreitler skis. Designed and built for Kreitler. The Troy Lee graphics on K2 prototype incorporate "Kreitler” name at the bottom are in old gothic typography. Kent Kreitler is a local Sun Valley extreme skiing legend, known for big mountain skiing and early work with Teton Gravity Research films. Kreitler is inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in March 2022. Wood River Museum of History and Culture, … [Read more...] about Troy Lee Design on K2 Prototype

This leather jacket was owned by Roberta Brass Garretson. She donned this jacket for the first Sun Valley Rodeo in 1937. Her family owned the Brass Ranch outside of Ketchum before they sold the land to Union Pacific for their new destination resort. Lyn Christenson Collection, Regional History Museum, 2018.01.01. … [Read more...] about Roberta Brass Leather Jacket