*THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED* We will attempt to reschedule for later in 2020.
Join lawyer, historian and author John W. Lundin for a presentation on Averell Harriman’s role in developing Sun Valley, using the resources of the Union Pacific Railroad, ski tournaments and famous skiers, to make the resort the country’s center of skiing and an international destination after it opened in the remote mountains of Idaho in December 1936. The presentation uses historic photographs from The Community Library, Engen family, and the Mariotte Library at the University of Utah.
Harriman was single handedly responsible for developing Sun Valley into the country’s first destination ski resort, as a way to restore rail passenger traffic that had been decimated by the Great Depression. Harriman hired some of the best skiers to work at Sun Valley, including Alf Engen, one of the best known, skiers during the 1930s and 1940s. Engen is closely associated with Utah, best remembered for being the director of the Alta, Utah, ski school from 1948 until 1989. However, he played an important role in Sun Valley’s early days, a story that is virtually unknown these days.
John W. Lundin has written and lectured extensively about Wood River Valley history, inspired by his great-grandparents Matthew and Isabelle Campbell McFall who moved to Bellevue, Idaho, in 1881, and were early pioneers of the area. John’s first book, Early Skiing on Snoqualmie Pass, was named outstanding regional ski history book in 2018 by the International Ski History Association. He has two books that will be published in summer 2020: Skiing Sun Valley, A History from the Union Pacific to the Holdings, by History Press; and Sun Valley, Ketchum and the Wood River Valley, an Images of America series book, by Arcadia Press.
During his presentation, John will also present a preview of his two books that will be published later this year: Sun Valley, Ketchum and the Wood River Valley, an Images of America book to be published by Arcadia press in summer 2020; and Skiing Sun Valley, a History from Union Pacific to the Holdings, to be published by History Press in fall 2020. John is donating his profits from both books to the Center for Regional History at The Community Library.
