Skiing on Air

I still remember watching herky-jerky home movies of my great-uncles ski-jumping in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  I suspect the film was shot sometime right around World War II.  I have never been a ski-jumper (general clumsiness and a fear of heights preclude this) but I did have a passing acquaintance with the legendary Lloyd “Snowball” Severude of Chetek, Wisconsin, and I married into ski-jumping royalty (my stepfather-in-law’s brother jumped in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics).  So I’ve had a blast thumbing through the book described in this article.  I especially enjoyed reading about how my friend Frank (I’ve mentioned him in my books, and I wouldn’t be writing if it wasn’t for his early encouragement and intervention) used to watch the jumpers at Silver Mine Hill from the dining room window of his childhood home.  Your best bet to find the book is to contact the Chippewa Valley Museum.