Charlie Beebe was an original—determined, colorful opinionated and totally dedicated to the growth of skiing. He started his Temple Mountain Ski Area in New Hampshire in 1937 with a 1,000-foot rope tow, but his interest in the sport went back to 1927 when he took it up while attending Bowdoin College in Maine. His active involvement in ski area operations continued until he was almost 80. He died in February at 91.
Charlie was a doer, whose influence was widely felt as a result of his work as long-time president of the New England Rope Tow Owners Association and the New England Ski Area Council. Indeed, his name shows up prominently as one of the participants on the original B77 Committee that started work on a lift standard in 1957. (See history on page 32.)
It was on the firm foundations built by pioneers like Charlie Beebe that our industry has grown to what it is today.
—A SAM editorial
