This year's WinterFest will kick off this Saturday, January 13. What will you do this winter? Will you ski like these people did 50 years ago this month?
The January 24, 1974 issue of The Romeo Observer displayed this photograph of four people from the Romeo High School (RHS) getting ready for a ski trip. They include Christine Rowley, faculty advisor; Jay Dixon and Denise Fisher, members of the RHS ski club; and Phyllis Pall, instructor and faculty advisor.
In the article entitled "Romeo, Ike High School Students Take To The Area Ski Slopes," writer Helen M. Bradley highlights both the Romeo and Eisenhower High Schools' ski clubs as they traverse the Pine Knob ski area (currently known as the Pine Knob Ski and Snowboard Resort) in Clarkston. On one hand, the Romeo one is "just for fun...it's purely social" according to Pall, who was the instructor and shared teaching and club-sponsoring responsibilities with Rowley. On the other hand, Eisenhower's is both fun and competitive because "skiing is a varsity sport and is included in the school's interscholastic team program competing in the Southeastern Michigan conference."
The RHS ski club had about 80 students interested and participating in the program. Meanwhile, the Eisenhower one contained between 80 and 250 active students seasonally.
Regardless of how and why students ski, they both always find a way to have a good time.
In addition, the RHS ski club is still going strong in 2024 under the name the Romeo High School Ski & Snowboard Club. You can find more information about the program at https://romeoski.weebly.com/.
To learn more about the Romeo High School and its history, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.
Source: The Romeo Observer, January 24, 1974, p.1-C