Hawthorne
College
Antrim, NH
Late 1960's-c1979
Many thanks to Ken Leong, who lives and works at this former area! Here are his details:
"There used to be a rope tow at what was Hawthorne College in Antrim, NH. I believe it hasn't been running in at least 12 years. The college is now Maharishi Vedic School where I live and work. Occasionally Hawthorne College alumni will stop by for a visit, and once I spoke with a man who remembered riding the car motor-powered rope tow over and over to ski the slope behind Scarborough Hall, the highest dorm on the property. You can still see where the rope tow went up, and some of the old poles that guided the rope on the way down are still standing amongst the trees. The slope itself has been reclaimed by the forest, but the rope tow upward path is still clear and makes a kind of chute through the trees. I skinned up and skied it straightline yesterday in 4 inches of new fluff.
The slope is very near the site of a new construction in progress. This unique structure has been designed according to the principles of Maharishi Sthapatya Veda, the science of architecture from the ancient Vedic tradition that provides orientation, placement and proportion of the building in harmony with Natural Law. We expect many visitors after completion of the building, so no doubt many more people will see the old Hawthorne College ski slope."
Neat story!
David Lindsey has some more info: I attended from 1984-1988. The school was founded in 1962. I believe the trail was cleared in the late Sixties in order to increase attendance. Another reason was that Franklin Pierce College, one of our biggest rivals in sports had one, so we made one. Terraserver does not have any map (topo or aerial) of the area. The color photo at the Hawthorne site shows some of the hill. It is in the lower left hand corner running from left to right behind the building (Scarborough Hall). http://hawthornecollege.tripod.com/photos34.htm The "grapevine" says the last year that the tow rope ran was 78-79. Apparently the motor blew up and with the school always in financial trouble, it was never repaired. Up until 1988 you could still ski / sled the "rope tow trail". Most people would slip dinner trays from the cafeteria under their coats on the way out from dinner. After a few liquid "motivators" we would climb to the top of the hill, slalom thru the saplings, then climb back up. The director of food services would have to go out there once a week to gather up the trays that were left behind! My guess is that Ken could probably still find some of those out in the woods.
If anybody else remembers this area and has more info, just let us know.