Stowe Country Club History - 1948 to 2006

Compiled By

 Lynn P. Altadonna

Stowe, Vermont

Version 06.V2

March 23, 2006

Authors Note: This document is a work in progress.  Several pictures are temporary.  An update is planned to be produced in June 2006.  The complete document with the references will be on file with the Stowe Historical Society.  Should the Reader have information to share, please contact Lynn Altadonna at 802 253-9006 or alta@stoweaccess.com.  To download a PDF version of "The History of Golf in Stowe", click here.

Introduction

For 150 years, Vermont’s Green Mountains attracted summer visitors to hike in the natural beauty of the mountains or relax on a broad hotel veranda.  In those early days Stowe, with the gift of lofty Mount Mansfield, hosted summer travelers in the village hotels or in the 1880s Summit House on the mountain.  Then, in the 1930s, Austrians (Sepp Ruschp, Frank Springer-Miller, the Family Von Trapp) came to Stowe, bringing a winter sports tradition and enthusiasm for the outdoors.  The Civilian Conservation Corps cut the first ski trails on the mountain.  Skiing quickly became a glamour winter sport, drawing high-energy people from around the world to enjoy the “Ski Capital of the East”.   The hospitality business in Stowe exploded to provide accommodations and comforts for these winter visitors.

By 1950, the hotel space created for the winter crowds exceeded the needs for summer visitors.    Stowe’s hospitality community looked to golf as a means to draw more summer visitors into their lodges and restaurants. This paper is a salute to those business leaders, their golf courses and the golfing legacy that has endured into the 21^st century.  Today Stowe residents, Canadian and American tourists and a growing retirement contingent enjoy the year-round skiing/golfing routine created by those community leaders.  We remain grateful for their courage and investment in Stowe’s four seasons of fun.

Acknowledgements 

This document is an initial attempt to capture the history of golf in Stowe.  The original will be on file with the Stowe Historical Society.  As more information becomes available, the document and file will be changed to include the new material.  Should the reader have information to share, please contact Lynn P. Altadonna (802) 253-9006

Many people have provided materials, contacts and verbal descriptions that are the basis of this document.  I thank all of them.

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The Origin of Stowe Country Club	Club Professionals	Club Superintendents	References