By Marianne Christy
The Old Forge Winter Carnival Committee has announced that Stuart and MaryAnn Nelson of Old Forge have been selected as King and Queen of Winter Carnival which will take place at McCauley Mountain over the weekend of February 13, 14 and 15.
As parents of three former Town of Webb School and Polar Bear Ski Club racers, the Nelsons’ selection was based on their past contributions to the ski club and their investment in time with youth winter sports programming.
Like many local young people, the Nelsons’ children—Kim, Rich and Kristen—grew up on skis. Their love and skill of the sport was honed by familial connection.
As a youngster, Stuart learned to ski from his father, the late Alfred Nelson.
A Norwegian who along with his wife Frieda settled and raised a family in Eagle Bay, Alfred enjoyed skiing and skating in his native city of Oslo.
His passion of the sports continued following his move to the Adirondacks.
Stuart recalls his dad skiing with legendary Max Bolli, a Swiss-born ski instructor hired to teach students at Maple Ridge in the late 1930’s.
Though Stuart did not ski competitively, he has fond memories of skiing a trail he and friends blazed on Eagle Cliff.
“We didn’t have fancy equipment back then. All skis were the same…with the old cable bindings that had straps like snowshoes,” he said.
Stuart shared his expertise with MaryAnn Lum, a waitress at the Toboggan Inn (now The Inn at Eagle Bay) who decided to stay in the area following her high school graduation.
Their first date was in the winter of 1961 at Maple Ridge where he taught her to ski.
They married in 1963 and continued to ski Maple Ridge and McCauley Mountain as a couple, and then as a family when the kids came along.
The Nelson family also enjoyed cross-country skiing, participating in post-Sunday church outings with other couples and families.
They skied regularly until Stuart’s leg was injured in a 1980 accident.
Despite the injury however, they continued to support their children’s Polar Bear Ski Club and TOW School competitions.
The late Kim was a cross-country skier, while Rich and Kristen raced on the alpine teams.
The Nelsons extended a tremendous amount of gratitude to the Polar Bears for its support of their kids, especially Rich who skied many of the Eastern races as a high schooler—never losing a single race in his senior year.
Now a local contractor, Rich still skis at McCauley whenever he has a chance.
Kristen (Drew) is a ninth grade biology and physics teacher at Gould Academy of Bethel, ME, a ski prep school where skiing is a daily part of the curriculum.
She and her husband Ian are long-time ski intructors at Sunny River Ski Area.
And that’s where the Nelson family legacy continues as the couple’s three children John, Kim and Lily—who were also raised on skis—learned to ski and race competitively.
“Skiing has been such a big part of our family life, so it’s a tremendous honor to be asked to serve as this year’s Carnival king and queen,” MaryAnn said.