Snowbirds Deke and Carol Morrison are taking a short break from the sun and warmth of Florida to return to Old Forge to serve as the king and queen of the Winter Carnival set for Friday through Sunday, February 15 to 17.
In spite of their long association with the local Polar Bear Ski Club and their assistance at the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Morrisons said they were surprised and honored to be asked to serve as the 2013 carnival royalty.
The Morrisons have lived in Old Forge since moving from New Jersey in 1968 with their four children, whose ages at the time were, Chris, 4, Lisa, 6, Tim, 8, and Steve,10.
“Skiing was one of the reasons we moved here. We got the kids into skiing and into the Polar Bear Ski program immediately. They earned their ski patches right in the beginning,” Deke said.
During their early years, Carol taught sewing in the Home Economics class at Town of Webb School and Deke, an airline pilot with US Air, commuted to New Jersey for his flights.
But despite their busy work schedules they always made themselves available to help out at the Polar Bear races. Deke eventually became Race Chairman at the events.
“During that time period we did hand timing with stop watches,” he said.
“It was very elemental—with pencils, etc.,” said Carol, who also helped with the timing. Continue reading