Ted Cogswell

It was his idea: he and George Willett bought the hill in April 1973

Legend of Showdown

Born: 21 September 1933, Great Falls
First skied at Showdown
First worked here: co-purchaser of the ski area, April 1973
Years at Showdown: 1973–2019
Positions: Co-purchaser of the Kings Hill ski area, with George Willett, April 1973
Co-owner of Showdown, with George Willett, 1973–2019
President, Ski Lift, Inc., re-elected April 1976

What they did

12 entries

Early 1973Put it to George Willett, out of the blue: why don't we buy that place? A week or two later he asked again, and the two of them wrote up an offer
March 1973With George Willett, offered to buy the stock of Ski Lift, Inc., the company that ran Kings Hill, on condition that holders of at least seventy percent accepted
3 April 1973Confirmed the purchase to the Great Falls Tribune: he and George Willett held 83 percent of the stock
April 1973Told the Tribune the new owners would keep the lifts going for spring skiing as long as they could, and improve the area over the next four years
Easter 1973Thanked by name, with George Willett, in a Helena couple's letter to the Tribune for keeping the lifts running on Easter Saturday and Sunday
May 1973Said he and George Willett now owned more than 90 percent of the stock of Ski Lift, Inc.
25 October 1973With George Willett, renamed the ski area Showdown
April 1976Re-elected president of Ski Lift, Inc. at its stockholders' meeting
5 November 1979With George Willett and Tom Sparby, made the case for a ski day in Great Falls sixth-grade physical education; the school trustees voted it in, 4 to 2
September 1997Still George Willett's partner in the Showdown operation, the Great Falls Tribune reported
November 2007Still George Willett's partner: no hand in the day-to-day running, George told Ski Area Management, but a lot of good advice
For years spent his winter weekends skiing at Showdown with his friends and family