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The 1950s

Kings Hill

Every photograph in the archive from the 1950s, oldest first. In this decade the ski area was called Kings Hill. Dated frames here run 1950–1959, and 65 more carry the decade but not a year.

The rope-tow years ended in this decade. Ski Lift, Inc. was formed in 1956 — a shareholders' company, with Dr. Earl Hall as its president — and it spent its first winter putting in the machine that changed the mountain: a Poma B-20 platter lift, 3,400 feet long and 971 feet of rise, running to the top of Porphyry Peak. It opened on the weekend of 26–27 January 1957. A 1,600-foot rope tow went in the same year to serve a new intermediate area called the Meadows.

Around the lifts, the ski area became a place with a season rather than a hill with a rope on it. The lodge stopped being a shelter. A groomer — a Bradley — appeared. Great Falls High School skiers were a fixture, and in April 1955 Montana Parade gave a whole issue to skiing in Montana. A Sun Valley professional came to run the ski school and stayed two and a half winters.

115 photographs10 years represented8 collections

1950

1 photograph
1950 Older kids guiding younger kid learning how to ski near lodge

1951

18 photographs
1951 Will Reynolds, Lois Reynolds, Earl Tucker, Bill Casey — Friends in a snow storm
1951 2 bears in the forest
1951 3 Men Surveying for new lift tow
1951 3 Men Surveying for new lift tow2
1951 3 Skiers at base
1951 Cliff Rumford — Racing by a gate
1951 Group of people near lodge, one keeping score
1951 Jack Throckmorton — Skiing in a skeleton costume
1951 Jack Throckmorton — Wearing hula attire next to a giant snowman
1951 Jan Throckmorton — Sitting with a giant snowman
1951 Kid dressed up with mustache and monkey near lodge
1951 Lois Reynolds — Bottom of the Bovey Rope Tow — wife of Bill Reynolds - ski club president
1951 Lydia Nettles sitting in front of the lodge
1951 Man skiing near lodge
1951 Sheryl Throckmorton — on Skis
1951 Sweeping th lodge deck
1951 Two women summer skiing
1951 The Lodge — Woman in front of the lodge door

1952

8 photographs
1952 5 men preparing to pour cement
1952 Bill Bryant, Bernadine Farago — Pouring Concrete
1952 Cliff Rumford Somersault
1952 Creating rope tow
1952 Installing Rope Tow Engine a Minneapolis-Moline
1952 Jim Hitson, Bill Bryant and two others pouring concrete
1952 Men Pouring cement with 2 trucks
1952 Working on building foundation

1953

1 photograph
1953 Warming Hut

1954

2 photographs
1954 Line near Bovey Rope Tow
1954 Nancy Cory

1955

2 photographs
1955 Cars in Parking Lot
1955 Jack Throckmorton, Jan Throckmorton, Howard Farley — News article in the Great Falls Tribune

1956

3 photographs
1956 The Hall-O — Pre-season from the base
1956 "Stub" — Neihart — Gassing up
1956 Ray Ozmon scenic winter scene - Donated by Ray Ozmon

1957

1 photograph
1957 Kids Skiing

1958

10 photographs
1958 - Nancy Cory
1958 Nancy Cory, Marcia Cory
1958 Nancy Cory, Marcia Cory, Sally Wiseman, Gayle Cory — Young skier girls
1958 Nancy Cory, Marcia Cory, Sally Wiseman, Gayle Cory
1958 Lodge, Rope Tow, Poma - Ray Ozmon Photo
1958 Pomalift and Skier- Ray Ozmon Photo
1958 Nancy Cory, Marcia Cory — Bored kids hanging out while men cut the trees
1958 The Hall-O — Skiers waiting for the Poma Lift
1958 Skier jumping
1958 The T-Bar

1959

4 photographs
1959 Nancy Cory, Marcia Cory — Girls dressed up on "Fun Day"
1959 Kinderhorn in October
1959 Lee Robinson — Ski class
1959 Man on Skis

Somewhere in the 1950s

65 photographs carrying the decade but not a year
1950's Earl Hall with Pipe
1950's Earl Hall? Woman
1950's King;s Hill Pass Sign
1950's Man on Rope Tow
1950's Man with Car at King's Hill
1950's Unknown man on Bovey Headwall
1950's Woman
1950s Warming Hut
1950s Warming Hut
1950's Clary Cory second from the left. — Ski school with Clary Cory
1950s 3MenScoping
1950s Big Crowd in front of lodge
1950s Bill "Willi" Reynolds, Harlan Cory Cutting Trees
1950s Bill Reynolds, Jim Hitson — Bill Reynolds in white, Jim Hitson on the right
1950s Bovey Motor Shack with 2 men skiing
1950s Bovey Slope Rope Tow
1950s Cartoon newspaper clipping
1950s Dr. Earl Hall — and group of men
1950s Dr. Lester Howard — on the Rope Tow with the Lodge in the background
1950s Earl Hall on the Hall-o
1950s Getting ready to ski with kids
1950s Group of Skiers near the bottom of the tow rope
1950s Group of Skiers near the bottom of the tow rope-back
1950s Harlan and Clary Cory
1950s Kid smiling with lodge in back
1950s Kids Learning how to ski
1950s Learning to ski
1950s Lodge with People
1950s Long Jump near Showdown
1950s Rope Tow — With the lodge in the Background
1950s O'Biren Cross Country Skiers
1950s Outhouse
1950s Pat Chapman on Prentice Run
1950s Prentice Run — Skiiers jumping
1950s People:Life
1950s Prentice Run
1950s Rope Tow Building at top?
1950s Routing new runs
1950s shot of base area
1950s Skiers on tow rope with lodge in back
1950s Skiers Walking Up
1950s Strapping at Kings Hill Pass on Highway 89
1950s Top of Bovey Slope
1950s Top of Hall-o
1950s Top Tow Lift Building
1950s Tow Rope Motor House
1950s Tow Rope through trees
1950s View of Little Belts from near top of mountain
1950s view of the lodge
1950s Wallace and Muriel Buckley
1950s Woman with Car
1950s? Family Car with Ski rack
1950s? Harlan Cory
1950s? King's Hill Ski School - OLD TOW TICKET
1950s? Leo Beaulaurienr at King's Hill
1950s? Porphyry Peak 2
1950s? Porphyry Peak 3
1950s? Porphyry Peak 4
1950s? Porphyry Peak Fire Lookout
1950s? Porphyry Peak Fire Lookout Les Howard
1950s? Porphyry Peak Les Howard
1950s? Rope Tow?
1950s? Toboggan Leo Beaulaurier
1950s Clary Cory — Old car with a ski rack
1950s Looking up the Hall-o
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