Always reaching further

BRATTLEBORO >> The Harris Hill Ski Jump has been growing, changing and evolving from the very first year it opened way back in 1922.

Construction on the steep hillside that rises off of Cedar Street started the year before when Fred Harris and a small crew of workers set out with hand tools and planks of wood to build a ski jump where athletes could launch out above the winter landscape.

Those ski jumpers used wooden skis with leather bindings, and they kept warm with thick and heavy wool pants and sweaters, bearing very little resemblance to the high-tech, aerodynamic jumpers of today.

The facility, and the sport, have come a long way in the past 93 years.

"My father was born in 1887 and I think he would fall over if he saw all this new technology and the improvements and changes," Fred Harris' daughter Sandy Harris said. "In his heart he would be overjoyed and amazed to think that this is still going on, and that his vision of over 90 years ago is still going strong in his birth place and community."

The gates will open for 2015 Harris Hill Ski Jumping Competition at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 14, with the first trial jumpers launching at 11 a.m. and opening ceremonies scheduled for 12:15 p.m.

Over the next two days some of the best ski jumpers in the world will compete in the International Ski Federation sanctioned event.

Over the past 93 years the facility has seen constant upgrades as the sport has demanded more from the jumpers.

Fred Harris, a native of Brattleboro, helped build the first jump at a cost of $2,200. It opened in 1922 and by 1924 improvements were made to the jump to improve the structure.

Dana Sprague, a local historian who has been documenting the advancements at Harris Hill, said the structure required almost constant upgrades, and he said Fred Harris was the perfect leader who poured his heart and soul into making sure the ski jump was ready to go for the annual competition.

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Always reaching further