Carl Roth and I just returned from the December 13-14 CMSC opener at Ski Brule, near Iron River, Michigan. We encountered many old friends throughout the weekend, most of whom were naturally surprised to see Carl. A typical exchange would start with a "Glad you are back, Carl. So who all is racing from Champaign this year?"

"You are looking at both of them."

"Get out! You used to have... like 27 people out here... and they all used to come up in Garner's van."

"Yep, they've all hung it up or moved out. We heard the van just about died a few years back but found a second life hauling migrants to harvest hot spots. It still holds about 27. We'll try to recruit some new blood to the team."

"What ever happened to that short guy? Or the one with the funny hair whose daughters skied better than he did?"

It's sad, but true. The Champaign Ski Club racing empire once numbered legions and stretched from Mahomet to Danville, and from Rantucky to Hindsboro. It has since shrunk to a 3 block swath of northeast St. Joseph.

Champaign Ski Club – Midwestern Racing Opportunities