U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame & Museum

Ishpeming is the birthplace of U.S. ski-jumping, introduced by Scandinavian iron miners. Their Norden Ski Club, formed in 1887, held the first ski jumping contests, and in 1905 its successor, the Ishpeming Ski Club, met with other ski clubs to establish the National Ski Association, now known as the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association.

To draw attention to Ishpeming's hallowed role in the sport, the local ski club started the hall of fame and museum in 1956. When it was able to build a new museum, it designed the roof to resemble a ski jump - a welcome landmark on the U.S. 41 commercial strip outside town. Admission is now free.

The Great Hall (underneath the swooping roof) houses the Hall of Fame. Interesting biographies of Hall of Famers reflect the far less commercial era of skiing before the 1960s and 1970s. Ishpeming's famous Flying Bietila brothers taught each other to ski on homemade backyard ski jumps and achieved excellence in fraternal compeition. Short bios of recent inductees can be read at www.skihall.com

In the small theater, visitors see a 20-minute video about ski history, going back to prehistoric and medieval times. Interested visitors can ask the friendly, helpful staff to see other videos from the listed collection of over 500 videos, including ski movies, Olympic competitions, and the 1989 ski-flying competition held in Ironwood - many people's only chance to get a look at that daring sport. If it's a bad-weather day and you have an hour to kill, see Winter Wonderland, Bill Jamerson's outstanding documentary on skiing and Michigan - a fine piece of social history, covering both the homemade jumps of poor mining kids and the upper-middle class ski resorts. It can also be purchased at the gift shop. The museum's ski research library is one of the largest in the U.S. The annual Hall of Fame induction is "a gala affair," we're told.

Museum exhibits tell the story of how downhill skiing developed from a minor sport brought to the U.S. by Scandinavians. The 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, generated American interest in skiing. In World War II the 10th Mountain Division U.S. ski assault team attracted national attention. It included many Upper Peninsula men. Hollywood stars at the glamorous ski resort of Sun Valley, Idaho, also spotlighted skiing in the 1940s and 1950s. Many returning soldier-skiers became resort managers when recreational skiing took off. A key to growth was Michigander Everett Kirchner's artificial snowmaking machine, first used at his Boyne Mountain resort. The display about disabled skiers is especially interesting. Visitors who are into contemporary ski racing won't find much of interest in the exhibit area.

In addition to souvenirs and jewelry, the gift shop has posters of cross-country skiing and ski jumping and some videos. The Winter Wonderland video documentary about Michigan Nordic and Alpine ski history makes a great gift for history-minded Alpine and cross-country skiers.

On U.S. 41 between 2nd and 3rd about a mile west of Teal Lake. (906) 485-6323. www.skihall.com Open year-round, Mon-Sat 10-5. Closed major winter holidays. Free admission. Handicap accessible.

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