Vote for Skjersaa Rd. TODAY!

Friends,

Thanks so much for your initial support of the effort to name of Forest Service Road 40/45. Apparently, Anna Johnson at Deschutes County was flooded with messages.

According to Anna, the Board of Commissioners will be voting tomorrow afternoon on the new name for the Sunriver-Mt. Bachelor connector road.

My plan is to show up at the board meeting with a stack of email messages from those who support naming 40/45 "Skjersaa Rd." Again, here's the rationale:

No other single family has contributed more to the development of skiing as an industry in Central Oregon than the Skjersaas: Nils, Edna, Olaf, Grace, Karol, Terry, Karen, Greta, Terry Jr., Mike, Kandi, Hans - all of these members of the Skjersaa family were/are accomplished skiers, ski industry pioneers, and visionaries who enabled the development of Mt. Bachelor and the ski industry as we know it today in Deschutes County. Most of them still call Central Oregon home. I can't think of a more fitting name for this road.

• Nils skied and work side-by-side with Emil Nordeen, the two finishing first and second in the earliest cross-country ski races in Oregon. Nils wife Edna was a pioneering female athlete and early Skyliners member. (Their children were also Skyliners, and some of them still live here.)

• Olaf was a champion skier. He and his wife Grace built and operated the first ski shop at Mt. Bachelor (the old Egan Lodge, which was torn down a few years ago). Olaf and Grace then opened Bend's first ski shop on Greenwood, across the street from Pilot Butte Drive-In.

• Terry was an Olympic hopeful before a dramatic injury ended his racing career. He and his wife Judy owned and operated Skjersaa's Ski Shop on Century Dr. until 1996.

• Karol, Greta and Karen all raced for the Skyliners. Greta lives in Central Oregon.

• Terry Jr. was a top telemark ski racer and representative for ski and apparel lines for years. He lives in Bend.

• Mike and Kandi raced for their high schools in Bend.

• Hans produces action sports videos and lives in Bend.

Greta Skjersaa is my mother, Olaf and Grace Skjersaa are my grandparents, Nils Skjersaa is my great uncle, Terry and Judy are my uncle and aunt, Karen and Karol are my aunts, and Terry Jr., Mike, Kandi and Hans and are my cousins.

Not only is this a matter of family pride, but it's also one of my passion projects - documenting the history of the Skyliners Ski Club and the ski pioneers of Central Oregon. I have lots of background info and research if you're interested.

So . . . would please email me with a brief statement voicing your support for Skjersaa Rd.?

Please feel free to circulate this to anyone who might also want to help us shape history.

-Harold Olaf (Skjersaa) Cecil