Tom Bennett

Tom Bennett’s first ski runs were on Chebeague Island as a kid on an old pair of 7 foot skis with only toe straps., with only 75 feet or less of vertical drop stopping before going into the bay was quite a trick on a fast track. He remembered the white Army surplus skis becoming available at Tommy’s Hardware in Portland for only $10.00 a pair at that time.

There were few lifts and he climbed for his runs on local hills in greater Portland and led other skiers on trips, and eventually up Mount Washington to ski Tuckerman Ravine each spring. When Pleasant Mountain opened, Tom and his friends sidestepped up to pack the slopes, using rope tows after the new snow was made skiable for beginners.

In the forties reliable transportation made skiing inaccessible for many would be skiers, so Tom rallied the support of friends and the local YMCA to organize weekly bus trips to Pleasant Mountain. The buses, which were always full left after church each Sunday morning. This led to the creation of the Down East Ski Club of which Tom is recognized as the founding father.

He played a key role in the purchase of an acre of land to the east of the parking lot at Pleasant Mountain where the club built a dormitory to sleep 30 people. He was instrumental in planning and building the lodge that still houses club member families at what is now Shawnee Peak.

Tom served for 25 years as a member of the National Ski Patrol at the mountain and when he wasn’t patrolling he was volunteering for duty at races, hiking Pleasant and the 4,000 footers in the White Mountains and other events. As a volunteer he helped organize and run the annual Down East Ski Club ski sale, and annual Warren Miller movies, all important parts of a funding club.

One of his most cherished achievements was the creation of the Russ Haggett Scholarship Fund in 1991. Each year Tom works on the Russ Haggett Memorial Race which raises money for the fund. The fund now provides two $1,000 scholarships to Lake Region High School students each year.

In addition to alpine skiing at Pleasant Mountain, Tuckerman Ravine and annual trips out west, Tom was also a tireless cross country skier as well , receiving the USSA Kodak 1,000 miles Award for skiing that mileage in a single season all of which was in Cumberland and Oxford counties on their snowmobile trails, lakes and ponds. Except for a time as a navigator in the Merchant Marine in the mid forties and a recall to Navy duty during the Korean War, Tom Bennett has been skiing and promoting his sport since the forties. He and other USN personnel spent Christmas of 1952 skiing at Chamonix-- Mt. Blanc and NewYears in the French Maritime Alps. in 1953.

Wherever he has been, Tom Bennett has been a devoted skier working to introduce others to the sport and supporting the competitors, officiating at races and volunteering for whatever needed to be done at Pleasant Mountain. This lifetime given to skiing has earned Tom Bennett a place in the Maine Ski Hall of Fame.