Wednesday, January 29, 2025

101 Tom Gross - Athlete, Media Star and Waterville Valley's Informal Historian

Ep 101


New Hampshire 


Secrets, Legends & Lore

Featured on the NH Center for Public Interest Journalism - InDepthNH.org

From Anamaki Chronicles and InDepthNH.org


 


Tom Gross - Athlete, Media Star and Waterville Valley's Informal Historian

Listen to the Podcast here:  

Watch on YouTube :  https://youtu.be/8lnZlRdwxL0


What began as a project to tell the story of Waterville Valley as the birthplace of Freestyle skiing quickly morphed into Waterville Valley as a crucible of cultural vision and change. In the coming weeks, we'll take you into the lives of JD Nelson and his friend Jack Sanders who took a young Wayne Wong, Floyd Wilkie and George Askevold under their wings to make sure that they were not taken advantage of as they began their journey to superstardom in the brand new world of Hotdog Skiing - soon to be called "Freestyle". 

You'll meet Frank Dubois, the first certified African American ski instructor in America, Jerry Dunfey who intersected with their lives from his perch at the Parker House Hotel in Boston and the slopes of Waterville. as well as John and Donni Hughes, Bernie Weichsel, Executive Director of the first professional Freestyle association The International Freestyle Skiers Association, and others. 

Through it all Tom Gross, trusted friend to Olympic superstar and Waterville Valley founder  Tom Cochran, was often at the center of the media storm. He was there at the beginning, announced races and competitions all over the country, and hobnobbed with celebrities (He's the only person I know who actually got Bill Russell to autograph something for him.)

Whenever I would engage someone from Waterville Valley the conversation would invariably lead to Tom Gross who has forgotten more about Waterville Valley than the rest of us know.

He's a great storyteller on top of it all. 

Tom Gross


President
Legends Productions
Waterville Valley Resort Association
  • Graduate of New England College: Tom was inducted into the New England College Athletic Hall Of Fame in 1996 for tennis with a combined four year record of 77-2 in singles and doubles, a member of three undefeated seasons, and a three year recipient of the Coach's Award.
Tom Gross Jr. - one of the well-deserved inductees WValley Hall of Fame in 2019.
Tom was hired by the great Rod Laver in 1975
77-2 record as a tennis star for New England College 

Tom's versatile career ranges from writing the creative copy 'Equal Only To Itself,' and 'Destiny Beckons,' for the Ferrari Campaign of North America, to announcing World Cup Finals.
As host of one of the most successful 'live' resort cable TV shows in the nation aired twice daily on Waterville Valley's WVTV-6, Tom and WVTV-6 became the first and only Resort Sports Network market to ever win both the morning and evening time slots during the Arbitron's.
For eight years he was the New England Ski Reporter and tennis instructional talent for NBC affiliate WBZ-TV4 in Boston, MA. As a former tennis professional for the Laver-Emerson Tennis Holiday's and National Director of Tennis for the Rod Laver Tennis Holidays, Tom has written extensively for World Tennis Magazine and Tennis Magazine in London, England. He is the owner and President of multiple businesses in Waterville Valley, NH including Legends 1291 Sports Grille, the Olde Waterville Pizza Company, the Flying Burrito's Mexican take-out, the White Mountain Athletic Club and the Waterville Valley Tennis Center which is consistently named one of the 'Top 50' Tennis resorts in America by Tennis Magazine, and one of the Top 50 tennis resorts in the world by Tennis Resorts Online. Tom was inducted into the New England College Athletic Hall Of Fame in 1996 for tennis with a combined four year record of 77-2 in singles and doubles, a member of three undefeated seasons, and a three year recipient of the Coach's Award.

As a photographic design artist for his company Legends Productions, Tom recently designed The Boston Garden It's Magic... It's Memories 1928-1995, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and the 10th Anniversary collage poster of the New Hampshire International Speedway, three posters currently being marketed throughout the country. Currently he is working on the history of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park.
Tom has announced over 850 athletic events throughout the country including seven World Cup ski races and the 1991 World Cup Finals.
He has been an announcer, an emcee and a auctioneer at a variety of prestigious events, including the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Golf Tournament in Hyannis Port, MA; George Bush's Cape Arundel Golf Classic in Kennebunkport, ME, Lance Armstrong's Foundation Gala in Austin, TX, Andre Agassi's Grand Slam For Children in Las Vegas NV; Michael Bolton Charitable Gala in Stamford, CT, American Airlines Celebrity Golf event in Newport Beach, CA; Keyshawn Johnson's Celebrity Golf Classic in Dallas, TX, the Academy of Country Music Charitable Foundation in Las Vegas, NV, The Merrill Lynch Celebrity Ski Classic in Deer Valley, Utah, The Fidelity Investment Legends Cup in Telluride, CO, 'Sizzlin' Country in Las Vegas, NV, Shine On Miami in Miami, FL, Country In The Rockies in Crested Butte, CO and the American Airlines Celebrity Ski event in Vail, Colorado.
In 2001 Tom signed with BMI as a songwriter. He has co-written the Celebrity Cruise song 'Fueled By Moonlight Dust,' and currently has 'You Fit Me,' 'Southern Gates of Heaven,' 'Raiders of the Heart,' 'Come On America,' 'We're Already There,' 'The Key's Under the Conch Shell,' 'Build A Wall' and 'Shine On' being pitched in Nashville and throughout the music industry.
For 25 years Tom has donated his time to help raise more than $85 million for organizations involved with human rights, cystic fibrosis, women and children at risk, education, cancer, 9/11, angel flight, birth defects and adoption.

Tom's civic duty in the Town of Waterville Valley, NH includes being Chairman of the Board of Adjustment, Chairman of the Waterville Valley Electric Advisory Committee, Vice President of the Waterville Valley Resort Association, and served 10 years as a volunteer fire fighter.

Into White


Cloud Forms Over the Continental Divide


Spring Passion


Watching the Sunset from Mt Monroe





Monday, January 27, 2025

Episode 108: The Wind Beneath the Wings of Freestyle: A Conversation with John and Donni Hughes


New Hampshire 


Secrets, Legends & Lore

Featured on the NH Center for Public Interest Journalism - InDepthNH.org


John & Donni Hughes: Wind Beneath the Wings of Freestyle

The Birth of Freestyle Skiing at Waterville Valley Series

From Anamaki Chronicles and InDepthNH.org



The Wind Beneath the Wings of Freestyle

Listen Here

A Conversation with John and Donni Hughes


Donni and John Hughes


Whenever we try to tell a big story like the birth of freestyle skiing we tend to start out with the superstars that inhabit the rarified air of the legend.  However, much of the story is hidden within the layers of what might be considered “average folks” who stepped up in a multitude of ways, to provide the wind beneath the wings of the athletes, the dreamers, and the mentors who would catapult “Hotdogging” to the more urbane “Freestyle” in only a few years. Often it was these folks who drove the public enthusiasm that would make Freestyle skiing the hottest new trend in skiing. 


Beginning in their days at Plymouth State College when Donni was a student at PSC and a cocktail waitress at “Fourways Restaurant” and John was stapling tickets at the mountain as he put himself through college this story tells about their journey and just some of the parts they played in the Birth of Freestyle. 


This podcast, ahead of our three-part series on “The Birth of Freestyle at Waterville Valley: The Dreamers & Doers; The Mentors and Protectors; and The Athletes” celebrates the folks who worked tirelessly, day after day, to support the work of the names that the history books will recall. 


However, in a larger sense, their work was the real foundation of the revolution that became Freestyle Skiing and propelled Waterville Valley into the hierarchy of ski resorts in the US. 


I may be wrong, but I’m betting that many of those who benefitted the most from the Freestyle Revolution would agree that people like John and Donni Hughes were the wind beneath their wings.


Here’s my conversation with Donnella Hughes and John Hughes, iconoclasts and worker bees, at the cutting edge of a skiing revolution.


Podcast from Apple Podcasts

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore


Listen on Podetize

https://feeds.podetize.com/nOawqmYok.mp3


Youtube

https://youtu.be/xfywo4FZq2w



Podcasts produced at Anamaki Studios in Bath, NH. Sales of art and merchandise from our galleries help cover the costs of production at Anamaki. They also help us to avoid placing commercials in the podcasts. 


This land lies in N’dakinna, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Sokoki, Koasek, Pemigewasset, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples past and present. We acknowledge and honor with gratitude those who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.





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117 Bernie Weischel: 75 Years on the Boards and an Exhibition Guy at Heart





New Hampshire 


Secrets, Legends & Lore

Featured on the NH Center for Public Interest Journalism - InDepthNH.org


Bernie Weischel: 

75 Years on the Boards and an Exhibition Guy at Heart


The Birth of Freestyle Skiing at Waterville Valley Series

From Anamaki Chronicles and InDepthNH.org


Bernie Weischel - Courtesy Photo




117 Bernie Weischel: 75 Years on the Boards and an Exhibition Guy at Heart
Last year Bernie logged more than 50 days skiing at 75 years of age. He is still an active and eager part of the skiing community and a key member of the team that made Freestyle possible, even when it was back on its heels.

Running events and shows is never easy but Bernie seemed to make it look so. 




Cloud Over Loveland Monochrome
Signed Originals     Unsigned Open Edition Prints




Colors Above the Notch
Signed Originals    Unsigned Open Edition Prints


Overview

From Anamaki Chronicles and InDepthNH.org

This podcast series was produced in three main parts with ancillary interviews also published. YouTube interviews are included where possible.


Part 1 - The Dreamers and the Doers

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of excitement and innovation, driven by people from all walks of life. The growth and development of Waterville Valley and the explosion of Freestyle skiing was no exception. Consequently, telling the story of the birth of Freestyle skiing requires that we open our minds to what happens when we mix blueblood Northcountry families like Ralph and Grace Bean and their two boys Danny and Dave, Olympic skiers like Tom Corcoran and his friends: Doug Pfieffer editor of “Skiing Magazine”, the Kennedys of Massachusetts, with immigrant-made-good dynasties in the making like the Dunfeys, and college students lured to the “Valley” by a love of the mountains and skiing like John and Donni Hughes, and other accomplished and talented long-timers like Raymond Brox and his family. These were the dreamers and doers. 

https://feeds.podetize.com/ep/merRchZ-4/media

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show Notes




Sunlight Follows Rain on Lupine


Part 2 - The Mentors and the Protectors

Then there were the Mentors, the Protectors: the men and women who had fallen in love first with skiing and then with Freestyle and its devil-may-care skiers. They brought their wisdom and enthusiasm to the sport, people like JD Nelson, Jack Sanders, and Bernie Weishel who - on more than one occasion - rescued Freestyle from the jaws of extinction in a society increasingly placing bumpers and belts on our lives and bodies to protect us from ourselves. 

Nick and Suzy Preston, who provided the pushback by helping the athletes push the envelope safely: building their bodies, confidence and skills to protect them.

https://feeds.podetize.com/ep/h9zwlyIsg/media

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show Notes

Birch Tapestry

Part 3 - The Athletes: The Birth of Freestyle Skiing at Waterville Valley: Part 3:  Surfers of the Moguls, Pioneers of the Air


  

The excitement of Freestyle was, ultimately, the domain of the athletes, the hot doggers : Wayne Wong, George Askevold, Floyd Wilkie and Billy Fallon among others. Their defenders: Tom Corcoran, Frank Deboise, the nations first African-American certified ski instructor and Ski School Director Paul Pfosi had the vision to see beyond the back-biting and competitiveness between Racers and Freestylers. They provided the support and cover for Freestyle to continue to grow.


Accompanying Interviews

Frank Deboise

Frank Deboise:  https://feeds.podetize.com/HGW31ThDn.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show notes


Nick & Suzi Preston

Nick & Suzi Preston - A Life in Skiing, a Freestyle Life  https://feeds.podetize.com/ep/bRHCU52Td/media

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

YouTube - Coming soon

Show Notes

Lupine Spike Impressions
Signed Originals



Remembering Ray Brox

Bill Brox, Son of Raymond Brox

https://feeds.podetize.com/b04rwqlg2.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show Notes





Jack Sanders

Jack Sanders a brilliant legal mind and protector of Freestyle

Jack Sanders

https://feeds.podetize.com/Gybe4fSK3.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show Notes

Sunlight on a Washline in Dominica









Tom Gross

Nick Preston calls Tom the Unofficial Mayor of "Waterville Valley"

Tom Gross

https://feeds.podetize.com/C6pYhDC1A.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show Notes


In the Wake of the Storm on Asquamchumaukee

John & Donni Hughes

Understanding the culture of Waterville during the birth of Freestyle. The wind beneath the wings of Freestyle.

John & Donni Hughes

https://feeds.podetize.com/nOawqmYok.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show notes


Bernie Weischel

Bernie Weischel: 75 Years on the Boards and an Exhibition Guy at Heart

https://feeds.podetize.com/6w0RDNU_2.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show notes

Cabin at the Edge of the World



George Askevold

Attitude and Altitude in the Wild West of Skiing https://feeds.podetize.com/yp_6i71bi.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show notes 


Hali Beckman

Hali Beckman Remembers JD Nelson and the early days of Freestyle Skiing at Waterville Valley

 https://feeds.podetize.com/v_ggGFPqm.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show notes


Sunlight on the Oz Transport

Jerry Dunfey

Jerry remembers JD Nelson and his friend Frank Deboise

https://feeds.podetize.com/YTfKrY5qL.mp3

https://www.anamaki.com/art-productions/podcasts/new-hampshire-secrets-legends-lore

Show notes





Moonlight & Mist Over Mowglis - Open Edition



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Autumn Textures in Hebron
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