I found a reference in The Cass City Chronicle, for March 8, 1940, that there were three ski tows in lower Michigan: at Cadillac (Caberfae?), Petoskey (Petoskey Winter Sports Park?) and in Alpena. I was unaware of any prewar skiing in the Alpena area. I contacted the Alpena Public Library for help and Bob Lyngos in Special Collections was kind enough to send me 8 great pictures of early skiing in the area just south of Alpena which he guesses date from 1949. That is 9 years later than the statement about the tow, but still earlier than anything I knew about in East Michigan.
The pictures; from The Alpena News Collection, Alpena County George N. Fletcher Public Library, Special Collections; show people skiing, riding a tow rope and working on the tow equipment at a place apparently known as Lookout Inn near Spruce.
Riding the Tow at Lookout Inn
Skiing at Lookout Inn
Skiing at Lookout Inn
Soaring at Lookout Inn
Working on the Tow at Lookout Inn
More Skiing at Lookout Inn
Working on the Tow at Lookout Inn
Looking Out Over the Slopes at Lookout Inn
Today, near Spruce, on US-23 south of Ossineke, there is a restaurant on the east side of the road called Rosa’s Lookout Inn. Across the road is a hilly area with a lookout tower part-way up the hill. It is private property with a couple houses on the hill, but brush and trees have been cleared and it may be the remains of the slopes shown in the photos.
I do not know if the current restaurant is related to the 1949 Lookout Inn pictures (no buildings or towers are shown in the photos), nor do I know if the Lookout Inn pictures are related to the article about a rope tow near Alpena in 1940.
If you have any information about tow-served skiing near Alpena in the pre-war or early post-war period, please post it or send it to us via the instructions on the About MILSAP page.
