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WINTER2017
when theCzechoslovakRepublicwas established
in the aftermathofWorldWar I, theHungarians
had the upper hand. Jozo’s primary schooling
was inHungarian, a language thatwas useful in
1956whenhe assistedHungarian refugeeswho
fled from the Soviet invasionof that country.The
mayorwas intriguedwhen I toldhim that Jozo
had a nearly identicalmural of Jánošíkpainted
on thewall of our house at BlueMountain. Jozo
called Jánošík the SlovakRobinHood and joked
that hewas carrying on thatmission.Maybe he
was thinking of the axes that he hadused to cut
trails onBlueMountain.
InTerchova, wemet amannamedVladoKrižo
whohadbeen a school child in the 1930s.Hewas
now a healthy85-year-old, fit and trim from years
inmountain rescue service.He rememberedbeing
hosted at the lodge on theRozsutecwhere Jozo
had servedhim andhis school group goulash soup
after a climbup themountain.He toldus that
thesemountains and towns hadnot always been
peaceful. In1945hewas forced tododge shellfire
from advancingSoviet and retreatingGerman
armies.The crossfire destroyedhis home andhe
had to take shelterwith relatives. Pigs and sheep
occupied the bottom floor of their dwelling.
Jozo’s homeland is nowpeaceful.The closest thing
to violence is inhockey games. Slovaks are as
hockey crazed asCanadians; in fact they celebrate
as heroes the Slovaks playing in theNHL. In
Žilina,many residents came together in the town
square draped inSlovak flags to cheer for the
Slovaknational hockey team. Itwas playing in an
international tournament, and theyhad gathered
towatch the game on giant outdoorTV screens.
When their team scored, thenoisewas deafening.
G
oodbye
to
B
lue
M
ountain
So, for this 78-year-old it is goodbye to75 years
of supporting entrepreneurship, welcoming
immigrants, loving thewinter andoverseeing the
transition to a four-seasons resort.
I regret that the familyhasdeparted from the
business, but itwouldhavebeendifficult tocontinue
intoa thirdgenerationwith sucha complexand
demandingoperation.The thirdgenerationhas
many talents and each familywill go itsownwaybut
will remain friends linkedbyawarmandcolourful
legacy. Wemustbe contentwithhaving enjoyeda
prosperous and excitingbusiness andhavingmade
many friends among employees andneighbours.My
dearwife and two sisters areno longerwithus, but
fondmemories remain.
About theAuthor
GeorgeWeider, son of Jozo and formerChairman
of BlueMountain, has lived at BlueMountain
throughoutmost of the 75 years that he describes.He
lives in the house built at the south edge of theResort
by Jozo, and, out of respect for his father andhis ideas,
he does not go toFlorida for thewinter.George has
contributed previous articles in
MountainLife
on
Jozo’s ski jumps and the rescue of a lost skier buried
in an avalanche at BlueMountain.Hewrote about
the early years inhis book,
BlueMountain
(Boston
Mills Press, 1990). In2002George, alongwithLora
Gibson, Chair of theCraigleithHeritageCommittee,
supervised theCraigleithDepot restoration project,
andGeorge headed theCraigleithDepot Fund that
raised the $700,000 thatwas needed to preserve
the historic railway station enabling it to serve as a
museum and tourist information centre.George and
his family provided artefacts and exhibits that canbe
viewed there.Georgewishes to thank JudyRoss and
NedMorgan for their help in preparing this article.
ABOVE LEFT
Liveat BlueMountainVillageplaza, 2011. BMR
RIGHT
Jánošík, heroic Slovakbandit leader, as depicted inan18
th
centurymural at theTerchováMuseum, Slovakia."Jozo called Jánošík theSlovak
RobinHoodand joked that hewas carryingon thatmission.Maybehewas thinkingof theaxes that hehadused to cut trails..."
BELOW
GeorgeWeider, age three,wearing ski clothingmadebyhismother,Helena.
COURTESYGEORGEWEIDER
