The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1940-01-11
By M. HI. CADWALADER
In the Baltimore Sunday Sun, Jan. T.

Inc Tiny hamlet OF New Germany
had scarcely hung out it's ready-for-
business sign before it found itself in a
jovial whirl as carload after carload
of skiers attacked its slopes. Ten
inches of powder snow had put the
trail in splendid condition, and this,
plus brilliant weather on Sunday, COM
bined to produce what one enthusiastic
sportsman described as "the best ski
ing south of Canada"
That this new skiing region received
a New Years blessing in the form of
perfect punder schnee powder SNOWY
is apparent from the reports of anoth-
err group of skiers who made the seven
hour train trip up to Meyersdale, Pa,
to investigate the Deer Valley slopes.
A slight crust, covered by winddrift,
made the skiing a bit treacherous and,
despite the rope tow which is generally
an outstanding attraction to skiers,
John Peck, the proprietor of Deer Val
ley, found very little demand last week
for his rental skis.
Increased Accommodation
Staying overnight with Mr.. and Mrs.
Peck, who entertained very pleasantly
eight skiers (including two from Cape
Town, South Africa, this party re-
turned again by train on Sunday after
only a few short hours of actual ski
ing. Mr.. Peck stated that for the fu-
ture about seventy-fve skiers could
be taken care of in surrounding farm
houses, which is the biggest step to-
ward making Deer Valley accessible,
as Meyersdale and its single hotel are
sixteen miles away.
Visitors to New Germany, thirty
miles or more south of Meyersdale,
found everything quite suitable in that
bowl, $500 feet up in the Alleghenies
From Cumberland, Washington, Balti-
more, and even parts of Pennsylvania
they arrived up until 10 o'clock Satur-
day night.
Invaders Welcomed
On hand to welcome these invading
winter sportsmen were Henry c. Buck
ingham, district forest warden, and
Matthew E. Martin, superintendent Of
the Savage river area. Overnight &C
commodations for as many as eighty
visitors had been previously arranged
and, while the majority contented
themselves with shorter stays, dozens
took advantage of the holiday week
end.
The overnighters had choice of two
types Of lodgings. Skiers who well
coined the opportunity to rough it in
the wintry woods rented several of the
thirteen small log cabins scattered
through the State forest and camped
in these, doing their own cooking,
while others preferred well-heated
quarters in nearby farmhouses, also
to be had at a reasonable rate. Farm
ers' families took the visitors in, gave
them comfortable beds and generous,
country-style meals.
Cabins Built For Summer
The cabins, which, as Mr.. Martin
points out, were built chiefly for sum,
mer use, are of half-logs, squared at
*op and bottom to fit closely together,
but unchinked. They hold from two to
eight people and have open freplaceS
and small kerosene cook stoves. Water
is carried from a pump or brook
close by. Blankets, extra cots, and
cooking utensils can either be brought
by the campers or rented.
The harder members of the group
pronounced the cabins great fun,
with the exception of one party, which
braved the night in a cabin with an
outside fireplace. During the small
hours the thermometer dropped
casually to degrees above zero-and
next morning the four campers moved
hurriedly to a warmer hut.
As to skiing facilities, New Ger
many boasts a practice slope probably
thirty acres in extent and a down
mountain trail of over mile in length
The slope rises out of the west side
of the pretty oval valley, shielding
skiers from biting northwesterly winds
and holding the sun the greater part
of the day Farmers Samuel Otto and
Floyd Broadwater have opened their
fields to the public and excellent clear
ing work was done this autumn by a
crew of National Youth Administra-
ton workers. Under Mr.. Martins di-
rection, these boys took down big sec
tions of fencing, removed rocks and
stumps and made the slope an ideal
spot for beginners.
For the experts who can brag of
having run the Nose Dive or the Thun-
derbolt, the downhill trail on Meadow
Mountain (some four miles from New
Germany offers pitches of 30-35 de-
grees and chance for high-speed ski
ing. This trail starts from the Mea-
dow Mountain road and cascades di-
rectly into Whiskey Hollow, where it
meets the Big Run road. Several
skiers last weekend found a substitute