

New England Traditions
Season 7 Episode 708 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Strawbery Banke Museum. Ice fishing derby on Lake Winnipesaukee and a historic ski jump.
Amy Traverso dives into early American history at New Hampshire’s Strawbery Banke Museum. Richard Wiese is also in the Granite State, where he joins the Great Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby, a 44-year-old tradition in which anglers compete for the biggest catch and thousands in prize money. And in Vermont, experience the thrills and learn the story of the Harris Hill Ski Jump in Brattleboro.
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New England Traditions
Season 7 Episode 708 | 26m 46sVideo has Closed Captions
Amy Traverso dives into early American history at New Hampshire’s Strawbery Banke Museum. Richard Wiese is also in the Granite State, where he joins the Great Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby, a 44-year-old tradition in which anglers compete for the biggest catch and thousands in prize money. And in Vermont, experience the thrills and learn the story of the Harris Hill Ski Jump in Brattleboro.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship>> NARRATOR: This week on Weekends with Yankee, adventurer Richard Wiese travels to New Hampshire to get in on the action at the Great Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby, a 44-year-old tradition in which anglers compete for the biggest catch and thousands in prize money.
He learns how to carve a fishing hole in the ice, and fishes inside a bob-house, sometimes known as an ice house.
Richard also meets anglers and families who've taken part in this community event throughout their lives.
>> We have warm food, we have lots of laughs, cold drinks.
>> NARRATOR: Senior food editor Amy Traverso dives into early American history at New Hampshire's Strawbery Banke Museum, which includes an authentic neighborhood, whose buildings span four centuries.
After talking with archeologist Andrea Martin about this unique history museum, Amy tries her hand at cooking Chelsea buns and onion pie in 18th century style, baked over an open hearth.
>> TRAVERSO: You kind of bring history alive through food.
>> And you can taste it.
>> TRAVERSO: Yay!
(laughter) >> NARRATOR: Finally, we head west to Brattleboro, Vermont, to learn the story behind the well-known Harris Hill Ski Jump, originally built back in the 1920s.
>> It's almost a indescribable feeling.
It really does feel like flying.
>> NARRATOR: So come along with us for a once-in-a-lifetime journey through New England as you've never experienced it before, a true insider's guide, from the editors of Yankee magazine.
Join explorer and adventurer Richard Wiese, and Yankee senior food editor Amy Traverso, for behind-the-scenes access to the unique attractions that define this region.
It's the ultimate travel guide from the people who know it best.
Weekends with Yankee.
>> Major funding provided by... ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Massachusetts is home to a lot of firsts.
The first public park in America.
The first fried clams.
The first university in America.
The first basketball game.
What's first for you?
♪ ♪ (birds chirping) >> Series funding provided by The Vermont Country Store, the purveyors of the practical and hard to find since 1946.
>> The Barn Yard, builders of timber-framed barns and garages.
>> And by American Cruise Lines, exploring the historic shores of New England.
>> NARRATOR: We're in Meredith, New Hampshire, where Richard is taking part in one of their biggest winter events, The Great Rotary Ice Fishing Derby.
The event attracts ice fishermen from across the country, hoping to win the grand prize of $15,000, and have their catch hung up on the wall of fame.
To start the day, ice angler Jeanne Bailey, who's fished in this area all her life, introduces Richard to the art of ice fishing.
>> Richard, nice to meet you.
>> WIESE: Nice to meet you.
>> How are you?
>> WIESE: I am so excited.
What a beautiful day out here.
>> It is.
We're gonna have a great day fishing.
Little windy.
Little windy, little chilly.
>> WIESE: A little cold but we are... >> We are ice fishing.
>> WIESE: And we're fishing for...?
>> We're fishing for lakers.
>> WIESE: Oh, you know, I have caught trout my entire life, but I've never caught a lake trout.
>> Today may be your lucky day.
>> WIESE: All right, let's go.
>> You ready?
>> WIESE: Yep.
>> Let's load up.
(motor whirring) >> WIESE: Okay.
>> Here we are.
The Taj Mahal of bob-houses.
>> WIESE: You weren't kidding when you said this was a house.
>> (chuckling): It is.
This is my crew.
>> Hi.
>> WIESE: How you doing?
>> Okay.
>> This is my nephew, Robert.
>> WIESE: Hey, Robert.
Nice to meet you.
>> My brother, Captain Bob.
>> WIESE: Hey, Captain Bob.
>> Hello.
>> So, uh, we got to get some lines in the water.
>> WIESE: So I guess we got to put some holes in the ice.
>> Absolutely.
That's-- >> That's what that's for.
How about we try a spot right here?
What do you think?
>> Yep, looks good.
>> Right here looks fishy.
>> All right.
So, when you're running this, uh, drill, you got to hold it good because it will snap your wrists.
>> WIESE: Oh, well, that's good to know.
>> Yeah.
>> Yep.
Just get a little bit... >> And it hurts.
>> Of a hard stance... >> WIESE: Okay.
>> Ready?
All right.
>> WIESE: Yeah.
It'll be great.
(drill whirring) >> WIESE: Whoa!
(drill whirs) You know that hole, that's-- this ice only looks about this thick.
>> Yeah.
>> Yes.
What's the minimum that you need in order to sort of be standing on here safely?
>> This.
>> WIESE: All right, let me, uh... >> So you need to put a hole in.
>> WIESE: Okay.
>> So let's try one over here.
>> WIESE: And not snap my wrists off, okay?
Thank you.
Here we go.
(drill whirring) >> You're through.
>> WIESE: Whoa!
And look at this.
We can make shaved ice.
>> Exactly.
>> We've got good ice.
We want to get that tip-up in.
>> WIESE: Okay.
>> We've got our holes drilled.
>> WIESE: And just for people who don't ice fish, a tip-up is... >> The flag is flipped down on a tip-up.
Fish will hit it, the spool will roll and release the flag, and it will pop up.
>> WIESE: Okay.
>> And so you know you got a fish.
>> WIESE: And not only a fish, but a trophy fish, because we're in it to... >> We're in it to win it.
>> WIESE: That's right.
>> So this is the Rotary Derby.
There's a lot of money on the line, and we're gambling.
>> WIESE: All right, we're gambling.
Let's go.
>> Let's go.
>> All right, all right.
>> So we're gonna take a little bit of chum, we got a little bit of corn.
>> WIESE: And that's-- chum is something that will attract fish.
>> Yep.
This is fresh.
We got a little bit of, uh, a little bit of corn, so we're gonna throw that down.
>> WIESE: Okay.
>> And now you're gonna chase it with the bait... >> WIESE: Okay.
>> With the hook in it.
>> WIESE: And it's got a little weight on it.
>> Yep.
We're in 40 feet of water.
>> WIESE: Okay.
>> So you'll just pay it out.
>> WIESE: Spool it out.
>> Yep.
>> WIESE: Looks like it's going in by itself.
>> Yep, it will.
>> WIESE: Yeah.
>> When you open it up, tighten these.
>> WIESE: Right.
>> Take the flag.
Now you just... >> WIESE: Okay.
>> Set that down.
>> WIESE: In through the ice.
>> Yep.
Now we go cook sausage.
>> WIESE: I was expecting to sit out there like this the whole time.
>> Roughing it sucks.
>> WIESE: Roughing it does suck.
Wow, it's warm in here.
>> It is.
It's super nice.
We got the wood stove going.
>> WIESE: Okay.
>> So why don't you have a seat, because these are some of our best fishing holes.
>> WIESE: Oh, my gosh!
>> We got a line down here.
>> WIESE: Look at this!
This is a fishing hole right here.
It's, what, 98 degrees in here?
>> It is.
>> WIESE: A hundred degrees?
>> So, the bucket that you're fishing in, you can actually see on the television what's down there.
>> WIESE: That's unbelievable!
>> So while you-- you sit there and jig.
>> WIESE: Okay.
>> I'm getting a little hungry.
So I've got some sausage we started earlier.
I'm just gonna heat them back up while you jig and, hopefully, get us a derby fish.
>> WIESE: (chuckles) I love this.
You know, it's interesting, my vision of ice fishing is sitting out there with a lot of thick things and a mug of coffee, and... >> If there's one thing we don't go without is, is good food when we're on the ice.
>> WIESE: Yeah.
You know, it does make a difference.
Well, you know, on the screen that we have up there, I have seen some fish go by.
Obviously the bait I have, or at least the way I'm jigging, is not attracting them.
Any tips on that?
Oh, wait, wait.
I see one right there.
>> You see one?
>> WIESE: Yeah.
>> Give it a little-- give it a little jig.
>> WIESE: Yeah, I'm gonna... >> Get jiggy with it.
Not too much.
Bounce it off the bottom.
We have warm food, we have lots of laughs, cold drinks.
>> WIESE: I love the fact that I have, like, food in one hand, fishing rod in the other.
>> (laughs) ♪ ♪ >> WIESE: So, how long you been fishing?
>> As long as I can remember.
I... decades, without giving away my age.
It's always been a family thing, and I think we started so young that it's just what we do.
It's been passed on from generation, generation, generation.
>> WIESE: So, this is a fishing tournament.
>> This is a fishing tournament.
>> WIESE: Which tournament are we at?
>> So, this is the Rotary Fishing Derby.
>> NARRATOR: Next, we check into the Rotary headquarters to meet one of the derby's founding fathers.
>> My name is John Sherman.
I was one of the founders of this derby, along with our wonderful club, which started in 1980.
So this is our 44th derby.
We can't take credit for coming up with the entire idea ourselves.
I'd like to, but it was actually a fellow rotary club.
>> We give everything back to the community, and all the monies go back in forms of scholarships, community projects, non-profits, and we also make large donations to Fish and Game.
Allows them to restock the rivers, the ponds, the lakes, uh, to keep the great sport of fishing and ice fishing alive.
It, it's a lot of fun, and, you know, it really helps the, you know, the local bait and tackle stores, the hotels, the restaurants, all of those things are impacted by these guys that come in from all over the place, and they come back just for this weekend.
>> We came from Delaware.
This is my first time here, and it's been a heck of an experience.
>> It's beautiful out here.
>> I've fished tournaments before, but I've never done an ice fishing tournament, so it's been crazy.
>> I had a feeling we'd have a little beginner's luck.
>> Yeah.
>> You never know.
>> We might have counted on that a little, a little bit.
>> We've often thought, maybe if we didn't have the fishing derby, the weekend would still prevail, because people are so used to coming up ice fishing this weekend that they'd come up anyway.
It's just the way it is.
Like we have Christmas, we have Thanksgiving, we have derby weekend second weekend in February.
♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: I'm at the Golden Harvest market in Kittery, Maine, and I need to get some local veggies for a very cool cooking segment I'm gonna be doing.
I'm heading over to Strawbery Banke, which is on the site of the earliest European settlement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Now there, they have buildings representing different eras of American history, and I'm going to be cooking over a hearth, using methods that they used in the late 1700 and early 1800s.
And now I'm going to head over there, and I think we're gonna take a little tour around the property first.
Hey.
Alex?
>> Good morning.
You must be Amy.
>> TRAVERSO: Hi!
So nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you, too.
Welcome to Strawbery Banke.
>> TRAVERSO: Thank you!
So, tell me a little bit about this place.
>> Okay, so, Strawbery Banke is an outdoor history museum.
We have almost 40 buildings on almost ten acres.
And we're telling the story, over time, of this neighborhood.
So, rather than one period in time, we're time traveling.
>> TRAVERSO: That is really unique.
So, which eras are we gonna be doing today?
>> We're going to start between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the original Abenaki inhabitants of this region.
This is a reconstructed Abenaki wigwam, or sometimes it's called a wetu in other Algonquian languages.
And this would've been a single family home for an Indigenous family before European contact.
Population estimates at the time of contact, so about 400 years ago, suggest that there were about 20 million people in North America, people who had carefully cultivated the landscape.
>> TRAVERSO: Right.
>> Who had planted crops.
So, yeah, really deep connection to the broader landscape of what we know today as New Hampshire.
>> TRAVERSO: So, where are we going to jump to in history next?
>> We're going to head over to the Sherburne House, which was built in 1695.
>> TRAVERSO: Wow.
>> And we'll talk a little bit about the first English arrivals... >> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> ...to Strawbery Banke.
This is the oldest existing house on the museum grounds.
The west half of it here was built by John Sherburne, who was a merchant.
And this green space was formerly a tidal inlet connected to the Piscataqua River.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> So it was a navigable channel.
The gundalows, these flat-bottomed boats, would be able to sail into the channel, drop off wares for merchants to sell and pick up wares that local craftsmen were making.
So, we'll be having a new exhibit space in this house, and, as part of that, we'll be able to talk a little bit more about the Black experience in the colonial period.
>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.
>> So this house is actually also on the New Hampshire Black Heritage Trail, because we know that the Sherburnes owned two enslaved people.
So we're hoping to be able to show people a little bit more history about the perspective of Black people who were brought here to New Hampshire, and their contributions to this neighborhood as well.
So, welcome to the Shapiro House.
>> TRAVERSO: Oh, look at this!
Okay, definitely nice and warm.
>> Yes.
>> TRAVERSO: And further ahead in history.
>> We're stepping into 1919.
>> TRAVERSO: Wow.
>> And the Shapiro family has established themselves in town.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> So, this is their living room, and we can head into the kitchen.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay, great.
>> They arrived, along with many other Russian Jews from Eastern Europe... >> TRAVERSO: Yeah.
>> ...at the turn of the century and settled here.
And Puddle Dock quickly became a Jewish neighborhood.
>> Um, they formed a minyan... >> TRAVERSO: Oh!
Mm-hmm.
>> A group of enough men to have a meeting.
And then they founded our local synagogue, Temple of Israel, which is the oldest synagogue in New Hampshire.
>> TRAVERSO: Wow.
(footsteps crunching) >> TRAVERSO: You know, I just love experiential history, and New England has so many opportunities to do that.
But this has been amazing.
Thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
You're so welcome.
It was great having you visit.
>> TRAVERSO: I've got to go cook now.
(laughs) So can you point me in the right direction?
>> Yes.
You're headed back that way to the blue Wheelwright House.
>> TRAVERSO: Oh okay, thank you!
>> You're so welcome.
Have a good day.
♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: Hi.
>> Hi.
>> Hi.
>> TRAVERSO: I'm Amy.
>> Welcome to the Wheelwright House.
>> Hi, I'm Nancy.
>> TRAVERSO: Nice to meet you, Nancy.
>> I'm Lynne.
>> TRAVERSO: Lynne.
Nice to meet you.
So, I picked up some groceries at the Golden Harvest.
>> Ooh.
>> TRAVERSO: Um, apples, carrots, onions, and potatoes.
>> Oh, nice.
>> TRAVERSO: Is that what you needed?
>> All those vegetables, we're gonna throw those into a pie and make a recipe from the 1700s.
>> TRAVERSO: So cool, okay.
>> Yeah?
>> TRAVERSO: And then was there one other thing?
We're going to make some Chelsea buns, so that you can have a lovely breakfast tomorrow morning.
>> Oh, nice!
>> So they're an 18th century version of a cinnamon bun.
>> TRAVERSO: Oh, wow, look at this.
>> So, as you can see, we're gonna use our bake oven today, which is not something you would use just once.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> It takes a couple hours to fire that up.
>> TRAVERSO: So, that would be like the first thing you do when you get up in the morning.
>> Right.
>> TRAVERSO: So tell me about some of the other elements of this oven.
Like what kinds of cooking are you doing in different parts?
>> There's a meat roaster that we can roast meat on.
There's multiple hooks.
When you put something on your stove at home and you turn the dial, she doesn't have a dial, but she has hooks.
So, this hook would mean simmer, that one means boil.
So she adjusts the temperature by doing that.
>> TRAVERSO: It's how close you are to the heat source.
Rather than turning the dial, you're physically moving the vessel... >> Up and down.
>> TRAVERSO: ...closer to or farther away from the heat.
>> Right.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
So should we get started cooking?
>> Sure.
This is gonna be Hannah Glasse's onion pie from the 1760s.
>> TRAVERSO: Wow, this is really old.
>> Yeah, these are old recipes.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay, cool.
>> So we're gonna just layer into this pie crust potatoes... >> TRAVERSO: A little... >> Just put a layer in there.
>> TRAVERSO: Yeah, okay.
All right.
>> This is a slightly unusual combination of ingredients, but it's really appropriate for the season.
>> All the things you'd have in your root cellar.
>> TRAVERSO: Yeah, yeah.
>> Then some onions.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
You would do, like, rings, right?
Because you don't want to have a giant mouthful of onions.
>> Exactly.
>> And then you're gonna put in a layer of apples.
>> TRAVERSO: A layer of apples.
So this is a sweet-savory combination.
>> It is.
It all fits together really nicely.
>> I think one common misconception about the food of this era is that it was very plain, with no spices, and not a lot of flavor.
>> Mm... Not true.
>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.
>> We're gonna spice this after you put a layer of eggs on.
>> TRAVERSO: Eggs?
Interesting.
Now, my understanding is eggs were sometimes used as a thickener, or an emulsifier in certain dishes.
Or maybe just protein... >> These are hard cooked, so I think it's going to be protein.
But for spices, we're gonna use a combination of salt and pepper...
Some nutmeg and a little mace.
Just smear a little bit of butter around.
>> TRAVERSO: Do you dot it or just like... >> Yeah, that's what I do.
I just... >> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> I just drop little bits.
>> TRAVERSO: I'm very intrigued.
I can't wait to try this.
This is really interesting.
Just about-- I'm doing it sort of-- I'm guessing about this much?
Little more... >> Yeah, you can be pretty liberal.
>> TRAVERSO: Yeah.
That looks great!
Okay, so we're just gonna roll this over.
There we go.
Now, we don't have to be, like, perfectionist... >> No.
>> TRAVERSO: And trim and... >> No.
On a big baking day, they might do five or six pies.
>> TRAVERSO: Wow.
>> And a couple batches of bread.
You know, so they're just making a lot of food.
>> Right, right.
Yeah, how is this gonna bake?
>> Well, we have to finish getting the oven ready for it.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> Now, we want to bake off the heat of the bricks... >> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> Because we don't want our pies to be smoked, right?
>> TRAVERSO (laughing): Right.
Here's our pie.
Beautiful.
>> Okay, it's back in the middle there.
And now we're gonna close it up.
>> TRAVERSO: How do you tell temperature?
I mean, you-- I imagine you've developed a feel over time.
>> Recipes in the 1700s are mostly written for a quick, a moderate, or a slack oven.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> They don't have standardized temperatures... >> TRAVERSO: Right, right.
>> So they don't worry about it.
>> TRAVERSO: Wow, that's so interesting.
Well, I can't wait to taste this.
And meanwhile, I'm excited to learn the Chelsea buns.
>> The Chelsea buns are amazing.
>> TRAVERSO: Oh great.
>> You're gonna love that.
Yeah, let's get Lynne.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay, great, thank you.
♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: Cinnamon buns are honestly one of my favorite foods.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> TRAVERSO: So tell me more about these Chelsea buns.
>> So, this is one of my very favorite recipes that I've discovered from the 18th century.
So, it's basically a sweet dough with some fillings in there.
So this recipe has one of the most intriguing folds.
You're going to spread some butter over two thirds of it.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> Okay.
So we're gonna sprinkle some sugar, light brown sugar and cinnamon.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> Okay, so then some currants... >> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> Which have been soaked.
You can soak them in orange juice, brandy, whatever your favorite little soaking thing is.
>> TRAVERSO: Are these soaked in water, or... >> Just water.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
All right.
I didn't smell anything... >> This is the teetotaler's version.
>> TRAVERSO: ...naughty.
(laughs) >> What you're going to do now, is you're going to fold that side like a book, and then you fold that side over.
>> TRAVERSO: Like an envelope.
>> Perfect.
Turn it around.
>> TRAVERSO: Turn it this way, and then roll it?
>> And then roll it.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay.
>> And we're going to repeat the butter, sugar, currant thing... >> TRAVERSO: (gasps) Ooh.
>> ...and then roll it like a more traditional... >> TRAVERSO: Okay.
So what has working here taught you about 18th century cooking and 18th century cooks?
>> It makes me value women.
>> TRAVERSO: Mm-hmm.
>> Like, to bake in the 18th century, it's like a scientist.
Baking's... >> TRAVERSO: Right.
>> Baking's got math; it's got chemistry.
>> TRAVERSO: I think of the relentlessness of having to feed, you know, people who were working hard and needed a lot of calories.
All day, just being in that kitchen.
Not to mention all your other household duties.
It makes me feel exhausted and very spoiled.
>> So, the reason I like this recipe is the extra fold gives you an extra layer of filling.
>> TRAVERSO: Oh, that's so neat.
>> So... >> TRAVERSO: And it's-- yeah.
>> And it's all about the filling.
>> TRAVERSO: Right.
Okay.
So I'm just gonna... >> Make them as fat or as... >> TRAVERSO: Yes.
Oh my gosh.
>> See?
>> TRAVERSO: (gasps) That's so pretty.
>> Mmm.
So these, when they go into the oven, they only go in for a short period of time.
They're not to get too brown.
They want them kind of a pale brown.
>> TRAVERSO: But this will rise in here?
>> Rise, yes.
>> TRAVERSO: And then does it also bake in this?
>> It'll bake in that, yes.
>> TRAVERSO: Wow!
We'll set these aside to rise, and then we'll bake them up?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> TRAVERSO: Okay, great.
♪ ♪ >> TRAVERSO: Wow.
Look at this feast!
So we have our pie and the buns that we made.
What are some of the other things?
>> So, we have a pork roast... >> TRAVERSO: Uh-huh.
>> Cranberries, because we're harvesting cranberries.
>> TRAVERSO: Right.
Well, I guess we should have a little 18th century feast here?
>> Oh, beautiful.
>> TRAVERSO: Yes.
There we go.
Oh, that's so pretty.
Oh, it just smells like all the good things, like Thanksgiving, and... ah, so yummy.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> TRAVERSO: Mmm.
Very hearty, but flavorful.
>> Right.
The nutmeg and the mace in there... >> TRAVERSO: Mmm.
And then the buns, we just take one?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> TRAVERSO: Mmm.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> TRAVERSO: Well, thank you for reminding us that you can kind of bring history alive through food.
It's one of the things I love about food, and I just love that one of the things that's so great about a place like Strawbery Banke is that history really does come alive.
>> Yeah.
And you can taste it.
>> TRAVERSO: Yay!
(laughter) >> NARRATOR: Next, we head west to Brattleboro, Vermont, where every year the Harris Hill Ski Jump is the home to two heart-stopping, fun-filled days of jumping by young athletes around the world, along with some tailgating and music.
Climbing to the top of the jump, we meet a few of the brave participants and get a glimpse of what it is that these daring souls have signed up for.
>> I'm Kevin O'Connor.
I'm a Vermont journalist, and author of the book Harris Hill Ski Jump: The First 100 Years.
Fred Harris, in 1921, December of 1921, decided he wanted to have a ski jump.
So, he found this property, and within a month cleared the trees, smoothed down the land, built a ramp, and in February of '22, a month later, had the first jump.
2,500 people showed up, because they wanted to know what this idea of putting two boards on your feet and jumping off a hilltop and landing on your feet was gonna be like.
And it really took off.
And by 1924, the first national championship was held here.
And by 1929, the second.
I think what's interesting about ski jumping, it was anyone who actually dared do it.
>> I'm from Brattleboro, Vermont.
I was born and raised here, and I'm a former ski jumper, but I'm jumping this weekend here at Harris Hill, kind of coming out of retirement for the 100th anniversary.
Harris Hill, uh, has meant a lot to me.
I grew up watching ski jumping here every year, um, until I turned ten years old and started in the junior ski jumping program in town.
I just grew up idolizing the sport, and thought it was so beautiful and just looked really cool.
And I always wanted a long pair of skis like I saw the jumpers have here and on TV.
Um, and it's pretty unique to grow up in a town that has an Olympic-sized ski jump.
There's... you know, it's one of five in the country, the only one in New England, and we get an amazing crowd every year.
So, you know, seeing that every year, growing up in the midst of that, it's a really cool event.
Yeah, so I think the uniqueness of Harris Hill lies in the atmosphere and the crowd.
So, I was very fortunate in my athletic career that I got to travel and compete around the world.
Um, but on the circuits I was on, below World Cup, there really were never crowds at these venues.
And to jump here in front of thousands of people is such a cool experience when you're not used to hearing the roar of the crowd after a good jump, or even a bad jump.
>> A lot of people tend to bring cowbells.
It's sort of the one way to make noise if you're wearing mittens or gloves.
But there'll be several thousand people, and they will listen to the announcer, who will announce who's coming down, and you'll hear the sort of roar of the crowd.
If the... longer the jump, the louder the sound of the crowd.
The cowbells will come beforehand, and then the crowd cheers will come once the skiers land.
(cowbells ringing) (crowd cheering) >> But when you're going down the track, the track is icy, so you hear your skis chattering.
(skis clattering) When you go into the air, you just... you just hear wind.
(cowbells ringing) And then when you land the jump is when you hear the crowd, and that's pretty cool.
So the most technical part of ski jumping that athletes and coaches are working on is the takeoff.
Um, it all comes down to hitting the end of the jump right on time and doing the right thing with your body.
And it's a outward jump.
People often think ski jumping, you're kind of just jumping up like normal, but it's actually jumping out over your skis, and that's what keeps the speed that you have going down the inrun.
When you really hit it right, and you're flying, and you know you're gonna go to the bottom of the jump, it, it's almost a indescribable feeling.
It really does feel like flying.
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