75 years after: A diamond anniversary for the 1932 Olympic Winter Games

[Fiona]

It was the throws of the Great Depression. Food was scarce, jobs were even more so, and the lively times of only a decade before couldn’t seem further away.

Lake Placid was no different than a lot of small towns in the 1930s in that respect. Still, for nine days in February 1932, it played host to the world, serving up a brief respite from the hard times.

And come this February and March, Lake Placid will once again take a step back in time to celebrate the 1932 Olympic Games’ diamond anniversary — to play host, this time, to the memories of a time when little may have been right in the world, except for the feel of a pair of skates on one’s feet.

Of course, when Godfrey Dewey, son of Lake Placid Club founder and Dewey Decimal system innovator Melvil Dewey, made his pitch to the International Olympic Committee to bring the III Winter Olympic Games to Lake Placid, and subsequently was granted that honor on April 10, 1929, few could have foreseen the end of one of the greatest bull markets in history, which came crashing down that October.

Nonetheless, preparations for the Games moved forward. The village went ahead with the construction of a bobsled run and a stadium in which to host speed skating and hockey events.

Residents began making room in their homes and lives to host more than 300 athletes from 17 different countries.

As it would later do in 1980, when Lake Placid again hosted the Olympics, the weather wasn’t very cooperative, and snow had to be shipped in for the bob run.

Regardless, when then-New York Governor and soon-to-be President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke the opening address on Feb. 4, Lake Placid was on its way to pulling off an event that still permeates its culture 75 years later.

But how did Dewey, the village and the state pull off such a feat in the midst of such economic plight?

That’s one of the things organizers of the diamond anniversary will seek to illuminate in the form of a three-day international conference titled “Hard Times and Heroes” to be held at the Hilton Lake Placid Resort from March 22-24.

Documentary writers and filmmakers like Marc E. Nathanson will help tell the story of Lake Placid, its founding members and how its Olympic heritage still shapes the way in which its residents and visitors live.

From that base, participants will then learn of how Roosevelt, the state, the nation and the village were able to organize and fund the Games and how the Games have shaped Adirondack and Olympic history profoundly.

Of course, the celebration won’t all be lectures and panel discussions.

Liz DeFazio, director of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Museum, says a committee of about five or six has been working steadily since the 1980 Winter Olympics’ 25th anniversary to find ways to bring the village’s mindset back to its first Games.

“We knew after doing the 1980 Games that we had the 75th anniversary coming up and that we needed to do something,” DeFazio said Monday. “We wanted to show how they pulled off the Games with the backdrop of the Great Depression.”

One way to do that, she said, is through the education of the conference. However, it’s also in trying to get the village to immerse itself in that time period for week, she added.

To do so, she said the committee has been working with local businesses, organizations and schools to see if they can’t recreate a 1930s feel to the village.

On Feb. 11, there will be a 1930s dinner/dance at the Olympic Center with the Georgie Wonders Orchestra performing old numbers, and attendees are encouraged to come dressed in period clothing and hairstyles.

Also, throughout the week of Feb. 11, there will be 75-minute parties, much like the 80-minute parties held for the 1980 Games’ 25th anniversary in 2005.

And, DeFazio said the committee is still working on rounding up athletes and participants from the 1932 Games to share in the celebration.

By getting the village to immerse itself in that time, DeFazio said it might bring the 1932 Games out from under the shadow of the 1980 Games, which are still fresh in a lot of minds for the great memories it produced.

It may also help people see how the Games in 1980 may not have been possible without Lake Placid’s first bid and the interconnection between the two.

“Both times there were community members who really pushed for something great and never gave up,” DeFazio said.

Indeed, it may have been a time of economic depression, but it was also a time when Lake Placid native Jack Shea brought home two golds, when “The Norwegian Doll” Sonja Henie figure skated her way into people’s hearts and when the two-man bobsled made its Olympic debut.

But, perhaps most importantly, it was a time when the people of Lake Placid started to dream and dream big — something they haven’t stopped doing for 75 years.

For more information and continual updates on the diamond anniversary celebrations, visit www.orda.org.

lakeplacidnews.com.

Image: The Saranac Lake Red Devils, a bobsled team that included Henry Homburger, Percy Bryant, Paul Stevens and Ed Horton, were among the competitors at the original Mt. Van Hoevenberg track during the 1932 Games.