Charles Minot "Minnie" Dole (April 18, 1899 – March 14, 1976) was the founder of the

National Ski Patrol The nonprofit National Ski Patrol (NSP) is the largest winter education organization in the world. The NSP provides education, outreach, and credentialing related to outdoor recreation and safety. It is currently composed of more than 31,000 memb ...

Biography

Dole was born April 18, 1899, in

Tyngsboro, Massachusetts Tyngsborough (also spelled Tyngsboro) is a town in northern Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Tyngsborough is from Boston along the Route 3 corridor, and located on the New Hampshire state line. At the 2020 census, the town popula ...

. He learned how to ski in the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

and attended

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

. Though he enlisted in the US Army during World War I, the war finished before he completed his basic training. Following the War, he graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1923. Minnie Dole formed the National Ski Patrol in 1938 and was director of the organization until 1950. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Dole convinced the War Department to form the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...

, a mountaineering unit. Dole appeared as himself on the January 10, 1966 episode of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

game show '' To Tell the Truth''. He received three of four possible votes. Dole died March 14, 1976, in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

Legacy

Dole is honored across the ski industry with plaques and other honors. A trail was dedicated in his honor at Berkshire East Ski Area. Dole was inducted into the

United States National Ski Hall of Fame The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a t ...

in 1958.

Notes

References

* Dole, Charles Minot Dole ''Adventures in Skiing'' F Watts (1965)

External links

Charles M. Dole
- U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame

- Colorado Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame

United States Army personnel of World War II 1899 births 1976 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers {{US-wintersport-bio-stub