NEW IPO Logo - by Charles Larry Home Search Browse About IPO Staff Links


Mary Jane Gauen, Public Information Director for the Evanston Parks, Recreation and Forestry Departments since September 1967, formerly was a newspaper writer having served as the Detroit Correspondent for Fairchild Publications, as the Day Wire Filer and theatre columnist for the Detroit Bureau of the Associated Press and as the women's feature writer and fashion editor for the Detroit Free Press. She holds a B. A. degree from the University of Illinois and an M.A. degree from the University of Michigan. You'll find her listed in the current Marquis' Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in the Midwest. She's a theatre/movie buff and enjoys books, hiking and travel.

"Ski Evanston," advises the bumper sticker. If space had permitted, the slogan could have continued, "At the only public facility in the Chicago area offering downhill skiing."

James Park Winter Sports Complex, an unusual and popular special facility operated by the Evanston Recreation Department, has been evolving since the winter of 1965-66 when it first opened for sledding and attracted 14,857 patrons for its first season. Currently over 2,000 people flock there on a single winter weekend.

As an "In-Town" recreational area, it can be reached readily by public transportation or by private auto. It's inexpensive, compared to private slopes, and is operated by a friendly, helpful staff. Novice skiers can learn here and advanced skiers can check out new equipment before heading for more challenging slopes. Group rates and reserved equipment are available to large parties that come from throughout the metropolitan area.

The Complex now offers sledding from two heights, tobogganing from two chutes, downhill skiing on the largest face of the hill and ice skating at two natural outdoor rinks. Rental ski equipment and toboggans are available as are ski lessons.

The man-made "mountain" that hosts these activities has a base of three acres, stands 65 feet tall (high enough for a good view of the distant Loop) and provides a 300 feet ski run served by a rope tow lift. It is located in the city's largest park of 48.233 acres, the Robert E. James Park, on Oakton St. near Dodge Ave.

The first year, the "hill" was open without charge. Since that time, admission has been by daily or multiple-use passes at fees which are sufficient to pay operating expenses but do not cover capital expenditures or major maintenance which is handled by Parks Department crews.


Where's the cocoa?

Each year since opening, the site has been improved through allocated capital funds. First, steps were constructed on either side of the hill to make it easier for sledders to climb to the top. Then landscaping was added and floodlights installed so the facility could be used evenings. Next, two toboggan chutes were built. The winter of 1967-68 saw the establishment of a second and lower hill for younger children. A metal snow slide, donated by the Kiwanis Club, also was installed.

During the fall of 1969 a modern warming shelter was built at the foot of the hill. It continues to serve as an office for handling admissions and rental equipment as well as a site for food services. In July of 1970, a good sized parking lot was built adjacent to the shelter. During the winter of 1970-71, the city began creating ice rinks annually at the site, one for recreational ice skating and the other boarded for hockey. The same season, ski lessons were first offered both as a three-lesson package and on a drop-in basis.

Snow-making equipment, purchased and put into use January, 1973, was a major improvement, expanding the season from an average of the 14 days possible when relying on natural snowfall, to the potential of a three-month season. Weather conditions permitting, the season is now from December 1 to March 1. Usually the complex opens around mid-December and operates through mid-February with only one or two short periods when warming trends force closure. To protect patrons and

Illinois Parks and Recreation 4 September/October 1980


staff, the complex also routinely closes whenever the wind chill factor dips to minus 25 degrees F. or the actual temperature is zero degrees F. or less.

In November, 1974, a rope tow lift was erected. Snow grooming equipment was added two years later. Before the 1979-80 season, powerful new floodlights were installed and telephone communications, between the top of the hill and the shelter, were established. For the 1980-81 season, these telephone lines will be extended to the foot of the hill both at the ski and the sled areas. FM radio music which enlivened the shelter last year will be piped outside and amplified during this coming season and the circuit will also be used as a paging system. In the near future, a second ski area is to be built on the east side of the hill. This lower slope, with its own rope tow lift, will be used for ski instruction and for beginners' practice.

As the Winter Sports Supervisor of this facility for the past six years, David Tungate has a number of observations helpful to other professionals interested in this type of facility. First, he notes that the staffing pattern for this kind of facility may involve three times as many individuals than other types of facilities because of the severe cold. Because of the cold, he limits his staff to four-hour shifts with frequent warming breaks. Each season he recruits around 50 to 60 young people, mostly of high school age. He requires at least 16 attendants on Saturdays and Sundays and a minimum of 5 on week days when hours are shorter and attendance less. Managers are always adults and someone trained in first aid is always on duty. Because of the urban setting, the City Fire Department and/or Police Department, rather than the Ski Patrol, are called in case of emergencies.

Attendants study a detailed manual outlining their responsibilities and then receive on-the-job training. Their duties are to regulate the toboggan, sled and ski traffic so it proceeds in a safe manner, help load the toboggans properly, provide assistance to patrons in case of an accident, prevent patrons from breaking rules established for their safety, check admission tags and help groom the hill with shovels, rakes and packers.

Over the years, the Evanston Recreation Department has both leased and self-operated the food concession and equipment rental. Currently, the administrative staff prefer contracting food service and having the facility staff handle equipment rentals. The current rental equipment inventory includes 24 toboggans, 150 sets of skis, and 200 pairs of boots ranging from a child's size 8 to an adult's size 15. As a convenience for patrons, a 24-hour telephone message service plays regularly updated tapes describing the operating conditions at the hill so patrons can be informed prior to coming to the facility.

Ski lessons have proved to be most popular with children age 8 to 12 years and with adults, according to Mr. Tungate. The teenage population, he notes, seems to prefer instruction at a resort.

The Department annually receives dozens of inquiries about the James Park Winter Sports Complex from other agencies from governmental bodies and from high school and college students. Some ask how to construct this kind of facility but most want to know about the ecological aspects.

Aware that the park site was originally a clay pit and later a sanitary landfill, the inquirers have the misconception that somehow a man-made recreational hill is one solution to America's garbage disposal problems. This incorrect assumption has been compounded by the fact that the first youthful patrons of the sledding hill affectionately dubbed it "Mount Trashmore," a nickname that has stuck despite Department discouragement.

Actually, when the site was a landfill only inorganic or incinerated waste was accepted. Garbage or any other organic waste that could not be completely burned was outlawed. Then when the pit was filled to ground level, the hill was scientifically constructed of only very heavy materials such as cement slabs from razed buildings. As it accumulated, material was tamped down to eliminate air pockets and finally covered with clay fill which will not shrink or sink to the same extent as dirt fill.

As the 16th season at James Park Winter Sports Complex approaches, it is interesting to note that since the mid-1940s when the city purchased the site as a landfill, the long-range plan was to eventually develop the site as a city park. One of the few early suggestions actually carried out was the construction of a "Toboggan Hill"—which eventually resulted in the continuously developing complex that now exists.


The joys of winter in Evanston.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 5 September/October 1980


|Home| |Search| |Back to Periodicals Available| |Table of Contents| |Back to Illinois Parks & Recreation 1980|
Illinois Periodicals Online (IPO) is a digital imaging project at the Northern Illinois University Libraries funded by the Illinois State Library