Ski
country is packed with visiting celebrities, astronauts,
famous scientists, politicians and other
high-achieving-type individuals. Many have homes in
Colorado high country. When Gerald Ford became Vice
President, the local press was used to celebrities and
didn't overly hype their part-time resident's climb to
political power. When President Ford took office, Vail
handled the notoriety in its typical nonchalant manner.
When
I decided my documentary wouldn't be complete without a
perspective from President Ford, I wrote him to see if he
would help me in my endeavor. I didn't know what to
expect. A week later, I get this letter without a stamp:
Instead, it had a presidential signature. Boy, was I
excited reading President Ford's letter granting me an
interview at his Beaver Creek home.
For
me, this was a storybook experience. I researched the
President and thought out my photographic approach. I'm a
natural light photographer (which means I didn't bring
lights) and I felt confident in finding a good setting.
However, after meeting with President Ford, he apologized
for not mentioning interior photographs would be limited
to his study on account of an existing policy.
Unfortunately, without being able to choose my lighting, I
needed lights and hadn't brought any with me. My whole
photographic strategy vanished and I panicked. I fumbled
and stuttered. But President Ford was so very tolerant and
made me feel at ease. He was "real" in spite of
all he had achieved and could I sense a very caring
person. He even invited me to play a game of golf with
him. After a few photographs, we toured the grounds around
his home and talked awhile.
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"In
1968 or '69, we decided to bring our children to the
mountains to ski at higher altitudes in different snow.
Our children had all learned to ski in Michigan at Boyne
Mountain, but they never had experienced real mountain
skiing. So we took them to Sun Valley, we took them to
Park City, we took them to Alta and then we came to Vail
and we found that Vail was what we wanted. As a result, we
bought a condominium in Vail, I guess in 1969.
1
"We bought a condominium in the Lodge, in the new
wing of the Lodge. That was a three-bedroom, three-bath
condominium. Four years ago we bought a lot here in Beaver
Creek and built a house. We eventually traded our condo in
the Lodge for a condo in the Vail Village Inn. At that
time it was strictly a real estate investment. The house
you're in, here in Beaver Creek, is our residence and
that's where we spend all our time. We spend four months
in the summer, from June 1 to about October 1, then we are
here about a month during the winter time, off and on;
Christmas, New Year's, March for the World Cup. So, we're
here in the Vail Valley five months a year. We've got the
best of the summer vacation period and we get snow in the
winter time.
President
Ford shows me around his Beaver Creek home.
"What's
important to us is a combination of things. We think the
mountains here in the Vail Valley are fantastic in their
natural beauty. We also like the particular sports that
are available. We like skiing. Our children and now our
grandchildren enjoy skiing. I like golf. I happen to
believe, with five really first-class golf courses now,
the Vail Valley is the golfing mecca of the Rocky
Mountains. You've got five outstanding golf courses and I
don't think any other mountain area has anything
comparable to that. And lastly, we like the people up
here...the locals, people in Vail, Beaver Creek. Overall,
in almost twenty years we've made some very close personal
friends and we enjoy that kind of close personal
relationships. I don't think there's one specific
activity, relationship or otherwise that we enjoy the
most. We like it as a total living experience which means
the environment and people. It's an ideal place to spend
five months a year.
"I
can only speak about the Vail Valley. I'm not an expert on
any other area. Vail has been properly developed. I think
Eagle-Vail has gotten a little out of control. Avon is at
a very critical point whether they're going to manage the
growth. Certainly Beaver Creek's plans are good to
maintain a certain environment. I just hope that as
populations increase here in the Vail Valley, we don't
overdo it and destroy some of the beautiful nature that's
here, the mountains, the streams, the lakes. These are
priceless heritages that we've got to make sure we don't
destroy.
"I
happen to believe in growth, but I want a controlled
growth. We need to access public lands. We could look back
at this whole area being sheep ranches, but I happen to
believe that it has improved, is what's happened. But
let's not go overboard and destroy it. Because of the
development of the last twenty-two years, a lot more
people have been able to enjoy the blessings of these
mountains and streams. Let's make sure we don't destroy it
in the process. That's the fundamental bottom line. I'm a
growth person. I believe in growth. I'm opposed to no
growth, but it has to be managed in a responsible
way."
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