BY KAREN BOSSICK
Lucille Ball filmed an episode of “I Love Lucy” there and America’s irst Olympic alpine ski medalist Gretchen Fraser performed there.
There is Sun Valley Resort’s outdoor ice rink. From its beginning, the Sun Valley Lodge was designed to display its ice rink, wrote Wendolyn Holland in the book “Sun Valley: An Extraordinary History.” Sun Valley Resort Founder Averell Harriman asked architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, who designed many of the National Park’s lodges, to make the rink a focus as he designed the Sun Valley Lodge.
A new exhibit, “Rink Report: Ice Skating in Sun Valley” plays homage to Sun Valley’s rink, which even today’s skating stars consider unique among the venues at which they perform.
The Community Library Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History has opened the new exhibit at the Regional History Museum in Ketchum’s Forest Service Park.
The exhibit explores the history of the ice skating tradition at Sun Valley and some of the local luminaries who performed there. It includes objects, historic film footage, photographs and memorabilia from ice shows.
It shows why skating is popular in Sun Valley and why so many professional skaters come to train here during summer.
It also depicts early head skating instructor Audrey Peppe, a national champion and Olympic competitor from New York who developed the ice shows, and Herman Maricich, who took over the reins from Peppe.
“Since the early days of the resort, the year-round outdoor ice rink has been a prominent feature,” said Nicole Potter, who curated the show. “ ‘Rink Report’ offers Museum visitors a chance to delve into the glamour of the early ice shows and to examine the influence ice skating had in Sun Valley.”
“Rink Report” is a fun look at the spirited elegance of outdoor ice skating in Sun Valley, added Mary Tyson, director of Regional History.
“The summer ice shows and all the persons who glided on the first rink add to the culture of sport performance in the valley, the level of which is unusually high for rural mountain towns,” she said.
The exhibit is in the museum’s front gallery space at First and Washington streets in Ketchum. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free.