Fireside Chat with Chic Scott and Jerry Johnston

Born in Banff in 1936, Jerry Johnston grew up skiing at Mount Norquay. In the mid fifties he worked for Parks’ ski patrol on the mountain and at the end of the decade he ran the ski school. But it is Sunshine Village Ski Resort that Jerry will always be associated with. From 1960 to 1977, the years when Sunshine went from a backcountry lodge to a major ski resort, Jerry ran the ski school. At one time he and his wife Annie lived in the back of a tiny ‘garage’ which served as headquarters for the operation. Eventually the school had 30 ski instructors.
In 1963 Jerry was asked by a friend to teach his daughter, who had suffered from polio, to ski. Ten days were spent with the girl trying to figure how to make the equipment work. This was the beginning of a forty year odyssey for Jerry, learning how to open the door to the joys of skiing for disabled skiers. The Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing was created in 1976 and Jerry led the organization until 2004.
Jerry has received many awards: he is a member of the Banff Sports Hall of Fame, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame. In 2000 Jerry received the Order of Canada from Governor General Adrienne Clarkson in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Jerry is likely the only Banff-born person to have received this honour.
Chic interviewed Jerry on April 25 at the Whyte Museum.