Black Butte School dedicates Hoodoo ski lodge mural

Children and staff from Black Butte School (BBS) in Camp Sherman celebrated 40 years of partnership with Hoodoo ski schools by dedicating a 1,200-square-foot wall mural in Hoodoo's ski lodge. The mural was completed by BBS students last year with the talent and supervision of BBS's health and physical education specialist, Stephanie Blakelock.

Hoodoo's general manager, Matthew McFarland, welcomed the students, parents and staff gathered to mark the occasion and thanked the school for the mural. Directing his remarks primarily to the children, he said, "We constantly receive comments and questions about it. Everyone loves it." McFarland went on to thank the students for the good job they are doing in school and noted how much their contributions and participation contribute to the Hoodoo community as a whole.

The mural adorns the walls outside the Mountain Cubs Den on the second floor of the Hoodoo ski lodge. The Hoodoo Mountain Cubs are comprised of 4- to 6-year old skiers who participate in a specially created children's ski school program. The mural depicts the surrounding mountains as enormous ice cream sundaes with fairy tale candy houses, trees, and other features, along with slogans such as "Life is So Sweet."

As part of the ceremony, students were presented with T-shirts commemorating the occasion and 40 years of the Black Butte School Ski Program. The backs of the shirt were emblazoned with "Thank Yoo Hoodoo," incorporated with the Hoodoo logo. The shirts were donated by BBS parent and booster, David Banks.

The BBS ski-school program was launched in 1973 by a Camp Sherman resident, the late Jack R. Walker, who was a member of the Santiam Pass Ski Patrol for 58 years. "I tried to find him (Walker) to invite him to the celebration, but I was told he passed away a few months ago," said Blakelock. "My heart sank to think how he would have loved to have been part of our celebration in his honor for starting it all and recognizing that what he began still lives on to this day."

As part of a recent school assignment, students were asked to write a paragraph explaining what the ski program means to them. Sixth-grader John Banks summed up what many of the students were thinking. "This is my fifth year skiing," he said. "The BBS program has not just taught me how to ski, it has taught me how to be a safe skier. The ski program has been going for 40 years, and I hope it will be going for 40 years more."

Fifth-grader Jessi Glanz is keenly aware of the uniqueness of the program in which she is privileged to participate.

"Skiing at Hoodoo is so fun for me! Because when I lived in Salem there's barely any snow. This school is the only school I know who can ski on school days. This is my first year in Camp Sherman, so I've never skied before."

The giant mural that occupies three walls (plus) and ranges up to 19 feet high, required 125 hours of work by Blakelock. She described it as "the student-generated vision of a "Candy Covered Mountain.' I then brought BBS students in to add their art work, bringing to life their sketches from ideas to paper."

The student sketches were displayed on the blank lodge walls using overhead projectors, and the candy-inspired images were individually traced onto the walls. "The project with students was completed after two four-hour sessions of kiddos painting," said Blakelock. "The mural was an awesome opportunity for the students to thank Hoodoo for (the) years of quality ski instruction. We then celebrated the students' hard work with a fun afternoon on Hoodoo's Autobahn tubing park. It was Hoodoo's gift to the students for their contributions to the mural art work. They comped us two hours of laughter and memories to last a lifetime!"

Blakelock recognized several past and present BBS ski school supporters and instructors. Foremost among them was John Judy, a Camp Sherman resident and director of the BBS Ski Program. Judy commented that he first became involved in the program when his daughter attended the school in 1985.

The program concluded with the distribution of doughnuts, cookies, and treats that looked to have come right out of the Candy Covered Mountain mural. After the ceremony, the students donned ski gear and their new 40-year celebration Hoodoo T-shirts to perform a ritual group serpentine ski down the Blue Valley ski run.