Lebanon
Dion and Bruce Jennings, both Lebanon High graduates, were inducted into the U.S. Ski Jumping Hall of Fame on Saturday at the Mount Frontenac golf course, just south of Red Wing, Minn. Dion passed away unexpectedly last year, but his cousins, part of the Flying Dions ski jumping trio, and family were there to accept the award on his behalf.
“It was very well-done. Much appreciated,” said Douglas Dion, one of Bernie’s cousins. “To have him remembered and honored for his accomplishments that started since he was about 4 or 5 years old, almost to the day he passed, means a lot. He was heavily involved with furthering the sport of skiing. It’s always nice to get recognized, but it’s nice to hear your peers do it.”
Others inducted on Saturday were Nita Englund, Ron Jacobson, Lenny Johnson, Doug Maki, Will Rhoads, Nils Stolzlechner, Blair Tomten, Dana Zelenakas and Jon Denney.
Jennings, who now runs a campground in Maine, remembered living in the house behind Dion on Summer Street in Lebanon and how much the Dion trio meant to kids being introduced to ski jumping for the first time.
“All three of them were ski jumping legends for us kids,” he said. “They were all pretty equal, but they were winning a lot of meets before my time.”
Jennings, 68, got his start at Storrs Hill Ski Area. When it came time to decide between ski jumping and other things, he decided to stick with the former.
“There’s something about all skiing that’s attractive to certain people,” he said. “I like the feeling of acceleration, of flying through the air. I also like the dive; I was on the swim team. I like being in the air, doing things like that. Ski jumping is about the same. It’s a thrill.”
Jennings followed it up with his own accomplished career, skiing for the University of Wyoming between 1965-70. He joined the U.S. Ski Team in 1968 and took first place twice in the Eastern Ski Association Championship, in 1969 and 1971. He also placed second in the NCAA championships in 1969 and was a regional coach for the U.S. Ski Team between 1976 and 1980. He spent 22 years at Norwich University as a soccer and ski coach.
“I just never imagined something like that,” Jennings said of his induction. “I hate to sound like I’m tooting my own horn. I felt honored that the committee voted me in. I’m honored that they saw my talents.”
“I was pretty excited,” he added. “It was based on many years ago. But the other part of it that was exciting for me was Bernie Dion. … I was really glad for him.”
Dion spent his life as an accomplished athlete whose career was cut short by injuries, as a thoughtful and experienced coach and mentor and as a well-known international judge. Through it all, Dion left a trail of good feeling with all he left behind.
“He was somebody I looked up to before he started coaching me,” said Malmquist, who started working Dion in 1968 with the Ford Sayre Ski Council program. “I think certainly anyone in the Upper Valley who is going to be a ski jumper had respect for him not just because of his reputation, but because of his personality. The guy was magnetic. He was so enthusiastic about the sport.”
Dion’s uncle, Ernie, was inducted in the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1984, the first American jumper to hold an international rating. As Dion and his cousins grew up, they stepped up to carry on the name.
“The three of us grew up, assumed the name and the mantle,” Douglas Dion said. “When we were young, we were featured on The Arthur Godfrey Show, when television was new and cutting-edge technology. … All the kids in high school got to watch us perform. We were featured in Boys’ Life magazine, all of that, through grade school and high school.”
After injuries ended Dion’s ski jumping career, he took to coaching, where he was known for his passion and patience. He then became a world-renowned judge for international competitions, breaking a perception barrier for a global ski jumping community that looked down on American ties.
“He was a judge to the world’s best skiers,” Douglas Dion said. “That was monumental.”
But Malmquist will always remember Dion’s coaching style, a mixture of fiery enthusiasm and level understanding that made him a ski jumping presence wherever he went.
“There’s a context for me, before he made it to the Hall of Fame,” he said. “People remember what he did other than the people with whom he was intimate. He deserves to be in another 10 halls of fame. He was a great guy.
“What it says is what we do — whether it is ski jumping or paving a town road, building a school, making opportunities for children, building a community — is the main thing Bernie accomplished. He contributed so much to the Lebanon community, which affected New Hampshire, which affected New England, which affected the United States. We hear good people do good work. He was a role model.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.