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Showdown MontanaStill Going Downhill
Legends of Showdown · The Shareholders Era, 1957–1973
1980s Arlington AJ Buskirk-this photo was a big part of marketing at the time
1980s Arlington AJ Buskirk-this photo was a big part of marketing at the timeGeorge Willett Collection

AJ Buskirk

Cat skinner, and the face on the posters

Legend of Showdown
Born
11 June 1921
First skied at Showdown
First worked here
maintenance engineer at Kings Hill by March 1963
Years at Showdown
1963 to at least 1970 on the lifts; later at Showdown (the years are not recorded)
Positions
  • Maintenance engineer, Kings Hill, 1963 — in charge of maintenance under manager Jim Thompson
  • Chief maintenance mechanic, Kings Hill, 1965
  • Cat skinner on the 1970 double chairlift build
  • Starter of the Belt Creek Headwaters Relay, from 1979
  • The face of Showdown's 1986-87 pamphlet, in buckskins
  • Neihart town commissioner 1986–91, mayor 1992–2004

What they did

11 entries
  1. In the Army through Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, the Ardennes and Central Europe; he came home with the Bronze Star
  2. March 1963Maintenance engineer at Kings Hill, photographed by Ray Ozmon taking a few runs with manager Jim Thompson at the end of the day
  3. November 1963In charge of maintenance at Kings Hill: helped splice the new T-bar's cable and aligned its bull wheel with Jim Thompson
  4. 17 November 1963Learned to splice the new T-bar's cable from Bob Diener of Salt Lake City, one of only five or six men in the country qualified to do it
  5. December 1965Chief maintenance mechanic, checking the Pomalift's upper terminal before the season opened
  6. April 1985The Belt Creek Headwaters Relay's Mountain Man, loading his musket for the starting shot at Kings Hill
  7. 1986-87Pictured in his buckskins on the pamphlet promoting Showdown Ski Area
  8. January 1986Sworn in as a Neihart town commissioner; from January 1992 the town's mayor, until 2004
  9. Fired the starting gun at the Pioneer Days race
  10. The Great Falls Tribune reported he had been on hand for the start of every Belt Creek Headwaters Relay since 1979
  11. 28 May 2004His memorial service was held in the Showdown ski lodge

Photographs

9 in the archive
1989 AJ Buskirk — Pioneer Days Race, AJ Buskirk shooting a gun at the starting line
1980s AJ Buskirk holding old timey rifle and Scott Mosher with goggles on - George Willett Era
1980s AJ Buskirk walking with Rifle
1980s AJ Buzkirk and Scott Mosher together
1980s Buzkirk Pioneer Days
1980s Buzkirk Pioneer Days
1980s A.J. Buskirk, Scott Mosher, Jim Gold — The mountain
1990s AJ Buzkirk standing on snow
1980s Arlington AJ Buskirk-this photo was a big part of marketing at the time

All photographs of AJ Buskirk in the search →

Also

  • Built raised every tower of the 1970 double chairlift, as the cat skinner

Added by the people who were there