Breaking News: Foundation Letter to the Placer County Board of Supervisors Regarding the Squaw Valley Museum

By John Watson

Placer County Board of Supervisors
175 Fulweiler Avenue
Auburn, CA 95603

The Trustees and contributors of the Foundation anticipate with great enthusiasm the construction and operation of the Squaw Valley Olympic Museum and Winter Sports Heritage Center. Legacy preservation is one of the Foundation’s four missions. We have named Mr. Alan Christian of Danville as our project leader for legacy preservation. Our webpages are at farwestskifoundation.org.

The Squaw Valley Museum will provide value in a number of ways, all in the public interest. The Museum will be an attraction in its own right both domestically and internationally – and in all seasons. It will provide an adjunct to other functions around the lake, whether winter sports oriented or not.

The Museum will provide a learning center destination for educational institutions and a resource for research. The displays contemplated for the Museum will be comprised of imagery and artifacts that focus on the winter sports heritage of the area and its role in the Olympic movement. The Museum will take advantage of the strides made in educational technologies now used in modern museums.

The West Coast has a shortage of snowsport museums. The Squaw Valley Museum will go far to mitigate this situation. There is a substantial and growing volume of historical snowsport material that needs to be preserved in a secure, climate-controlled environment. This material – even that for the 1960 Olympics – is becoming vulnerable to age-related effects and even disposal by persons unaware of its value.

Finally, the Squaw Valley Museum can serve as a cultural center for affinity groups and community meetings. Being also a cultural center is a new technique among museums; it adds a functionality and a welcoming image to the term “museum.”  Friendly traffic in the Museum will most assuredly increase support for it. We look forward to all the milestone events leading to the Squaw Valley Museum and Winter Sports Heritage Center.

John Watson
President