Beginning in the 1930s, New England ski trails quickly expanded. Many of the early runs were cut by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era government work-relief program that provided jobs for unskilled laborers. And while some of those runs remain extant, skiing in New England isn’t the quaint small business it was then, with Vermont alone enjoying a $750 million industry. Climate change threatens the future of skiing in New England, but the past lives on as a snowy wonderland through these images. - Lane Turner and Lisa Tuite
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Globe file photo
Jan. 24, 1932: More than 600 New Yorkers arrived on the "Snow Clipper" train, operated by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co., to ski at Bousquet Mountain in Pittsfield. From the railroad they were transported by Berkshire Street Railway Company buses.
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Associated Press
Feb. 6, 1937: These skiers caught a bit more sleep as their overnight train sped them northward. They were among the crowd of 400 that jammed the "Ski Meister," the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad train which brought New Yorkers to northern New England ski slopes.
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Associated Press
Feb. 6, 1938: The Viennese skiing champion Madame Maria Singer taught Mt. Holyoke students how to ski down Mt. Tom.
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Globe file photo
Feb. 26, 1938: Proving skiing is for all ages, William H. Smythe, 70, of Allston chatted with Harry Muzzy, 17, of Worcester as they waited for the train after a day of skiing at Mount Greylock's Thunderbolt Trail in Adams.
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Globe file photo
Feb. 26, 1940: Nancy Munnis, Barbara Jouannet, and Jean Munnis, all of Dorchester, tried out their skis at Franklin Park.
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Associated Press
Feb. 17, 1946: After staying for the night in a nearby ski dormitory operated by the state of Vermont at Stowe, this group of young women lined up to board the chair lift at Mount Mansfield. The girls were wearing peacetime versions of Army ponchos — definitely not form-fitting — as protection against the cold wind for the ride up the mountain. The girls took off their ponchos at the top of the mountain and sent them down in the empty chairs while they skied down the slopes and trails.
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Globe file photo
July 25, 1950: The crowd in Laconia, N.H., lined the slopes in shirtsleeves and summer garb as one of the contestants in the annual summer ski jump landed down the hill. Some 100 tons of crushed ice was spread over the inrun, takeoff, and landing hill for this popular summer event which featured top US ski jumpers.
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Globe file photo
March 16, 1961: Wildcat Mountain in Pinkham Notch, N.H., was the scene of the National Alpine Ski championships in 1961. Susan McLane of Concord, N.H., took a solitary run before the events started.
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United Press International
Dec. 17, 1969: On vacation at Mount Snow in Vermont, Miss Universe, 19-year-old Gloria Diaz of the Philippines, gamely tried skiing for the first time. Her visit to the area was timed with the season's first good snowfall and it was the first time she had ever seen snow.
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