Friday's Faces from the Past – Downieville Ski Race

From the late 1800s through the first half of the 20th Century, winter cross-county ski races were very popular in the Sierra Nevada gold mining towns. Mountain Messenger newspaper articles described the  action and identified both winners and losers.

Pictured above are Downieville (Sierra County, California) ski race participants plus
some audience members. The photo was likely taken around 1920. Mabel Rutishauser
is standing at the far left. The woman standing (top row) to the left of the woman in the
feathered hat is probably Amelia Rutishauser. Ruth Rutishauser's head can be seen just
to the left of Amelia. All three of the Rutishausers were sisters. Amelia was my
grandmother.

Do you have any ancestors in the vicinity of Downieville around 1920? If so, they may very well have attended the ski races and perhaps participated. If you recognize anyone in this photo, please post a comment to that effect.

Submitted and posted by Richard Hanson