The Wormington Family
as told by son, Sam
Samuel Robert Wormington was born in London, England, and came with his parents to Toronto when he was four or five years old. He came west to Agassiz and worked at an Agricultural Experimental Station during the summers. In winter he worked his way back and forth to England on cattle boats.
One of his strong points was pitching baseball, and this he did in many towns in Washington, Oregon and B.C. In those days a professional ball player only got paid if his team won.
Before the railroad made its way through Moyie, he mined there with dry drilling machines that proved so damaging to the health of so many miners.
In 1902 he married Olive Lance from Cheney, Washington. They lived in Trail for a short time and then returned to Moyie. Two children blessed this union: Agnes and Lance. Sam's wife died under sad circumstances when their third child was born and he lost them both. After this he worked at some different mining area, Apache Trail Mine in Arizona, Porcupine Mine in Ontario, and Tonopah, Nevada. While there he met and married Wirmifred Mae Strossneider Hudson. Winnie had one son, Roy Hudson. Sam and Winnie stayed in Nevada for a time and another son, Charles, was born. Winnie was a graduate of the University of Nevada at Reno in 1900.Her name appears in the history of Nevada as the tall red-headed basketball star of Nevada State University. Her team was the first girls team to play before a mixed audience. Men had never before been allowed to watch. The boys had to wait outside of the auditorium for their dates.
Sam had two brothers who worked at the Top Mine at Kimberley, Charlie and Frank, so Sam came to Kimberley and was involved with driving the Sullivan Mine Tunnel. He brought his American family with him. Although Winnie loved Canada and her many friends, she never really ceased being an American.
During the North Star fire in 1919, Sam was the warden for the B.C. Forestry. For a time they lived at Wycliffe and Sam worked for the Otis Staples Lumber Company. In 1920,Sam Jr. was born at Cranbrook. Sam's health no longer permitted mining, and in those days there was no compensation for silicosis. The family lived at Cranbrook, Lumberton and Kimberley and Sam was again the warden during the 1930 Cherry Creek fire.
Winnie and her two sons, Charlie and Sam, continued to live in Kimberley. The boys were educated here, and Winnie was very active in community affairs through the Rebekah Lodge. She passed away in 1960. Charlie took employment with the only major employer in 1934 and Sam started in 1940. Since those years, Charlie pursued his love of photography and attended several photographic coursed in California. He has gained recognition at several Photography Exhibits since then but he chooses to enjoy a quiet life and he and his camera are seen at most functions in the home town of Kimberley.
Sam's interest has been with skiing from a very early age to the present time. The war in- terrupted until 1946, when Sam returned to Kimberley and plunged into skiing again. He and some friends began to build a dream. In 1946 he met and married Elsa Carlson, a nurse at the hospital. They have only one daughter, Colleen, now married to Larry Neu, who have two daughters and one son and live in Sandpoint, Idaho.
Sam was instrumental in the building of the North Star Ski Area. After managing this area for five years, he left for a new challenge at Sandpoint, Idaho, in 1963 to build and manage Schweitzer Ski Basin. The next challenge came from Mt. Spokane in 1977 and he is now General Manager and Vice President of Mt. Spokane Ski Corporation. Still one more challenge has appeared on the horizon, and Sam is now com- piling a book that will contain records of the growth of skiing in British Columbia and adjacent areas in the United States.
Sam Wormington Sr. had three sons, but there are no grandsons to carry on the name.
