Pleasant Mt. Ski Club Patch (Arrowhead) — c. 1960s

A vintage Pleasant Mt. Ski Club patch from Bridgton, Maine, estimated to date from the 1960s, cut as an arrowhead — the black merrowed edge notched and chipped all the way round to read as worked flint. Orange ground, PLEASANT MT. arched in black across the top, a black skier mid-turn below it, SKI CLUB in orange on a black band, and BRIDGTON, ME. in black on a cream band at the base.

Clubs ordered better patches than resorts did, consistently, and nobody has ever properly explained why. A mountain was buying merchandise; a club was buying an emblem for itself. One of those decisions gets made by a purchasing office and the other gets argued about at a meeting, and the arguing shows.

Paying the die charge for a custom arrowhead outline — notched edge and all — on a run of patches for a small-town ski club in Maine is not a sensible use of money. It is the reason this is the best-looking object in the Bridgton run by a distance.

Clubs also did the one thing no resort has ever managed, which is make skiing cheap. Group rates, shared gas, borrowed gear and a sign-up sheet. A whole generation got into the sport because somebody in a town like Bridgton organized a bus.

Embroidered on twill, merrowed edge, with loose sewing thread at the top. Photos are the condition report.