Gregg Hill Nature Preserve

The February 10, 1949, Hillsborough Messenger contains a frontpage article on the Deering Ski tow, then in its 2nd season of operation.  The article notes that the business is a labor of love for the Carew family.  Joseph and Catherine Carew and their ten children, built and ran the ski tow which operated from late 1947 to 1960.  The 650’ rope tow, located in the steeply sloped field that is now the Gregg Hill Nature Preserve, was one of the earlier rope tows in NH and part of the post WW II boom in recreational skiing in the United States.  Members of the Carew family cleared rocks from the slope during the summer of 1947.  A 1927 Buick Master 6, bought from a neighbor for $100 and driven to the top of the slope, powered the rope tow.  Tickets went for $1.   Daughter Kay Carew helped organize the Hillsboro-Deering Ridge Runner Club in 1950.  The club introduced ski instruction at Hillsboro High School and helped run high school ski meets at the Deering Ski Tow.  In January of 1957, high school skiers competed at the ski tow under “ideal conditions” and before a “record sized crowd” as part of Hillsboro’s Winter Carnival.  Josephine Clark, the Deering correspondent to the Messenger, noted that “We find we have some very good skiers coming along in Tom and Peter Bixby and Jimmy Wolf.”   The ski tow had a warming hut/snack shack, lights for night skiing but did not have snow making facilities.   An information board located in Hillsboro’s business district kept area residents informed about ski conditions on the slopes. Today, the town of Deering owns the old ski tow site and, through the efforts of the Conservation Commission, maintains a walking trail, pollinator gardens, and bluebird nesting boxes.  Benches, located at the top of the slope, provide an ideal perch from which to take in the beauty of the surrounding countryside.