You know the story of the very first water skier, Ralph Samuelson, who took to Lake Pepin, Minnesota, in 1922 on a pair of homemade water skis behind a clam boat. But do you know the story of Kathryn (McClure) Lomerson, the first woman to water ski just two years later?
We could not let this September pass without marking 100 years of women in water skiing. It all started on Union Lake near Bloomfield, Michigan, on Labor Day Weekend of 1924. Young Kathryn, who was just 15 years old, was inspired by Ralph Samuelson's feat and tried water skiing on her own, in her own way. Kathryn grew up in Royal Oak, Michigan, and her father built a cottage on Union Lake in 1912. Like all of the women water skiers who followed her, Kathryn's "Happy Place" was on the lake. Later in life, Kathryn made that vacation home, her home with her husband.
We weren't familiar with Kathryn's story until we received an email from Kathryn E. Lomerson, the first Kathyrn's granddaughter, who is carrying on the family tradition at age 59 on Middle Straights Lake, which is not too far Union Lake. She skis on a Radar Lyric, not quite her grandma's water ski!
Kathryn Emerson passed away in 2011 at the age of 102, but not before passing the handle and her love of water skiing to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. For the Lomerson Family water skiing is still a family affair.
"We all still water ski and try to carry on our Gram's tradition," says Kathryn. "I still get a rush when I water ski and I will do it as long as I can do it."
The first Kathryn was recognized by Water Ski Magazine and the Michigan Water Skiers Hall of Fame in 1997 as the very first woman to water ski. It was an honor she cherished all of her life.
"I am proud of her for being brave at almost 16 and trying out that type of ski. As a girl teenager at that time, she must have turned a lot of heads," says Kathryn of her intrepid grandmother.
Thanks, Kathryn, for sharing your grandma's story with us!
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