Sugar Mountain Historian: Dedy Traver

Dedy Traver:

Promoting a Bright Future for the Village of Sugar Mountain by Remembering the Past

By Kim S. Davis

Sugar Buggy, March 1975

An historian is defined as an expert in or student of history, especially of a particular time or region. The Village of Sugar Mountain is fortunate to have Dedy Traver, a passionate resident dedicated to preserving the history of Sugar Mountain, to ensure the area remains a special place for all visitors throughout all seasons. Not only is she the unofficial historian for the Village of Sugar Mountain, she is a community volunteer and an appreciative advocate for her High Country home.

Dedy and her family began coming to Sugar Mountain shortly after its inception in 1969. The family stayed in the summer lodge and enjoyed the many amenities. Her father, Al Traver, relocated from New England to Charlotte in the early sixties, and being an avid skier, he saw so much potential that he and her mother moved to the High Country and became full time residents working in real estate and helping manage some of the properties.

An enthusiastic photographer, her father took countless photographs of the wildflowers of Sugar Mountain as well as the beginning development of the Sugar Mountain Resort. A great many of his photographic slides depict the construction of the slopes, the building of the lodge and golf course, and other interesting historical details such as the use of horses to pull out the logs because they were more efficient in the rugged terrain than tractors. From its inception, through a bankruptcy, and during the earlier years as an incorporated village, Dedy’s father documented the progression with thousands of slides.

Dedy was living in Atlanta and was coming up to ski on weekends with the Atlanta Ski Club when she realized she needed to get out of the city and to this beautiful mountain community permanently. So she followed in her parents footsteps and moved to Sugar Mountain in the early seventies. She worked for several companies over the years, all involved with the Sugar Mountain community in some way, and her love of the natural beauty and variety of activities continued to expand.

Dedy came to be the keeper of Sugar Mountain’s history by default because of her access to her father’s vast photographic slide collection, and she has thoroughly embraced the role of historian. After her father passed away in the late 1980s, she inherited his slide presentations and took the initiative to organize them and include narratives for each collection. The Village Hall often refers callers who are looking for historic photos or details to Dedy, and she takes her presentations “on the road” to community organizations.

Traver has presented for the Sugar Mountain Community Association to introduce its newer members to the story of Sugar Mountain. She has also presented at the Banner Elk Book Exchange during their summer programs, and has shared her presentation on the development of the golf course with the golfing community. Additionally, many of her photographs were included in the Sugar Mountain Resort 50th Anniversary Documentary video (viewable on YouTube), put together by Kim Jochl, Vice President of Sugar Mountain Resort and another extraordinary woman and voice for the bounties of Sugar Mountain.

When asked about some of the most interesting historical events in Sugar Mountain’s history, Dedy recounts some of the famous and spectacular guests who have helped promote the resort over the years. She shared how Norwegian Olympic Gold Medalist Stein Eriksen, who is often attributed with bringing the love of skiing to the American public, visited the newly formed southern ski area. Other Olympians followed, including charismatic Jean-Claude Killy, who arrived with show-business promoter Jack Lester in a black limousine flying the French and Swiss Flags to promote the value of ski lessons for new southern skiers. American Alpine Olympian Spider Sabich also visited the resort to promote the NASTAR recreational ski racing program. Those historical visits by well-known Olympians

Dedy Traver

Jean Claude Killy (right), January 1973

have continued with Diann Roffe, Krista Schmidinger, Paul Wylie, Marco Sullivan, Andrew Weibrecht, Sugar Mountain’s own Kim Jochl, and others.

As the southern poet, Robert Penn Warren, once said, “History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future.” As Dedy explains, one of the most valuable lessons in the halfcentury history of Sugar Mountain Resort emerged following the bankruptcy. The village at that time was not incorporated and portions were sold to different developers with different visions; there were no county regulations to assist with maintaining the mountain village flavor envisioned for Sugar Mountain. So after one developer went well beyond the natural alpine concept, Dedy’s father, Al Traver, met with community leaders to work on establishing a ridge law to protect the natural environment of North Carolina’s mountain ridges, including Sugar Mountain.

Eventually, the Village of Sugar Mountain became incorporated as homeowners realized the need to assess town taxes, take care of roads and infrastructure and maintain the integrity of the mountain. Since electing their first mayor in1986 through today, the Village of Sugar Mountain has evolved while maintaining its family mountain village charm.

As Dedy passionately attests, “Sugar Mountain is a great place to take time to be out in nature and enjoy what we have. With the pandemic renewing interest in walking and being in the great outdoors, people should take time to smell the roses (or Fraser Firs). Sugar Mountain began as a place for families to gather together and this is still a great place for that. There are activities for every resident and visitor. Village employees grew up here and it is their home.” And Dedy knows not only what makes a great community, but about the hard work and dedication of those who came before in order to make Sugar Mountain so purely sweet.

Pool in the 1970s Tennis Bubble Photo courtesy of Bob Webb