Jay, Maine — The self-proclaimed biggest little mountain in Maine will have its base lodge modernized by one of the most popular TV home renovation shows.
Since last month, the Spruce Mountain Ski Club has been raising money to renovate its base lodge/barn. If they raise the $25k, they can complete the project this offseason, with an expected opening in time for its projected opening day (December 26th).
What makes this base lodge renovation different is that Maine Cabin Masters accepted their renovation project application. Also known as the Kennebec Cabin Company, this crew is known for their TV show on the Magnolia Network, where they travel across the state to renovate various buildings. According to their GoFundMe, Maine Cabin Master’s work will include “replacing doors and windows, updating the kitchen area, and converting the second floor into a usable space.”
Ron Jacques, president of Spruce Mountain Ski Area and owner of the Ski Depot shop in Jay, described the process to the Livermore Falls Advertiser of bringing the Maine Cabin Masters in:
“Chase Morrill, the leader of the band, the go-to guy for Maine Cabin Masters, the man in charge happens to be a customer of mine. I ran into him on the chair lift at Sugarloaf this spring... I saw the opportunity to bring it up with [Morrill] while on the chair lift. I told him our town is literally crumbling, driven by the Otis Mill. Morill Said ‘My uncle, George Morrill was an electrician at that mill for years.’ It just so happened I was too and I also know that your uncle George was one of the founding fathers of Spruce Mountain…
From there it just took off. It took a little while. He had to sell the project to the network. They embraced it, gave us the green light, it got chosen as a project. Right place at the right time. I guess knowing the right people.”
Spruce is getting help from various community businesses. Some of these donations include OTIS Federal Credit Union giving $10,000 to the ski area and Baily Brothers Ford dealership will give Spruce $100 for every vehicle sold over the next few months. Yesterday, it was announced that Androscoggin Bank is donating $2500 to the ski area. Based on these donations, along with the over $12.5k raised on GoFundMe, it sounds like they’re close to their goal. Click here to check out the GoFundMe.
First opened in 1959, Spruce Mountain has been the local ski hill for various communities. The ski area is jointly owned by the towns of Jay, Livermore, and Livermore Falls. Spruce has 11 trails and three lifts, all rope tows. While the 300-foot vertical drop means that while it’s not Snowbird, it’s a great learning hill for locals and a place for those who want to get some night skiing in.
This project will be transformative for Spruce Mountain, and it’ll make for some great television too.
Image Credits: Spruce Mountain & mainecabinmasters
