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Grand marshals named

Iola Winter Carnival starts Friday

By Holly Neumann


Christine “Girly” Gessner and Lila Shower are the grand marshals for the 59th Iola Winter Carnival that takes place Friday-Sunday, Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, in Iola.

They are the daughters of Sig and the late Lisa Malvik.

Gessner lives in Madison, while Shower lives in Iola.

The two have a long history with the Iola community.

In the early 1970s, their family lived in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

But after spending so much time in Iola, their parents fell in love with the Norwegian community and built a cabin here.

In 1972, they moved to Iola permanently.

They credit their father, who has ski jumped eight different decades, including six in Iola, for their interest in Winter Carnival.

“Our parents were born and raised in Norway where you learned to ski the year you learned to walk,” said Shower. “Ski jumping and cross-country skiing have been part of my life since I was 2 years old.”

“Growing up, I looked forward to Winter Carnival weekend because we always had ski jumpers from all over the Central Division spending the weekend at our house,” said Gessner. “There was no question where our family will be on the first weekend in February,”

Back then, girls were not allowed to ski jump, so Gessner and Shower both participated in cross country ski racing, while their brothers Erik and Arne did the Nordic Combine, where they did both ski jumping and skiing.

“My brothers and the other ski jumpers from Iola Winter Sports Club would train and compete on the jumps,” said Shower. “I would train and compete on the trails. It was a fun time to be a kid in Iola.”

Their family moved to Madison in the mid ‘80s but returned each year to attend Winter Carnival.

Sharing the tradition

Gessner recalled attending college at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where she met her husband Nate.

“Our sophomore year, I can remember telling Nate that I was going home to watch my dad ski jump,” said Gessner. “He looked at me like I was crazy and said ‘You mean like the agony of defeat from the Wide World of Sports?’ I told him yes like that only my dad doesn’t fall.”

Having a blast at his first Winter Carnival, he too returned to Iola each year that followed.

Over the years many memories have been made.

For Shower, training camp is one of the best.

“I remember every year between Christmas and New Year’s, the Iola Winter Sports Club hosted a ski jumping training camp,” she said. “Skiers from all over the Midwest would come to the training camp and bunk at the hill.”

Meals would be served and friendships were made among the youth from the other ski clubs.

“Being a girl, I had to go home every night and wasn’t allowed to stay at the hill,” she said. “But it was fun just the same.”

Gessner’s most memorable moment came when Nate proposed to her at the Coronation Dance in front of all their family and friends.

She and her husband now have three sons Tryg, Finn and Erik.

Their grandfather Sig, has shown their boys what ski jumping is all about.

And so, the tradition carries on.

Family affair

“When my sister’s kids started ski jumping in 2004, I was reintroduced to the sport,” said Shower. “As the boys got better at ski jumping, I started attending all the winter and summer tournaments in the Central Division.”

“I spent the beginning of the winter driving to Iola on the weekends so my dad and Tom Riccio could help teach my kids how to ski,” said Gessner. “Tryg was 7, Finn was 4 and Erik was just 1. The boys loved it and in the winter of 2004, Finn and Tryg competed in their first Winter Carnival.”

Over the past 16 years, there has been some combination of Gessner brothers ski jumping at Winter Carnival.

For the last seven of those years, both Gessner and Shower can now be found doing registration during the ski jumping events at the Iola Winter Sports Club.

“My sister volunteered me to help with the registration and scoring at their home ski club in Madison, Blackhawk Ski Club,” said Shower. “One thing leads to another and with the help of my sister, the next thing I knew I was in charge of registration and scoring for the Iola Winter Carnival.”

While Gessner knew all the skiers and their ages and the proper class registration, Shower was familiar with spreadsheets and computer programs.

“Between the two of us, we had most things covered,” said Shower. “What we didn’t know, we made up.”

Gessner feels blessed that her boys do not think of Iola as just the town their grandpa and aunt live in.

“My boys have come to know and love Iola just like I have,” she said.

“Every July, our family volunteers at the Old Car Show to raise money for the ski hill. My kids attend church at Hitterdahl, they fish and golf in the summer and ski in the winter. My boys have made friends with the children of my childhood friends and there is even a picture of my son Tryg ski jumping at Sentry Foods.”

Iola and Winter Carnival is a tradition this family loves.

“Iola is a very special place for our family,” said Gessner. “The Winter Carnival has been a tradition that has lasted over 60 years.”

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