It was a hot day in the picnic area by the Norge Club House in Fox River Grove IL August 18, 2018 but early birds were already arriving around noon for the event. Pat Clark, CMSC’s Picnic Chairman, was directing the picnic table setup, the charcoal grills, and all the brats, burgers, and hot dogs were a-cooking. Picnic meeting and dining area were located between the ornate Norge Lodge and the grassy ski slide basin, with the tall, imposing jump hill standing over all. And somebody’s surprisingly quiet drone hovered the width of the basin for most of the afternoon.

After lunch this writer took a hike up to the top of K70 hill by means of an old, narrow, continuous, and heavy wood staircase. This way he was able to get a better view of a ski jump tower built on K70 hilltop about 15 years ago. It was purchased legally for $1 in 2003 from the then-disbanded Ely Ski Club located in Minnesota. The disassembled steel tower was then transported in eight trucks to 100 Ski Hill Road. It was rebuilt where it now stands.

At that height your writer got an excellent view of ski jumpers in summer training sailing through the air, each launched from a few thousand thin plastic panels permanently attached to the tower runway like shingles on a roof. When wetted down with pressurized water, these plastic panels will simulate snow almost perfectly even in summer.

Your writer saw some interesting picnic photos on the Internet through Flickr, both ground and aerial versions, done by a certain Rick Drew. That drone in the air seen Saturday afternoon might have been his. Anyway, about 140 guests attended the picnic, and the proverbial good time was had by all. Picnic photos are next. Enjoy.

(All attendees in this article are identified by their first names plus initial, due to a recent naming rule change. The "||||" is a reading separator between title & caption. Also note that missing photos 24 to 27 (showing skiers in flight) have been restored following a rigorous software probe. After a brief period in software field hospital, affected photos were returned to active duty.)